Previously…
– Brent informed Rosie that the District Attorney is demanding her cooperation with a plan to bring down the drug dealer Diego Barrera — Rosie’s long-ago ex and the indirect cause of her father’s murder.
– Zane made an appeal to Tori to give their relationship another chance, and although she was tempted, she declared that she will never be able to trust him after he blackmailed her mother.
– Sonja flew across the country to visit Loretta Ragan in prison, thinking that Loretta is the one who’s been paying her to keep Spencer’s memory at bay. Loretta was confused but intrigued, and she allowed Sonja to continue thinking that she has been her secret boss all along. 

Tim Fisher stands with his hands in the pockets of his chinos, surveying the modest studio apartment from the doorway. He takes in the turquoise-and-purple batik curtains flowing by the open window, the collection of candles and photographs atop the distressed wooden chest with its cabriole legs, and the queen-sized bed made up in hues of lavender. 

“It’s adorable,” he declares with a smile.

Sonja Kahele blushes. “Thanks. It isn’t much, but it’s home.”

“It’s a great home for you.”

“I think so. Yeah.” She nods as she looks around, still getting accustomed to her new space. “You wouldn’t believe how hard it was to find a decent month-to-month place, but I always like to keep my options open in case I’m assigned to a new longer-term client.”

“Well,” Tim says, moving toward her and slipping his arms around her waist, “you’re going to be missed at your last long-term assignment. But thank you for all your hard work.”

Sonja tries not to flinch at the mention of her work with Spencer. She had hoped that her secret visit to Loretta Ragan would somehow clear her conscience, or at least put it all in the past, but she still doesn’t know where she stands or how viable a future with Tim is. She hates that she has had to lie to him and Spencer for a paycheck, though she continues to reassure herself that she hasn’t done anything harmful — especially since Spencer’s limited memory loss has allowed him to mend fences with his parents.

“I’ll miss being at your house,” she says.

“You don’t have to be a stranger. Besides, you having your own place means we have some privacy.”

A grin slides across her face. “I like the sound of that.”

Tim brings his mouth to hers, and Sonja gratefully accepts the kiss. It grows quickly in passion and intensity.

“I missed you,” Tim says through a heavy breath.

“I missed you, too.”

They resume kissing, but only a few seconds pass before Sonja hears the familiar — and jarring — sound of her cell phone in her bag.

“I’m sorry,” she says, already breaking away from him to check the call. 

“It’s okay.”

“Normally I wouldn’t be so rude, but I’ve been waiting for a call…”

Tim holds up a hand nonchalantly. “Go ahead. Please.”

She picks up her purse from the bed and quickly pulls out her phone. There is only a number listed on the display, not a name that she has saved, but the area code tells her everything that she needs to know. The New Hampshire number can only mean one thing: Loretta. She freezes, uncertain what to do. 

“What’s wrong?” Tim asks.

“What? Nothing,” Sonja says, even as the phone keeps ringing. 

“Are you sure? Because you look like you just saw a ghost. Who’s calling?”

—–

“Thank you all for making this meeting time work,” Audrey Tam says as she closes the door to the conference room on the second story of City Hall. “The sooner we delve into this, the better.”

“Better for who?” Rosie Jimenez asks, somewhat under her breath. She sits on one side of the conference table beside Conrad Halston, who has agreed to represent her in these proceedings; at the end of the table is Brent Taylor, who requested to be present as police commander. Both men cast a sharp look in Rosie’s direction as soon as the words escape her lips. 

“I would think you’d recognize how beneficial this course of action could be for you, Officer Jimenez,” Tam says. She quickly unbuttons her black blazer, beneath which is a silky aquamarine blouse, and seats herself across from Rosie and Conrad. “Assisting with this case is the key to you keeping your career — and your freedom.”

Rosie glances toward Brent and sees him sucking in his lips, stifling a protest. 

“My client is cooperating because it’s in the best interests of the community,” Conrad says. “There have been no charges brought against her–“

“I’m aware,” Tam says dismissively. “And you have me to thank for that. If it will help things along, I’d be happy to make some moves on that front.”

“Officer Jimenez has agreed to listen to what you have to say and discuss next steps,” Conrad answers.

Tam smiles at them, though the expression verges on a sneer. “Good. As you’re all aware, Diego Barrera’s operation has been a blight on King’s Bay and the surrounding area for years. This is the first time that the D.A.’s office feels as if it might have an inside line good enough to bring down his organization and wipe out a major source of illegal drugs in the region.”

