A shuffling noise in front of her finally made her look up, as she watched Holmes slide a photograph into her direction.
"This was sent to my department a few hours ago."
Maggie tilted her head to see the picture. It was her, standing in the alley and sticking the note onto the dumpster, the blood splattered all around her. Of course somebody had seen her.
Holmes eyed her. "So why don't you start at the beginning, and tell me why you murdered Ian."
"I didn't." Maggie replied hoarsely. "I wouldn't hurt Ian."
"But you'd murder his son?" Holmes raised an eyebrow. "Sawyer, you're looking at the rest of your life in a cell, if not worse. I have zero patience left for you and whatever you've been up to, because in my eyes, you're guilty of murdering Ian, his wife and his son, not to mention those four murders in 2012. So you better start talking, before I stop listening."
"I have nothing to tell you, Holmes. I don't remember what happened last night, and I have an alibi for both Ian and Joan's murder."
"Let me guess." Holmes scoffed. "You were with your girlfriend, the DEO agent? The one that claimed to have taken my investigation even though nobody knew about it? Yeah, obviously. I can't prove that she was helping you yet, but believe me, you're both going down for this."
Maggie sighed deeply, shrugging. "You obviously seem to have made up your mind. Don't think there's a lot I can do to change it."
"You're goddamn right. You're done, Sawyer. You're hanging for this."
After that, Holmes got up.
"I want a phone call, Mike."
Holmes reached into his pocket and slammed his phone down onto the table, before leaving the room.
Maggie sighed, and reached for the cellphone. She knew that there were probably people on the other side of the one-way glass. Maybe even her captain or lieutenant. She didn't want to think about the disappointed scowl that was probably plastered on their faces.
Instead, she dialed a number, and raised the phone to her ear. After not even three seconds, the phone clicked, and her girlfriend's voice flooded into her mind.
"Mags, it's kind of a bad time, I'm trying to get a strike team-..."
Maggie interrupted her quickly. "Al, baby… They arrested me."
"What?! Where are you, are you okay?!"
The detective chuckled weakly, shaking her head as she felt tears sting in her eyes. "I-uh… Holmes is going to pin all of it on me. That's at least three murders."
"Mags, listen to me. Where are you. I'm coming for you. babe, I figured out who killed those women, I'm-..."
"Al, you can't fix this. Holmes made up his mind. You can't bail me out."
"Maggie, listen. Your friend from the bar. From the sister planet of the Magh'rah. The painter."
"Jade…" Maggie let the name fall off her lips, before she closed her eyes. "Oh god, you're right. I… The flashes from last night…"
The door opened again, and Holmes sprinted through the door, reaching for the phone.
"No, wait!" Maggie yelled out desperately, trying to grab the phone back. "Please!"
"Maggie?!" She heard Alex yell from the other side of the line. But Holmes disconnected the call, and put his phone back into his pocket. "There you go. That was everyone, wasn't it? You seem kind of the loner type."
"Fuck off, Holmes." Maggie gritted her teeth in anger, trying to stop herself from spilling the tears that were threatening to spill. "She found the real killer. The DEO is going to get them, and you're going to wish you never looked at me, because I will kill you once I get out of this."
"Like you killed Hayden Hayes?"
Maggie plopped back down into her seat, and glared daggers at him, but keeping quiet. Getting angry at him would only give him more reason to suspect her.
She had to trust that Alex was going to make it all better.
But god… Jade. How could she have been so blind. Her paintings showed nothing but pain, death and grief. Maggie had seen them before, had complimented her, never once considering that she was painting real people.
Bits and pieces of last night came back to her. The gallery. Feeling like she couldn't breathe. Hayden standing over her… Jade kissing her.
She'd probably poisoned her with that kiss.
And Hayden had been telling the truth - he was trying to help.
"Holmes." Maggie looked up one last time. "I know who killed those women. You need to let me help."
"It's over, Sawyer."
After that, she was dragged back into a cell.
Alex ran a hand through her hair. Maggie had sounded like she was getting manhandled. And if that Holmes guy had his way, her girlfriend would be on the chair by sundown. She couldn't let that happen.
"J'onn, she's going down for something she didn't do. You have to let me take this."
"Alex, you know I can't. The DEO can't get involved in this."
"It's an alien murdering innocent humans for their own pleasure, J'onn! What the hell are you talking about?!" She shot back.
But J'onn sighed. "You're grasping at straws, Alex. You have zero proof, or evidence. Come back when you have something that proves she's the killer, and I'll lead the strike myself."
Alex clenched her eyes shut, but nodded. "Okay. Alright, fine, I'll get you proof."
J'onn put a hand on her shoulder. "She's stuck there, but at least she's safe, Alex."
The agent turned around, and considered her options. Walking into that gallery guns blazing would be dangerous. But she could stealth it. Go into the bar and ask questions about the woman. Try and find her, stake her out…
"Winn." She yelled over her shoulder as she walked towards where the tech was sitting at his desk. He looked up at her.
"I need you to find out any information you can about that sister planet of the Magh'rah. Who they are, if there are any registered in the vicinity, abilities… Everything you have."
"On it. I'll call you if I have something."
Alex smiled weakly, before walking out of the DEO. She understood why J'onn had to be sure, before spending thousands of dollars on a strike of an innocent civilian. But she couldn't let Maggie rot away in jail, stuck for something that she probably didn't even do.
Because the more Alex thought about it, the more she was convinced that Jade had been toying with Maggie, getting her to take the fall for something she didn't do.
Retire from the force or face the consequences.
