Robbery In Progress

*Emma*

I could see the pain in Kelsey's eyes when she looked at me. Back when we first started working together, putting our personal relationship to the side and all--man, it has been a minute since then. Feels like forever ago. Anyway, she was angry at me. Red hot fire behind those green eyes of hers, as passionate as ever.

That's what I was expecting to see when I walked in today. I expected fury and rage, but what I got was pain and heartache.

Fury and rage I could have put off until later. In fact, I was an expert at working with people that were feeling those emotions. Commonly, they were feeling them towards me. That was my jam. Did people say that anymore? "My jam?" Probably not, now that I think about it.

Regardless, I was *good* at anger. I handled it like a pro, because ya know, I am one. Not bragging.

But heartache was a part of the process I never allowed myself to feel so...fully. I would graze against it, then pull back. Never willing to take that dive. Which I realize now is incredibly unhealthy so try not to judge me too hard. But realizing your actions are unhealthy, accepting that you have a problem, doesn't solve the problem. It doesn't erase your actions or your habits.

I may expect I need to change, but I don't yet have the tools, practice, or experience to do that instantly.

So I wanted to rush over and comfort Kelsey, tell her everything she needed to hear from me. But I couldn't yet, there was too much left for me to figure out about myself before I could let her in fully and completely like she deserved. So I put my hands in my pockets, physically refraining myself, and nodded towards her.

"You were saying? About Rummy?" I prodded her, hoping we could get this case solved. Then we could worry about us, and me. I definitely needed to see a therapist again. But this time I needed to actually listen to them and absorb their advice.

"Do you, um, like Rummy?" God she was actually killing me with those sad, desperate eyes.

Reaching for the case file that Drew was extending, I pulled my eyes away from hers. "What did Rose say about her brother?"

"Roberts has been living a double life, apparently," Matty filled in so I focused my attention on him. It took almost everything in me to not look at Kelsey but I did it. "His rap sheet wreaks of crime, but four years ago he got a job in finance. Sort of. There's a few places that specifically look to hire people with records since it's difficult for them to get jobs anywhere else."

When he said that it made me think of how Kelsey would usually jump in with a comment about how terrible our justice system was, but she didn't.

"Okay, so what was he doing for this place?" *Stop thinking about Kelsey, dang it.*

"Financial things. Keeping their books and such, he did have a background in it and he was good. But just a few months ago he was let go."

Furrowing my brow in confusion, I should my head. "What do you mean? Why was he let go?" Why would a company, specifically looking to hire ex-cons fire him? They had to know what that spiral could do.

"Everyone was let go. The business went under," Drew took over now. "It turns out the owner wasn't as saint-like as everyone thought. He was using the company as a front and the FBI raided the place, put it out of business. Organized crime division," Drew filled in before I could even ask. This is what was so amazing about working with Drew, we knew what the other was thinking without any words. Which is how I also knew he did not approve of how I was handling my little situation. He'd have to get over that one.

"Okay, so Robert's quits a life of crime when his parents die and takes in his sister," I read this from the handy file Drew gave me, "but then the business that was giving him health insurance and keeping him from reoffending, suddenly gets up- ended by none other than us. Then he loses that health insurance and now his sister is going to die. So he thinks, robbing banks will solve this?"

"Desperation does strange things to people," Kelsey spoke up. "He would do anything to keep her alive. Even risk going back to prison and sacrificing a relationship with her." "Okay, what is the likelihood that he never actually quit a life of crime? That he was a part of this organized crime case?" Matty spoke up again. I shook my head at his question.

"If he was involved he hid it well. The organized crime division monitors people for months, sometimes years, attempting to gain information about all involved parties. They would have taken him in with everyone else if they suspected he was involved." Drew was explaining but I was too busy flipping through the organized crime case file to pay much attention to him.

"What if he was involved but not the way we think?" I looked right at Drew, hoping he will catch up with me. I step towards him, excitedly. "Think about it. Organized crime is thorough, they would have questioned every single person that worked that, even the ones they didn't suspect. Robert's interview isn't in here though. In fact, there is zero mention of him other than his employment records."

"You think they turned him?" Kelsey's voice was incredulous as she asked this.

"Just consider this, he's got his sister to take care of. But he's stuck in the life, then he finds this job. In an attempt to get clean of it, only that job isn't as clean as he thought. The FBI approach him, what is he to do at that point? Staying and not working with them means he could be subject to being an accomplice on top of obstruction of justice. Not staying means he needs to find a new way to get out while also trying to support another person, which he's never had to do before. Whatever we offered, he would have taken that."

"Harrison's right. It explains his lack of presence in the file."

"Okay, but if he was trying to clean up his act to the point of working with the feds. Why on Earth would he turn around and start at it again?"

I turned towards Matty, who was sitting down again. It was a lot to take in, I would probably sit down too. "My guess is that we didn't deliver. We would have promised him something in return for his help. Maybe we were going to clear his record, help relocate him and Rose, pay for her stay at the cancer center, I can't be sure. Whatever it was though, it didn't happen. Ergo, desperation. He needed money, banks have money.

He also needed people to help him pull it off, but he's been out of the game for four years. So he finds good people with the skills he needs and he leverages them into helping. Speaking of good people, where are Joe and Sarah? And where are we on finding Samantha?"

Kelsey pulled at the hem of her shirt as she looked at some point beyond my right shoulder. "They are in one of our interview rooms. But I'm not sure what else you're expecting to learn from them."

"Oh, there's plenty we still don't know. Just have to ask the right questions," I smiled at her as I headed towards the interview rooms. It was time Joe and I spoke face to face.