It was nearly one o'clock in the morning when Kate was finally alone in the precinct.

It was so quiet she could hear her own breathing as she made her way to Stevens's office.

Was this a bad idea?

Probably, but she needed to know the truth. She was convinced that Stevens and Nick were keeping something from her.

That weird talk she'd had with her boss just before he'd asked Nick in his office only confirmed her suspicions.

Plus, he'd actually lowered the blinds while the two of them were talking. That meant that, whatever they had been discussing, it was important and top-secret.

Needless to say, Kate's curiosity was peaked.

When she got to the door, she fished a photograph out of her jeans pocket. It showed the inside of Stevens's office at night.

Then she crouched down and started picking the lock with a hairpin.

After a few minutes, a clicking sound momentarily slashed through the silence.

She was in.

Pressing herself to the wall as she inched forward, she was careful not to make a sound.

Kate halted when she was directly under the security camera. She got up on her tippy-toes and quickly attached the picture to the lense.

Now she could move freely.

As she was traipsing to the desk and turning on Stevens's computer, she began having doubts about her plan.

If anyone found out that she was breaking into the office of the chief of police, she wasn't just going to be fired, she would be sent to jail.

But she'd already come so far - she couldn't back down now.

Lucky for her, Stevens didn't believe in passwords.

Kate quickly sifted through the folders on his computer until she found the one she was looking for: security camera files.

She pulled up the recent footage and jumped to the time-stamp she was interested in.

The first thing she noticed was Stevens's expression. He looked pissed.

"Officer Smith," he greeted Nick.

Because of how the security camera was positioned, Nick's back was turned to her. She was able to see Stevens clearly and from the front, however.

"I think we can stop pretending that this case is anything but what we both know it is. And, we already know who did it."

Oh, she knew they were shutting her out!

But what was it that Stevens felt he could tell Nick, but not her?

And then, without warning, Stevens had Nick pressed against the wall. "Either it was one of your buddies or it was you."

Kate almost couldn't believe what she was seeing.

What was happening? He thought Nick was somehow involved in the murders?

No, that wasn't possible, right?

Just as Nick had finished defending himself against this serious accusation, Stevens stumbled back.

"Keep it together," the chief of police scolded him.

Had Nick done something that warranted.. fear?

Yes, that was fear on Stevens's face.

It bugged Kate that she still couldn't see Nick's face, so she didn't really know why Stevens reacted the way he did.

The chief of police gave Nick a file. "I want you to keep your partner off their tracks."

Kate was biting her lip. This was big. Not only did the chief of police keep secrets from her, he actively wanted to keep her from investigating.

She paused the video and zoomed in on the file.

She could barely make out the names and took out her phone to write them down. Nick's name was on there as well.

Clearly, Nick was involved in this in one form or another, even if he hadn't directly been responsible for the murders - something Kate wasn't sure of, either, because she hadn't heard him giving an alibi yet.

How could she have been so wrong about him? She felt betrayed and.. disappointed.

Disappointed because she.. kind of, a little bit, maybe.. liked him and it turned out he was some kind of criminal?

She was about to press play, when she heard a faint 'ping' coming from far away.

Immediately, she closed every tab she had open and turned off the computer.

She knew that sound. It was the elevator.

Running to the security camera, she ripped off the photograph and then inched along the wall as quickly as she dared. Luckily, she'd left the door open, just enough to allow her to peer outside.

It was Hugo who stepped out if the elevator, the only other officer that seemed to talk to Nick regularly.

If Kate hadn't been holding her breath, she would've sighed in relief at that moment.

Hugo went to his desk and started rummaging through one of his desk drawers. Pulling out a car key, he smiled, and then went back to the elevator.

Kate waited until she was completely certain Nick's friend was gone when she stepped out of Stevens's office and closed the door.

She'd seen everything she needed.

...

Once she was back at her place, she finally allowed herself to take a deep breath. A glance at the clock above her bedroom door informed her that it was two o'clock in the morning.

She pulled out her phone and inspected the names she'd taken down more closely.

She needed to check out the two names she didn't recognize after she'd gotten some sleep. And then she'd run a background check on Nick and Perez.

Something connected all of the people in that file, connected them to the murders, and she would find out what.

****

Wow, Kate isn't afraid of anything!

In the next chapter, Nick will finally demand some answers..

thank you so much for all the support,
AmongMillions
OrangeSap

love yaaa!