Alison grabbed her bag from Hawkes.

"This is going to be a fun case." She said, looking around then at the cops that were eyeing them.

"Greg is lucky he's out this week because of his book." Alison smiled.

"Yeah, my Grandpa is supposed to get a copy of the book this week, and he's been calling the house nonstop seeing if it's come in yet." Hawkes signed them in on the scene log.

"Are you alright with the book? I know it bugged you when he first started writing it." Alison pulled her camera out.

"I mean, I still am not thrilled about the book. But after reading it. I think it's one of his best books." Hawkes raised his eyebrow, and she laughed. "And I'm not just saying that because he's my husband."

"That's what they all say. But I'm glad you liked the book." Hawkes took a deep breath turning back to the scene. "I'll start with the body."

"I'll work further up the street where Messer was knocked out." Hawkes started taking pictures of the body.

"Do you think this is going to be a big a headache as I do?" Alison took a picture then glanced around them.

"We got four off-duty cops. A Sargent, Messer, who use to work at the lab. His partner and two other officers. He gets knocked out, and his partner shoots this guy claiming he pulled a gun on her. However, when Messer wakes up, there's no gun on him." Alison took another picture. "I think this is going to be a full-on stroke, let alone a headache."

"Here's something." Alison looked over at him. "GSR field test came back positive."

"So he might have been holding a gun." Hawkes shook his head.

"I don't know, Al. Officer Cooper told Messer that she checked the victim's vitals after shooting him." Alison lowered her camera, walking over to him.

"Maybe the GSR transferred from her hands to his." Hawkes stood up, looking around them.

"There's no other evidence here that back up those cop's story." Alison took a deep breath.

"This headache but got bigger."

Greg opened the back door to Frank's house using his crutch to prop the door open for Ethen to enter. Henry was at the table doing the crossword.

"Hey, you two." he smiled, setting the newspaper down. "What bring you here." Ethen made his way over, handing the wrapped package. Henry glanced over at Greg, who was getting a mug out for coffee. "Is this what I think it is." Greg glanced over at him smiling.

"Came in this morning." Henry quickly unwrapped the package running his hand over the book.

"Thank you." He smiled down at Ethen. "What do you say you and your dad stay for dinner. I believe there might be a new car in the bucket you can play with." Ethen didn't hesitate running off in the direction of the car box that Frank kept in the family room for him. Greg laughed, shaking his head.

"At this rate, he's going to be a race car driver." Henry opened the book looking over the pages.

"Not as long as that hat on his head. Has he ever taken it off?" Greg grabbed an ice pack out of the fizzer.

"Not willingly." He glanced at a message on his phone, shaking his head.

"Is that Al," Henry asked as they walked into the family room to join Ethen.

"Yeah, she caught an off-duty shooting." Henry got into his seat, turning the light on to help him read.

"Messer was there right." Greg nodded his head, sitting with his bad leg on the couch so he could put ice on it. "I'd be nervous if I were him. IA has a way of pinning things on the Sargent." Greg pulled out his computer, smiling at Ethen, who already had half the cars out.

"Yeah, the fact that he used to work at the lab doesn't help. If this goes to trial, all the evidence is going to be called into question because of the relationship he has with the team."

"Al will do her best."

"I only hope the DA see that."

Alison stood across from Sid, looking over the body in the ME lab.

"I removed several Shards of glass," Sid said, passing over a sample tray. "It was in the palm of the victim's left hand." Alison lifted it up to see it better.

"It appears to be consistent with the glass the EMTs pulled for Messer's head."

"I did a full tox screening, too." Sid continued. "Blood alcohol level was .19."

"The bartender at Rattigan's said the victim only ordered one drink and was already visibly impaired." Alison said, recalling the report Mac had sent her.

"Means he did his drinking someplace else. To be thorough, I checked the stomach contents. Found these." He handed over another vile. Alison tilted her head.

"Some kind of stones?" Sid shrugged his shoulders.

"They're carved in perfect cubes."

