A headache pounded behind my eyes.

I’d spent half the morning at the police department, behind a locked door and going over the information the task force had accumulated. They’d then told me they’d turned over the material they wanted me to start looking at and provided me with a small, cramped room equipped with a computer that was several years out of date and told me to get to work.

Could I take the material to my office and work? No.

Could I use my own laptop? No.

I already felt hamstrung at that point, and I hadn’t gotten started.

Now, a few hours into the work, I could see why they needed me, but they needed to update their equipment almost as much, and I needed something for my horrible headache.

I kept the door shut, but every time a shadow passed in front of the frosted glass, I found myself looking up, taking in the shape, the height, wondering if it could be Ravenna.

Immediately after, I’d castigate myself and remind myself of what she’d done, and that cycle wasn’t helping my headache.

I had to get over this obsession with her because one thing was clear. Judging by the amount of data I had to go through, this wasn’t going to be a job that took a few days or even a few weeks. I’d be at this for a period of months at least, so I needed to get used to the idea of that I’d see her at some point.

I’d have to see her and not be affected by her.

“Fat chance,” I muttered. I’d had several nights of restless sleep, punctuated by dreams about her, and I was under no illusion that those dreams might stop any time soon. I’d just barely gotten a taste of her, and I wanted, even now, to feast on her.

A knock at the door had me looking up. “Come in,” I called out.

Lieutenant Frank Steppes came in. Actually, what he did was wedge his considerable frame inside the door, blocking my view of the hall. Steppes looked like somebody who could have played a defensive lineman at some point in his life. He was built like a tank, tall and broad, all the way through. His face was rugged and square, and his nose looked like he’d taken a hit or two. Maybe even three.

His eyes might have been considered soft, a pale blue, but the look in them was all cop. That cop gaze studied me for a few moments before he looked around the small room I’d been shoved into. My walk-in closet at home was bigger than this.

“They sure pulled out all the stops for you, didn’t they?” He gave me a wry grin and shook his head.

“Yeah. I’m kind of amazed at the royal treatment.” Leaning back from the desk, I rolled some of the kinks out of my shoulders and tapped a pen on the arm of my chair. “I can’t remember the last time I worked in such plush accommodations.”

“That’s the Monterey PD for you. Plush accommodations and luxurious treatment, all around.” Without batting an eye, he nodded toward the door. “You should check out the cells in back. The inmates like them so much, they end up becoming repeat customers.”

“I think I’ll just take your word on that,” I said, my tone as dry as the desert. “Is there something I can do for you, lieutenant?”

“Just wondering if you got an idea how long it will take you to unravel this mess.”

I blew out a breath and shook my head. “This isn’t going to be a quick job. I was already advised that there’s more information incoming too. Is that a fact?”

“Yes. At least, we’re hoping. This investigation has been ongoing for about six months now. We’re fully committed to it.”

I’d hope so. They were looking at a locally organized crime syndicate that had ties to a larger network. Drugs, money laundering, possible connections to human trafficking…there was no way this should have anything less than full commitment. I was just glad that all they needed from me was help following the money trail.

I could do that.

And if it helped bring something as ugly as human trafficking to a stop, then I’d be happy to play my part.

“That’s good to hear. This is an ugly pile of shit, if you don’t mind me saying so.” Something on the screen caught my interest, and I leaned forward, eying the figure. I jotted it down on the notepad in front of me. I’d have to follow that thread all the way through to the end or find a safe stopping point because any handwritten notes or hard copy had to be shredded before I left every day. Nothing could be saved that wasn’t secured by multiple passwords and some serious data encryption.

Shooting Steppes a quick look, I said, “You know, working on such dated equipment could compromise the investigation. You sure you can’t get me the okay to use my own laptop? I’ve got top of the line security and the most up-to-date programs on it.”

“Ain’t going to happen,” he told me, shaking his head. “However…” he grimaced and glanced back over his shoulder, “I’ve already explained your concerns to the FBI connections on the task force with us. It’s possible they’ll requisition a better unit for you to use while you’re here. It will have to stay in the department, locked up in here, but it should be better than that POS you’re on now.”

“Just about anything made in the past three years will be better than this piece of shit,” I assured him. “I appreciate you going to bat for me like that.”

“It’s for the case.” He gave a short nod and shoved away from the door. “You let me know if there’s anything you need while you’re here. I’ll do what I can to make it happen.”

Once he was gone, I lost myself to the numbers once more, following that thread I’d noticed earlier, pulling at it until a few more threads began to make themselves known.

A pattern finally emerged, and I knew I’d found the beginning.

That was what it took to unravel a mess like this, finding the beginning of the pattern.

My phone rang just as I went to open a document so I could make a few notes to save on the computer. Pulling my cell phone from my pocket, I spied Suria’s number and hit the button to accept the call.

“Hello, sweetheart. How are you?”

“I’m doing okay,” she said, her voice oddly subdued. She wasn’t as boisterous in nature as Joelle was, but she sounded almost…glum just then, and that wasn’t like her. At least I didn’t think it was. We were still in that getting-to-know-each-other phase so I could easily be wrong.

Yet I didn’t think I was.

“You don’t sound okay,” I said softly, leaning back from the desk. My spine protested, and I wondered if the lieutenant would argue if I at least provided my own chair. This one felt like it had been designed specifically to torture the ass and spine.

“I’m just out of sorts,” she said. “Look, I’m calling because Joelle wanted me to. She thinks we were a little too harsh on that cop – Ravenna, right?”

“Yes, that’s her name. What do you mean?”

“Just that. We were talking, and Joelle was kind of stand-offish. That’s not like her, and it took me a while to get her to open up, but she finally unloaded on me. She doesn’t get mad at me, Nicco, but she was pretty damn close. She thinks we weren’t being fair – told me that she and Ravenna had just been talking and it wasn’t like the cop was putting the thumbscrews to her or anything. Plus, she kept pointing out that she had lied about her age, so it wasn’t like Ravenna knew she was a kid or anything.”

“All you have to do is look at Joelle, and you can tell she’s a kid,” I pointed out. But I scowled, staring at the wall in front of me without really seeing it. I didn’t really like the way my gut twisted at Suria’s words. “Ravenna’s a cop. She’s trained to be observant. She had no business talking to a kid without getting the okay of her parent or guardian. We both know that.”

Suria laughed hollowly. “Right now, her parent and guardian is a crooked, conniving piece of shit by the name of Gabriel Marks. I don’t even know how to begin changing that, you know?

“We’ll get that figured out. I’ve already got the names of a couple of lawyers to talk to. We need you to get a job – a legit one – and start bringing in a steady source of income so you can prove you’re a reliable guardian. Once you do that, we’ll petition the state. Once you have a job, you’ll already be a step above Marks,” I pointed out.

Suria sighed. “I know that. This is all just…it’s too much. And now Joelle is mad at me, and if she’s right…what if this cop is somebody who can help us bring my dad down? Then Joelle would really be safe.”