Conway goes to work early the next morning and sees McCann outside the building. He hints that Breslin is on her side and that she should follow his advice. Suspicious of McCann’s motives, Conway goes to the incident room and finds Steve already there. He and Conway split the job of reviewing Aislinn’s phone records. When Breslin arrives, he offers to take over this task from both Conway and Steve. They refuse, and he goes off on some private errands. Steve finds a record indicating that McCann was working Aislinn’s Missing Persons case from start to finish. He and Conway wonder if this is what Breslin is trying to cover up.

Steve comes up with a new theory that McCann was having a secret affair with Aislinn’s mother. Conway finally has had enough of his fantasies and tells him to stop it: “There’s no thrilling hidden story here, [Steve]. There’s nothing that’s going to turn you into Sherlock Holmes tracking down the master criminal” (240). She says the gang angle is off, too. Fleas couldn’t identify Aislinn, which means Aislinn had no underworld contacts. The two detectives get into a fight. Conway accuses Steve of trying to stay on everyone’s good side.