A/N: I own nothing but the mistakes. Some people we haven't heard from in a while are back in this chapter. We are almost half way through with Part Two and some mysteries will be solved but not all. There is a new one besides Tank...let me know if you are able to pick up the clues from the last chapter.

35

"But you told me to dress this way." Ashlyn said after listening to Gina complain for the last fifteen minutes about her outfit.

Ashlyn was wearing all black: turtleneck, jeggings, beanie covering the top of her auburn head with two long braids hanging down to her elbows in May and it being hot, and sneakers. The girl never wore athletic shoes.

"Yes, but I meant for you to wear something to make you unnoticed. What you're wearing now is a neon sign asking for people to notice you."

"I'm sorry that I'm so bad at criminal activity."

"There are worse things to be bad at. Believe me. I think it's awesome that you make a horrible criminal."

"When are we ditching school?"

Gina scanned the halls again waiting for Ricky. Maybe he'd changed his mind or something came up. Maybe it was the whole breaking and entering thing that could cause them to be arrested and sent to juvenile detention.

Right when they were about to give up waiting for him, they heard him before they saw him standing at the door and watching to see if the coast was clear for them to get away with playing hooky.

Gina was so relieved that he hadn't abandoned her.

"Where have you been?" Gina asked him as they followed him to parking lot that only the school's faculty and staff used located behind the main building.

"Sorry. I overslept."

"I can't believe your dad didn't wake you." Gina said.

"He wasn't home. He had to leave early."

They stopped at a jaw-dropping silver Ford Shelby.

"Your dad allowed you to drive his truck?" Gina was shocked. All Ricky had was his learner's permit. He wouldn't be able to get his license until summer when his birthday came in July.

"When he found out that I was so late for school, he told me I could drive it as long as I come straight home."

"How did he leave home so early then?"

He frowned in thought, then said, "He drove his motorcycle."

"Now, that's an awesome truck," Ashlyn said admiring the vehicle.

"Can he adopt me, so he can be my daddy too?" Gina asked because neither her parents or grandparents were interested in allowing her to practice driving nor would they trust her to take their vehicles anywhere.

"Since we would then be siblings, no, I don't think so."

He opened the passenger side doors for them. Like the gentleman he was.

"I think I'm ready to go ride over sand dunes, mountains, and anything else that off road vehicles are made to drive over and through," Gina admitted excited being in the huge stylish truck.

Ricky only grinned at her and push the button to start the engine.

"You only have your permit, and I still can't believe he let you take his truck."

He grinned again, only this time the charm had fled and another emotion had taken its place. Worry? Unhappiness perhaps?

Gina wanted to ask him about his emotions but not with Ashlyn present. This was not the first time that she seen such a remarkable change in him and his countenance. It was only last night, as she laid in her bed thinking about him that she recalled when the change in his demeanor started. Ricky and his father had gone on a trout fishing trip in Blue Lake, California for spring break. She didn't see him for over a week, and when she did finally see him, he seemed distracted.

At first she thought that he met another girl while on break and didn't know how to tell her. Sure, he said he liked her, but … no buts. She was a big girl. She could take rejection, but what she wouldn't take was being strung along, and she'd tell him that as soon as they were alone.

"Are you one hundred percent certain that Mrs. Banks is at the sheriff's office?" he asked, changing the subject while driving them out of the faculty parking lot before they got caught.

"I am very sure."

"How do you know?"

"I have someone informing me from the inside." Gina said very cockily.

"Are you going to tell us who it is?"

"Sorry, if I told you, I'd have to kill you." She looked back at Ashlyn, who was laying on the back seat trying to hide herself from being seen. "You can sit up now."

"Oh. Okay." She said and sat up on the seat and watched as they pulled into Mrs. Banks' neighborhood.

They decided to not park at her house so they ended up walking down the block to her house and climbing over a wooden fence to go into her yard inconspicuously.

Well, Gina and Ashlyn did. Ricky chose to walk through the gate and eyed them both like they were crazy. He also took the moment to give Ashlyn's outfit a once-over as though just noticing her cat-burglar attire.

He stopped himself from laughing them, turned, and walked to Mrs. Banks' back door like he had a reason to be there.

"Did you see that?" Gina said to Ashlyn. "We need to act like him."