Rosie seethes as she listens to and watches the District Attorney. She knows all too well how dangerous Diego and his people can be, and no matter the cost to her career or even her freedom, she isn’t going to put more people in danger — especially her own family or the Fishers — after what happened to her father and what also happened to Travis and Paula.  

“What do you want from me?” Rosie asks abruptly. “I don’t know where Diego is. I don’t even really know how to find him.”

Conrad widens his eyes at her, a silent admonishment, before he speaks up: “My client has some understandable concerns about procedure. She can’t produce Diego Barrera out of thin air.”

“We aren’t asking that,” Tam says, looking conspiratorially toward Brent. Rosie fumes at the implication that they are on the same side, even though she knows, in a logical sense, that the King’s Bay PD and the D.A.’s office often work together. 

“I think our focus should be on this busboy,” Brent explains. “The one you think told Diego to go after you and Travis.”

“Yes,” Tam agrees. “We can begin by having you identify him, Officer.”

Rosie juts forward in her chair. “He’ll tip off Diego again. He already did it once. And if that happens again–“

“We’re going to be smarter than that,” Tam says. “We’ll target him in a very focused way.”

“I don’t know if I can do that,” Rosie says, shaking her head. “I’m not going to set him up. If that’s what you want, you can count me out.”

—–

Sarah Fisher Gray leans back into the plush sofa in her mother’s living room, her laptop balanced on her knees as she prepares a report for a client. So much of her work involves studying clients’ finances and discovering when and how they have been bilked out of money; she always finds it incredibly dry, and usually the discoveries aren’t especially dramatic or interesting. But it pays her own bills, she reasons as she takes another gulp of her coffee and continues to work away.

When the doorbell rings, she eagerly sets aside the laptop and springs up.

“I’ll get it!” she calls upstairs, where both her mother and Billy are at the moment.

She tries to sound as casual as possible in calling up to them, and of course, this is a routine that has played out hundreds and hundreds of times before. But there is that voice in the back of her head wondering if this person at the door could somehow be connected to whoever it was that showed up in a mask, wielding a gun and threatening to harm Paula, Travis, and Rosie.

When she looks through the peephole, however, it is an entirely different kind of dangerous person. She considers not even opening the door, but the way her blood is boiling, she can’t resist.

“What do you want?” she demands as she cracks open the door to face Zane Tanaka.

“Hi, Mrs. Gray. I brought you something.”

He reaches into his jacket, and Sarah flinches. Before her self-defense instincts can fully take over, however, she sees what he was reaching for: an envelope.

“This isn’t everything, but it’s a big chunk,” he explains as he hands her the very lightweight, white envelope. “I still owe you about $12,000.”

She takes the envelope and opens it in disbelief. Inside is a cashier’s check for just over $88,000.

“I invested some of it in my app development already,” Zane says. “I need some time to get it back. But–“

“You’re returning the blackmail money?” Sarah asks, her eyes darting around as if searching for whatever the catch might be.

“I have to. Tori won’t take me seriously unless I do.”

“Tori should never take you seriously again.”

“Well, maybe she will now. I promise to get you the rest of the money.”

Sarah sticks the check in her back pocket. “It’s funny, but your word doesn’t mean a ton to me…”

“I know you don’t like me. I know I have to earn some trust,” he says. “But I’m going to. For Tori’s sake.”

“Stay away from my daughter,” Sarah says. “You can’t undo the things you’ve done. Returning that check doesn’t erase the fact that you used her as a pawn for blackmailing me.”

He sighs. “Maybe not. But it’s the only shot I have. Take care, Mrs. Gray.”

He turns to head down the steps that connect the Fishers’ front porch to the sidewalk.

“Stay away from her,” Sarah warns him. “She’ll never give you another chance.”

“We’ll see about that,” Zane says as he continues walking. 

Sarah remains at the open door, watching as he gets into his car and drives away. The worst part about this is that she thinks Zane might be right: this could convince Tori to rethink their relationship. She’s been too blinded by hurt and embarrassment to think clearly.

“You’re not getting away with this, Zane,” she mutters as she closes and locks the door.

—–

Sonja finds herself clutching the phone tighter in her hand as her entire body tenses up.

“It’s the staffing agency,” she tells Tim with a voice that she hopes isn’t trembling too much. “Do you mind if I step outside? In case anything is confidential…”

“I’ll step outside,” Tim says. “I have to call the office, anyway.”

He lets himself out as Sonja answers the call.

“Hello? This is Sonja speaking,” she says, already cringing at the voice she expects to hear.

