Thank you so much to every single person who read, reviewed, favorited, followed, and supported the first chapter! I can't begin to express how much it means to me! I'm overwhelmed by the response to this story. Without further ado, here's the next chapter.

I do not own Major Crimes or any of the fabulous characters.


Chapter Two

The revelation that the note could be from the killer instead of the victim, unfortunately, didn't provide any additional clarity. Sharon's history with men was not very extensive. And as much of a nuisance as Jackson Raydor was, he wasn't a murderer and she hadn't been "his" for a short period of time. She sat in her office carefully retracing every detail of every relationship, even casual ones, that she could remember while she waited for her team to return to the murder room. She was hoping to intercept Andy before he heard about the note secondhand.

As the team began filing in a few minutes later, Sharon realized that she was too late. She could tell by the expression on Andy's face that he knew. After leaving her office to join her team, she watched as they got to work on the murder board. Their victim, listed simply as "John Doe", had yet to be identified, and Sharon hoped that particular detail would provide some answers. In the meantime, she studied the crime scene picture Julio pinned to the board trying to find any trace of familiarity, something she might have missed in the morgue. She came up empty. Mike returned a few minutes later wearing an excited expression and carrying a piece of paper.

"Devon Sinclair. 45. Divorced. Has a record. Mostly minor things, but I did find something interesting buried a bit deeper," he announced. All eyes were focused on him except Sharon's. She was lost in thought. Devon Sinclair, why was that name so familiar?

"Well, don't make us beg, Tao! What'd you find?" Provenza asked annoyed. Mike looked excited as he pinned up the photo and turned back towards the group.

"Mr. Sinclair used to be an LAPD informant until he screwed over the detective he was assigned to," Mike explained. Provenza's brow creased in confusion.

"Screwed him over how?" He asked.

"Devon Sinclair cost an LAPD detective his badge," Sharon said suddenly, realization bringing certain memories flooding back. She had never met the man, but she had read his statement many times. Everyone turned in her direction. She sighed. "Detective Lerner from Vice. He had worked hard to cultivate that relationship. But he made a few promises he shouldn't have and when he couldn't deliver, Mr. Sinclair betrayed him. He turned him in, and the resulting investigation led to the detective losing his job," she explained.

"Well, he certainly has motive," Amy stated. Sharon shook her head.

"The former detective is dead," Sharon said sadly. Provenza looked at her knowingly before turning towards the group.

"The job was everything to Lerner. When he lost it, he took his own life. Left a wife and young child behind," Provenza filled in the gaps. Silence momentarily fell over the room. The case had been a tough one for Sharon. At the time, she had thought the punishment was too severe, but the LAPD had been cracking down on Vice.

"When was this?" Amy asked suddenly. Sharon thought about it for a moment.

"Fifteen years ago," she stated evenly.

"So why kill the guy now?" Amy asked, confusion written on her face.

"Maybe it has nothing to do with this Lerner stuff," Andy offered before looking at Sharon. "Unless, of course, you were involved with him," he added tersely. Yup, he definitely knew about the note. She knew he was only reacting to her betrayal, but his insinuation that she would carry on an affair with a married man still stung.

"My only involvement was as the lead investigator on his IA inquiry," she said devoid of emotion. Andy internally chastised himself for allowing his emotions to color his behavior. He was being an ass and he needed to rein it in.

"Well, then, I think we can rule out Lerner. What about anyone else involved with the case, Captain? Lawyers, other investigators, friends of Lerner?" Provenza offered, and she knew he was only trying to help work through the case, but she was starting to grow uneasy about her personal life taking front and center in the investigation.

"Not that I know of, Lieutenant," she answered simply. He nodded. As the rest of the team sorted through what little evidence and leads they had, Sharon retreated to her office. She pulled up the LAPD's archive on her computer and began a cursory look into the case she had spent many years trying to forget.


Sharon eventually made her way down to archives and started reviewing the old case files on the Lerner investigation. She buried herself in the investigation that had continued to haunt her. After her IA team had found that Lerner abused his position as a member of the LAPD for promising Sinclair certain things without permission, the review board had made the decision to fire him. He showed up in her office spitting venom. She wanted to tell him that she disagreed with the decision to fire him, but it wasn't her place, and she wouldn't speak out of turn. So, she allowed him to vent his anger on her. Allowed him to blame her for every single thing that had gone wrong in his life. And she watched as he stormed out in a fit of rage. That was the last time she saw him. Less than two weeks later, he was dead.

