For a moment Seth could think of nothing to say, then his anger took over. "What the hell do you mean you've been suspended? How the fuck did you idiots manage that?"

"His fucking lawyer knows the police commissioner and he called him to complain. Then the commissioner called the chief personally and requested the suspension and a full investigation. If the asshole had waited to show up for a few more minutes I would have had that kid's signature on the confession!" Ferrel snarled.

Blaine shook his head. "No, you wouldn't. Zayden Walker wasn't about to sign a damn thing."

Ferrel turned and gave him a shove. "Bullshit, he was scared, he was going to sign!"

"No, Ferrel, he wasn't. Yeah, the kid was scared but he's also not an idiot, he knew if he signed the confession that it was all over for him. You handled things badly, I told you we needed to go by the book but you decided you knew better!" Blaine shouted. "You screwed us, not the kid and not his lawyer, you did it asshole!"

Seth stepped between them and shot Ferrel a glare before he looked at Blaine. "What happened?"

"I'll tell you what—"

Seth spun and punched Ferrel. "I didn't ask you!" He turned back to Blaine. "Tell me."

Blaine eyed Ferrel a second before he focused on Seth. "Ferrel dragged the kid in without mirandizing him, we went straight to interrogation without turning in paperwork or telling the desk officer that he was there. He deliberately hid the fact that Zayden was in interrogation because he thought he could scare the kid into signing a confession before his lawyer found us. It was a dumbass move and it gave the chief reason to follow through and suspend us. If we'd followed procedure then things wouldn't have ended the way they did."

Seth nodded and turned to Ferrel. "You're a hothead and you fucked yourself and your partner. If you had followed police procedure then we wouldn't be in this mess. Now everything attached to this case will be suspect, you fucking moron! The judge could toss the case out! If that happens then they might begin looking in other directions for other suspects!" He leaned closer to Ferrel. "And my name has already been brought up by Zayden and his friends!" Without turning away from Ferrel he spoke. "You're dismissed, Blaine. I suggest you be a good boy and behave and if they do begin an investigation you throw Ferrel here as far under the bus as possible."

"He's my partner I can't do that!" Blaine protested.

"Unless you want your reputation dragged through the mud with his then that is what you're going to do. You had no idea Ferrel was dirty and you have no idea where he's gone."

"I don't understand."

Seth moved in a flash. Ferrel didn't have an opportunity to defend himself because he never saw the move coming. The knife penetrated his heart and he died almost instantly. "Go Blaine."

Blaine spun away and ran from the warehouse.

Seth heard the squeal of tires as Blaine left the scene. He hummed as he cleaned his knife on Ferrel's tie. Once the knife was clean and sheathed, he moved across the empty warehouse building and returned with a small rolling cart.

"Fat bastard," he muttered as he heaved Ferrel's body up onto the cart. "Should have made Blaine help me." With a final shove, he settled Ferrel's body onto the cart and stood a moment sucking in a couple of deep breaths. "Man never met a piece of food he didn't devour." He patted Ferrel on the head. "Your ex-wife is far better off without you, asshole. I'll be certain to make an anonymous donation to your kid's college fund as a thank you for your, well not superior, but standard service in my organization." He gave the cart a shove and rolled it across the warehouse. The sound of the squeaky wheels echoed in the mostly empty space.

"Okay buddy, this is where we part ways." He heaved Ferrel's corpse through the small opening in a piece of machinery. "Damn man, you seriously needed to lose some weight." He stood back and kicked at Ferrel until he slipped, none too gently, through the opening and fell with a thud inside. Another kick sent the door slamming shut. He dusted his hand off and walked away. No one would find Ferrel, except perhaps for the rats. He whistled his way back across the warehouse and out the door to his bike.

Losing Ferrel and Blaine sucked. He had to hope the case against Zayden held up. He needed to make certain Zayden cooperated. If he pled guilty then this would all go away. If Blaine was right then Zay wasn't afraid of the cops. The righteous bastard probably believed he would win because he was in the right or maybe because he had that fancy, expensive lawyer Harrison was providing.

He snorted. "Yeah, that's not how it works." The cops still had the evidence against Zayden. If it held up then he had nothing to worry about, if for some reason it didn't then he'd move on to his next plan. He grinned. Zay would regret not giving in if he was forced to enact the step in his plan. The dumbass would realize he wasn't playing around. He would understand exactly who had the control. The engine on his bike roared to life and he left the warehouse, and Ferrel's corpse, behind.

***

West turned up the TV. "Damn." He twisted around on the couch and shouted to the others. "Guys, you need to get out here! Now!"

