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study date at Janelle’s house, but tonight she looked so sad and young, it broke my heart.
    “I miss my mommy.” She twisted toward Sondra and buried her head in the woman’s shoulder.
    Watching her was like a knife in my chest. I couldn’t let Janelle sit in jail, I had to do something.
    I glanced over at Roxy. She stared at Sherise, but her eyes were unfocused, glazed. I touched her arm. “You ready?”
    She jumped a bit. “Yeah.”
    I stood and waved at Sondra as she cuddled the little girl. I hadn’t found out much, but it was a start.
    Roxy was silent on the drive home. 
    “You want to talk about it?” I asked.
    “I was like her—Sherise. Alone, without a mom. But at least she has Sondra and isn’t going to a stranger.”
    Roxy had been in and out of foster and group homes most of her life. I knew from the few details she’d dropped that her childhood had been rough.
    “You have to find who did this, Rose. You have to get Janelle back home to her kids.”
    I braked at a stoplight and glanced over at her. “I’ll do my best.”
    “No, that’s not good enough. If she didn’t do this, you have to find out who did.”
    I’d been thinking the same thing, but hearing it from Roxy felt overwhelming. I wasn’t an investigator, I was just a waitress who took classes on the side. “I promise I’ll try.”
    She stared out the windshield. “Okay.”

    It was after ten when I got back my apartment and changed into a pair of sweats. I’d just pulled my blanket and pillow from the closet when a knock sounded at the door. I glanced out the peephole at Axton. He held DVD in one hand and a pizza box in the other.
    “Figured you were in need some sustenance after a round with your mom,” he said when I opened the door.
    Ax was the greatest, always there when I needed him with pepperoni and bad sci-fi. I took his coat and hung it on the peg next to the door, my eyes drifting over his t-shirt that read Yoda Knows Best.
    “So, how bad was it?” He set the pizza box on the stove and grabbed two plates from the cabinet by the sink.
    “Bad enough. Dane called and said Janelle’s in deep shit. The evidence is stacked against her.”
    He slipped two slices onto the plates and handed one to me, then licked the grease off his fingers. “That sucks royally. Are you going to help her?”
    I plopped down on the futon while Axton stuck the disk in the machine. “Yeah, I am.”
    “Good.” When he straightened, he gazed around my apartment. “Dude, your place is depressing.”
    I shrugged. “Looks like it always does.”
    “Exactly. Where’s your Christmas spirit? Where’s your tree? It’s just sad, man.”
    “I have no Christmas spirit and it’s not sad, it’s normal. Maybe I’ll boycott Christmas this year. Why force it?”
    He waved his plate around the room. “Because Christmas is the time to connect with the child in your soul.”
    I cocked my head. “Are you high right now?”
    “Make fun all you want, but Christmas rocks.”
    I leaned back and crossed my legs. “Hey, want to do me a favor?”
    “I live to do you favors.” He sprawled out next to me and ate half the slice of pizza in one bite.
    “Asshat was throwing money around a strip club before he went to comasville. I want to know where that money came from. His real name is Sheik Johnson, by the way.”
    “That’s one pimp ass name,” Ax said with a full mouth.
    “Also, Chicken Licker’s real name is Crystal Waters. Maybe. Or that could be another stage name. Anyway, she works at The Bottom Dollar. Can you check her out, too? I need her address. Oh, and some guy named Freddy Libra runs the place.”
    “Sweet,” he said with a full mouth. “Sounds like this project needs some real-time research.”
    I laughed. “That’s my job. You do the computer mojo you do so well and I’ll question the strippers.”
    “You’re harsh, man. Want me to look into the strip club while I’m at it?”
    “That would be awesome, thank you.”
    “I