Chapter 13:Conflict Of interest
Jess stood in the lab with a very impatient butterfly.
Lilly bounced from foot to foot, the wings on her back flapping every time she twirled. Her sparkly antennae were slightly crooked, and there was glitter absolutely everywhere, but she looked proud—and, more importantly, excited.
They were waiting for Don. And for Danny and Lindsay, who were meeting them to go trick-or-treating. Lucy was already in costume, a tiny witch with a crooked hat and a wand she kept accidentally whacking people with.
Down the hall, Jess saw Sheldon and Liv approaching, each of them carrying a car seat. Avery and Hannah were bundled up for their very first Halloween—Avery was a sleepy little ladybug, and Hannah a squishy strawberry with socks that wouldn't stay on.
Jess smiled. This was what normal looked like. Or, at least, something close.
The neighborhood was alive with porch lights, fake cobwebs, and the occasional skeleton that made Lilly jump—then giggle nervously when she realized it wasn't real.
She clutched her candy bucket in one hand and Jess's fingers in the other. Don walked on her other side, matching her small steps. Every few houses, she'd look up to make sure he was still there.
Jess caught the glance each time. And each time, Don would smile and give a small nod. "Still here, kiddo."
Danny and Lindsay walked a few steps ahead, trying to keep Lucy from sprinting up every driveway. She was in full candy-hunt mode, her witch hat sliding back with every enthusiastic run.
Avery and Hannah were snuggled in the double stroller Sheldon was pushing, both already dozing, despite Liv's attempts to get them to wave at passing neighbors. "They're really in it for the photo ops," she said, laughing.
Lilly hesitated at one house, a giant inflatable spider on the lawn blinking with red eyes.
"You okay?" Jess asked gently.
Lilly nodded, but she moved a little closer to Don, brushing his coat with her wing.
Don crouched to her level. "Want me to go with you?"
She considered it, then gave a tiny nod.
They walked up the driveway hand-in-hand. When the door opened, Lilly froze for just a second—but then she whispered, "Trick or treat," so softly that Jess almost didn't hear it.
The woman at the door leaned forward, grinning. "Well, hello there, butterfly! Aren't you just the sweetest thing?"
Lilly smiled—a real, honest smile—and opened her bucket.
Don met Jess's eyes as they came back down the sidewalk. His look said it all: Did you see that?
Jess smiled back. I did.
Later, with cheeks pink from the cold and fingers sticky from a stolen mini Snickers, Lilly leaned sleepily against Don's shoulder. He lifted her easily, settling her against his chest as they walked the last block home.
"She had a good night," Jess said quietly.
Don looked down at the girl dozing in his arms. "Yeah. She really did."
"And she said something at every door," Jess added. "She was brave."
Don looked over at her, his voice low. "So were we."
Jess reached out and touched Lilly's wings, now slightly bent from all the movement.
"Best Halloween I've had in years," she said.
"Same."
They walked the rest of the way in comfortable silence, a butterfly asleep between them, and the soft sound of candy rustling in a plastic bucket.
Jess sat at her desk the next morning riding the edge of a sugar high. She'd swiped most of the candy Lilly wasn't allowed to have, and maybe a Kit Kat or two for herself.
"Angell, can you come here a second?" O'Bryan called from his office.
Jess popped the rest of the mini Twix into her mouth, brushed her fingers off on a napkin, and stood. "Be right there."
She stepped into the captain's office and closed the door behind her. He didn't look up right away, just motioned for her to take a seat.
"What's up, sir?" she asked, scanning his face. He looked serious. Too serious.
"Dale's trial date has been set."
Jess nodded. "Okay. I'm sure I'll meet with Max and go over everything before then."
To her, a trial date wasn't cause for concern. Routine, even. So she didn't understand why he'd pulled her in just to say that.
O'Bryan leaned forward slightly. "You did everything by the book when you arrested Dale, right?"
Jess blinked. "I'm sorry—what?"
He held up a hand. "I'm not accusing you of anything. Just need to be absolutely sure everything's solid. This case is… sensitive. With you having custody of his daughter, it complicates things."
Her spine straightened. "We checked with you before we took Lilly. You signed off. And yes—my arrest, my questioning with Dale—was all by the book. Just like always."
O'Bryan didn't push, but he didn't back down either. "That's what I figured. I just need to cover all the angles."
Jess narrowed her eyes slightly. "What's going on? What aren't you telling me?"
She'd known O'Bryan long enough to read the difference between standard procedure and something deeper. He wasn't a micromanager. He trusted his detectives. And if he was pulling her into his office and looking like that, it wasn't just about due diligence.