"Right." Ashlyn, whose nerves were getting the best of her. "Act like I am supposed to be her. I can do this."

Gina wanted to laugh at her friend, but she was right there with her. Her plan in thoughts was easy, but really breaking and entering into someone's home was not something that she really wanted to do now that she had the opportunity to actually do it.

After Ricky figured out how to use the lock pick set, he unlocked the door and opened it.

Gina couldn't believe he would be able to do it. She was really regretting having her friends join her on this caper. "I didn't think you would be able to do it." She told him matter of factly.

"I watched YouTube videos all night to learn how to this; isn't this what you wanted me to do?" he asked.

"Well, yeah. It's just …" She started as she walk towards Mrs. Banks' door while keeping a watchful eye as though something was going to jump out at her. Her second thoughts started to discourage her from entering the old lady's home.

Then she felt a wave of panic grip her and before she knew it. She was running from the house and yelling for her friends to follow her as she jumped over the fence despite a wide-open back gate been less than two feet away.

Jay was busy rewatching the surveillance video for the fifth time. She had just restarted it to the place that Mike Chang initially entered the store. The angle of the camera made it difficult to see all the details of what was going on in the shots that he was featured in.

"Did Wes Fahey give you any trouble when you asked for the video?"

"No," Jay said with a shrug. "But he did ask me out on a date."

"He's married and twice your age!"

"I saw his wedding band."

"Does he know what you do for the sheriff's department?"

"He does now," she said with a smirk. "There." She pointed to the screen as a lean, fit brunette walked in wearing a T-shirt, a pair of jeans. He paid cash for his gas, looked over his shoulder, then left.

When he left the store, another man, heavier and wearing a baseball cap, bumped into him. Chang looked like he was going to ignore it, but he suddenly turned on him, the movement so fast it was impossible to make out, and shoved the man into the outdoor ice cooler. Chang then dragged the man to his feet by his collar, but the man raised his palms in surrender.

Chang didn't let it go instead he looked down at his shirt, or maybe his arm, then back in the man's face.

"He wasn't carrying anything, was he?" she asked Jay.

Hunter rolled his chair over to watch. "I've studied this tape a dozen times. Neither was carrying a weapon."

"I thought maybe the guy had spilled something on him."

"Exactly," Jay said. "Why would he get so upset?"

Hunter said, "From what Wes said, Chang was the most easygoing guy he's ever met. Nothing angered him."

"But look," Jay said, pointing again. "There's a stain on his shirt." She turned to Cedes. "This may be crazy, boss, but I think he tried to stab Chang in the heart and failed."

"I agree, sis," Hunter said. "Chang is former Special Forces. He could've seen the knife from the corner of his eye and thwarted the attempt."

"And he certainly has lightning-quick reflexes," Cedes observed.

"Maybe the guy didn't know what he was getting himself into when he was hired to kill him," Jay added. "Which was why, for their second attempt it was three of them and they drugged him to avoid having to shoot him and have the case be thoroughly investigated."

"That makes sense." Cedes leaned closer. "I just wish we had a better angle."

There were a few people in the store, and every one of them turned to see what was going on. When Chang shoved the man one last time and headed for his truck, a dark-colored Dodge Ram, several people went to the window to see what was happening.

The knife wielding assailant went the opposite direction.

"There," Jay said, pointing to the late-model pickup. "He's getting into a Toyota Tundra."

Hunter looked at Cedes. "Just like the one used to run your boyfriend down."

"Were you able to get the license plate number?" she asked.

"No, boss, it was not in the camera range, it was like they'd cased the store while planning the assault."

"Maybe we need to check the footage from a few days prior to the argument."

"I am willing to that tonight, boss," Jay said. "If you'll buy me some food especially some lemon pepper chicken wings."

"Oh, and something to drink," Hunter said, volunteering to help if a free meal was involved.

But Cedes had spotted something in the video that was odd, it was what one person at the store wasn't doing that caught her attention.

"Run the video back for me," she said focusing on the lower right pane.

Jay did what she was asked back to the point that Chang entered, paid, and headed out of the store, but while everyone inside looked toward the commotion up front, one kid was doing the opposite. he turned toward the back of the store instead. Toward the camera.

He looked directly at it and raked a hand through his hair, as though purposely showing his face. As though signaling anyone who might be watching.

