It may have been too much to ask for but Shepard was really hoping that his shift would start off without any reminders of what happened the previous day. Alas that was not to be. After meeting Garrus in the parking lot and walking into HQ together, Shepard noticed he was the focus of every officer they passed. The only upside was that none of them were giving him disapproving or mean glares. Instead everyone was giving him sympathetic looks. This at least proved to Shepard that there wasn't a single officer who believed the executor's press release about what happened at the Citadome. But this didn't earn the officers any respect from Shepard because none of them would challenge the executor on the matter. Only Garrus, Bailey and T'Parro were willing to help him fight for his job and hopefully that would be enough.

The situation didn't improve when they reached the bullpen. While the eyes of the other detectives were not on Shepard, they were instead looking up towards Bailey's office. A loud commotion could be heard coming from there. The door was closed so no one could understand what was being said, or rather shouted. Though Shepard thought it sounded like only one voice making all the noise and it wasn't Bailey's.

Deciding there was no point in wasting time waiting to see who came out of Bailey's office, Shepard and Garrus headed for their desks with the intention of getting to work on the case. When they got there, they found a new box sitting on Shepard's desk but this one was filled with stuff and none of it belonged to Shepard. It then became clear who was in Bailey's office and why they were so angry. Their theory was proven correct when Bailey's office door opened and Kadarus came storming out.

"SHEPARD!" Kadarus shouted. "DO NOT GET COMFORTABLE! That is my desk and I intend to use it as soon as I get things straightened out with the commander!"

"There is nothing to straighten out Kadarus!" Bailey said as he stepped out of his office, "I have not received any orders saying that you've been promoted to my squad and I certainly haven't promoted you. As far as I know, you're still a patrol officer and that desk belongs to Detective Shepard."

"Commander, the executor himself said that he was going to approve my promotion! I'm supposed to start as your new detective and Shepard is supposed to be out of here."

"Kadarus I've had it up to here with your insubordination!" Bailey scolded while holing has hand high above his head, "Detective Shepard is a superior officer and you should be addressing him like one."

"But Commander…!"

"Now for the last time, this matter is closed. Detective Shepard and his partner have work to do. All the other detective in this bullpen have work to do. Hell, I have work to do and I think we'll all be a lot more productive as soon as you get out of here."

Kadarus seemed ready to challenge Bailey but a quick glance around the bullpen convinced him otherwise. Every detective in the bullpen was loyal to Bailey and Kadarus knew that any further protest from him might lead to everyone charging him and tossing him out. He probably wouldn't even get away with throwing one more mean look at Shepard. With no other options, Kadarus stormed towards the exit. He waited until he was standing in the doorway before stopping and turning around.

"Just wait until the executor hears about this!" He shouted and then he walked out of the bullpen.

The other detectives went back to work in an attempt to act like nothing had happened. Shepard and Garrus looked towards Bailey expecting that he was going to summon them to his office. To their surprise, he didn't ask from them to come up. Instead he just made a gesture to that indicated the two of them needed to work quickly. This worried Shepard and Garrus a little bit. Bailey had promised they had the whole day to work the case but maybe Kadarus' threat to go to the executor was going to make it hard to keep his promise. With their window of opportunity threatening to get smaller, Shepard and Garrus practically ran to their desks and the murder board.

A few minutes later, Shepard and Garrus were seated at their desks looking at the newly rearranged and updated murder board. The biggest change they made to the board was putting a picture of Lyle Wilkinson under a line that read "PERSONS OF INTEREST". They were strongly tempted to put it under the "SUSPECTS" line but they chose against it. While there was no doubt in Shepard and Garrus' mind that Wilkinson was involved, they couldn't say for sure if he committed the murder himself or if he had sent someone like Maul, the brutish krogan security chief, do it for him. But how to prove it one way or the other? The answer to that was hidden in the unanswered question that was written and circled on the board: "WHAT WAS THE SECRET?"

"You know what I think," said Shepard, "I'll bet that the secret involves something illegal. Once we find out what it is, we can bring in all the guilty parties. Then we'll negotiate a deal for whichever one identifies Shara's killer."

"This is ridiculous," Garrus said seemingly not hearing Shepard's idea, "the answer to this whole case is at the Citadome. We need to get in there and make someone talk."

"I hear you Garrus but you heard what Bailey said about how Vala will file charges against us if we go near the Citadome."

"Who cares about that?! They can't do anything to us if we violate it! You're a Spectre for crying out loud!"

Shepard gave Garrus a disapproving stare, "Garrus you better not be suggesting what I think you're suggesting."

"I wish I wasn't Shepard but you have to admit that we're running out of options here."