He sighed, then reached for a file on his desk.
"There's been a motion filed," he said quietly. "Dale's public defender is arguing that your involvement in the arrest—and your current guardianship of Lilly—constitutes a conflict of interest. They're trying to get the charges thrown out."
Jess's heart thudded once, hard.
"What?" she said, voice sharper now.
"They're arguing bias. That you had motive to falsify statements or pressure a confession. So you can take Lilly."
Jess stared at him. "That's—absurd. He was arrested before we even took her in. He's the reason she ended up in care."
"I know that," O'Bryan said evenly. "And I believe you. But this is going to get messy, Jess. Real messy. IA is already looking into it."
Jess leaned back in her chair, the weight of his words settling over her like a lead blanket. The sugar crash hit all at once—her stomach dropped, and the Kit Kat she'd eaten an hour ago suddenly turned to concrete.
"Internal Affairs?" she repeated. "You've got to be kidding me."
"I wish I were." O'Bryan folded his hands on the desk. "They're not launching a full investigation yet, just a preliminary review. But if they find anything they can twist—any procedural misstep—they'll come at you hard."
Jess's jaw clenched. "This is because I'm taking care of that little girl. Because I gave her a home."
He didn't argue.
"So what now?" she asked quietly.
O'Bryan met her eyes. "Now, we get ahead of it. Contact your union rep. Today. Get legal lined up. Go through every bit of paperwork, every report, every tape—make sure there's nothing they can spin."
Jess stood slowly, pulse thudding in her ears. "You think they'll try to take her away from me?"
O'Bryan didn't answer right away. That silence was answer enough.
"I think you need to be ready," he said finally. "For anything."
Jess nodded, steel settling in her bones. "Then I will be."
Jess found Don at home that evening, sitting on the floor with Lilly, who was surrounded by a fortress of Halloween candy wrappers and building a puzzle with fierce concentration. Her butterfly wings from the night before were still clipped to the back of her shirt—lopsided now, but she refused to take them off.
Jess stood in the doorway for a moment, watching them. Don was pretending not to notice Lilly sneaking another piece of candy into her mouth, and for a second, it felt like everything was okay.
But the moment didn't last.
Don looked up and caught her expression. His smile faded. "What happened?"
She didn't answer right away. Instead, she crossed the room and knelt beside Lilly, tucking a stray curl behind her ear. "Hey, bug. You almost done with your puzzle?"
Lilly nodded without looking up, still focused, her tongue peeking out in concentration.
Jess gave Don a quiet look. "Can we talk?"
He stood without question, brushing candy wrappers from his jeans and giving Lilly's shoulder a soft squeeze. "Back in a minute, kiddo."
In the kitchen, Jess folded her arms, leaning against the counter.
"O'Bryan pulled me into his office this morning," she began. "Dale's trial date is set. But that's not the problem."
Don's brow furrowed. "Okay…"
"His public defender filed a motion—claiming I had a conflict of interest. That I shouldn't have been involved in Dale's arrest because we have custody of Lilly now."
Don's eyes narrowed. "You arrested him before she was even placed with us."
"Yeah. But that's not stopping them from twisting it. They're saying I had motive. That I targeted him because I wanted to take Lilly away." She paused. "IA is already doing a preliminary review."
Don's face darkened. "You've got to be kidding me."
"I wish I were," Jess said, trying to keep her voice steady. "O'Bryan told me to contact my union rep. Get legal support ready."
Don took a step closer. "Do you think… could they use this to try to take her away?"
Jess's voice dropped. "That's what I'm afraid of."
She shook her head, fighting the tightness in her throat. "But that's not the only thing. If IA decides I crossed some kind of line—even if it's just perception—I could be suspended. Or worse."
Don stared at her. "Jess—"
"I've worked my whole life for this. I built my career case by case, by the book. I never cut corners, never did anything shady. And now it could all come crashing down because I chose to care about a little girl who needed someone."
Don stepped forward and pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. "You didn't do anything wrong. You did everything right."
"I don't know if that matters," she murmured into his shoulder. "It's not just about being right. It's about optics. About politics."
He pulled back just enough to look her in the eye. "We're going to fight this. We're not going to let them take Lilly, and we're not going to let them take your badge."
Her throat was tight. "And what if they try? What if I lose both?"
"Then I'll fight with you. Every damn step."
From the other room, Lilly called out, "I found the corner piece!"
Jess gave a shaky laugh through the lump in her chest. "She's better at puzzles than I am."
"She's got a good teacher," Don said.
Jess nodded. "Let's go finish it with her. I just… I want to hold on to this. While we can."