Rebecca could do nothing but stare at the Chief, unable to process what was happening. "I don't know."
"I don't know either," said the Chief. "I do know that if you really thought I didn't know, you were both crazy. Just think about that time I caught the two of you in the closet. Do you really think I'm dumb enough to fall for that stupid excuse Carlton made about you being his therapist? I mean, come on!"
"Um, well, in his defense, I was helping him talk through some issues..."
"And what about that time Carlton said he loved you over the phone while I was with him? He told me he was talking to Mr. Guster!"
Rebecca winced. "Okay, yeah, that one---that was weird."
"The point is, Ms. Williams, that this cannot go on," said Chief Vick. "The two of you cannot go on like this. Something must be done. As much as I'm rooting for you and Lassiter, and for Mr. Spencer and O'Hara, I can't let this go on. I can't show favoritism. I have to stick to my policy."
Rebecca nodded, her eyes tracing the pattern of palm leaves on her dress so she didn't have to look in her boss' eyes. "I understand."
"So what do you think I should do about it?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"No, ma'am."
"Well, here's an idea. Take that invitation that you've been packing around for the past three weeks and take it home. I don't want to see it."
"Ma'am?"
"You heard me. The less I know, the better. Now, go get some work done!"
Rebecca nodded and made a break for the door. "Yes, ma'am!"
"Oh, and Ms. Williams? We never had this conversation."
"You're really funny, Gus," Lichelle said with a grin.
"Thank you, Lichelle," Gus said. "I wish I could make Shawn feel the same way."
"Don't worry about him, Gus. He's your friend. It's his job to give you a hard time, that's all."
"Do you really think so? Sometimes I feel like I'm just a slacker. Like I'm holding him back. I never say that, and more often than not, he's the one holding me back, but I wonder if maybe he'd be a better detective alone."
"No. Clearly, you're the smart one. You're the voice of reason, the common sense. Balance is everything, Gus. You've got to have balance."
Gus smiled. "You're right again."
Lichelle laughed. "I know I am. If I didn't, I wouldn't have said it."
"You always say the right things."
"I always try."
"It's funny, Lichelle. I've only known you for a few hours, but I feel like I've known you my whole life."
Lichelle smiled. "I know how you feel. And I never expected this, but I really feel the same way."
Gus glanced at the clock and frowned. "Oh, no! I've been here nearly three hours! I should've met up with Shawn hours ago!"
"Hey, don't sweat it," Lichelle said. "Life's too short. Although, if you're on official po-po business, maybe you should go."
"It's not official police business, but it is police business. I'm just not sure what kind. We chased this serial killer all the way from Santa Barbara, and Lassiter is supposed to meet her tomorrow at the Ryokan Hiei. But we don't know what to expect. We don't even know what her face looks like. All we know is that she's a murderer."
"That sounds so serious. Do you think you'll catch her? Or do you think...?"
"I don't know, to be honest." Gus sighed. "But we definitely outnumber her. That should be an advantage."
Lichelle nodded. "You're right. There's safety in numbers. Which means you should probably go back to your friends."
Gus nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right. See you." He headed for the door, careful to move his head out of the way of the long strand of jingle bells dangling from the ceiling beside the doorframe.
"See you. Hey, Gus?"
Gus turned back to look at her. "Yeah?"
Lichelle grinned and held out the portrait she'd drawn earlier. "Don't forget your sketch."
Gus looked down at the paper she'd handed him and smiled. In the bottom right corner, she'd stenciled in her phone number.
Lassiter sat on the cot in Juliet's room and listened with her to the ghostly wails and moans echoing from the back wall.
Juliet let him hear the sounds for a while before whispering, "What do you think it is?"
"It's not a ghost," Lassiter said, giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. Inside, his heart was tapping out a fast military march. Maybe it wasn't a ghost, but whatever it was, Lassiter didn't like it.
"Then what is it? Is it a person somewhere doing this?"
"Maybe. It almost sounds...mechanical. Like a recording."
"So it's a prank."
"Probably. It's nothing to worry about, O'Hara."
"Are you sure?"
Immediately, Lassiter answered, "Yes."
"You're not sure, are you?"
"What are you talking about, O'Hara? Of course I'm sure."
"You hesitated."
"No, I didn't!"
"Yes, you did!"
"I did not!"
"I'm not arguing with you, Carlton! You hesitated!"
"All right, fine!" Lassiter snapped. "I don't know if it's something to worry about or not! It might be a prank, it might be a ghost, or it might be a serial murderer coming to slit my throat in the middle of the night! I don't know, O'Hara! I don't know!"
Juliet was quiet for a long moment, a moment long enough to make Lassiter regret raising his voice at her. He wished he could say the right thing at the right time like Spencer.
"O'Hara, I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to---"
"No, it's okay," Juliet interrupted. "I'm sorry, too. I know you're on edge. We all are. I didn't mean to push you."
Lassiter sighed. "What am I doing, O'Hara? I'm falling apart at a crucial moment. The Aurora Killer will be here tomorrow, and I still don't even know what to look for, and all I can think of is Rebecca."
"It'll be okay, Carlton." Juliet rubbed her partner's shoulder in a vain attempt to comfort him. "It'll be okay."
Lassiter glanced at her. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," Juliet said immediately.
Lassiter smiled. "You hesitated."
Shawn sat in the dinky little diner across from the Ryokan, staring at the white globs of tasteless, sticky rice on his untouched plate. He took one sip from his Coca-Cola and pushed it away. "Everything tastes weird here," he muttered to himself. "I'm totally telling Gus I found some churros." He sighed and left a tip for the lone bartender. "There's something not right here. Something I'm missing. What could it be?"
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