“What’s your plan?”

“I want to know who sold him the pills that killed him.”

“We don’t know for sure that’s what it was.”

“Yes, we do, and I’m not waiting around for proof while someone is out there selling fentanyl-laced drugs to other unsuspecting addicts. This is a homicide investigation, sir.”

“That needs to be led by someone other than you.”

“Gonzo will sign the reports.”

He held her gaze for a long moment before he blinked. “Don’t let this turn into another scandal for the department.”

“I won’t.”

“Find the guy who took him from us.”

“I will.” After a long pause, she said, “There’s something else.”

“What?”

“When we were in the ER with Spence, Dr. Anderson came in. He mentioned there’s been a big increase in OD deaths recently, which I’ve heard nothing about as a police officer.”

“I haven’t heard that either.”

“Why isn’t that on Cooper’s radar? Why isn’t Narcotics making noise about this? If they had…” Her voice faltered when she thought about how a warning might’ve saved Spencer’s life.

“I’ll investigate it personally. You have my word on that.”

“Thank you. How’s the captain doing?” Sam had gotten a text from Malone after Spencer’s death was announced but hadn’t talked to him since he was suspended.

“He’s okay, riding out the suspension by trying to find former Captain Rosa.” Malone was tracking all the captains who’d been active at the time former Lieutenant Stahl had been filing bogus reports about investigations that weren’t being done.

“Is he having any luck?”

“Not yet, but if anyone can find him, Jake can.”

“I know you haven’t considered Conklin because he hated Stahl as much as everyone else did, but if Rosa checks out, we need to look at him for this,” Sam said. “Who knows what Stahl had on him? We know for sure it wasn’t my dad, and if everyone else checks out, Conklin is the only one left.”

“If it was Conklin, I’m going to stab him through the heart,” Farnsworth said.

“I’ll loan you my rusty steak knife.”

Chapter Six

Jake Malone rode to Annapolis in his personal SUV, with the windows down to let the cold air in. He was that rare bird who enjoyed the winter. The cold air made him feel alive, whereas heat sucked the life out of him. In the days since he’d given the order to take out Shane Ramsey, he’d needed everything he could get to feel better about himself.

He hated Jim Ramsey’s guts and had for years, long before he began to show his ass on the regular. The guy was just one of those officers who could never go along and get along. He had a gripe every other day and was a royal pain in the ass to supervise. Lately, he’d escalated, going so far as to openly harass Sam and ransack her office. After they’d nailed him for that with his fingerprints all over her things, they’d thought they’d seen the last of him before the union intervened to put him back on the job.