Gamma

Savannah had just landed in Chicago and she already had her phone out, checking her messages. She sent a text to Marco that she’d be to the office soon and then read the messages from the group text with Shea and Alex that she had missed.

Shea: Alex, has he talked to you?

Alex: He’s texted me a few times. Called me and left a message I didn’t listen to.

Alex: I just don’t want to talk to him right now. I need to process everything. And focus on this engagement photo shoot I’ve got. Ironic, right?

Shea: Do you want me to go talk to him and get some info?

Savannah: I’ve got this.

Alex: From Chicago!? You made it there okay, right?

Savannah: Just touched down. And yes, from Chicago, I’ll get to the bottom of this.

Savannah put her phone away long enough to get off the airplane and navigate her way through O’Hare airport and to the Uber outside. She gave the driver the address of the DEA office and sat back against the seat. She planned to figure out the details of Jamie’s big secret, but that would have to wait. First she needed to focus on the Sonny Diego case.

As soon as she got to the DEA office, she was in work mode. She walked inside, deja vu overtaking her. She had worked in this exact place for eight years. She saw her old boss, Marco Delano, walking towards her. “Savannah, welcome back!” he greeted her with a smile and friendly hug. “You sure you don’t want to move back and work here again? We could really use you...” he trailed off. Savannah wondered if his crew was that bad or he was simply being nice towards her. Savannah gave him a soft smile. “Haven’t you heard? I’m behind the desk now so I wouldn’t be as helpful anymore,” she told him. “Please, you’re as good behind the desk as you were on the front line,” Marco told her, sounding very similar to her old Dallas boss, Dominic.

“Tell me what you got on Sonny Diego,” she got down to business.

“We’ve got a lead in the case. It’s connected to the NHL.”

Savannah looked at him curiously. So this was why he had asked her before if she was dating Tyler. “How exactly?” she asked for more details.

He pulled her into his office, not wanting to have this conversation out in the hallway. Savannah was having flashbacks of the last time she had been in there. It was when she had said goodbye before leaving for Dallas. She had told Marco she wouldn’t forget the open Sonny Diego case until it was solved. “Scout for the Blackhawks, Jimmy Nelson. He’s the one dealing it to the up and comers. We’re not sure how far it’s spread, but it’s easily going to make it to every NHL team. I take it you haven’t heard anything from that boyfriend of yours?” he asked her.

Savannah shook her head, still trying to process the information. “No, of course not. He’s already playing top line for the Stars, not having scouts look at him, though,” she added.

“Well I want to know everything there is to know about Jimmy Nelson and every other scout in the league. Maren Jacobs is already on that. I want you to meet her and talk to her. She’ll let you know what information she needs from your look into the case a couple years ago and then go over what she knows to see if you can connect anything. Maren is great. She’ll do everything to make sure this case is solved for you,” he explained.

Savannah nodded her head in understanding. “Got it.”

“She’s in your old office,” he said, motioning for Savannah to head out. She walked out into the hallway and stared at her old office. This was bound to be weird. She slowly made her way down there, standing outside the door. She peeked in, seeing a woman that couldn’t have been more than twenty-five sitting at what used to be her desk. Savannah wasn’t jealous of her though. She had been just twenty-three when she started with the Chicago DEA. And she always appreciated another female in the organization.

Savannah knocked on the door, and the dark haired woman looked up from her chair. “I’m Savannah Decker, I...” she started to trail off, wondering how best to introduce herself. I used to have your job. I’m here to help you solve this case that I was a part of 5 years ago that’s remained unsolved. Neither sounded appropriate, and Savannah was thankful when Maren intercepted.

“Savannah Decker, it’s good to finally meet you,” Maren smiled as she stood up and shook Savannah’s hand. “I’ve heard so much about you, and I look up to you.” Savannah wasn’t sure if Maren was trying to stroke her ego or what, but she took the compliment.

“Marco said you’ve been working on the Sonny Diego case. Tell me what you know,” Savannah requested, sitting in the seat across from Maren. She’d never been on this side of the desk in Chicago. It felt a little weird.

Maren pulled a thick Manila folder out and opened it in front of Savannah. “He’s running the drugs through the NHL. Or at least the Blackhawks. We’re not sure how far it’s spread yet. But Jimmy Nelson, this guy here, is the one delivering to players,” she told her, pointing to a picture of a man with a bright smile and a Blackhawks polo on.

Savannah took the picture in her hand to take a closer look. “He’s a scout so he’s getting it to the younger kids. But what is it? These kids are trying to make a pro team. One that does drug tests. So why take the chance of doing drugs and testing positive?” Savannah wondered aloud.

“I’m not sure,” Maren agreed. “I’m meeting with the captain of the Blackhawks today. See if he’s heard anything. I mean if anyone knows what’s going on with the players, it’s the captain, right?”