Jay said. She leaned closer. " What in the hell? I didn't even catch that. How did I miss that?"

"It's okay, Jay. It took me a moment, too. But if you look at Chang he is looking directly at the kid before he leaves. Can we zoom in on the kid?"

"Unfortunately, not with this program, boss. I can run it through an editor to do so, but the quality will be horrible. I doubt we'll get an ID on the kid."

"We may not even need one." She knew that kid's face, his bone structure, nose, and eyes were burned into her retinas and her brain.

"Do you know the kid?" Hunter asked amazed.

"Yes, I do." Tears stung the backs of her eyes as she tried to breathe. She would know that face anywhere. She still carried his picture to this day along with one that showed his age progression. She'd spent months memorizing every line of his face.

"Cedes?" Hunter noticed her reaction.

"Unless I've lost my mind, that kid is Mack Alana."

"And you know that because?"

"I that because he's supposedly been dead for seven years." She said as she watched the video again to make sure her eyes were not deceiving her.

"Cedes, we can't know for sure that the boy in that video is Mack Alana."

"It's him. I'd recognize his face anywhere." His face had been imprinted into her mind's eye. She'd seen his face a thousand times from hundreds of pictures and videos. She knew Mack Alana almost as well as she knew her own daughter. "He was my very first case when I made detective, and my very first failure among many. I thought he was dead."

"A missing kid was your first case as a detective and your first case as a sheriff and you were a missing kid yourself?" Hunter asked. "That is one hell of a coincidence."

"Yes, it is."

"Why did you think the kid had died?" she asked.

"Because we found his bloody clothes near the house and didn't hold out much hope of finding him alive after that. Plus, there was never a ransom demand, even though we initially thought the abduction was related to his father's crimes."

"What crimes?" Hunt asked.

"He orchestrated a Ponzi scheme that bankrupted hundreds of people and left them devastated, even though he insisted he was innocent. Claimed he was the fall guy. The feds thought otherwise. He was on trial when Mack went missing."

"Do they think one of his victims murdered his son in revenge?"

"We thoroughly investigated that angle. We thought it was a simple case of blackmail that went wrong, but when there was never a demand for money. Then, we thought the motive was revenge but we couldn't make it stick with any of the people devastated that all their money was gone.

"Do you think that Mack's father had his own child kidnapped as a ploy for leniency?"

"We considered that, too. However, he broke down repeatedly in court, especially after they found Mack's clothes. Which," she said, looking over at him, "were found the same day the defense rested."

"Did his behavior influence the jurors?" Jay asked.

"I don't care how strong the prosecutor's case was nothing beats the tears of a devastated father, crocodile or not. So, he was acquitted on four of the five charges, but there was no denying that last charge of investment fraud." She took a sip. "His sentence was for fifteen years instead of the consecutive sentences of life or fifty years he could have been sentenced."

"Are you one hundred percent certain that this kid is their son?" Hunter asked.

"I am a thousand percent certain because even then the evidence didn't add up. However, I was convinced that he was dead because there were just too many times I caught his mother looking totally devastated. She looked liked and acted liked she was completely hopeless."

"That is what you would expect."

"Not me. I am a parent and have observed parents in her shoes. They are completely devastated, but they always have hope, even when all the evidence minus the corpse would convince anyone them that their child would never return. But Tina Alana was different. Her devastation was that she knew without a shadow of doubt her son was dead."

Jay thought it through and then realized, "She was behaving like a parent who had something to do with a coverup."

"Yes and no. Parents who kill their own children are abusive to begin with and go about their business afterward as though nothing happened. It's honestly the strangest thing, and it throws jurors off. It's so hard for a normal person to comprehend their indifference, and sometimes they mistake their behavior for innocence or insanity. But Tina Ala was genuinely devastated."

"Maybe one of them accidentally killed him."

"I considered that, too, until about ten minutes ago and I saw his face again." She looked back at the screen.

They watched as the kid left the store and climbed into the passenger's side of Chang's truck.

Hunter, finally believing her observed. "Does anyone else find it weird that he got into a man's truck who ended up with multiple stab wounds a few hours later?"

Jay agreed. "It can't be a coincidence, boss."

"I concur. Do you all think Chang kidnapped Mack? It just doesn't fit Sam's and Wes' description of him."

"What are your special Cedes' senses telling you?" Hunt asked.

