“You’d work with me, not for me, and we’d be honored to have you.”

“There’re probably more senior officers who’ll apply.”

“I want you.”

“Because I’m Black and female like Deputy Chief McBride,” she said, nodding. “I get it.”

“Neither of those things has anything to do with why I want you to fill the opening created by her promotion. This is all about merit. You’ve repeatedly shown me that I can count on you to do your job with no drama. That’s gold to me, because I need people I can count on, especially due to the aforementioned circus.”

“You can count on me.”

“And I know that, which is why I want you on my team.”

“I’m incredibly honored to be asked.”

“We’ll see if you’re still honored after a couple of weeks with us.”

“I will be.”

“I hope so. Give me the highlights on this woman in Brentwood.”

Neveah cleared her throat and pulled out her notebook. “Mary Alice Albright was found unresponsive this morning by her husband, Brad. He called 911, and EMS tried to resuscitate her to no avail.”

“Do we have any information about whether she had a drug problem?”

“There’s nothing in the report about that. I noted the similarities to what I’d learned about the circumstances of your brother-in-law’s death.”

“We believe he was killed by pills laced with fentanyl.”

“I wondered if that’s what it was.” She glanced at Sam. “Did you know he had a problem?”

“No clue. They chose to keep it private because of Nick. If someone is selling laced pills in this town, we need to find them. Quickly.” She sent a text to Gonzo. Anything standing out?

A few things that’ll give us some threads. We’re going to give it another hour and then pick it up in the morning.

Thank you.

Shock had Sam feeling like she was wading through quicksand in this case, but they would keep up the momentum now that they had some leads. When they arrived at the house in Brentwood, numerous cars were parked in the driveway and in the street.

“I hate to do this to them when they’re grieving,” Sam said, eyeing the house where disaster had struck, “but we need to get the info while it’s fresh.”

They got out before Vernon could open the door for them and were halfway up the sidewalk when the front door opened, and a man stepped out. “We’re not seeing anyone right now.”

Sam showed him her badge and saw recognition come over him. “Lieutenant Holland, Officer Charles to see Mr. Albright.”

“He’s not seeing anyone.”

“I understand, and we’re sorry to intrude at such a difficult time,” Sam said. “We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t have urgent business with him.”

“Wait here.”

“Are people always so happy to see you?” Officer Charles asked.

“That was a welcome party compared to what I’m accustomed to. This is the worst part of what we do. Intruding on people’s grief or having to tell them news that’ll change them forever.”