A LONG overdue update! I'm so sorry for the delay!! I really appreciate your guys' patience. I'm already working on the next chapter, so that one should be out soon.

Amara briskly entered the police station and went for the interrogation room. She just hoped that Detective Milne was still in there. She needed to talk to him, and she wasn't willing to have anyone else around.

Thankfully, she was right. Detective Milne was still sitting in the, ahem, "visitors'" side of the room. Amara burst in, knowing that she was intruding, but not caring.

"You and I need to talk," She said.

"What the--" Milne stood. "What are you doing back here?"

"Exactly what I just said. I'm talking to you," Amara stated. "I need to know where Connie was the night Joshua was murdered."

"Excuse me?" Milne said. He looked surprised, but quickly concealed it. "First of all, I don't think that's any of your business. Secondly--"

"Forget secondly," Amara said. 

A dark look crossed Milne's face. For a brief moment, Amara actually wondered if he had been in on the murder as well. That gave her an idea....

"I think Detective Ramirez might know more about Joshua's murder than she's letting on," Amara began.

"What are you talking about?" Milne asked. "My partner knows what she's doing, and if she had any more more information, she'd tell me."

"Unless she was trying to make sure she wouldn't get caught," Amara said.

Milne was quiet but his eyes were glued to Amara. It looked like he was trying to get a read on her. "What are you trying to say?"

Amara watched him and hesitated before answering, "I think Connie may be a prime suspect in this murder case. And if you don't help me get to the bottom of things, then I'm going to assume you were in on it too and tell your boss."

Milne stared at her. At first, Amara had thought that maybe she had gone too far, and that maybe he was mad at her. But the way his eyebrows drew together, Amara realized that he was more confused than angry.

"Back it up a little," he finally said. "Why do you think Ramirez knows more than she's saying?"

Amara felt a small triumph of victory. Knowing she had to choose her next words carefully, she started with what she had just found out.

"Did you know that she's pregnant?" Amara asked.

"Yes, she told me not too long ago," Milne said, rubbing the back of his neck. "It sucks 'cause I'm going to have to find another partner while she's on maternity leave. Not that I'd phrase it that way to her."

"Right," Amara said. "Anyway, do you have any idea who the father is?"

"Why would I care about that?" Milne asked. "We don't usually bring our personal lives to work. I just assumed it was a boyfriend or...whoever."

"Okay, well she didn't mind telling me that sort of stuff," Amara said. "And she told me that she wasn't seeing anyone."

"Then...who's the father?" Milne questioned.

"My suspicion is that it could have been Joshua," Amara stated. "He had a tendency for having one night stands and then not caring when things got rough for the woman."

"Oh, please," Milne said. "Do you honestly think she'd do something like that?"

"Do you have any other ideas?" Amara asked. When he didn't answer, she continued, "Look, I was in the same position as her, and I didn't exactly take it lightly." She paused and watched him warily. "I can only wonder what would have happened if I had a shorter fuse."

"Are you saying you think that Detective Ramirez--my partner--committed a murder?" Milne didn't look impressed. Amara knew she would have been feeling the same way, but this was serious, and she couldn't stop just because she might be offending him.

"Just think about it," Amara said. "I don't know her temper, but here's what I do know. I know that Joshua was shot in the head, and that Connie carries a gun. Someone stated that it was a perfect shot--dead center--which was why everyone just assumed that Nicole hired someone, as opposed to doing it herself. Connie also would have known what the police were looking for and how to cover it up."

Milne was quiet. He crossed his arms and said nothing.

Amara pressed on. "Because she knew what you were looking for she was able to hide it. The night Joshua was murdered, the cameras were out. Does Connie have any knowledge on how to override a security system?"

"We both do," Milne mumbled quietly. 

That would make sense, and it backed up the next point Amara had. "Then she'd probably have an idea on how to hack someone's cell phone and put false information on it."

Milne looked like he was having an argument with himself. Amara didn't blame him. He had to either trust his partner, who he'd worked with for years, or trust Amara, who didn't have any reason to lie, but he was less familiar with.

"We can't do anything without a confession," Milne finally said. "And you and I both know she'd never admit to something so serious. Not after we arrested Mrs. Leonard already."

"I can help with that," Amara stated.

Milne's head shot up and he studied her carefully. "Why do you think you'd be able to get involved with this?"

"First of all, because I was a prime suspect just as much as Nicole was," Amara stated. "It could have been me in jail if Connie and I weren't friends. Besides, she knows me on a personal level now...sort of anyway."

Milne arched an eyebrow. Amara quickly continued before he could cut her off. She was just getting to the good part.

"You guys are friends professionally," She said. "But her and I are getting closer outside of this whole thing. We're supposed to be getting together for dinner this weekend. If she's going to admit anything, it won't be to you, but to me. As far as she's concerned, we're on the same level. I want to help, and I think I'm the only one who can."

Picking at the table, Milne sighed. "What do you propose?"

----

"This is not going to work," Milne said.

Amara adjusted her necklace so that the gem was facing outward. A tiny camera was hidden inside, ready to capture everything.

"If you didn't think it was going to work, then why did you approve of it?" she asked him.

"Look, this is not some spy movie or cop show where the killer just confesses, if it was even her at all," Milne stated. He crossed his arms. "But I didn't have any better ideas. And you're right. She wouldn't admit something like this to me."

At least he could admit that Amara was right about something. She wasn't even positive that Connie was the killer--but she had to find out for sure.

It had been Amara's idea to have a hidden camera on her. The one she was wearing was meant specifically for undercover cops. The plan was, she would go to Connie's apartment, where the detective was cooking dinner for the two of them, and try to get a confession out of her. 

Originally, they had been planning on meeting at a restaurant, but Amara had told her that she was tired of eating out, so Connie had offered to cook.  That was technically true; they had been doing it so much since she was on trial, simply because it was quicker.

Once she got inside, Amara would try to steer the conversation toward the murder case, and see what Connie would have to say about it. Now that she was not only off duty, but also away from her coworkers, it would probably be easier for her to talk about it freely. It would probably take a while to get a confession out of her, if at all, but Amara was willing to try.

"If anything happens and you start feeling unsafe, flip the necklace over," Milne said. "We'll send someone up to get you out. Not that I think anything like that will happen, though."

Amara looked at him quickly. Detective Milne looked more like he was trying to convince himself of that than he was Amara. Still, she nodded.

"If you do somehow get her to confess, we'll send up the troops to arrest her," Milne continued. "But again, I don't think that'll happen."

"Whatever you say," Amara said. 

With that, she got out of the surveillance van and began her walk to Connie's apartment. They had parked a few blocks away so that she wouldn't be able to see them. Milne and the police would stay in the van, but move closer once Amara got inside. They were going to watch the video feed from Amara's necklace from the van, so they'd be able to see everything she saw.

Ethan hadn't exactly been on board with this plan. He kept coming to the conclusion that Amara was going to get herself killed or something. Gabby thought he was making a big deal out of nothing, and that it was super cool that Amara was setting out to catch a supposed killer. 

Either way, they both supported her, something Amara was very happy for. As much as she wouldn't admit it to Detective Milne, Amara was nervous. There were two ways for this to turn out. Either she was going to accuse an innocent woman, or she was about to walk into the apartment of a killer.

As she raised her hand to knock on the door of Connie's apartment, Amara sucked in a big breath. 

It's showtime.