"Forget it Garrus," Shepard said as stood up from his chair, "I'm aware that my Spectre status gives me free rein to carry out missions however I want. But that doesn't mean I should use it whenever I want. We've both met Spectres who've abused that freedom and look what happened to them. And do I need to remind you about what happened when a certain crazy woman thought I abused my power to get away with killing her sister?"

The reference to Dana Thompson caused Garrus' face to fall, "sorry Shepard. You're right. I shouldn't have suggested it."

"It's okay, partner. The point is, I swore to myself that I would only invoke my Spectre status under two conditions. Either because the situation is a matter of life and death or because we've fully exhausted all other options."

Garrus nodded, "well then, since we both don't want you to invoke your status, let's see if there's an option that we've missed."

The two detectives turned their attention back to the board. Ultimately it was a note written under a section marked "EVIDENCE" that the light bulb went off. Shara's terminal. With everything that happened since the incident at the Citadome, they had completely forgotten to check to see if the crime scene techs were finally able to crack the encryption on Shara's terminal. Garrus pulled up his email and, sure enough, there was a new message from the senior technician. In the message, the technician explained they had managed to gain access to Shara's email and attached the most recent incoming and outgoing messages for Shepard and Garrus to look over. Garrus' eyes widened and he frantically gestured for Shepard to join him at his terminal. There was an unfinished draft of a message that Shara was writing the night she was killed. The part that had made Garrus excited was the fact that it was addressed for the biotiball league's commissioner.

"Spirits," he said, "looks like you might be right Shepard about the secret involving something illegal. I can't imagine a biotiball team's head of promotions writing to the head of the entire league for anything less."

Shepard nodded in agreement while he and Garrus continued reading the message.

Commissioner,

I wish I didn't have to send you this message but what I have to tell you is too important.

My job as the Citadel Peacekeepers' head of promotions is help promote support for the team. It's not an easy task when you consider the team's performance the last few years. But we still manage to draw crowds to the games. Not big crowds but crowds nonetheless. And yet, even though we're not selling out as many games as we'd like, the organization still gives my team a big budget to use for coming up with our promotion ideas. While I'm grateful because we would have never come up with our best ideas without such a generous budget, a part of me couldn't help but wonder how the organization was able to afford to give us so much money. I was concerned that the organization may have been accidentally taking much needed money from other budgets so I took it upon myself to investigate the matter.

Now, I would like to be clear that I'm well aware that some of the actions I took during my investigation may be considered immoral and potentially illegal. However I feel that the end justifies the means. After several nights of staying late at the Citadome and sneaking into offices to look at the books, I've uncovered how the organization has managed to stay afloat despite repeated disappointing seasons. They

Shepard and Garrus' shoulders slumped when the message abruptly ended. They were so close to finding out the secret but Shara had been interrupted before she could write it down. The killer must have arrived at Shara's home when she got to that point in the message. Still it was a good thing that Shara had locked her terminal before she let her killer into her home. Otherwise the killer would have seen the message and erased it. The message may not have revealed the whole secret to them but finding it had given Shepard and Garrus a narrow scope of what the secret involved.

"So the secret involves money," Garrus pondered out loud, "you know I hadn't given it much thought but it is curious how the Peacekeepers are able to put on such extravagant promotions. Shara was right about how they haven't been selling out games for awhile and I can't see their sponsors contributing enough to cover all their expenses."

"Do you think we can get a warrant for us to look at their finances?" Shepard asked.

Garrus let out a painful hiss, "we could try but the majority of the judges I know are Peacekeeper fans. It's going to be tough to find one who will believe that their favorite team is up to something illegal. Plus I'm sure that Vala has some legal connections. She might find out about our efforts to get a warrant and get it shut down by filing the harassment charges. Unless we can be specific about what crime we believe the Peacekeepers have committed, Vala's charge will trump our warrant request."

Shepard was ready to throw his arms up in frustration when something on Garrus' terminal caught his attention. Among the other messages that were sent to him and Garrus to look over, there was an outgoing message Shara had sent to someone whose name Shepard recognized. He went back to his desk and pulled up the message on his terminal. It was brief but there was enough in it to stun Shepard into silence. Concerned by Shepard's sudden silence, Garrus tried to get his attention. Instead of acknowledging Garrus' call, Shepard typed a few more commands on his terminal. When he got the response he wanted, he pulled out his sidearm and headed for the exit.

"Shepard!" Garrus called while hurrying to grab his own weapon and follow Shepard out. "What's going on? What did you find?"

"One of the messages Shara sent was to someone we've spoken too," Shepard said after stopping to face Garrus, "he told me that he had no idea what the big secret Shara uncovered was. But the message I found proves that he lied to me."