Savannah nodded her head. Jamie knew everything that was going on with his team. She frowned, her thoughts going to Jamie. She still needed to take him down a peg for hurting Alex like that. She needed to call Alex and see how she was doing, too. “Yeah, I’d say he would be the one to talk to. Or at least tell us if he’s heard anything about Jimmy.”

“You wanna come with me?” Maren asked.

Savannah’s head bolted up. She was allowed to interview, just not go chasing after people. Besides, they were going to talk to Jonathan Toews, hardly a criminal that would end in a chase. A smile formed on her lips. “I’d love to,” she replied.

As they walked out of the building together, Maren looked over at Savannah. “So tell me about yourself. You work out of Dallas, right? Marco said your sister lives there?”

Savannah nodded her head. “Yeah, my twin sister and my best friend,” she replied.

“I’m an only child,” Maren revealed. “I always wanted a sister. Do you guys get mistaken for each other a lot?”

Savannah chuckled, remembering the first time she met Tyler and he had mistaken her for Shea. “We are identical twins but I feel like our styles are so different that it’s easy to tell us apart usually.”

“Marco said you have a connection to the NHL, too,” Maren changed subjects as they got into her squad car and headed towards the Blackhawks rink.

“Yeah, my boyfriend plays for the Stars,” she stated. She noticed Maren give her a sideways glance but didn’t comment. “And my best friend is dating the captain,” she added, deciding not to add that she thought they were still dating, even though Jamie had kept a huge secret from Alex.

“Who are you dating?” Maren asked, simply making friendly conversation.

“Tyler Seguin. He’s one of the forwards,” she answered, not knowing Maren’s knowledge of the team.

“Does he know many of the Blackhawks players? Wouldn’t hurt to see if he’s heard anything about the drug,” Maren shrugged.

Savannah looked out the window at Michigan Avenue. She didn’t want Tyler involved in the case, but it probably wouldn’t be a problem to just ask him if he’s heard anything. “I can ask,” she told her. “So how much about the NHL do you know? When I lived here I didn’t follow hockey at all.”

“I grew up in New York. Was a big Rangers fan, actually,” she revealed. “I follow the Blackhawks enough, but not a super fan or anything.”

“So no fan girling over Toews today?” Savannah joked.

Maren snorted. “Uh no. Now give me Kris Bryant of the Cubs, and that’s a different story,” she added.

Savannah smiled. She liked this girl already, and she had a feeling they were going to work just fine together. Her phone vibrated with a text, and she saw it was from Liam. She skimmed it, seeing he was going after Pablo later today, and she texted back her approval. She noticed Maren glancing in her direction as they stopped at a red light. “Sorry, work business back home.”

“Work never ends,” Maren said with a soft smile.

The rest of the drive to the United Center was filled with conversation about Sonny Diego and how hard Savannah had worked to take him down before.

Maren pulled into the rink’s parking lot, and Savannah looked around. A few cars were parked but overall it didn’t seem like a lot of people were there. She followed Maren’s lead into the rink.

Savannah’s eye immediately found Jonathan Toews when they walked in. He was on the ice with two teammates. She walked towards the stands, sitting down. She looked around and saw a few other people sitting in the stands, all with their eyes on the men on the ice.

Jonathan glanced to seeing the two women. He said something to his teammates and then skated off towards the locker room. About five minutes later, he appeared in the stands, having changed out of his hockey gear. “Maren, right?” he asked.

Maren stood up, extending her hand. “Maren Jacobs. This is Savannah Decker. Thanks for meeting with us,” she told him.

“Sure thing,” he nodded his head. “Though I’m curious how I can help a DEA agency.”

“What can you tell us about Jimmy Nelson?” Maren got right to it.

“Jimmy Nelson? One of the scouts?” Jonathan questioned.

Savannah nodded her head. “Yes, anything you know about him.”

Jonathan shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know much. I mean, I don’t interact with him much. He’s been a scout for the team for a few years I think.”

“Have any of the rookies talked about him? Or wanting something to gain an edge?” Savannah asked.

“Look, are you trying to say that he’s moving drugs on the team?” Jonathan questioned.

“We’re not saying anything,” Maren answered. “We’re just trying to find some information.”

“This is my team. If something is going on, I need to know,” he stated seriously. Savannah was sure Jamie would act in the same protective manner if it involved anyone on the Stars.

“Just give me a call if you hear anything,” Maren told him, handing him one of her cards with her number on it. Savannah noticed Jonathan gave Maren a once over as he accepted the card. He definitely liked what he saw, though he didn’t overstep his boundaries and Maren clearly didn’t notice.

