Shallow Valley

59.Good Mother

59.

I've got a good mother
and her voice is what keeps me here
(Jann Arden-Good Mother)

"Any news?" Indra asked, entering Anya's office.

"Nothing." the detective answered, snorting. Next to her, Gustus and Jasper were reading some papers, looking really bored. They were at a dead end, it was so clear.

"Lexa is on the phone with Roan. Maybe he knows something more about the drug deal, but I don't think that it will help us with the homicides, Birch." Gustus said. Indra chewed the inside of her cheek.

"Where's Blake?" she asked. Octavia was always at work and not seeing her was really strange, uncommon.

"She's at home. She asked for a day off, she had something to do, I don't know." Anya explained. Indra was about to ask her more, when suddenly Lexa entered the office. Indra gazed at her. She looked anxious, a bit distressed.

"Little Woods, is everything okay?" the federal agent asked. Lexa frowned at that nickname. She didn't expect it.

"Well, you are two Woods and I needed nicknames to distinguish you. She is the Old Woods." Indra told her, pointing at Anya. "And you are Lit-... Nevermind.". She was feeling like a babysitter and she didn't like it. "So, is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I... I was on the phone with Roan." the younger woman said. "He knows who Pike worked with.". With those words Lexa managed to gain everyone's attention. She swallowed a lump in her throat, blushing. Since when she had stopped being Heda, she had been aware of how much she hated being in the spotlight. It was paradoxical, but she had rediscovered herself as a very shy and reserved person, almost introvert. Sometimes she wondered how she could have been Heda for so long, it was a mystery to her.

"Lexa, what did Roan tell you?" Jasper asked, bringing her back to reality.

"Oh, yes, sure..." she stuttered, realizing that she hadn't told them anything yet.

"His name is Atohl and he is an Azgedian. He is no longer a problem, we don't have to worry.". Gustus, Indra, Jasper and Anya glanced at each other, in disbelief.

"What... What do you mean with he is no longer a problem?" Indra asked, not really sure wether she wanted to know the truth or not.

"Roan took care of him, yes. And of Seiku, his partner. And probably of all their me-..."

"Okay, okay, I don't want to learn anything else, thank you." Indra interrupted her, resisting to the impulse to learn more. When she had accepted to let Roan and Lexa free she had done it at one condition, she wanted to know nothing about how the man would have ruled his people as long as Grounders would have gradually stopped to be criminals. And she really meant it.

"I'm sorry, this isn't useful at all." Lexa said, upset.

"This Atohl and Seiku, did they tell Roan if Pike worked alone or if he had a partner?" Gustus questioned.

"They always saw him alone." the Grounder answered. Anya snorted and scrolled some papers, while Indra and Gustus looked defeated.

"You know what? It's less useful than you think." Jasper said, out of nowhere.

"What do you mean?" Anya asked, confused. "We have nothing."

"No, it's not true." Jasper replied. "Listen, at this point it's clear that Pike wasn't the only one from Shallow Valley who knew about Grounders' existence."

"Yes, it's something we stated since day one, Jordan." Indra told him, not really understanding the point of his talk.

"And this is why we should investigate the relationship between Grounders and Shallow Valley."