CHAPTER 10

On a sunny L.A afternoon, a woman walked into a dispensary. Of course, in L.A, marajuana was perfectly legal.

"Welcome to Budding Blossom. What can I get for you today?" The cheerful shop clerk asked.

"You know, I'm not exactly sure." She replied.

"Well, I just got this new Sativa strain in. It's called Jack the Ripper. It's citrusy, high energy. Great for work if you need a little afternoon kick."

"Nah, I'm more looking to zone out to the Kardashians after my kid goes to bed, but I don't want the munchies." She stated. The clerk chuckled and nodded.

"Totes. You want 'Weed Thins.' Hunger-suppressing Indica hybrid."

"I'll take an eighth." She smiled. He nodded and she left shortly after paying. The money that she paid went into the dispensary's storage and a couple of days later, boxes of money were packed up and placed in an armoured vehicle for transport. The truck made it around a kilometer before being rammed into by an 18 wheeler. Before the truck driver could respond, the man was thrown out of the car by two men in sky masks. The men then hijacked the truck and drove away with the cash.

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Finn lit a cigarette and put it to his lips as he watched a nature documentary on his tiny trailer TV.

"The female praying mantis begins to kill the male by devouring his jaw. The male is simply the nearest food source around. When we return, the female will lay honeycomb casings to protect her hundreds of eggs."

Finn watched as the documentary suddenly turned to a commercial. It was typical mushy, lovey-dovey crap and it seared a hole in Finn's chest as it reminded him of Rachel.

"You're the perfect couple." The commercial said. "You've had a connection since the day you met, but you've been slowly down recently. Well, there's now an easier way to revitalise your relationship and keep that connection going. Introducing…"

Finn never watched the end of the commercial though. It became too painful to watch and rather than turning the TV off, Finn shot it with his gun. It sparked and smoked for several moments later.

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Quinn pulled up to the crime scene to see Finn already there. Quinn stormed over to him.

"Dude, what the hell?!" She exclaimed.

"Yo!" Finn replied.

"I told you I was on my way." She snapped. Finn furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"You said 'I'll meet you there'." Finn replied. Quinn nodded.

"Yes, 'there'. At the office. And then we drive TOGETHER!" She spat. Finn cocked his head.

"Huh? 'There' means the crime scene." He remarked. Quinn shook her head furiously.

"Maybe in Texas. Not in L.A."

Tina walked up to them, holding three cup of coffee. Finn and Quinn accepted them gratefully.

"Tina, tell him what 'there' means here!" Quinn exclaimed.

"There where?" Tina asked.

"Here." Quinn responded.

"What?" Tina asked, completely at a loss.

"If I say, Tina meet me there, where do you go?"

"There." Tina replied.

"Which is where?"

"Here."

Finn sighed.

"Okay, that's great. I'm glad you guys cleared that up for me." Finn said, sarcastically. "So, what do we got, Tina?"

"Our suspects fled in the truck after removing the LoJack. There's no witnesses, except for the driver, a retired cop by the name of Sue Sylvester."

Quinn's head shot up.

"Sue Sylvester? That's my old training officer. Is she okay?"

"Well, she took a pretty bad blow to the head. The EMTs are cleaning her up now."

Quinn turned around and walked over to her old mentor. Sue chuckled when she saw the detective.

"H… hey, Q!" Sue exclaimed.

"How are you doing, Sue?" Quinn asked.

"I'm good." She replied.

"Take it easy, there." Quinn said. Finn snickered.

"Oh, no! Not 'there'! Don't confuse the poor lady, Quinn!" Finn remarked. Quinn sighed.

"My new partner. Mr. Delightful." Quinn introduced him.

"Finn Hudson." Finn said, shaking Sue's hand. "Glad you're alright."

"Thank you." She replied.

"Any chance you're available for some remedial partner training?" Quinn asked.

"Oh, hell, I need the training." Sue remarked. "Look at me. I feel like a damn fool."

"I hate to break it to you, but you've never been much to look at, Sue." Quinn remarked. The two women chuckled.

"Hey, Sue. Whose money were you driving?" Finn asked.

"The cash all came from the local pot shops. I was driving it to the company I work for: Joint Asset Securities. They're some kind of… um… financial services for the dispensaries."

"Mm-kay, well that's something to go on." Quinn said.

"Thanks, Sue." Finn said.

"Take it easy." Quinn said.

"You, too." Sue replied. Finn and Quinn walked back to Tina, who had gathered a bit of information.

"So, Ned's company is downtown. I'll send you guys the address."

"Okay, we're on our way." Quinn said. "I'll meet you…"

"There?" Finn cut in, smirking at her. Quinn rolled her eyes.

"Yeah. There." She snapped before storming off. Finn chased after her, laughing.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm kidding. Like where are we really going? I'm confused."

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"So, Ms. Carlson, how long have you been selling pot for a living?"

Quinn and Finn were visiting Joint Asset Securities and were questioning the owner of the company.

"My clients make their living selling maijuana, detective. I manage their money."

"You know, in Texas, we still call that laundering." Finn remarked.

"And in Texas, it would be." She replied. "But in California, pot is legal. Dispensaries earn 3 billion a year, all of it in cash, but they're legally prohibited from using banks."