Kaban Jeel rolled over in his bed and his eyes caught a glimpse of the clock on his nightstand. His eyes widened when he registered what time it was. He had overslept and he was at risk of being late arriving at the Citadome. All he had time to do before walking out the door was change out of his pajamas and into his uniform. Not even bothering to stop for a quick breakfast in the kitchen, Kaban instead went for the door that would take him out of his apartment. The door opened and Kaben froze when he saw who was standing on the other side.

Standing in a position that prevented Kaben from walking out the door were Shepard and Garrus. The two detectives had their arms crossed and were giving Kaban angry stares. Immediately Kaban realized why the detectives were there to see him and he took the first step in an attempt to run away. That one step was all he was able to take as Shepard and Garrus charged into the apartment and grabbed a hold of him. While Shepard closed the door, Garrus led Kaban into the kitchen and forced him into one of the dining chairs. Kaban tried to stand back up but Garrus held him down.

"Sit down!" Garrus scolded, "my partner and I need to talk to you."

"You shouldn't be here," Kaban said frantically, "Vala told everyone in the organization that she would file charges against you two if you two kept poking around."

"You're right," Shepard said once he joined the two in the kitchen, "she did threaten to file harassment charges. But we were told that we couldn't go back to the Citadome. Vala didn't say anything about us not being allowed to question people at their homes."

Kaban rolled his eyes, "you really think Vala will care about that distinction."

Garrus shrugged his shoulders, "maybe, maybe not. But I personally think she'll be more mad at you than at us. After all, if you hadn't lied to my partner, we wouldn't even be here right now."

"What are you talking about?! Detective Shepard, I told you that Shara was my friend and that I wanted to help you bring her killer to justice. Why would I lie to you?"

Shepard stepped towards Kaban and got up to his face, "I don't know why you would lie to me Kaban. But the fact of the matter is that you did. You told me that Shara wouldn't answer you when you asked about why she missed the meeting regarding the Starfire promotion. This morning we were able to log in to Shara's terminal and we found this message that she sent to you."

Pulling out a datapad, Shepard held it up for Kaban to read. Kaban initially wouldn't look at what was displayed on the screen. It was only when Garrus forced his head to face the screen that Kaban read the message. With each word, Kaban read, his face gradually filled with guilt.

Kaban,

It's time. I've gathered all the evidence I need. Tonight I'm sending everything to the commissioner. By this time tomorrow, everyone will know the truth. To be so close to the end, I have to say I was almost tempted to keep my date night with Torro to celebrate. But as the humans say, you should never put the cart before the horse. I just hope Torro will forgive me when I'm finally able to explain why I've been distant the past couple of weeks.

You know, I almost didn't want to tell you about what I was working on. As much as I wish I could say that it was because I wanted to protect you, the truth is it was because I wasn't entirely sure if you were involved in this mess or not. The genuine worry I saw in your eyes when you expressed concern for my well-being convinced me I was wrong not to trust you. You've been a good friend to me since we joined the organization together and I should have known better that you would never be a part of something like this. I guess what I'm trying to say is thank you for being my friend and confidant this past week.

Well I need to go. I'm just getting ready to head back to my apartment. Wish me luck.

Shara

"If Shara really had not told you about what she was working on," Shepard said when he was sure Kaban was done reading, "why would she call you her confidant."

"No more games Kaban," Garrus said while joining Shepard in front of Kaban, "what was the big secret that Shara uncovered about the Peacekeepers?"

Kaban's eyes went back and forth between the two detectives. It was clear that in his head he was going back and forth trying to decide whether to talk. Soon enough, he realized that the result was going to be bad whether he talked or not. Going with what he viewed as the lesser of two evils, he bowed his head and spoke in a soft tone.

"The games are fixed."

Shepard and Garrus' eyes widened.

"I'm sorry…what did you say?" Shepard asked to confirm that he and Garrus heard correctly.

"The games are fixed. Shara found out that Lyle had been placing bets with a bookmaker. You both are aware that for the past few seasons, the Peacekeepers have been the favorite to win the championship. The majority of gamblers then place their bets in favor of us doing just that. But Lyle has his bookmaker place bets for him in favor of the opposite outcome. Then the coaches and players who are in on the scam intentionally choke during the final games. We lose the championship but Lyle wins a huge payday from the bookmaker."

"Spirits," said Garrus, "all this time people thought it was the curse that was causing the Peacekeepers to lose. Hell even I thought it was the curse. It should have occurred to me that the team was too good to lose the way they did, curse or no curse."

"Wait a minute," Shepard said, "there's one thing that doesn't make sense. Wilkinson is making a killing betting against his own team but what about the organization? Eventually all these loses are going to hurt game attendance. How can he afford the hit to his organization's finances so he can make a personal profit."

