“It’s got her name on it.”

“Thank you. I appreciate your cooperation, Gil,” Spenser said then turned to her deputies. “Okay, let’s hit it.”

All activity stopped and all eyes turned to Spenser and her deputies as they crossed the gym floor. She heard the murmurs and whispers all around them. Having a small army of cops invading their sacred workout space was definitely not business as usual. Spenser could already hear the wheels of the town’s gossip mill cranking up as it got started and rolling into high gear.

“Summers and Berman, stand a post, please,” Spenser said. “Nobody in or out.”

“Copy that, Sheriff,” they said.

They took positions on either side of the door and Spenser took the small tool bag from Deputy Berman. She and Amanda slipped through the door Gil had indicated and found themselves in a small locker room. The walls were all gray concrete and three rows of tall, red lockers sat in the middle of the room with long, wooden benches in front of each set. Amanda walked through a door in the wall on the far side of the room, reappearing a moment later.

“Shower room is clear,” she said.

The music from the gym floor was muffled but still audible in the locker room and the air carried the lingering scent of perfume, deodorant, sweat, and body wash. Spenser walked the rows of lockers until she found one with a white placard bearing Layla’s name. She set the small bag down on the bench and fished out a set of bolt cutters. Turning back to the locker, Spenser raised the bolt cutters when a commotion at the door drew her attention.

Spenser turned to see Layla sprinting into the locker room with both Berman and Summers on her heels. She held her hand up to stop her deputies who were already reaching for the woman.

“Sorry, Sheriff,” Summers said. “She forced her way past us.”

“It’s okay,” Spenser replied.

Layla pulled up when she saw Spenser standing in front of her locker, her eyes widening when they fell on the bolt cutters in her hand. The look of near panic on the woman’s face was delicious and Spenser gave herself a moment to soak it in. She was self-aware enough to admit she wasn’t above a little petty gloating now and then.

“What are you doing?” she screeched.

“Executing a search warrant,” Spenser replied.

“You have no right—”

“Actually, we do,” Spenser said. “Gil has a copy of the search warrant. You’re free to go peruse it if you like.”

“I am going to have your badge, Sheriff.”

“Will you, though?”

Spenser and Layla engaged in a silent stare down for several long moments. Tension crackled in the air and raised the hair on Spenser’s arms as a rush of anticipatory adrenaline flooded her veins.

“Get away from my locker,” Layla hissed.

“What’s in there you don’t want me to see?”

She didn’t reply but, instead, lunged at Spenser. Amanda intercepted the woman, deftly pinning her arm behind her back and drawing a shrill screech from Layla. Amanda swept the woman’s legs out from under her and Layla hit the ground, belly first, with a loud grunt and a cry of pain then found Amanda’s knee in the middle of her back.

The undersheriff quickly got Layla’s wrists into cuffs at the small of her back then hauled her the woman to her feet. It was such a swift and graceful takedown that Spenser was left speechless for a moment. She chuckled and shook her head after a long moment. Even Summers and Berman looked impressed with her move.

“Wow. Amanda,” she said. “That was… that was slick. Nice work.”

“Thanks,” she replied, beaming.

“You’ve been working on that for a while, huh?”

“A few weeks. I wasn’t sure I’d actually get to use it, so thanks for that, Layla.”

“Get away from my locker,” she grunted.

“Oh, right. The locker. Thanks for the reminder, Layla,” Spenser said in a light, teasing tone. “I’ll get back to you in just a minute.”

As Layla spewed a constant and loud stream of curses at Spenser, she turned and raised the bolt cutters. The lock hit the ground with a loud, metallic thunk when Spenser cut through it. She set the bolt cutters back down on the bench then turned and opened the locker.

“Get out of there!” Layla shouted.

She wriggled and writhed in Amanda’s grasp. She was wiry and quick, and Spenser suddenly understood how she’d managed to slip past Summers and Berman. Amanda deftly spun Layla around and shoved her belly first against the lockers on the other side of the aisle then used her body to keep her pinned there. Berman and Summers stepped forward and with each of them grabbing hold of Layla by an arm, they dragged her backwards, kicking, screaming, and cursing the whole time.

As she continued shouting invectives, Spenser dug through the locker, tossing articles of clothing and shoes onto the ground behind her. A sliver of panic lanced her through the heart as she continued to dig but wasn’t finding anything incriminating. Logic told Spenser there had to be something in there.

The pile of clothes and shoes behind her was growing larger but still, nothing. Other than a few toiletries—a stick of deodorant and a hairbrush, the locker was empty. Confusion and frustration made her brain spin, and she turned to find Layla staring back at her with a feral snarl on her lips. Her eyes glittered darkly, and Spenser could tell the woman wanted to tear her apart.

“Where is it?” Spenser asked.

“Where is what?” Layla replied with faux innocence.

She turned back to the locker and stared into its empty confines again, shutting out all the noise around her.

Amanda sidled up next to her and looked at the empty locker with open skepticism in her eyes. Spenser couldn’t blame her for it. Behind them, Layla laughed.

“Shut your mouth,” Summers growled.

“Make me,” Layla fired back.

“Lane, it’s all right,” Spenser said. “Let her keep laughing. She’ll stop soon enough.”

“And how are you going to make that happen, Sheriff?”

Spenser ran her hands along the back of the locker, then down the sides. With the toe of her boot, she kicked at the bottom and froze in place when she saw it move.

“You’re kidding me,” Spenser whispered.

“What is it?” Amanda asked.

As if on cue, Layla started howling in rage, trying to pull away from the deputies who managed to hold her tight. Crouching down, Spenser grabbed the false bottom that covered the floor of the locker and pulled it off, revealing the hollow beneath it.

“No way,” Amanda gasped.

Spenser reached into the hollow and pulled out a small, black nylon bag. Her stomach churned wildly and her hands trembled as she unzipped it. When she laid the small kit open, a profound sense of relief and satisfaction settled down over her. She took a moment to quell the rising tide of emotions.

“Well, well, well,” Spenser said.

She opened the kit wide enough for Layla to see the syringe and the empty bottle of eyedrops she’d stashed inside. Layla fell silent and her entire body sagged, forcing Summers and Berman to bear the full weight of keeping her upright. Good thing she was a tiny little thing.