A/N: Thanks for continuing to read, review, and follow! I appreciate it. Some of the comments you've left definitely made me laugh. This chapter picks up where the last one left off. Hope you enjoy this update!

/

Relief flooded through Doug when the door to the interrogation room opened up and Marissa walked in.

"Marissa, thank you … thank you so much for coming. I swear I'm innocent. I have no idea what's going on."

The lawyer took a seat next to her client and patted his arm. "Take a breath. We're going to get to the bottom of this, okay?"

Doug took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay."

Marissa turned to Jesse and Brot who had sat down opposite them. "So, tell me what the hell is going on."

Jesse opened up the file folder they had started on Doug's case. "The best place to start is at the beginning. Now before we start, I'm going to be upfront with you. I'm going to tell you what we know, and then, I'm going to make a request. I'm hoping you'll agree to it because I honestly believe it's in the best interest of your client. We received a 911 call this morning about someone driving erratically around the elementary school. The caller gave us a description of the car as well as the license plate number. Brot responded to the call and saw a car matching that description with that license plate leave the school's parking lot. He pulled the car over and found Mr. Baldwin behind the wheel. A search of the car was done, with Mr. Baldwin's permission, and this was found." Jesse placed the baggie filled with drugs on the table. "Since your client claims no knowledge of them, we are currently working on identifying the pills. Brot conducted a field sobriety test which your client passed."

As she listened to Jesse lay out their case, Marissa jotted notes down on her legal pad. She knew where he was going, and before he made the request that she knew was coming, she stopped him. "Before we go any further, I would like to speak with client alone."

The policemen nodded and left the room without speaking any further.

Once they were alone, Marissa turned to Doug. "How are you doing?"

"I'm scared as hell, Marissa. I honestly don't know what's going on. Thanks for coming. Will you help me?"

"I'll do my best, but first, I need you to be honest with me. What do you know about those drugs?"

"Nothing! I swear! They're not mine, and I don't know where they came from. I had a cousin die from an overdose when I was younger. I stay away from that stuff. Besides all of that, I've got Amber to think about. She comes first. I wouldn't do anything that would put her in any type of danger. I let a lot of things slide by when Tammy and I were together. The things she did and said just wore me down over time, and I, for lack of a better word, hid. I stuck my head in the sand and didn't say anything, just let it go. As a result of my inaction, Amber was the one who lost, the one who paid the price. When I finally got my head out of my ass, I realized I had to change. I had to become a better person, a better father for her. She deserves no less. It took time and hard work for my daughter to trust me again, but she's worth it. Amber finally does trust me. Doing anything with drugs would simply destroy that trust and most likely damage our relationship beyond repair. I couldn't do that to her. I wouldn't do that to her."

Marissa listened to what Doug had said and observed how he said it. She could tell that he had spoken from the heart. "I believe you, but we're going to need more than that. When they come back in, Jesse is going to request a few things from you. Note that I said request. If we don't agree with those requests, he will ask for, and most likely receive, a warrant for them. I have no doubt that a judge will give him that."

"What's he want?"

"Your fingerprints, blood, DNA from a cheek swab, and possibly some hair. They'll want the fingerprints to see if they match any that are on the baggie or the pills. The cheek swab will give them a sample of your DNA to see if it matches any that may be found on the baggie. The blood and hair will help determine any history of drug use. Will they find anything? Will anything match up?"

"No, they won't. They can have it all."

"Alright. It will help your case if you agree to submit to these tests, and they don't need a warrant for them. They are also going to want to search your house. Whether or not they find anything is anyone's guess since someone was able to plant the drugs in your car. You keep your car locked, don't you?"

"I do. I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out how they got them in there. I guess you're right about the house. Although, I did have a new alarm system installed a week ago. It has cameras and everything."

"I have to ask, Doug. Do you have any idea who would do this to you? Any enemies that you know of?"

Doug shook his head. "I have no clue who would do this to me. As for enemies, I don't think I have any."

"Are you sure about that? What about Tammy?"

"You … you … you think she would do this? We were married. We have a child together. You don't honestly think that Tammy's behind this, do you? What about Amber? Would Tammy really do something like this?"

Marissa shrugged. "You were married. Look, you obviously know her better than I do. I do know, however, that the divorce was contentious, and she wasn't happy about losing custody."

"No, she wasn't, but this? This hurts Amber too."

"True, but Tammy may not be thinking about that. What I do know about her from my own personal experience is that she's not the most rational person sometimes, especially when it comes to people she thinks crossed her. She gets tunnel vision. Think about it. If you were to go to jail, she could file for custody of Amber again, and she could very well get it. Judges like to keep families together if it's at all possible. If you're in jail, that means Tammy is Amber's only biological parent available to care for her. That is a big plus in her column."