"Perhaps he ingested them wherever he was before Rattigan's." Alison nodded.

"I'll bring them back to the lab." Alison looked back at the body, shaking her head.

"What is it, Alison."

"Shoot to stop." She pointed at the wound. "The academy teaches you to shoot to stop so in a burst of twos and threes." Sid nodded his head, following where she was going.

"Yet here we have a single gunshot wound to the chest, almost perfectly placed. Bullet lodged in the heart."

"I mean, it could mean Officer Cooper kept cool. Took an opportunity. Lucky shot in an unfortunate situation."

"Of course, he may not have had a gun at all, Alison. In which case, she fired by mistake and killed an unarmed man. You come from a family of cops. You can't tell me this doesn't feel off to you." Alison held up the container he gave her.

"It does, but it's not my job to make the calls; I just handle the evidence."

Greg sat at the kitchen table, working on some notes for his book. Henry was still in the family room reading his book, and Ethen was down for a nap. The back door opened, and Alison walked in, waving at him.

"Coffee's fresh, and lunch is in the fridge." He said to her.

"Thank how are thing going here." She glanced around the kitchen as she poured a cup of coffee.

"It's been quiet. Frank stopped by for his own lunch about an hour ago." Alison sat down next to him, kissing him.

"Yeah, he called me earlier." She said around a mouth full of her lunch.

"How are you doing." Alison slumped.

"The gun residue on the victim matches the gun the officer fired, and there was more residue on the upper part of the victim's hand and all over the left arm of his shirt sleeve and shoulder." She held up her finger. "But that came back as a different elemental composition." Greg nodded, closing his computer.

"So there were two guns. The victim used one and the officer the other. The other attackers must have taken it with them." Alison nodded.

"Unfortunately, we only have the officer's description. Flack is looking for them but so far, no luck. But Hawkes and Stella are at the scene trying to find the bullet to the other gun." Alison's phone went off. "Hey, Lindsay, what up." She shot to her feet. "Okey, I'll be on my way."

"What's that about." Greg asked as she started grabbing her thing.

"Lindsay was clearing a homicide scene with Adam, and it just got linked to my off-duty cop case." Greg nodded.

"She can't clear it anymore because of Messer." Alison nodded, heading toward the door emptying her cup in the sink. "Ally." She stopped looking at him.

"I love you." She smiled.

"Love you too."

"Call me if you need any help."

"I won't, but thanks."

Alison slipped into the master bedroom where Greg was sleeping. She kicked her shoes off and quickly pulled on some shorts. Sleep that's all she wanted after the long week she had. Crawling into bed, she buried her face in her pillow. Greg rolled, overbrushing her arm with his hand.

"Hey, how'd it go." Alison looked over at him.

"As good as you can expect. The officer shot the man next to the one with the gun. Then threw Messer under the bus. Only to come around and tell the truth. The three cops that were with Messer lost their shield."

"What about Messer." Alison closed her eyes.

"He was cleared because he was knocked out when everything went down. But from what Lindsay said, the other officer was willing to throw him under the bus."

"That stinks."

"Lindsay thinks that he may turn in his stripes and become a detective again." Greg, who had closed his eye, snapped them open, pushing up on his forearms so he could better see her face.

"Are you serious?" Alison nodded.

"He didn't like the fact that they were all willing to place the blame on him. Using the fact that he was knock out for most of it." Greg flopped on his back, looking up at the ceiling.

"I don't know what I would do." Alison pushed up on her elbow.

"You would walk into Dad's office, look him straight in the eye and tell him you quit." Greg looked over at her.

"Yeah, and then I would be eating in the kitchen for the rest of my life." Alison tilted her head.

"Do you feel forced to stay a cop because of my family?"

"No, I love my job. But one day, I might not be able to do this job anymore." Alison looked down at the spot on the bed where his knee was.

"And when that happens, you can finally spend all your time writing." Greg smiled.

"Good plan. That way, Henry will keep me out of the kitchen."