Joanne’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You think I wanted this to happen?” she snapped. “You think I looked at how that awful woman manipulated those kids, and I said, ‘Yeah, sure, let her walk’? You think I wouldn’t like to break all the rules? Just say fuck it and go off the reservation like you? Of course I would, but there are rules. I had no choice but to follow those rules. I’m not finished with this case. Not by a long shot. I’m going to do everything I can to build a case against her, with Ash’s help. That’s how this works, Dr. Ortiz, in case you’ve forgotten.” Becca saw the strain on Wishard’s face, her eyes bloodshot and lined with deep, heavy circles. If Becca weren’t so angry, she might have felt sorry for her.

Christian laid a hand on Wishard’s shoulder. “Joanne, ease up.”

“Yes, let’s all take a beat,” Nina said.

Wishard softened, shaking her head as though she were disappointed in herself for losing her temper. “We will get her. It’s just going to take time.” She sighed, then stood up. “I have to get back to the station. Christian, you can handle the rest,” she said, giving him a curt nod as she strode down the hall toward the elevators.

Becca clocked the tension between them and watched her go, her mind spinning. There had to be something else they could do. She zeroed in on Christian. “Handle the rest? What the hell does that mean?”

He ran a hand through his hair. She knew Christian’s non-verbal cues inside and out. This one meant he was about to deliver bad news.

“Becca, Vic was found hanging in his cell at county. He hung himself with his bedsheets. Left a message in blood. It read, ‘The Tribe endures.’ ”

“He killed himself?” Becca said, but it was a rhetorical question. She remembered Vic’s rage and the deep sadness that clung to him, his loyalty and devotion to Mo, and it made complete sense. Becca took a deep breath, not wanting to know the answer to her next question, but asking it anyway. “What about the others?”

“I’m afraid it’s not looking good. Over the course of the last two hours, three other Tribe members who were taken into protective custody also attempted suicide.”

Becca leaned forward, her eyes filling with tears. “They’re dead? All of them?”

“Two were pronounced on site. One is in critical condition,” Christian replied.

Becca closed her eyes, thinking about those kids laughing, talking, eating, and enjoying life just a few hours before. They believed in Mo until the very end, even when she’d turned her back on them and walked away.