Maren and Savannah stood up to leave but Savannah suddenly turned around. “I know you’re concerned for your team,” she told him. She wasn’t sure why she was saying it, but something told her she needed to make sure they gained his trust early on. “My boyfriend is the same way,” she said. He looked at her curiously. “Tyler Seguin,” she answered his unasked question. “Something tells me you know him,” she added.

“No shit, you’re dating Seguin?” he asked. Savannah couldn’t even take offense to his surprise. She was pretty sure everyone in the world was shocked Tyler had settled down.

She nodded her head. “Yeah. And I know if something was going on with the Stars, he’d want to know.”

“We’re not keeping anything from you,” Maren reappeared at Savannah’s side. “We’re really just trying to find out some information and go after any tiny lead in a bigger case than anything that may or may not be going on with your team. I just hope that you’ll call me if you hear anything.” There was a slight plea in her voice that let Savannah know this case meant as much to Maren as it did to her.

“I’ll be sure to call you,” Jonathan connected eyes with Maren. “I mean if I hear anything,” he added as he caught himself. Savannah stopped herself from laughing at how Jonathan was acting. She couldn’t help but relate his behavior to how Tyler had been when he first met her.

“Thank you,” Savannah told him, pulling him out of his own thoughts.

“Thanks for your time,” Maren added with a smile as she and Savannah headed out of the rink.

As soon as they were outside, Savannah turned towards Maren. “Well you’ve got him on your side.” Maren looked at her curiously. “He couldn’t keep from looking at you. Obviously he was a little interested.”

Maren rolled her eyes. “Well if it means he gives us info on Jimmy, then whatever it takes.”

Savannah nodded her head. “Well you work on Toews. I’m gonna make a couple calls and see if anyone else has heard about this drug or Jimmy Nelson.”

Maren drove them back to the office and then Savannah took an Uber to her hotel Marco had set her up with. She pulled out the Manila folder on the case and started laying things out on the desk in front of her. She knew there was one person she wanted to call first.

She dialed the number, halfway surprised when she got an answer. “Savannah, surprised to hear from you,” Jamie answered the phone. “Is Alex okay?” he asked in a worried tone.

“Physically, yes,” she replied.

“Did you call for a reason?” he asked. He didn’t sound pissed, he just sounded tired. She wondered if he had slept at all the night before. She knew Alex hadn’t.

“Yes. Tell me what you know about how scouts work,” she said.

There was a pause before he replied. “Like scout teams or scouts that are looking at up and coming players?”

“The ones looking for players,” she clarified. She didn’t even know what a scout team was.

“Isn’t this something you could have called Segs about?”

She frowned. He had a point. But she also wanted to know how involved a captain was. “Look, it’s for work. I’m in Chicago right now working on a case,” she explained.

“You’re in Chicago?”

“Yes, it was a last minute thing. So can you just help me and answer the question?” She was getting impatient.

“Scouts go out and look for up and coming players. Either that we want to sign or have just signed. So that management knows when to bring them up to the big leagues or to draft them,” he finally answered.

“Do you know yours?” she inquired.

“Yeah, but it’s not like I spend a lot of time with him so I don’t know him real well. His name is Tommy Conway,” he told her. So Jonathan had been truthful when he said he didn’t know much about Jimmy. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t get info on the guy. Savannah guaranteed all those up and coming players looked up to Toews and would answer any question from him. “What’s going on in Chicago with scouts?” Jamie’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ve got it under control,” she stated. There was a period of silence and Savannah decided to give him a break. “Jamie, for what it’s worth, I’m rooting for you. I’m pissed at you for hurting Alex by keeping your former engagement from her, but I am rooting for you,” she told him sincerely.

“Yeah?” he asked skeptically.

“Yes,” she stated. “You’ve always been supportive of me and Seguin when we fought. And I’ve always looked up to yours and Alex’s relationship. It’s rock solid. At least it was. And I still think it is. She just needs some time. I mean, you were engaged, Jamie!” she reminded him as if he didn’t recall. “What the hell?! How did that even happen?”

“It was a long time ago. I’d rather just talk directly to Alex about it. If she ever talks to me again,” he muttered.

“Well that’s her call to make. Can’t say I disagree with her avoiding you,” she added.

“Thanks,” he said, and she just pictured him frowning.

“Thank you for the info on scouts,” she said. “And Jamie, start thinking of something big to apologize to Alex. And I swear to God, if you’re hiding something else from her, I will kill you.”

“I’m not,” he assured her. “Can you just tell Alex I love her?”

Savannah sighed. “I’ll tell her. Can’t promise she’ll care right now though,” she said honestly. “Gotta do something big for her, Benn.”

He mumbled something incoherent before hanging up with her. Savannah stared at her phone. He better make up with Alex. She needed her best friend to be happy.

Notes