She was so engrossed in the case files that she didn't hear the footsteps approaching at a rapid rate. By the time she realized she wasn't alone, the other person was right there next to her. She startled when she looked up and found Sergeant Gilroy standing over her. She stood up from the stool she was using as a chair and greeted the man she used to work with in IA. He hadn't followed her to FID, so she hadn't seen him in quite some time.

"Sorry, Captain. I didn't mean to scare you. Your squad called to ask me a few questions about the Lerner case and they told me you were down here. Figured I could lend a hand," he explained with a friendly smile.

"Of course. It's weird, I've spent so much time trying to put this case behind me, and now I have to try to recall every detail," she said while shaking her head.

"Yeah, this was a tough one. I remember the toll it took on you, especially," he recalled. She gave him a sad smile.

"So you heard about Devon Sinclair," she asked, but it was more of a statement. He nodded.

"Gosh, I still remember the night we got the call. The night Sinclair came into the station peddling his story," he said a bit lost in memory. "If I remember correctly, you weren't answering your phone," he laughed. She smiled. Ah, yes, that night.

It was a Friday night and her kids were out with friends. Her friend David had invited himself over with the promise of wine and their favorite movie. That was the night they ended up making out on her couch before she took him upstairs to her bedroom. It was the night their friendship crossed into intimacy, something it continued to do for several weeks. When Gilroy had called her house, they were in the middle of that intimacy. By the time he called the third time, she had composed herself enough to answer the phone.

"Hmmm... Yes, I was in bed," she recalled. It wasn't exactly a lie. She had been in bed, but she was doing a lot of things other than sleeping.

"Yeah, heavy sleeper, if I remember correctly," he laughed, but Sharon was no longer listening. Suddenly, something occurred to her that she had failed to consider before Gilroy jogged her memory.

"You have been a huge help, Sergeant," she said, gathering her files and heading for the elevator.

"Oh, really?" He asked confused. He began to follow her.

"Yes, I just remembered something that might be helpful," she replied before stepping into the elevator. He followed her wondering how he could have been helpful without even cracking open a case file.


Sharon sat in electronics watching as Provenza and Andy interviewed their victim's ex-wife. They had been in the middle of the interview when she returned to the murder room ten minutes ago, so she hadn't had a chance to share what she had remembered down in archives. Once the very unsuccessful interview was over, she made a beeline for her lieutenants.

"Andy, will you and Lieutenant Provenza join me in my office please," she requested as she crossed the murder room and headed in that direction. She didn't exactly want to share the information with Andy considering the shaky ground they were on after this morning, but she certainly didn't want to keep him out of the loop again. She still needed to talk to him about that, but this was more pressing. The two lieutenants entered her office and sat down in the chairs in front of her desk.

"While I was down in archives, Sergeant Gilroy said something that triggered a memory," she explained. They both looked at her expectantly. "I don't know if it's related or not, but I had a close friend at the time, and this case took up most of my time. Before it was over, he wasn't exactly speaking to me. It ended up ruining our friendship," she concluded. She had noticed the way Andy looked away when he learned this close friend was a "he".

"How close, Captain?" Provenza pried. She looked down, refusing to make eye contact.

"Close," she stated simply.

"So it was more than a friendship," Provenza concluded, and Andy studied Sharon.

"It wasn't a relationship," she said. "But it was... intimate," she explained. Andy didn't react. She hated the fact that he was finding out about all of this like this. It wasn't as if either thought the other had been celibate, but the way her personal life was so entangled in this case was making her feel uneasy about her past as well as her present relationship. She wanted to pull him aside and explain everything, but the nature of their case just wasn't allowing her to do so.

"How intimate?" Andy asked, and Sharon finally met his gaze.

"Like I said, it wasn't a relationship and we certainly weren't in love. But if you're asking me whether we slept together, then yes, we did," she replied, trying to hide the emotion in her voice. She couldn't tell what Andy was thinking and that bothered her because the man was usually an open book.

"Captain, could he have been in love with you?" Provenza asked gently. She shrugged.

"I didn't think so at the time, but in light of recent events, I suppose anything is possible," she admitted. Both men studied her.

"Okay, then I guess we'll have to have a talk with your old friend, Captain," Provenza said sympathetically.

"I've already called him. He's on his way".

TBC