Knowing he was still upset with her assessment of Bryan Ryan Menkins she let him have his sassy point. "I trust Sam's instincts even though I'm going to kill the minute I find him."

"Might not want to tell people that."

"But why would Mack signal us after he has been missing for so long. Do you think that this the first opportunity he's had?"

"That's one more thing we need to seriously consider. This video was taken a few hours before Chang showed up to the bar and grill alone. If Mack is being held against his will, Chang had plenty of time to take him back to wherever he is being held and lock him up again. But with his abductor in the hospital—"

"He could die from starvation and dehydration." Hunt finished for her.

"Jay, I need you to talk to Wes Fahey again. Try to find out if he's ever seen the boy with Chang before, and if he's been with him every time he comes to the store."

"Okay, boss."

"Hunter, I need an address on Chang as quick as you can get to it. See if there is any property in his name or even his parents' name. Get Dani on that ASAP. Then, when I get back how about you and I go talk to Tina Alana?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

Cedes' phone alerted her of a text message just as Dani came in to join the group. "Sheriff, Mrs. Banks is here to confess to stabbing Mike Chang Saturday night."

Cedes cursed under her breath after reading the text. "I need to take care of some personal business before we head out, Hunt."

"I got Mrs. B. for you while you are gone," Hunter said. "I'll call in McCarthy to babysit her while Dani and I try to get an address on Chang."

"Thanks, Hunt."

"To be honest, boss, I'm looking forward to reading how an eighty-year-old woman repeatedly stabbed a man twice her size in a knife fight outside the Menkins' bar and grill." They watched as Dani led her in. "I didn't know she had it in her."

"You do realize if your mother finds us here, she's going to catch onto the fact that we're skipping school," Ricky said once they were seated in a corner booth at Lima Bean.

"She just left here walking with that deputy. She won't be back for a while. It's all good."

Ashlyn was still in shock from the whole experience. Gina should've never dragged her into this. Everybody was not made for a life of crime.

She got a text from her mom and checked the time because her mother never texted her while she was in class. It was official, they were skipping not one but two classes.

Her stomach was full of butterflies as she read the text. Knock, knock.

Who's there?

Ouch.

She laughed. Mom, that one's older than the Lima River.

Ouch.

Mom.

This is not Mom. This is Ouch.

She didn't know anything about them not being in school and possibly breaking into Mrs. Banks' home. Ouch who?

God bless you. Have a good day ladybug.

Her mom only used the Ouch knock knock joke when she was worried about something and couldn't come up with anything better.

Is everything okay?

I just needed to read your voice. I'll probably be home late.

Everything was definitely not okay.

I love you, Mom.

After a moment in which she was sure her mom covered her heart with a hand and sighed aloud, Gina had to laugh when her mom typed back, It's hard to blame you, really. All things considered.

Then she added an entire line of hearts and it was Gina's turn to sigh.

"Your mom is amazing; she is like my favorite adult," Ashlyn said.

"Please do not tell her that." She looked at her potential partners in crime. "I'm sorry I got scared back there, guys, but I really think I'm ready to do this now."

"We're in no rush, besides you said Mrs. Banks would be confessing at the sheriff's office for hours." Ricky said trying to comfort her and seeing that it wasn't working, he focused his attention on Ashlyn. "So, do you know when your new expiration date is going to be?" When the red headed girl looked at him like he lost his mind, he clarified, "Your new death date."

"Ricky, how could you ask her that!" Gina yelled at him.

Ashlyn had known since she was little that she was going to die on her fifteenth birthday. Thankfully due to their teamwork and her mother's believe in Ashlyn and Gina, she was able to live longer than her premonitions and dreams had shown her.

Ricky didn't feel guilty. "It's just that Gina's mom stopped your premonition from coming true, so I wondered if you knew your new date."

"Oh," Ashlyn said, brightening. "I do, actually. You are the first person to ask me."

"For real?" Gina asked.

"As far as I know I am going to die of a heart attack when I am eighty-two." She said and they couldn't tell if she was telling the truth or pulling their legs.

The bell dinged and the couple who owned the boutique across the street came in, and Gina wondered if they would call her mother and tell her where she was with her friends.

"Why are you three not at school?" Kurt asked them waiting to hear the lie that was about to come out of Gina's mouth.