"And what do you get out of it?" Quinn asked.

"20%."

Finn and Quinn wolf whistled.

"20%? Is that legal?"

"Reflects my risk." She replied. Finn rolled his eyes.

"So? I had my ass blown up every day for 14 years with the SEALs and I earnt minimum wage." Finn argued. The lady shrugged.

"The Feds won't insure their money, so I do, which is why I'm on the hook for the $17 million that was on the truck."

"Are the deposits always that big?" Quinn asked.

"Not even close." She replied. "It was tax day. Dispensaries have to pay state tax just like everyone else. But, without access to banks, they pay in cash."

"Who else knew it was tax day pickup?" Finn asked.

"Just my clients." She responded. Quinn nodded.

"So, we're gonna need a list of those clients."

The lady sighed.

"Confidentiality is extremely important to my business, detectives." She said, taking out a file from her desk. "I'll need you both to be discreet."

Finn laughed.

"Oh, we're very discreet. I mean, me so more than her. But, you know, her too."

The lady rolled her eyes and handed Quinn the file, ignoring Finn's outstretched hand.

"Good choice." Quinn chuckled.

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Finn and Quinn parked in front of their first house on the list. It was up in Hollywood Hills. They got out of Quinn's car and slammed the doors shut. The mansion they were walking into was a colossal, luxurious establishment and Finn wolf whistled.

"Do you ever feel like you made the wrong career choice?" Finn commented.

"Yeah. The day I met you." She replied. "All right, so the house is co-owned by a Lon Stober and a Donald Duncan. They're partners in a dispensary called Budding Blossom."

Finn and Quinn walked into the house and immediately started coughing and spluttering. The smell of weed was an intoxicating cloud in the air.

"You ever smoke weed?" Finn asked as they stepped inside. "I mean, before you became a cop?"

"Nah, I was a cheerleader." Quinn replied. "I didn't have time to mess with that stuff. You?"

Finn chuckled.

"Nah, of course not. Straight as they come." He remarked. Quinn rolled her eyes as she thought back to that first dinner with Finn and her family. "It stinks like patchouli oil in here."

"Hey, who are we looking for again?" Quinn asked. When she got no answer, she turned around and realised that Finn was gone. She groaned and decided to just search the house without him. Finn walked outside and over to two girls who were tanning in skimpy bikinis on deckchairs.

"Excuse me." Finn said. "Sorry to bother you lovely ladies but could you tell me where I would find a… Lon Stober or Donald Duncan?"

"Lonnie and Donnie." One of the girls drawled, obviously intoxicated. "Donnie and Lonnie. Wonder if they have a brother named Ronnie?"

Finn chuckled.

"That's a really good question." He replied.

"Hey!" Quinn snapped from behind him. Finn turned to face her. "Don't disappear on me when we're working together. Try to remember that we're partners."

"Aw, you two are partners?" One of the girls gasped. "That is great. How long have you been together?"

"No, we're not…" Quinn started but Finn cut her off.

"How long has it been, Quinn? You know, I feel like it was just yesterday I saw her from across a crowded room. It was a Sadie Hawkins dance and neither of us had a date."

Quinn rolled her eyes and then two men walked up to them.

"Can we help you two?" They asked. Quinn and Finn turned around to face them.

"Ah, let me guess: Lonnie and Donnie."

"That's right. Who are you?" One of them asked.

"Detectives Hudson and Fabray, LAPD. We need to ask you a couple questions." Quinn demanded. The men glared at them.

"Where have you guys been? That was our tax money on that truck!"

"Yeah, we know. And we'll get to it. But first, I need to ask…" Quinn started but was cut off by Finn.

"Do either of you have a brother named Ronnie?" Finn asked. Quinn sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Does everyone here have a valid medical marijuana license?" Quinn asked. The two boys looked at each other.

"Yes." One said.

"Probably." The other said.

"Right. I'm gonna go, uh… check IDs." Finn remarked before walking away. He walked back into the house and as he looked at the staircase, his jaw dropped… Rachel was walking up the stairs. Finn quickly ran over to the stairs and followed the woman up.

"Excuse me!" He shouted. The woman turned around and when she did, Finn realised that it wasn't Rachel. Merely a lookalike. Finn blinked, focussing his eyes. He sighed. Of course it wasn't Rachel. Rachel was gone and she wasn't coming back.

"What?" The woman asked. Finn shook his head.

"Sorry."

Meanwhile, outside, Quinn was questioning Lonnie and Donnie.

"So, how much money do you keep with Joint Asset Securities?" Quinn asked them.

"All of it." Lonnie replied. "Angela knows everything about finance and taxes, and all that. She doesn't even smoke."

Donnie suddenly lit a cigarette and started smoking. Quinn scowled at him.

"Hey. Could you not do that around me? I have to get drug tested." Quinn snapped. Donnie nodded. "Good day, gentlemen." Quinn said and then walked back into the house. She walked upstairs and approached a door. She knocked on it. It swung open moments later and Finn stumbled out of the room, his eyes bloodshot and small.

"We're all good in there." Finn remarked. Quinn's eyes widened.

"Did you just…" Quinn asked, astonished.

"Huh? N… no. No." Finn chuckled. "You want to go get something to eat? I'm famished."