"Easy," said Kaban, "it's not his money he's using to place the bets."

Shepard and Garrus puzzled over what Kaban meant when the answer hit them. Wilkinson was using the organization's money. The secret Shara, and now Shepard and Garrus, uncovered continued to get worse. Not only was Wilkinson placing illegal bets against his own team but now it was discovered he embezzled money from his own organization to do so. The two detectives now had the full picture of how the scheme would operate.

Wilkinson would place the bets against the Peacekeepers through his bookmaker using the organization's money. Given how Wilkinson was going to fix the games to guarantee he won, it wouldn't have surprised Shepard and Garrus if Wilkinson was bold enough to bet every single credit the organization had. With the odds being heavily stacked in favor of the Peacekeepers winning, the more money Wilkinson put down would result in an even bigger payout. The size of the payout would easily be enough to not only payback the money Wilkinson embezzled, but it could also pay off all the people involved in throwing the games and give the organization itself a profitable year regardless of their attendance during the season. No wonder Wilkinson could afford to give Shara's promotions team a generous budget. The scary thing was even with all those things paid off, Wilkinson would still have enough left over to give himself a huge personal profit. Easy to do though when it wasn't his money he was using to gamble with.

Things would have continued to go smoothly for Wilkinson if it hadn't been for Shara looking a gift horse in the mouth and wondering how she was being given a generous budget every year. If she had been able to send her discovery to the commissioner, a lot of people, including Wilkinson would have received either fines, loss of jobs and/or prison sentences. On top of all that, the Peacekeeper's reputation would have been damaged so badly it would likely take years to recover. It was everything Shepard and Garrus needed to show that Wilkinson had motive to want Shara dead.

"How did Wilkinson find out though?" Garrus asked, "Shara was being extremely secretive about what she was investigating. She wouldn't even tell her boyfriend or her best friend about it. The only person she told was…"

Garrus stopped talking as he and Shepard threw accusing glares at Kaban.

"No…no!" Kaban stammered. "I swear I didn't tell anyone about Shara's investigation! Detective Shepard, the reason I didn't tell you what I knew was because I figured if they were able to find out about Shara, they could easily find out that I knew what she knew and come after me next."

Kaban's answer as to why he didn't tell Shepard the truth did seem logical. While Kaban and Shara were friends, they may not have been close friends like Shara and Jala were. Thus Kaban wouldn't have felt strongly about risking his life to help Shara. Still the question of how someone else caught on to Shara investigating the Peacekeepers was left unanswered.

"Garrus," Shepard said, "I know you had no reason to look for anything like this but when you were in Wilkinson's office, did you happen to spot any hidden surveillance equipment."

Garrus' eyes widened as a memory came to him, "now that you mention it, my visor did detect a couple of hidden cameras. I didn't think anything of it at the time because a lot of rich people don't want people in their private office when they aren't around. But if Shara wasn't aware of that and she broke into Wilkinson's office looking for clues, it would have tipped him off to what she was doing."

"Lyle always was a bit paranoid if you ask me," said Kaban, "I wasn't aware of the camera's but I remember when he redid his office so that electronic transmissions couldn't get in or out. Until Shara told me what she uncovered, I couldn't understand why he was afraid of people intercepting his calls and emails."

Another puzzle piece fell into place. Both Shepard and Garrus had been struggling to understand why Garrus' comm. didn't pick up any of the moment during the operation when Kadarus went rogue. If Wilkinson's office really was shielded so transmissions couldn't get in or out, that would explain why it was only after Garrus left the office that the chaotic chatter overwhelmed his comm. Though Wilkinson probably didn't have the comm. interference accounted for in his plan to frame Napier, it did help get the outcome he wanted.

"Listen," Kaban continued, "there's one other thing. Yesterday, before I talked to Detective Shepard, I overheard Maul telling another security guard that Lyle was concerned that you two were getting close uncovering his scheme. He wanted Maul to have security to arranvge for all sensitive data to be copied and sent to a secure location and wipe the originals. I guess he wanted to be sure that there would be no evidence for you two to find if you continued your investigation."

"Which means we need to move if we want to get there before all the evidence is gone," Garrus said as he headed for the door, "bring Kaban with us Shepard. Once he tells Bailey all of this, we should have everything we need to get a warrant for the Citadome."

"But Garrus," Shepard replied, "we don't know how many people in the Peacekeeper organization is in on Wilkinson's scheme. If there's a lot of them, they may decide to fight us rather than cooperate with us. I think we can assume Maul would definitely choose the former."

Garrus nodded and gave Shepard a sly smile, "that's why we're also going to request for the SRD to join us."