"We are here on a scavenger hunt assignment from social studies class." Gina lied hoping they would believe it.

Kurt looked at her as if he knew she was lying. "Really if I call your mom or the school, they will say that's exactly what you are doing?"

"Why do you think I am lying? We could really be doing an assignment for school." Gina looked at the man she had known for years who could read her like he could read her mother which was like the back of his hand.

"Regina Porter." Kurt began.

Blaine leaned closer to her and whispered to her, "Better luck next time with that story, Gina."

She was so close to getting away with skipping school.

"Listen if you all return to school right now, I will conveniently forget to mention this to your mother. But back to school, you three now."

"Okay," She told them as she stood up.

As they were walking to the truck, Gina surprised them by telling them, "I'm ready to go inside Mrs. Banks' house now. By the way, did I mention that I'm sure that Mrs. Banks killed her husband, too?"

"No, you definitely did not," Ashlyn said.

"He went missing around the same time as the other people, and the sheriff never did a thing about it his disappearance."

"Mrs. Banks, a black widow, I would have never thought that sweet old lady was capable of any of these crimes." Ashlyn said in awe.

"I promise you two. I'm really ready now. Let's go—" She stopped and listened. "Do you hear that?"

Ricky and Ashlyn looked around like she had lost her mind.

"That's my mom's voice."

Cedes texted Gina as she hurried down the alley toward Kurt's and Blaine's boutique where she was going to meet Stacey, Sam's sister.

Stacey had sent up the signal, a code word they used that meant she needed to meet with her ASAP.

According to Stacey, Cooter was working with Cedes' predecessor, a corrupt sheriff named Will Schuester, and they were into everything from selling drugs to running guns. Cedes had a connection with ATF that could serve her well in this instance.

But Cooter was getting restless, volatile, and more alarming-unpredictable. Cedes might not be able to wait much longer before handing the case to the Feds. Still, she would have no case at all if not for Stacey.

Cedes and Stacey's history of hating each other gave them the best cover ever. No one, not even Sam, suspected they were working together, much less that they'd become good friends over the last months. Stacey was intelligent and caring, something Cedes had never suspected growing up. If she'd known what Stacey had gone through, Cedes liked to think she wouldn't have been so quick to judge her. Then again, Stacey did steal her bike and tried to stab her when she was young.

Cedes entered the boutique from the back and glanced around the storage room for her Stacey.

"Mercedes," Stacey whispered as soon as she saw her.

Cedes ran to her and hugged her. "What the hell is going on?" She asked the woman who was wearing a worried expression. The one Cedes feared. If Cooter ever found out his niece was helping the local sheriff bring him down, he would kill her and probably Stevie to, so she could watch her son die for revenge.

Her blond hair was a rat's nest down her back and her eyes were red with dark circles underneath them.

"What has happened, Stacey?"

"Have you heard from Sam?"

"I saw him, but he escaped. Did he come home at all Saturday night?"

"He hasn't been home in forever, but I'm hoping it's because you're looking for him and he knows to avoid home, right?"

"Right. We've been looking for him because he was seriously injured Saturday night, but at least we know he's alive."

"I know about him being hit by a truck. Cooter told me the details gleefully. It's just … I'm worried Cooter is going to use the opportunity to kill Sam and blame it on the injuries from Saturday night."

"But you don't know that he is going to do that for sure, right?"

"No, I don't. But Cooter did meet with Schuester yesterday. I couldn't hear everything they said, but I did hear something about someone coming to see the plant." Her expression turned panicked. "Cedes, he's offering the distillery to a higher-up in the syndicate. I know it. If we're going to do something, we need to do it now."

"Son of a bitch." Cedes turned away from her in thought. "But I don't get it. What's in it for Schuester?"

She shrugged. "He wants the badge back. And Cooter wants him to have it. The position would give Schuester the ability to smooth the way for the syndicate to come in and take over. Because of that, Cooter has promised to get it for him."

Cedes bit her lip in thought. "Do you know how?"

Stacey dropped her gaze. "I'm not certain, but they have a plan in place."

"I need more information than that, Stacey."

"They were talking something about number three being their best option in dealing with the situation."

"Which is?"

"I don't know anything else. I'm sorry, Cedes. I needed to see you because I've been so worried about Sam."

