She sat back to rub her eyes. “Gonzo.”

“What?”

“Do you still know dealers?”

“Not sure if the ones I knew are still in the racket.”

“I want to talk to them.”

“If I send cops to them, they’ll come for me and my family.”

“Even if you tell them we’re on a factfinding mission and not out to bust anyone’s balls?”

“Even if.”

“What if we were to ‘encounter’ them organically?”

He raised a brow, his expression skeptical. “How so?”

“You tell us where we might find them, and we happen upon them in a way that doesn’t look planned.”

“You don’t think they’d see right through that?”

“I need to find this guy before someone else dies!”

“I understand the urgency, but I have to protect myself and my family.”

Sam’s friend Officer Charles came to the conference room door. “Could I have a moment, Lieutenant?”

“Sure.”

When Sam started to get up, her hip wasn’t having it. “Ugh,” she said as she sat back down. “Let’s try that again.”

Freddie stood and offered her a hand, which Sam gratefully took, wincing as the worst pain she’d felt in weeks radiated from her hip. If she had to take time out of her life to get that checked, she would be even more furious than she already was with Ramsey.

She made her way out of the conference room and headed to her office.

Officer Charles closed the door behind her and then handed Sam a printed report that she prayed she’d be able to read.

She blinked the words into focus. A twenty-nine-year-old wife and mother of two had been found unresponsive in her Brentwood home. Despite a quick EMS response, they were unable to revive her.

“My partner and I took the call,” Officer Charles said. “There were similarities to your brother-in-law, so I thought you might be interested.”

“You thought right.” Sam eyed the pretty young woman. “What’re you doing right now?”

“I’m off duty at three.”

“How do you feel about a little overtime?”

“I feel good about it.”

“Let’s go to Brentwood.”

“Now?”

“Right now.”

“Um, sure. I can do that.”

Sam went back to the conference room. “Keep digging until the end of your tour. I’m taking a ride with Officer Charles.”

“To where?” Freddie asked, sounding perturbed.

“Brentwood to talk to the family of a woman who died in a similar scenario to Spencer.”

“I can help with that,” he said.

“I want the chance to talk to Officer Charles. It’s all good. I’ll see you back here in the morning.”

Freddie nodded, but she could see he was pissed. She’d smooth things over with him later.

“Let’s go,” she said to Officer Charles. “If my detail takes us, can you get yourself back here or home after?”

“Yes, no problem.”

“Great.”

As they walked toward the morgue entrance, Sam tried to ignore the increasingly painful situation in her hip.

“What happened with Ramsey?” Officer Charles asked. “Everyone is buzzing about it.”