But why would Jade murder her husband, and her family-in-law? And what did those four women have to do with it?
One step at a time, she willed herself. First – find connections that tie her to the murders.
She headed to the bar.
"Sawyer." The guard on duty looked up at her, pressing against the bars. "You've got a visitor."
A visitor, in the holding cell. That was usually nothing good.
The door opened, and a young, blonde woman stepped into the room. She looked to be in her late twenties, and had a briefcase with her. She nodded politely at the guard. "Is there somewhere we can sit and talk? I really don't like conversing through bars."
The guard grunted. "I'll give you a room. You can go ahead, I'll move the suspect."
The suspect. Maggie scoffed, as she watched the woman head back out into the door. She hadn't looked at her for even a second, and her mind started racing. Was the woman FBI? CIA maybe? Were they going to make her disappear?
The guard opened the jail door, and handcuffed her, as he lead her through the hallways, and into another interrogation room. He linked her handcuffs into a ring on the table, and looked at the woman again. "I'll be right outside."
The woman thanked him quietly, before watching him close the door behind him, and finally turning to Maggie.
"Margaret Sawyer."
"Maggie." The detective corrected weakly. "I don't go by Margaret anymore."
"He always referred to you as Maggie." The woman raised an eyebrow with a weak smile. "Sometimes he'd call me just to tell me what a great job you did on a case. I'd never seen you before in my life, but the way he talked about you, you almost felt like my sister."
"Who are you?" Maggie frowned, the chains rattling as she shifted in her seat.
The woman put the briefcase on the table next to them, and clicked it open. "Violet Hayes."
Maggie's stomach somersaulted. "Y-you're Ian's daughter."
"Yep." Violet sighed, rummaging through the briefcase and pulling out a few files, checking the covers. "Haven't seen my family in a year since I had to temporarily move out of the country for work. And now… I can't even say how much I missed them, because they're all dead."
Maggie took a shaky breath. "I… miss Hayes, I'm…"
"Violet." The woman corrected her quickly, glancing up from the files. "And if I would blame you, I wouldn't be sitting here browsing paperwork. I'd have strangled you by now."
The detective was at a loss. Violet seemed to notice her confusion, because she continued quickly. "… I saw how Holmes treated you. You have zero motive against my family. And my dad had too much going on the side for this to be a coincidence."
"So, why are you here with me then?" Maggie asked, watching her put a few files down and closing the briefcase once again.
"I'm a lawyer, Maggie. And when I get you out of here and prove that you're innocent, you're going to help me find whoever murdered my family."
"I know who did it, Violet. But we don't have any proof yet."
The woman smiled weakly. "Guess we'd better get to work, then."
"Haven't seen her here since last month."
"Don't know who that is, but she looks hot."
"Oh, Jade? Yeah, no, heard she got super serious with her husband, and had a kid."
"You got her number?"
Alex grunted, at the complete absence of any tangible clues. The bar patrons all looked like they couldn't care less, and she was running low on patience.
"Fuck…" She whispered to herself, as she finally headed to the bar to order a beer. She had to find Jade, and fast, before she made another victim.
Her phone rang in her pocket. She put the bottle down, and fished it out. "Danvers."
"Hey, Alex, it's Winn."
"Talk to me, Winn."
"Alright, so the species name is Ragh'Tah. Sister planet to the other guy's home, also artists, creative people… That kind of thing. There are five registered Ragh'Tahs in the US, but no registered here in National City. I found Jade Hayes – she has a gallery on Pico Boulevard. Sells her artwork for a living. She and her husband Hayden moved to France a few years ago, but they just moved back here."
"When did they move away? In 2012?!" Alex got up from the stool, already halfway out the door.
"… Yeah, in October."
That was the window. She'd made a getaway with Hayden. It wasn't tangible yet, but it was a step in the right direction.
"Of the five registered Ragh'Tahs, there's one detained in another black site in Alaska for a series of kidnappings a few years back. A photographer, kidnapped young girls and drugged them to pose for him. They analyzed him there. Main difference between them and the Magh'rah species is that they don't have acid, but a toxin that has a subduing effect on humans, like a date-rape drug. It also causes memory loss. They can shapeshift, create art… that's all pretty much the same."
"I need pictures of those paintings. If I can prove that they're those murdered women, that's good enough to say she's the killer."
"I'll send you the address."
"Thanks." After that, she disconnected, and looked at her watch. 9.49. It was already getting dark outside. The gallery wouldn't be open. If she could sneak inside…
She ran to her Ducati, and hopped on. But before she could start the engine, she heard a voice behind her calling her name.
She turned her head, and saw an unfamiliar redhaired woman walking in her direction.
"Can I help you?"
"Yes. You can, actually." The woman glared at her. "I heard you've been looking for me."
"I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about." Alex folded her arms and tilted her head, trying to look unfazed but already reaching for the holster of her gun.
"Maybe this will jog your memory?" The woman reached into her pocket, and got out a few red pills.
"Scarlet…" Alex connected the dots, looking up at her. "What do you want?"
"Oh, Alex…"
The agent frowned at why Scarlet knew her name, as she watched the woman move closer to her, like a hunter circling its prey.
"… You'd look great on my canvas."
Alex froze.
The next thing she was aware of, were rough hands pushing her against the wall, and lips on hers. She tried to push the woman away, but the grip on her shoulders was too strong. She fought, but it was clear that she was overpowered.
A few seconds into the kiss, she felt her knees buckle.
She slid down the wall, and fell to the ground, unmoving.