"How have you been?" Maggie asked carefully, as Hayden had driven off into National City. She saw the sadness and fear in his eyes – obviously he was terrified.

Maybe he was scared they were coming after him next.

"Mom and dad are dead." Hayden whispered. "My sister lives in Australia, she took the first flight here but she'll only be here in a few hours. Maggie, I… I don't know what's going on."

"I'm looking into it, Hayden." Maggie nodded. "I'm going to get the bastard that did this to your parents."

"How am I supposed to tell my son that his grandparents were murdered? What did my mother have to do with it?!" Hayden covered his face with his hand. Maggie felt her heart clench – she'd crashed a car already today, she didn't need a do-over. "The road, Hayden. Focus."

When she saw that he'd at least kind of calmed down, she heaved a deep breath. "They're after me too. Whoever is doing it. So it must mean that we're onto something. Hayden, have you ever been on your father's boat when he wasn't around?"

"He told me to never go there."

"He's been working his cases there. Maybe your mother stumbled upon them and found them, that's why she had to be killed."

"Maggie…" Hayden turned down a road that headed to a much shadier part of town. She knew that Hayden lived in a nice apartment uptown, and that he was doing pretty good for himself. But seeing him now in the disheveled and crumpled state of grief and fear, it was hard to picture him a proud businessman. "… Something happened."

He pulled over the car with a jolt, and stopped the engine as he turned to her. "You need to believe me. Nobody else will."

"I do believe you, Hayden… W-what is it?" Maggie frowned.

The man ran a hand through his blonde hair. "I… I went inside my parents' house when they found my mother… I was looking for the gunsafe because they asked me to grab the firearm, and I found this inside."

He reached into the glove compartment, and pulled out a ziploc.

Maggie's stomach turned.

Four pieces of jewelry. A ring, two necklaces, and a set of earrings.

It didn't take the detective she was to figure out who they had belonged to.

Why did Ian have those crucial pieces of evidence?

"I can't go anywhere with this, they'll think my dad killed those women."

A thought struck Maggie.

How did Hayden know about those murders, if he claimed he knew nothing about what his father was up to?

She instinctively moved closer to the door, but jolted as Hayden started the car once again, driving off. "Where are we going?!"

"My wife has a gallery on Pico. We can talk there."

Why he didn't just drop her off at home, or go to talk at his place was beyond her.

But she knew better than to ask questions, especially when Hayden seemed terrified and paranoid. A dangerous combination for her to make a wrong move.

About a minute later, he pulled up to the sidewalk, and stopped the car. "It's just up ahead."

Maggie vaguely recognized the place, but she couldn't put her finger on where she'd seen it. She tried to get out of the car, but found the door to be locked.

"Uh… A little help?"

"Oh, right, sorry. Child lock, my son can be a real pain in the ass sometimes." Hayden smiled weakly as he got out, and pulled her door open from the outside. She got to her feet, and they walked over to the entrance of the gallery. It was late, but there was still a light on. Hayden unlocked the door with his key, and allowed her to go first.

"Babe?"

A voice came from the other side of the gallery, as Maggie looked around. The paintings felt very raw and emotional, though they were mostly abstract. Hayden walked behind the counter. "It's me, Jade."

The door behind the counter opened, and a woman appeared into the gallery.

"Maggie? What are you doing here?!"

Maggie frowned as she stared down a familiar face. She knew Jade. Jade was a friend of hers that she liked to hang out with at the alien bar, she didn't even know she was Ian's daughter-in-law. She was pretty sure a drunk evening a few months ago had led to them making out at some point, so her being married was a shock in general.

"Jade? Hi!" Maggie laughed, as Jade walked up from behind the counter.

"I was just wrapping up, Hayden. I told you I was coming home in a sec?"

"Yeah, this is… Unrelated. Maggie and I need a place to talk."

"And you couldn't do that… anywhere else?" Jade frowned. To be fair, Maggie felt the exact same way. She was as confused at Hayden's behavior as the other woman was.

"Don't worry about it." Was Hayden's reply.