Doug sat in stunned silence as Marissa's words sunk in. He was having a hard time wrapping his head around the idea that the woman he had once shared his life with would do something like this to him.

A thought occurred to Marissa about Doug's car and how the drugs could have gotten in there. She had her clients turn over the keys to the house and car in addition to removing their names from deeds, bank accounts, and insurance policies. "Doug, did Tammy have a key to your car?"

"Yeah. We would use each other's from time to time."

"Did you get her copy back?"

Doug sat back and thought about what Marissa asked. "Yeah, I did."

Marissa sighed. That was not the answer she was hoping for.

"I'm probably one of the only people I know that has three keys to their car."

"What do you mean?"

"She lost a key to it when we were still together. We ended up having a copy made. You know, those are expensive to replace. It turns out that she didn't really lose it though. Amber actually found it when we were cleaning the garage about a month later. Wait." Doug paused as he was hit by a realization. "I only have two keys. I never did get her duplicate one back."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah, I am. I only have two keys. I'm positive."

"That's it then. That's most likely how the drugs got in your car."

"Oh my god. She really could've done this."

"It looks like it. You said you just got a new alarm system for your home. Is there any way she could have a key to your house or the code to the system?"

Doug shook his head. "I don't think so. She has supervised visitation so she's not alone with Amber, and Amber really doesn't take a key with her when she sees Tammy. And I honestly don't think that Amber would give her the code."

"Okay. I think our best course of action …"

Before Marissa could finish her thought, a notification sounded on Doug's cellphone. "What's that?"

"I have alerts sent to my phone if there's a problem with the alarm system. Something is going on at the house." It was at that moment that Doug received a phone call. "This is the alarm company. I better answer this."

While Doug was on the phone, Marissa started piecing together what she knew now by reviewing her notes. There was no denying that all signs pointed in one direction.

"Marissa, I think someone is trying to break into my house."

"Well, we're in the right place to report it. Stay here. I'm going to go talk to Jesse."

/

"You have a recording of the 911 call?"

Brot nodded. "I do, and I reviewed it. Someone was definitely trying to disguise their voice. The call itself came from a burner phone, but they were able to trace its location at the time the call was made to a coffee shop across the street from the school."

"Let's see if the shop has any security cameras and get that footage. Did you check with the school?" Jesse asked.

"I did, and we're trying to get that security footage. We might need some help on that front."

"You could always ask the District Attorney for help."

The two police officers turned in the direction of the voice that had just joined their discussion.

Jesse shook his head and smiled when he saw the D.A. "He's hard to get ahold of sometimes."

"That's because he's a very busy man." Mike Jensen grinned.

"Must not be that busy if he's loitering around the police station." Jesse smirked.

Mike laughed. "They let me out every once in a while. How's it going, Jesse, Brot?"

"I can't complain, Mike."

"Neither can I. It's good that you showed up. Brot caught an interesting case, and we can definitely use your legal input. Your office will be getting involved eventually anyway."

"Alright, I'll bite. Tell me about it." Mike said as he took a seat.

When Brot finished laying out the details of the case against Doug Baldwin, Mike remained silent for a few minutes while he mulled things over. All three men were seasoned professionals, and as such, they had each seen a great deal. They also recognized certain 'tells' that a guilty person had. Above all, the three had learned over the years that things were not often what they appeared to be.

"It seems pretty open and shut, maybe a little too open and shut. It seems too pat for me." Mike said.

Brot sighed in relief. "It's good to know that I'm not the only one who thinks that."

"I told you I agreed with you." Jesse stated.

"What do you need from me?"

Jesse looked at Mike. "We need the security footage from the school and the coffee shop, and we need to track down that cellphone. In addition to that, we may need a warrant to collect DNA from him if his lawyer instructs him not to volunteer it."

"Who's his lawyer?"

"I am." Marissa interrupted the men. "Before we go any further though, we've got a problem. Someone is currently trying to break into my client's home."

"How do you know that?" Brot asked.

"His alarm system sends a notification to his cellphone."

"Let's go check this out." Jesse said.

"Doug and I are coming with you." Marissa said as she followed the police chief out of his office. "Don't even bother saying we can't. We'll remain a safe distance away while you look for an intruder. No search of Doug's home will be conducted however without us there."

Mike shook his head. He recognized that look in her eyes. "Give it up, Jesse. You know as well as I do that you're not going to win this argument."