Alyssa appeared first. "What's wrong, why are you shouting?"

He pointed at the TV. "That is why." While he was answering her, Josh and Zay came into the room.

"Is that Detective Blaine?" Josh asked.

"The same." He turned the TV up some more.

Blaine stood beside a man dressed in a suit at a podium. The man was addressing the gathered reporters. "At this time my client has been suspended from duty until a full investigation can be completed. He has already spoken briefly with internal affairs and is fully cooperating with the investigation."

The moment the attorney finished speaking the reporters began shouting questions. "Did you know your partner was a dirty cop?"

"My client did not know that his partner, Detective Ferrel, was anything but an upstanding member of the police force."

"Do you know where Detective Ferrel is now?"

"My client does not know where his partner had fled to."

West turned the TV down. "A show of hands, how many people believe Ferrel went scurrying off into the night of his free will?" No one raised a hand. "And how many of us think Seth has taken him out of play rather forcefully?" They all raised their hands.

Alyssa sank down to sit beside him on the couch. "He killed a cop. A dirty cop, yes, but still ..."

"Still think he wouldn't kill you if he thought things weren't going his way?" West asked Zayden.

"I wish I had an answer for that but at this point anything is possible. He seems so normal on the surface, caring and kind, I can't understand how he can do these things." Zay was staring at the TV as the reporter continued to field questions from the reporters. Blaine looked as if he was going to puke any second.

"He's a psychopath," Alyssa told him. "He's able to pretend he cares but his relationships are all shallow and one-sided."

Zay sighed. "I don't know why no one has seen it. He needs help."

West snorted. "Only you would want to help the guy who's trying to put you in prison."

"I can't excuse his behavior but I can recognize that he's sick, West. If that's a flaw, then deal with it."

West reached up and grasped his hand. "Not a flaw, you care and that's a good thing." He grinned. "Even if you care a little too much sometimes."

"Okay, so where does this leave Zay's case?" Josh asked. "If the lead detectives are out then what happens?"

Alyssa shrugged. "I'm sure it will get turned over to someone else. They'll have to go over all of the evidence and familiarize themselves with the case. Once they do that then we'll see what happens. The new detectives might listen to reason when we point in Seth's direction, even if there is a lack of evidence."

"They might listen when Mr. Salazar points out that the pictures were all taken from close range with a cellphone," Zay pointed out. "Which means whoever took them was involved in the thefts too."

"All we can do is hope that whoever replaces them isn't on Seth's payroll," West told them with a grimace.

Zay's phone rang and he answered it. "Hello? Oh, yes, wait let me put you on speaker so everyone can hear." He switched the phone to the speaker and held it out. "All right, Mr. Salazar go ahead."

"I'm meeting with the chief in the morning to discuss your case. He took it upon himself to go through the evidence and he wants to address some of my concerns."

"Do I need to be there?" Zay asked.

"No, it's an informal discussion. If you have any questions or things you'd like me to bring up, now would be the time to tell me," Angelo said.

"Well, I'm sure you're going to bring up the whole thing about the pictures being taken with a cell phone."

"Yes, that's on my list."

"Hey, you should ask about the tablet. If it came from the tow shop, why were Zay's prints the only ones on it? The drivers all use the tablets throughout the day. It would have multiple sets of prints on it from all the shifts. It isn't as if Zay would steal it, wipe it clean, then stupidly leave his fresh prints on it. I mean if he was going to go through the trouble of removing all the other drivers' prints, why then leave his behind and incriminate himself? Right?"

"Excellent point, Alyssa. I'll bring it up. Anything else?"

"If we think of anything, sir, I'll send you a text," Zay replied.

"All right. I'm meeting with the chief at nine in the morning so if you think of anything get it to me before then."

"We will and thank you for letting us know," Zay said. They hung up and Zay looked at the others. "I hope the chief taking an interest is a good thing."

"Yeah, me too," Alyssa said. "I look forward to the day Seth is out of our lives."

Zayden sighed. "Yeah, I want all of this behind me."

"We all do. If I never see Seth Bradford again it won't upset me one bit," West told him.

Zay nodded but he stuck by his assessment that Seth needed help. Maybe if he got that help he could live a normal life. And what? They could get back together? He didn't think he could forgive Seth for this, no matter the reasons behind it. But he had cared for Seth, still did to a certain extent. He couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the Christmas tree and all the decorations they'd bought. Had Seth kept them or had it all been an act to lure him further in? He didn't want to think about it too hard because it hurt knowing it was likely all an act.