Chapter 1:

Sharon Raydor was lying awake in her bed. She had just finished a long day of maneuvering between closing a murder case and mothering Rusty. She barely made it on time to see him win the chess tournament at school, but it was worth it after seeing how proud he was of himself. She smiled to herself, staring at the dark ceiling, as she remembered how happy he was. She felt a deep connection to this boy, who came into her life only a few months ago. She liked having someone in her house again. It made her feel less lonely, and the distance from her children was more bearable.

Sharon turned on the side and closed her eyes for what seemed like a few seconds, before her iPhone rang and she opened her eyes. The soft, early daylight washed the room in warmth, blinding her for a moment, until her eyes got used to it. "I can't believe it's already morning," she mumbled and took the iPhone in her hand.

"Hello?" she answered, rubbing her eyes with her unoccupied hand. Her voice was hoarse from sleep.

"Captain, sorry to wake you," it was Lieutenant Tao's voice, she recognized it right away, "but we caught a murder," he continued.

"It's okay, Lieutenant, just give me the address and I'll be there as soon as I can," Sharon said and listened to the other end of the line as Tao was doing what she asked.

She hung up the call and looked at the time. "Damn," she mumbled and got up, staggering to the bathroom. It was 6:00 am on a Saturday.

"Good morning, Captain," Lieutenant Tao greeted Sharon when she arrived on the scene.

"Morning, Lieutenant," Sharon replied coldly and looked around, frowning. The scene was taped in red, and her squad was standing outside of it, while other policemen were processing the scene. "What is going on here?" she asked slowly.

"The scene belongs to FID now," said Tao.

Sharon turned her head toward him abruptly. "Why? What happened?"

"Well, there are two victims; one of them is a police officer. Sergeant Tom Miller. The other victim's identity is unknown yet. It seems like they both fired at the same time, because Sergeant Miller has a bullet in his heart, and the other victim has one in his head. Ballistics is a very interesting field, I…"

"Yes, thank you, Lieutenant," Sharon stopped him in mid-sentence and walked over to the red tape, where the rest of her squad was standing. They were watching the officers from FID with angry faces. "Detectives," Sharon said behind them and they all turned around and started protesting at once. "Wait! I can't understand any of you!" She tried to stop them but they were all overzealous with rage. Sharon decided to wait until they let it all out. Finally, Lieutenant Provenza was the last one to finish talking, and they all waited for Sharon to speak.

"Okay. Now that you're done…" she said and walked directly towards them. The squad members moved aside so she can get to the red tape. The first thing she saw was the two bodies, lying a few feet from each other. There was a puddle of blood next to each of them. She looked around in attempt to find a familiar face. Before she could identify any of the men who were processing the scene, she heard something to her left.

"Well, well, if it isn't Sharon Raydor." She looked to her left and finally saw someone familiar.

"Lieutenant John Martin," Sharon said in surprise, almost whispering. She smiled slightly as the man came closer to her.

"We finally meet again," Martin Said. "Oh, and it's Captain now," he added proudly. Flynn rolled his eyes in revulsion.

"Congratulations," Sharon tilted her head and nodded, smiling. She waited a few seconds before adding, "Is there a problem with my squad?" Her squad members all looked at them in tension.

"You know the regulations… FID has the scene for the next 48 hours," Martin said. "Of course, if I'd known that this was YOUR squad… I'd have worked something out. We can work together on this case," he finished with a smile and waited for her response.

"But who will take the lead?" Provenza asked from behind Sharon.

"FID, of course," Said Martin, feeling like he's stating the obvious.

"Excuse us for a moment, everyone," Sharon said before anyone could protest and pointed Martin to come with her a few feet away, so they can talk in privet.

"God. Is he even real? Trying to flirt with her in a crime scene," Flynn said in anger.

"Who cares," Provenza said, "as long as she gets to take the lead." He walked away and sat on a low fence. Detectives Sanchez and Sykes looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

Sharon and John Martin stopped walking when they were far enough from the squad. "Okay, let's make a deal," he said before she could say a word.

Sharon's eyebrows rose in surprise. "A deal? What deal?" she asked, confused.

"If you say yes, I let you take the lead," said Martin, a mischievous look on his face.

"Say yes to what?" Sharon asked, frowning. She didn't like playing games, especially not when there's a murder to investigate.