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"If Kai finds out Anna Longshadow was killed by someone he can reach... you think he's going to hand it over to the PD outside the rez?"
"Understood."
"Deleting trace." They were using the preccint's wifi, and so she scrubbed their tracks. She wanted to play these cards close to the chest, especially with the apparent tensions on the rez. Her fingers danced across the keys with practiced urgency. The data vanished from the screen like a ghost slipping away into the night. No evidence of their lead—no trail for prying eyes to follow.
"Clean?" Ethan asked after a moment of tense silence.
"Clean," she confirmed.
"Next move?"
"Follow up on this number. Off-site." Her words were clipped, her resolve ironclad despite the watchful presence beyond the door.
"Let's move," Ethan nodded, shutting the laptop with a soft click that belied the gravity of their discovery.
The door to the side office swung open abruptly, sending a shiver of cold air across the cramped space. Deputy Kai Dawes stood silhouetted against the buzzing fluorescence of the corridor, his face carved from stone, eyes flinty with unspoken reproach.
"What'd you find?" he said.
His eyes were bleary, and he was massaging at the bridge of his nose as if holding back some pain. Clearly, the hangover from last night was still lingering.
Anna just frowned as she brushed past him, moving into the hall. "We're tracking every lead," she said simply.
"You're pulling phone records," he said.
"Are you spying on her traffic?" she retorted, not meeting his gaze.
"Anna was one of ours," he said, voice low and edged with a hard bitterness. "Who was it?"
Rachel's gaze met his squarely, her posture rigid in the face of his anger. "We don't know yet. The victim had many contacts." She allowed her eyes to linger on Kai. "I'm curious why you're so concerned about her..."
She let the unspoken accusation linger. Kai had likely been a client of Anna's. And he was in no state to be trusted with any lead.
"Victm?" Kai's lip curled with scorn. "She was more than a victim to us. She was family. All of us who share blood are family. At least… the ones who don’t leave."
"Family," Rachel echoed internally, the word striking a chord. Her own family was fractured, her estranged aunt's recent dinner invitation a stark reminder. But in this case, it wasn't about her.
"Then help us help her," Ethan interjected, standing shoulder to shoulder with Rachel.
"Tell me what you found." Kai's hand balled into a fist, knuckles pale.
"Protecting the integrity of the investigation," Rachel countered, her voice a blade slicing through tension-thick air. "We need to confirm before we share. Just following protocol."
"Integrity..." The deputy spat the word out like a bitter seed.
"Deputy, if you have something to offer—" she began, only to be cut off.
Kai stepped closer, the heat of his rage almost tangible. "You outsiders think you can just waltz in here and—"
"Enough!" Ethan's voice cracked like a whip. "We're all on the same side."
"Are we?" Kai challenged, but the fight seemed to drain out of him, leaving a weary man who had lost too much. He turned sharply and left, the door slamming behind him with a judgmental finality.
Rachel exhaled slowly, her determination solidifying amidst the chaos. The distraction of familial obligations could wait; her duty couldn't. "We need to move fast, Ethan."
"Agreed." His reply was swift, supportive.
Her phone vibrated—a text from her aunt. Dinner at seven. The message blinked up at her, incongruent with the urgency thrumming through her veins. With a flick, she silenced the device and slid it back into her pocket. Sarah was being more insistent than usual. But Rachel had no intention of attending dinner.
