"Morning, Hoyt. Sheriff Walter Tubb." Poppernak greets as he and I were by the lakeshore where the body of a young man was found, Jenny and Tubb walking towards us. "Someone's back a little early." Jenny said to him. A week or two ago, Poppernak and Jenny were searching this house of the kidnapper of Max and her mother (Max being part of the group of the kids that had the bag of drugs and money) and it turned out this dude had set up a bomb in his basement and it went off and killed two officers and injured Poppernak.

So Poppernak had been in the hospital and was recover but he decided to come back earlier than expected. "You know me. Justice never sleeps and all that." Poppernak said. "So, how you doing? With recovery and everything?" Jenny asked him. "One day at a time." Poppernak said and Jenny smiles at him and pats his cheek. "It's good to have you back." She said then she noticed me.

"Well, look at you! Finally, got a case." She said. "Yeah, I figured she want to work with a familiar face for her first big case." Tubb said. "He's also hoping I'll be able to reel you in if you go too far off the deep end." I joked and Jenny laughs. "Oh, I'd like to see you try." She laughs. "I'm up for the challenge." I said and Jenny comes up and pats my shoulder.

"Welcome aboard." She said then we all start to walk over to the shoreline. "So, what do we have?" Jenny asked. "Uh, sister called it in. Found the body this morning when the brother didn't come home last night." I explained.

"Where's the sister?" Jenny asked. "I sent her home to prep the parents. I figured it's best to keep them from the scene." Poppernak said as we walk over to tarp covered body. Then I kneel down and pull back the tarp so that Jenny could get a good look at him.

"Oh, my God." She whispered, shocked, as she kneels down. "It's Mason Ford. I know the whole family." She said then she covers him up and I give a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry." I said, apologetically.

Later, Poppernak, Jenny and I make it to the Ford house and we walk up to the front door, Jenny in the lead. She takes in a deep shaky breath and I place a hand on her shoulder. "You want me to?" I asked her and she shakes her head. "No, I got it." She mutters then she knocks on the door.

The door opens, revealing a man, a woman and a young girl, all of them looking very worried. "Mona. Richard." Jenny said, somberly. "Please just tell me it isn't true. Mason can't be dead." Richard said and Jenny gives an apologetic look. "I'm so sorry." She said and Richard walks away while Mona starts to cry. Jenny goes up to Mona and gives her a hug. "Let's go inside and talk." She said and Mona walks away, letting all of us in the house.

"So, what are you doing to solve this?" Richard asked us as we all sit in the kitchen. "We have to follow protocol and wait for the coroner's report. That'll give us a sense of timing and circumstances around Mason's death." Jenny explains and Richard turns away.

"I can understand how devastating this is. But all we can do right now is just wait." Jenny tells them and Richard scoffs. "That's your answer? Waiting. You're gonna wait for someone else, who's gonna wait for a report to be done, and we'll just sit here with our hands folded waiting, Jenny. Someone killed my son." Richard said, obviously getting annoyed and angry.

"Mr Ford, we know this isn't easy to hear, but Mason's death isn't being ruled a homicide just yet." I explained and he turns to look at me. "What else could it be?" He asked me. "Have there been any issues with Mason lately? Depression? Drinking? drugs?" I asked them. "What the hell are you getting at?" Richard asked, offended, as he takes a step forward

"Honey, she's just asking questions. It's her job." Mona said as she places a hand on her husband. "No! My son did not use drugs." Richard said then he walks off towards the kitchen and Jenny turns to the girl.

"Hayden, honey, is there something you need to tell me?" Jenny asked her as Hayden did seem like she was hiding something. "Sweetheart?" Mona asked her daughter as Hayden looks between us. "No. He drank beer sometimes, but..." Hayden said then Richard slammed his fist against one of the cabinet doors which made Mona jump in fright.

"Take it easy, sir." Poppernak said as he stands up, obviously worried that Richard will get violent. I stand up and place a hand Poppernak's arm. "Hey. He...He just lost his son. It's okay." I tell him as Richard comes back into the dinning area. "You come into my home and you accuse my son of being a drug addict." Richard said, upset.

"They're just trying to help us." Mona cries, shakily. "Ah, the hell they are." Richard said, dismissively, as he walks away. Then Mona stands up while Hayden looks down. "Is there...anything else you want to ask us?" Mona asked. "Not right now. I-If there's anything that you need, anything at all, I am here for you. For all of you." Jenny tells her then Mona hugs her. "I promise you, I'm gonna get you the answers you deserve." Jenny tells her then she gestures for me and Poppernak to follow her out of the house.

Later, we got the results of Mason's death and it was because of an overdose. Jenny and I shared a look at this and she seemed upset and shocked by this, which I can't blame her. Poor kid just barely started his life.

