The Devil's Daughter

Apologies

For the past few days, I've come in to work with a smug smile across my face. I've been spending quite a bit of time with Cassie lately and it's truly been worthwhile. I feel that we've really made strides past the point of friends with benefits. I had this gnawing feeling that she, too, was probably thinking the same thing. I exited my office with a stack of files in hand, only to run smack into someone.

"I'm so sorry."

I apologized as I collided with the person before bending down to pick up my papers, as well as theirs. That is, until I looked up to see it was Tanya.

"It's fine." She was firm with her answer.

"H-How have you been?" I said, trying to reduce the tension.

"Why do you care?" She grabbed what few papers were hers before standing up.

"I was just asking." She scanned me up and down with her eyes.

"Not that it's any of your business, but I'm fine. How's your girlfriend?" She asked with a hint of jealousy.

"She's-" I stopped myself mid sentence.

If I told her that she wasn't my girlfriend then it'd be like I was giving her another shot, versus if I did, then I'd have to deal with this pettiness all day and have Olivia on my ass for it.

"Great." I replied through a tight smile.

She plastered on a fake smile that was more disturbing than believable.

"Actually, Tanya, I wanted to talk to you about that night. It wasn't fair how Cassie spoke to you. I'm also sorry for allowing you to be deceived. I didn't mean to lead you on."

"It's fine. I liked you, and I still do, but I appreciate the solidarity. It means a lot." She gave me a faint smile.

"Absolutely. I wish I said something earlier, but I felt that you would still be angry with me." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, I was. I think I was more mad at your girlfriend than anything else."

"I understand. I'll talk to her about it, but I do want you to know how sorry I am." She shook her head gently.

"I appreciate it, but there's no need to talk to her about it. If it were me, I know I would've done the same. I completely get it."

"I appreciate you being cool about this."

I really didn't want to apologize because she was really out of line, but I might as well try to bury the hatchet while I could.

"Yeah. Listen, I-I better get back to work."

"Same here. I'll see you around, Tanya."

She gave me a soft smile and went on her way. It cheered me up to know that I didn't feel uneasy in the office anymore. I walked toward the conference room and managed to get there before anyone else. I took a moment to text Cassie while I could.

Are you busy later? I'd like to see you again x

I set my phone down next to my files and anxiously waited for a reply. When it didn't come in the time that I would've liked it to, I figured that she must've been busy. Once the other detectives filed in one by one, I flipped the switch on my personal life and focused on what was more important at hand.

"I'm thinking we need to make a break to go back to each of the places owned by Parker Chandler." I announced as I walked around the conference room.

"For what?" Anderson seemed agitated, but that wasn't my concern.

"Because I feel like there's something we're missing. I'm not sure what it is." I rubbed the back of my head as I slumped down in one of the chairs.

"If you say so."

...

The next day, I still hadn't heard anything from Cassie. It felt like the last time, but different. I wasn't sure what went wrong after that night. I wondered if it was because of how much time that we'd been spending together. Perhaps, taking a step back to let her figure things out would be best. I met up with Mayfair and Anderson in the meeting room to go over details from last night.

"What did we all find?" I asked each of them.

"The clubs were busy, but that seemed to be normal, compared to other nights that we've been there. I didn't suspect any abnormal behavior." Mayfair commented as she leaned back in her chair.

"The shops were busy, but I mainly stayed at the entrances to oversee the people going in and out. How about you?"

Per usual, I stayed around Sunset Dive. Not only because that was where Cassie was, but there was something about that place that made me wary. I wasn't sure what it was, but I needed to figure it out.

"Same thing. I'm wondering if Chandler knows that we're onto him, making him go underground."

"Whatever it is, it's probably best because that keeps him from killing people." Anderson added.

"That may be true, but if he went underground then he's cooking up something. I have a bad feeling about this. Where is Womble, anyway?"

The two detectives looked at one another and shrugged their shoulders. Almost as if he knew we were talking about him, he rushed into the meeting room, completely disheveled.

"What the hell happened to you?"

Anderson asked him, taking in his appearance. He wore a smirk on his face that said it all.

"What happened?"

I asked him, somewhat curious, but also somewhat irritated by his lack of care today.

"Nothing, really. I just ran into this girl last night, she was pretty hot."

What?

"What's her name?" I asked him. I had this gnawing feeling in the pits of my stomach.

"Her name was Natalie. I met her at one of the restaurants." Thank, God.

"Well, did you find anything there that could be useful?" He rubbed his chin as he tried to search through his fuzzy memories.

"There's something there, that's for sure. Some of the bartenders were going in and out, quite frequently. They looked like users, but I'm not sure if that's really much to go off of."

"Actually, it is. If they're using, then we need to get them to talk. More than likely, there's something there." I aimed my eyes at both him and Anderson.

"I can head back there today." I shook my head at him.

"You're not going back alone, no need to get distracted during a crucial moment like this." I chastised him.

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him."

Anderson said as I dismissed the both of them, leaving me seated at the table with Mayfair.

"You okay over there?" She pulled me from my thoughts.

"Yeah, I just have a bit on my mind. Any word on Lisandra's baby?" She nodded her head.

"Seems that the grandparents came from San Francisco to get the baby, but I think they're sticking around for awhile. Why?"

"I want to talk to them."