“Yes, of course. Detective Green is my point person on the cold cases.”

“I’ll ask Erica to coordinate with him.”

“Sounds good.” Sam smiled at Jeannie. “That uniform looks good on you, friend.”

“Thanks. I appreciate your support. It’s been a little… weird.”

“How so?”

“The usual bullshit. People who used to be friendly toward me have nothing to say now. That kind of thing.”

“They’re jealous.”

Jeannie shrugged. “Whatever. I tell myself I don’t care.”

“That’s the way to be. In a few months, people will forget about how it happened.”

“You think so?” Jeannie asked, seeming skeptical.

“I know so. Things happen fast around here. Something else will come up that will make them forget all about you. In the meantime, you keep your head down and do the job. That’s what will win them over, when they realize how lucky they are to have you in a leadership role.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“When have you known me not to be?”

Jeannie rolled her eyes. “I walked right into that one. I’m going to see Mrs. Patrick. Pray for me.”

“Will do, Chief.”

At the door, Jeannie turned back. “None of this would’ve happened for me without you. I’ll never forget that.”

“I’m so proud of you, and I can’t wait to see you shine.”

“Thanks, Sam. Your support means the world to me.”

“You have it. Always.”

“I’ll report back after I see Mrs. Patrick, and Michael and I will be at the wake later.”

“Thank you for coming.”

“If there’s anything you need over the next few days, just ask.”

“If you could find the person who sold my brother-in-law poison, that’d help.”

“I heard you’re bringing in Narcotics and the DEA. I think that’s wise.”

“I’m way out of my league on this one. I need help.”

“There’s nothing wrong with admitting that.”

“If you say so.”

“I do, and I’m the deputy chief now.”

“Haha, don’t let it go to your head, boss.”

“I’ll try not to. See you later.”

“See you.”

Freddie came in as Jeannie went out. “We’re in the conference room. Are you coming?”

“Yeah, sorry.” As she stepped out of her office, Haggerty entered the pit. Sam handed him the keys to Lawton’s place and the piece of paper with the elevator code written on it.

The entire transaction occurred silently. They were like two ships passing in the night, hopefully headed for a successful resolution to this case sooner rather than later.

Archie had a presentation ready to go with lists of numbers highlighted. When Sam entered the room, he dove right in. “These are numbers found on the phones of all our victims, each of them untraceable, which means they’re burner phones. Even though the numbers are all different, that doesn’t mean they aren’t going to the same person. Each of them also had the Burner app on their phones, which is another way dealers communicate without being traceable.”

“Why can’t we stop the sale of burner phones?” Sam asked.