"No, I'm sorry. I should have checked in on you and Stevie. Have you texted your brother?"

"Over and over. He's … he's probably turned off his phone, so you can't track his location?"

"Yes, he knows we can track him using his phone, and he was adamant about finding those men who tried to kill his friend, Mike Chang. Speaking of him, have you met him before?"

"His name sounds familiar, but I don't think I've ever met him. If I did it was casually and nothing memorable happened."

"Okay. I think you should know, I went to see your uncle Bryan Ryan Menkins."

"Uncle Bryan?" she asked astonished. "Is he out of prison?"

"No. Hunter and I went to see him in Nevada. He wants me to look into his conviction. Claims he's innocent of the crime he's in jail for."

"Then he is," she said without hesitating.

"Are you sure?"

"Uncle Bryan is the most honorable person I know apart from Sam. If he'd done it, he would not try to get out of his sentence."

"You also need to know, he confessed to murdering your Uncle Sandy."

"I think he's lying about that."

"Stacey, you just said your uncle is one of the most honorable people you know."

"I said honorable. I didn't say honest. He would lie, but only for honorable reasons." She paused before asking, "Are you going to look into his case?"

"I told him I would; he seems to think I can do the miraculous like turn water into wine, but I can't do that or make any promises."

"Thank you for everthing you are doing for me and my family. I know we don't deserve it, but you really live up to your name. You are the definition of mercy." Stacey said and then hugged Cedes tightly.

Cedes hugged her back just as hard knowing the weight the woman had on her shoulders. "You need to know that your uncle had a set of conditions, and I'm trying to get him transferred to Eureka to be near his family."

Her whole demeanor changed from darkness to light. "Uncle Bryan's coming here?"

"Maybe."

"Cedes, if you can get him out of prison, after proving him innocent, he'll help us. He'll be able to stop Cooter."

"Hopefully, he won't have to. Let's get back to your Uncle Cooter's plan of trying to kill Sam to take over the distillery, and helping Schuester remove me from office and replace me as sheriff."

"That is their plan and based on what I heard, the plan will be implemented very soon."

"Stacey, are you being very, very careful and making sure you are not be trailed or suspected of being a mole? Because if your uncle finds out …"

"I not only know, but I also accept the risks, Cedes. I have to leave. Please be careful because Cooter and Schuester are not just coming after Sam, they are plotting against you, too." Stacey hugged her one last time.

"You, as well, friend, you stay safe and keep Stevie safe, too."

They were both leaving when Cedes paused because she got a text.

"Uh-oh. The wife needs me back at the job as he says lickety split."

"Are you talking about Hunter Clarington?" Stacey asked laughing at Cedes' mocking Hunt's way of talking.

"You know it. Are you going to be okay because I can put you in Stevie in protective custody?"

Stacey shook her head. "I promise to be careful, and I'll let you know what else I find out about their plans."

Cedes turned to leave and came face-to-face with her daughter who should be in school catching her and Stacey, her professed enemy, in a dark storeroom.

Kurt and Blaine screeched to a halt behind her, their faces panicked. They knew that nobody was supposed to know about Cedes meeting Stacey there. Absolutely no one. Cedes had stressed that when she set up their place for her meetings.

"Gina, hold on for a minute," Cedes said, then she turned toward Stacey. "If I catch you back here again, I will have you arrested."

"You're the sheriff you could arrest her now yourself if she is committing a crime," Gina said.

"Exactly what she said. I'll arrest you myself. Because I can." She nodded toward Gina. "Because I'm the sheriff of this entire county."

"At least now I know where I get my ability to not tell a confessing lie from," Gina said. She went in for a hug. "Hey, Ms. Menkins."

Stacey hugged her back. "Hey, beautiful. Your mom and I were just talking about—"

"Silk!" Blaine said. "We just got a shipment in from Ethiopia. Best material ever."

"And you call yourself a professional actor." Gina looked at him with side eyes that reminded him of her mother.

That did it. Blaine stood thoroughly offended. "This coming after your performance in the Lima Bean earlier."

Cedes' phone went off again. "I really have to go. Gina, you know how sometimes what I do is life or death?"

She nodded.

"This is one of those times, ladybug and I don't need you asking questions or trying to figure it out."

She looked from Cedes to Stacey then back. "I understand."

"Good. Now tell me why aren't you in school?"