Chapter 29:

After dinner, Sharon and Flynn sat in the living room with Cat. Rusty took the laptop to his room so he can do his homework, and closed the door behind him.

"So, Lieutenant Flynn…" Cat started.

"Andy," he corrected her.

"So, Andy, how did it start, your relationship?" she asked in a seemingly innocent voice. She knew that this question would embarrass them both, and especially her mother, but she had to ask, just for the fun of it.

"Uh…" he muttered, looking at Sharon for help, but she said nothing. He couldn't say the truth, about their relationship starting on the physical side. "We were friends at first," he said eventually, hoping that it would satisfy her and they can change the subject.

"I didn't know you had friends, Mom," Cat smiled at Sharon, who smiled coldly at her. "So, what, the two of you hung out as friends and it slowly turned into something romantic?"

"Yeah. Something like that," he said.

"Right…" Cat said slowly and they both knew she didn't believe him.

"Honey, when are you moving out?" Sharon asked with a sarcastic smile. She didn't sound angry, but Cat knew it was a hint for her to stop.

"Soon, Mother, soon," she said dramatically and Flynn smiled. He couldn't believe how different the two women were. Besides their eyes, which were exactly the same, they had nothing in common.

Both of Flynn and Sharon's iPhones rang at the same time. She grabbed hers from the table and Flynn pulled his out of his pocket. "It's work," he muttered.

"Mine too," Sharon said, and then looked at Cat and added, "be quiet." Her voice was somewhat threatening and Cat nodded silently as Sharon got up and walked to the kitchen so she can talk without Flynn being heard in the background.

(***)

"What happened here?" Sharon asked as she reached the yellow tape that enclosed the crime scene, and saw Sykes.

"A young male was shot in the head on the street. No witnesses so far."

Sharon looked around her, frowning. "Aren't we close to Buzz' house?"

"Yes, Captain," she heard a voice to her right and turned her head to see Buzz. "I know it's gonna sound weird, but… I think this is the guy who shot Adama."

"Wait, what?" Sharon asked, "I thought you didn't see his face."

"It all happened really fast, so I couldn't describe it at the time. But I'm pretty sure that's him. I've been dreaming about him a lot," he lowered his voice on the last sentence, as if he was ashamed of it.

"Okay," Sharon said gently and entered the crime scene under the yellow tape. Tao walked towards her and they met in the middle.

"Captain, we just found the victim's ID in the trash. His name was Andres Alves and he was 19," he showed her the ID and she nodded just as Provenza joined them.

"This does look a lot like the hit on Adama," she said pensively. "In the middle of the street without leaving evidence of witnesses behind."

"Only there WAS a witness back then," Provenza said grumpily as always.

"Yes, but the killer probably knew that Buzz didn't see anything, or he would've killed him too," she said slowly.

"Maybe he ran away because he didn't know what to do with Buzz. He was only 19 and probably didn't have much experience," Tao said. "Judging by the look of it, the killer on this murder seems much more mature," he pointed towards the body a few yards away and Sharon saw a gun next to it, on the ground. "The victim was shot with this gun, which, I'm assuming belonged to him. We probably won't find the killer's finger prints on it."

"Let's check the bullets and see if there's a match between this murder and Adama's," Sharon said and Tao nodded before going away.

"Captain, if this guy really is Adama's killer, I think we're looking at the lowest link of a long chain. This is just the tip of the iceberg," Provenza said quietly.

"I agree. We need to call agent Howard again," she said and saw Flynn arriving in his car. He waited a few minutes before departing so they arrive at different times.

"Oh, come on, Captain," Provenza sounded annoyed.

"Don't worry. This time I'll insist on taking part in the investigation. This story has to end," she thought about Richard and wondered if she was right about him having something to do with the cartel that Fritz told them about not too long ago, the one that links the three unsolved murders of the first victim, who remained anonymous, Adama and now this murder.

Provenza stared at the body for a moment as Sharon pondered Richard and the cartel. "If this really is Adama's killer… that's what I call poetic justice," he said quietly and Sharon nodded absent-mindedly.