We were talking over our options on how to approach this to the family when we had to make a couple of stops. The first one was at a small store that Jenny went in for a few minutes. But then she came back and told me that Hayden was in there and when she broke the news to her, Hayden didn't seem surprised. Turns out that when Hayden found Mason's body, she found a bag of drugs in his hand and hid it in her pocket before she now gave it to Jenny.

"You think he might have gotten this from the Bhullars?" I asked her after she handed me the bag. "I don't know but I'm not ruling it out." She said as she starts the her truck and we head off to notify Mona and Richard on what we found out while I stare at the bag of drugs.

Flashback

"Read 'em and weep, boys!" Digger exclaims as he lays his cards down to show a full house. Other men let out groans of frustration and a couple of them tossed their cards aside while I sit there, looking down at my hand.

"That was a good hand, Digger." I said as he reaches over to the middle of the table to grab the crumbled pile of money. "However..." I said and he stops and everyone looks over at me as I set my cards down, in a dramatic form. "Mine is better." I said to show I had a royal flush. A few people gasp then they cheer while others start to rag on Digger.

"She got you good, Digger!" One woman exclaims as Digger sits back and shakes his head at me but there was an impressed look on his face. "You are one lucky woman, Mouse. Maybe we should quit the drug business and take you to Vegas, you'd make us money faster." Digger said and I laugh as I grab the money.

As I pocket the money, Mad Dog, the leader of this drug ring, comes into the warehouse and walks by our table. "Digger. Mouse. Need to see you two." He said and Digger and I share a look before we get up and follow Mad Dog.

We enter his office and Mad Dog shuts the door. "What's up, boss?" I asked as Mad Dog comes around to face us. Then he pulls out a bag of what looked like white pills. "We found us a new product to distribute." Mad Dog said, with a wide smile, and this made me nervous as whenever Mad Dog smiled like this, it meant he was in a good mood and he was gonna be rolling in the money.

"What is that?" Digger asked as Mad Dog hands me the bag and I examine it. "This is some good stuff that's come up from Mexico." Mad Dog said and my mind clicks. "Wait! Is that what I think it is?" I asked him and Mad Dog nods. "That it is, Mouse. That it is." He said. "And this baby is gonna make us some serious money."

"Are we sure? Because I've been hearing how crazy lethal these things are." I said. "Only in the wrong hands. I'm having someone who knows a bit more of this stuff than I do and can help me figure it out." Mad Dog said but I had some serious doubt on this. And then I started to think of how I'm gonna tell my boss back at the station about this drug.

Present Day

"Oh. Hey, I didn't expect you 'til later." Denise said as Jenny and I walked into the office after talking to the Ford's. "Let me get you that lease." She said as she goes to her desk to get the lease. "So, um, I worked my magic and got us another five years at the same rate." She said, as she holds out a pen to her. "Of course you did." Jenny said, smiling, and Denise chuckles.

"Cassie see this yet?" Jenny asked as she takes the pen from her. "No, not yet. I'm giving her some space. I mean, I say that she should take a little more time away considering everything that happened, but we know that's not how she operates." Denise said as Jenny signs the lease. "Work can be a useful distraction." I remarked, speaking from experience, and Denise hums at this.

"It seems you're settling in well, here." She said. "Oh, yeah, seems as thought I've brought chaos with me once I moved here." I said and Denise smiles then she turns to Jenny, who hands her the lease papers once she finished signing them.

"How are things with you?" She asked. "Been better. Mona Ford's son was found dead today." Jenny said and Denise's face falls. "Mason? No." She said, distraught. "His poor parents. W-What...I mean, what happened?" Denise asked.

"Still trying to piece it together. We had to notify the family today." I tell her. "How'd that go?" Denise asked. "Never easy. And Richard, you know how he gets." Jenny said. "You know I do. I went through recovery with him. I gotta reach out to him and make sure he does not slip." Denise said.

"No matter what, a parent always blames themself." Jenny mutters and I bite my lips then wrap my left arm around me and raise up my right fist, pressing up against my lips as the sounds of sirens and screams echo in my head.

I must've zoned out and lost in my memories when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I jumped and looked over to see Jenny was the one who place a hand on my shoulder. "You okay? You spaced out there on me." She said and I let out a shaky breath and I realized my right hand was fiddling with my locket again. "Sorry, I guess I just..." I stammered before I stopped. "Bad memories?" Denise asked me and I nodded. "If you need to step back from the case, I totally understand." Jenny said and I shake my head. "No, I'm good. Let's go." I said and both women give me sympathetic looks before Jenny nods and we leave the office.

"Hey. We got the forensics back on those pills that killed Mason Ford." Tubbs tells me, Jenny and Poppernak as we walked in the station the next day. "And?" Jenny and I asked him, in unison. "I'd rather not do it here." He said and he leads us to his office.

We enter and Poppernak closes the door as Tubbs turns to us. "Synthetic opioids. Fentanyl. Here in Helena." Tubbs said as he hands Jenny the file and I go stand next to her to read it over her shoulder. "We knew that from the coroner's report." Jenny said. "Yeah, but these are cut with something. Makes them stronger, last longer, heightens the effects." Tubbs said.