Not good enough for either of them, but Jade at least seemed to give in. "Alright… I guess I'll see you at home then. Lock up behind you. It was nice to see you, Maggie."

Jade moved forward towards her, and winked. A quick glance behind her, and she leaned in, and kissed Maggie on the lips.

To say that the detective was caught off guard was an understatement. She was about to open her mouth and explain that she was in a committed relationship now, but Jade continued without a hitch.

"We should grab a drink soon, give me a call."

After that, she headed out the door, Maggie staring after her in shock.

Hayden waited until he was sure she was gone, and leaned forward, apparently oblivious to the kiss. "I don't want to drag her into it. We have our son, if something happens to me… I couldn't let him grow up without a mother too."

Maggie nodded, understanding the situation completely, as they took a seat on the designer chairs in the corner. "Hayden, if you're sure that your father had nothing to do with it, then why did he have their jewelry?"

"I don't know. But…" He rubbed at his face. "I can't make sense of it. He's not a murderer. He was always trying to see the good in people… He couldn't have ended those women's lives."

"Hayden, could I have some water?" Maggie asked, clearing her throat. "Sorry, I'm just…"

"Yeah, of course." He walked over to the counter, and headed into the door. Maggie reached for her new phone that had the photographs of the case files on them. Sure enough, scrolling through the autopsy reports indicated that there was jewelry found on the bodies, and put in the personal belongings.

So Ian must have obtained it at the morgue somehow. But what for?

Was Ian really the killer?

Oh god.

Maybe Holmes had figured out that Ian had killed those woman, and had threatened him to retire from the force after doing such a horrible thing, but when Ian didn't listen, he killed him and was coming for her next.

"I didn't find water, but I got you some coke."

She hadn't heard him come in, and jumped, but tried not to show how much he'd startled her when she accepted the glass. "Thanks."

She took a big gulp, and set the glass down onto the end table. "So, what are you thinking?"

"You're the only one that can help me, Maggie. You know my father is innocent. You're the only one on the force that I can trust."

"Why are you so sure?"

"That… Guy that came in to talk to me after my mother was found dead… The detective. Holmes, I think. There… there was something about him."

Maggie raised an eyebrow, as she felt her head spin. "Holmes? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, he was being an asshole. I can't prove anything, but I think he's tapping my phone. Maybe he bugged my apartment and car too, that's why I wanted to come here."

"But why would they tap you if you had nothing to do with it?" Maggie countered. "I mean, if your parents did something bad, or saw something bad, that's o-one thing. B-but…" Maggie felt herself trailing off, and frowned. Her voice slowed, and she felt like her throat was closing.

Her eyes drooped shut involuntarily, and her head bowed down. Shit, was she experiencing some more side effects from that weird knockoff alien drug she'd taken?

"H-Hayden… h-help me…" She moaned weakly, but the words were jumbled. Her vision was getting blurry, and it was becoming hard to breathe.

She could vaguely make out Hayden's shape in front of her, leaning closer towards her. Him calling out her name.

Then, she realized that something was seriously wrong.

Had he drugged her?

The coke…

Of course.

Water wouldn't mask the taste of drugs.

"You... I…" She garbled, before her eyes rolled backwards, and she toppled to the ground.

When Alex arrived back at her apartment, she frowned to see she was the first one there. The precinct was way closer, so Maggie should have been there by now.

She pressed her earpiece again. "Mags? Are you there?"

No reply. With a grunt, she realized that her girlfriend must have taken it out. She got that the other woman was frustrated, but needing to spend some time alone was highly unnecessary, especially when she knew that Alex was waiting for her.

Or maybe she had discovered something, and was caught up in investigating.

… Or maybe Holmes had found her at the precinct, and she was in trouble.

"Shit…" Alex panicked, reached for her phone and called Maggie, but it went to voicemail immediately, meaning that the phone was switched off. After trying the earpiece again, and concluding that Maggie had gone dark, Alex felt an uneasy feeling settle in her chest.

Her gut told her that something was off about the situation.

Without another thought, she threw the door open again, and raced back to her bike to drive to the precinct.