Jesse sighed. "Fine. You can come, but you're going to stay with an officer until I know that it's safe. Bianca will kill me if anything happens to you."

Marissa smiled. "True. She would." Bianca's not going to be too happy with me going over there myself. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it though because I've got to do this.

"You and your client can ride with me." Mike offered.

"Works for me. We can talk on the way over. I've got some information to share with you. I do believe that you're going to find what I have to tell you very interesting."

"After you then."

/

"So, your ex-wife has a key to your car?" Mike asked Doug as he glanced in his rearview mirror to where the man was sitting in the backseat.

Doug nodded. "Yeah, she does. I actually forgot all about having a duplicate made until Marissa started asking me questions."

"That could explain how the drugs got in the car."

Marissa turned in the passenger seat to look at Mike as he drove. "So, you think something else is going on?"

"I do. It's too pat, too neat."

"Yeah, you really have to question when a case is given to you with a nice, big bow on it. Things like this are never that simple or easy. They're usually messy. That's something Jesse and Brot know all too well."

Mike nodded. "It is, and Mr. Baldwin should be very grateful that they do. Otherwise, he would be in a jail cell right now."

"He appreciates that."

"I do. I really do. I still can't believe she would do this without giving a thought as to how this would affect Amber."

"Mike, this is obviously going to take some time to sort through. Do you think we should arrange for someone to get Amber from school?" Marissa asked.

"That's probably a good idea."

"Doug, if you want, Bianca could take Amber back to our place."

"I would really appreciate that. I'll give the school a call, and let them know to release Amber to Bianca."

"While you're doing that, I'll call Bianca. Once I'm done talking to her, Mike, I want you to tell me about that 911 call."

"No problem. When we get back to the station, I'll have them play it for you. Tell Bianca I said hi."

/

"I need to take this. It's Marissa."

"Go ahead, sweetheart. Vikki and I will be fine."

Bianca nodded and moved across the office for some privacy. "Hey. How's it going?"

"Hey. It's … You know, I don't really know to be honest."

"Is Doug under arrest?"

"No, he's not."

"Well, that's good, isn't it?"

"Yeah, yeah, it is. It's really hard to describe what's going on right now. I'm still trying to make sense of it myself."

"If anyone can figure this out, it's you. I know it."

Marissa chuckled. "Thank you. You do wonders for my ego and confidence. Oh, Mike says hi."

"Mike Jensen? Interesting that you've got the D.A. right there. Tell him I said hi."

"I will. The reason I'm calling is that this is going to take some time to sort out. When you're getting the kids, could you get Amber as well and take her back to our place? Doug will pick her there when we're done."

"Sure. I'd be happy to. Did he let the school know?"

"He's calling them now."

"Okay. Tell him not to worry about her. I'll take good care of her."

"I know you will. Oh, how's it going with your Mom and Vikki?"

"Pretty well actually. Between me and you, I'm really surprised."

"You and me both, but miracles happen. Okay, I better go. I'll call you as soon as I know more. I love you."

"I love you too."

When Bianca ended her call, she rejoined the other women. Erica glanced at her daughter. "How is everything?"

"Confusing. Doug's not under arrest yet which is good, but they're with the District Attorney. I'm not sure if that's good or bad. Rissa said they're still sorting things out, and it could take a while. So, I'm going to take Amber home with us when I pick up the kids, and Doug will just pick her up from there."

"Knowing his daughter is safe will take a weight off his mind." Vikki said.

"I hope so. Back to business here. Where were we?"

"There is only one thing left for us to decide, sweetheart. Where do we make the announcement, here in Pine Valley or in Llanview?"

"Why do I have the feeling that you'll pick the place that will bother Dorian the most?" Bianca smirked.

Erica chuckled. "That is because you are my daughter and are very smart. What is your opinion?"

"Well, if you have it here, there is less of a chance of her finding out in advance. From what I remember, Dorian does not like to be blindsided."

"No, she most certainly does not. She loathes it. You're definitely your mother's daughter, Bianca."

Erica smiled proudly. "Yes, she is. Pine Valley, it is then."

Vikki nodded as she added the final point to the legal pad that contained all of their previously negotiated points. "I agree. Now, we just need to get this formalized."

"I can give that to Rissa tonight, and she can draw it up for you." Bianca volunteered.

"Excellent!" Vikki checked the time. "Could I interest either of you in lunch?"

"I'm free. Bianca?"

"I have time."

"Where do you recommend?" Vikki asked.

"The Yacht Club. That will give us some privacy so we talk further." Erica suggested as she led the women out of the office.