"Which makes it easier to overdose on." I remarked. "Yep." Tubbs said. "Cheaper for the maker. Do we know what it is?" Jenny asked him. "They're running more tests to be sure." Tubbs explains. "Drugs. You ask me, bring back Just Say No. The fried egg, This is your brain. That was...That was powerful stuff." Poppernak said. "Deputy, please. I have a migraine." Tubbs said, exasperated.

"It's the Bhullars. We all know that." Jenny said, annoyed, as she slams the file down on his desk. "You know, back when it was just Dietrich and his gang, it was easyWe knew who they were. Everyone played on their side of the fence." Tubbs said. "It's always been the Bhullars. The only difference now is that they're here, in our backyard." Jenny argues.

"And if they keep cutting their batches, more people are gonna die." I added. "We need to nip this in the butt." Tubbs said. "It's actually bud, sir. With a D. Nip it in the bud. Butt, two T's...that could be a trigger word for some of the younger..." Poppernak said until Tubbs shouts, annoyed. "Deputy!"

"If we could just trace this back to the Bhullars, we could take them down." Jenny said. "Find out how Mason got this." Tubbs orders us. "Copy." Jenny said and I nod. "You got it, boss." I said and Jenny and I leave his office. "Where to now?" I asked her. "Gonna have a talk with Ren." She said, firmly, as she walked on and I followed her to her jeep.

It was night by the time we reached to the large cabin of Ren Bhullar, who seemed to be the one in charge of the drug trade here in Helena. But I did read up on the Bhullars and apparently they were one of the top dogs in the cartel in Canada.

Jenny and I get out of her car and walk up to the cabin as a woman, who I believe is Ren, and a couple of men come up behind her, obviously acting as her guards. "Can I help you, Officer?" Ren asked, in a fake cheery voice, then she noticed me. "Oh, I see you have a new partner." She said but Jenny wasn't having any of it.

"You just killed a kid." Jenny accused and Ren's smile falls. "What happened?" She asked. "A kid by the name of Mason Ford died with your drugs on him." Jenny said as I hold up the evidence bag that held the drugs. "Synthetic fentanyl, laced with whatever filth that you're cutting your batch with." I informed them and Ren seemed a bit surprised by this as this big, bearded man walks up next to Ren.

"I just want you to know that I will not stop until you go down." Jenny threatens. "I'm sorry. I just want to understand. You think I sold drugs to some kid, and the kid is dead?" Ren asked, confused. "That kid had a name." Jenny said and Ren blinks and starts to make a move and both me and Jenny reach for our guns.

"Are we doing this?" I asked, in a firm tone. "No, we're not, 'cause if I remember correctly, you need a warrant to be on private property. Which you're standing on. So why don't you two just turn around, get out of here? 'Cause you ain't gonna do nothing." The second man, a bit younger looking than bearded man and a thick southern accent, said as he steps up in front of us and giving us a stern look, mostly towards Jenny.

Jenny and I look around at everyone then we nod. "We'll see you all very soon." She said and we walk back to her jeep, get inside and leave.

Minutes later, Jenny pulls around to the back area of the cabin and parks some ways from it. "Uh, what are you doing?" I asked her as she looks out her window then shuts the engine off. "I gotta take a look." She said. "Are you crazy? Do you wanna get shot?" I asked her. "You see that truck over there?" She asked me as she gestures with her head towards the window.

I lean forward and see a large moving truck that was hiding in the back. "Yeah...?" I said, questioning. "That just proves they are involved!" Jenny said and I furrow my brow. "Jenny..." I said, a bit exasperated. "You don't believe me, do you?" She asked me and I shake my head. "I'm not saying that but I'm also saying that that truck could be anything! It could be just a normal moving truck." I said and she gives me a disbelieving look.

"Jenny, if you go searching without a warrant, you could lose your badge or, worse, get killed." I said, worried. "It's worth the risk. I just need to see if Ren and her family are involved with Mason getting those drugs." She said, determined, and I know once she has her mind set, you can't change it. I give an exasperated sigh before I look back at her. "Well, you're not going alone." I said and she smiles.

We get out of the jeep and walk towards the back of the cabin and approach a storm cellar door. Both of us take out our gun and aim it towards the door before Jenny opens it and we enter.

Inside was laboratory with tons of equipment and it looked like there was some drugs left behind. Jenny and I holster our guns and she walks up to this scale that had a glass container that was almost half full of drugs. She takes out a handful to look at it when I suddenly felt something hit me in the side of my head, making me fall to the side.

"(y/n)!" I hear Jenny shout as I felt like my head was spinning. Then I hear a glass shatter and something fell next to me. I shake my head in time to see that it was Jenny who was next to me and she goes to pull out her gun but a large man kicks it out of her hands, I pulled out my own and he kicked it out of my hand as well. "Bad move." The man said to us with a smile.