“Are you alone?” the woman’s voice asks. Although they have only spoken once, Sonja knows exactly who it is.

“Hi,” Sonja says through a clenched jaw. “Yes. Is this about what we discussed the other day?”

“Of course,” Loretta Ragan says over the crackling line. 

“I’m very grateful for the opportunity. I just think–“

“I want an update on the job,” Loretta barks.

“But haven’t you gotten one? Why are you calling me directly, anyway?”

“Why did you come see me directly?”

Sonja pauses before releasing a heavy sigh. “Because I wanted to see you woman-to-woman. To talk about your…” She glances to make sure the door is closed and sees Tim through the small window, distracted by his own phone call out on the landing. “About your son, in person.”

“Yes, well, it sounds as though he’s doing well. Please give me a direct report on what’s happened to date. I want to hear it from own your lips.”

Sonja explains the narrative of her care of Spencer as best she can, oscillating between generalities and detail. She talks about the physical therapy, their bond, and the white noise machine.

“It’s really worked,” she says. “He hasn’t remembered a thing.”

“Well…”

Sonja is sure that she hears the tapping of nails against a wall or table of some sort. 

“Then it’s all gone as planned, no?” Loretta says.

“Yes,” Sonja responds. “Just like you wanted.”

“Excellent.”

“What about… what I asked about?” Again she peeks across the small apartment and again sees Tim outside, leaning on the railing, phone to his face. 

“You mean your wish to end our arrangement.”

“Yes.”

“You’ll have to await further orders,” Loretta says brusquely. “There will be some final steps before I consider your work done.”

Sonja’s muscles tighten even more at the thought of what these ‘final steps’ might be. All she wants is to be free of this. The extra money isn’t even worth the stress and the guilt. 

“Okay,” she says quietly.

“Whatever you do, accept those orders only from me,” Loretta tells her. 

“What about the… your… whoever’s been calling me?”

“They’ve been fired. If you receive a call from that number: ignore it. From here on out, you’re to take instructions only from me.”

“Okay. I understand.”

“I’ll be in touch soon,” Loretta says, and then the line goes dead.

Sonja’s mind swirls as she puts her phone away. The timing of it all is strange: she went to see Loretta alone, and suddenly the person who was giving her orders has been fired? She wonders if she did something to cause that. Maybe it was simply her act of going rogue. Or maybe Loretta realized that the job wasn’t being done properly. 

She tries to think about the phrase “final steps.” She is almost free of this. Almost.

Attempting to put it out of her head, she moves for the door to let Tim know that she is done with her call.

—–

Brent and Audrey Tam trade cautious looks. 

“No one’s talking about entrapment,” Brent says carefully. “What we need to do is tail this– this guy, figure out what he’s up to, what he’s into. Who knows? He might lead us straight to Diego.”

“Maybe,” Rosie says.

“Officer Jimenez, I’d like to reiterate that the D.A.’s office still has every right to bring charges against you for supplying false information to the police after your father’s death,” Tam interjects. “That’s only a hop, skip, and a leap from obstruction of justice. Any future as a police officer–“

“Officer Jimenez understands,” Conrad says, an unwavering firmness to his voice, “and she appreciates that the lack of charges is contingent upon her participation in this case. Isn’t that right, Rosie?”

She forces herself to nod. “Right.”

“We get him on something relatively minor, we bring him in, we make a deal for him to give up Diego,” Brent explains. “Or whoever’s next up the food chain, if there is one.”

Rosie swallows hard, imagining all the ways that this could go sideways. She thinks about her mother and brother, living their lives as best they can. The last thing they deserve is to be put in danger because of her stupid mistakes, but that is exactly what could happen. Diego went after her family once. 

“What if he isn’t involved in anything illegal?” Rosie asks. “You get him for running a stop sign and then try to put together a plea deal?”

“We’ll deal with that if and when we need to,” Tam says. “In the meantime, we’ll cross our fingers that Phase One of this project is successful.”

“We’ve done this before,” Brent adds. “We’re going to do this carefully. No one is going to get hurt, and the goal is that you never look involved with it.”

Rosie tightens her mouth into a thin, tense line.

“Now come on,” Tam says. “Identify this busboy for us so that we can get to work.”

Rosie takes a deep breath. There’s no going back now.

END OF EPISODE 924

Should Rosie trust Audrey Tam and Brent?
What does Loretta have planned for Sonja?
Is Zane being genuine about his feelings for Tori?
Talk about it all in the comments below!

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