Page 36 of So Bleak

“Methamphetamine,” Michael explained. “Crystal.”

“Got it.” Faith sighed. “Okay. Do you have any pills from your recent batch?”

Tanya sniffed and nodded. “Yeah. There are sixteen left. I re-upped two weeks ago.”

“And all the pills you gave to the victims are from this most recent batch?”

“Yes.”

“Do we have your permission to go into your apartment and retrieve them?”

Tanya’s eyes shifted sideways. “Um… am I going to be charged with anything?”

“Hell yes you are. If you don’t give us permission, we’ll just get a warrant.”

She lowered her head again. “I knew I should have gotten a lawyer.”

"We'll make sure you get one," Faith said, standing. "This would've come out eventually, Tanya. A warrant for your apartment was the next step, no matter what. But if we find out that your pills are clean, then you're only getting dealing a controlled substance and possession with intent to distribute. That's not good, but it's a whole light year better than multiple murder. You still did the right thing by talking to us.”

“Doesn’t feel like it,” Tanya moped.

“Well, the right thing would have been to not sell drugs in the first place. Consider this a learning experience.”

She left the room, fuming.

So close. They were so close. She could taste the end of this case.

And then suddenly, they were no closer than they were at the beginning. Their murderer was still out there. How long before yet another victim lay dead on the floor?

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Faith slammed the door to her apartment closed, but Michael caught it and shut it gently, so she didn’t even get that satisfaction.

“Damn it!” she shouted. “Fuck!”

Michael stiffened, but then shrugged. “Well, I guess they won’t be your neighbors for much longer.”

“Fuck the neighbors!” she said. “Damn it!”

Turk whined and nudged her gently. She sighed and ruffled his fur. “Yeah, I know. It just sucks. I really thought we had it figured out.”

“Yeah,” Michael said, “Me too. But hey, you never know. Maybe they’ll find something in the pills.”

Faith sighed. “No, they won’t. Even if they do, it won’t make a difference. MDMA is one of the most common drugs to find in a tox screen. So’s meth. They would have found that without needing to send it to the state lab.”

Michael nodded. “Yeah. They would have.”

“Damn it!”

“I know.”

Faith sat at her table and rested her chin on her hands. She bit her lip and looked pensively at the wall. Michael headed to the freezer and pulled out the microwave meals she had bought from the liquor store. “Glad I threw these in here before we went to the bistro. I’m going to make yours first, and you’re going to eat it.”

“I’m not hungry.”

"Yes, you are. You don't think you are because you're pissed, but you are. And you need fuel. So you're going to eat no matter what else we do tonight."

“What else are we going to do? We don’t have any more leads. We’re back to square one again.” She let her head drop into her hands. “God! What are the odds? How do three people by drugs from the same person at the same place the day each of them dies and their drug dealer isn’t the killer?”

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