Note-- The nickname ‘Pookie’ is attributed to series producer Lee "Pookie" Goldberg. The DMAS list began calling him Pookie when he said that the reason he used it in an episode was because, "It was funny." Well, I thought it would be funny to add to this story, and even though he will never see this (Unless the show is canceled which I hope doesn’t happen for a good long time) Thanks Lee!

"They certainly do," Mark commented as he watched the news report from his living room couch. "They certainly have a lot of energy."

"That they do," Steve agreed from his place next to his father as he munched on a handful of popcorn. "I don't think I'd ever wear shorts that tight."

"They're spandex," Mark said. "They only look tight."

"I still wouldn't..." Steve began before he was interrupted by the phone. "Sloan here," he answered. "Yeah... they took the body to CG?... I understand... No room at the inn...I'll meet Dr. Bentley there... Make sure I get that report as soon as possible... Thanks."

"What was it?" Mark asked.

Steve nodded to the screen where Marina was interviewing one of the participants of the sport. "There's been a murder at the Roller Derby rink."

"You're kidding?!"

"Dead serious. So to speak," Steve said as he stood. "You coming?"

"For a case this interesting? You bet!"

Amanda stood over the body of the dead woman. Formerly a roller derbiest, the woman was in prime shape except for the collapsed skull. Amanda held up the murder weapon, encased in plastic, for Steve and Mark to see.

"A roller blade," Steve said with a shake of his head as he took the plastic encased object from Amanda.

"The officer who brought it to me said that he couldn't find out who it belonged to," Amanda told them. "And the team members weren't too enthused about talking about it."

"What was her connection to the team?" Mark asked.

"She was a team leader and the assistant coach," Amanda replied. "Obviously they are going to need a new one."

"I spoke to the owner of the team, and he said he wanted to get this over with and out of the news before it starts affecting his monetary intake," Steve told them with a snort. "The team is so close knit that they won't talk to anyone outside the team."

"What have you got in mind?" Mark asked.

Steve looked thoughtful for a minute before regaling his father with the plan. "I'm going in as a trainer and Jesse offered to go in as team doctor, but I'd like to find someone who is in good shape to be the new member of the team." Mark and Steve looked at Amanda in her visor, scrubs and rubber gloves.

"Ooooh no," she said backing up. "Not on your life. I could be killed just stepping into that ring."

"Come on, Amanda! It'll be perfect!" Steve said. "You're in great shape. It'll give you some time away from doing autopsies and get you into the investigation again."

"You haven't been this close to an investigation since becoming a county medical examiner," Mark added.

"Have you seen them play?" Amanda asked as she pulled her rubber gloves off and set her visor aside. "It's brutal!"

"You can be brutal," Steve said. "I've seen you be brutal."

"Get Susan to do it," she insisted.

"Susan has two left feet on a pair of roller blades," Steve said as he and Mark moved in closer. "You're like a graceful swan."

"Graceful? Ha! Swan? Ha!" Amanda retorted. "You've never really watched a roller derby, have you?"

Mark and Steve were silent. They knew what was coming next.

"Oh all right," Amanda finally gave in. "But if I die, you're taking care of my son."

Two days later, Steve led Amanda through the corridors of the stadium to the locker room. The entire way from their cars to the locker room, Amanda grumbled and snarled at Steve. When they entered the room where the team was waiting, Amanda pasted on her best smile and waited as Steve introduced her to the coach.

"Miles Denton," Steve said with a gesture to him as he said his name. His hand moved to Amanda and he finished, "Amanda Bentley."

Miles moved around Amanda looking her over. "She's a bit small. You sure she'll be able to handle it?"

"She handles a two year old," Steve said.

"I can handle it," Amanda put in. "And he's three."

Miles looked skeptical, but turned and gathered the attention of the men and women on the team. "This is Amanda," he said. "Don't be too hard on her, OK?"

"Whatever you say, boss," said one woman who stepped forward and gave Amanda an extremely hard handshake. "I'm Kiki 'the Kicker' Mulligan."

"Amanda Bentley," Amanda said.

Kiki started to introduce the ten other members of the team. Six were men; Jake "the Snake" Phillips, George "the Shaker" Kokal, Mike "Donut" Hauser, Terry "the Tyke" Manley, Ralph "the Reacher" Ronde and Tommy "the Tiger" Raul; while the last five were women; Kiki, Rhonda "the Mover" Jenkins, Attila "the Hun" Riekert, Julie "Marble" Jorgenson, Mable "the Rocker" Riley, and Tina "Tiny" Reeves.

"So," Tiny began. "What's your nickname?"

"Nickname?"

"Yeah," Steve put in with an evil grin. "They all have nicknames." He stopped for a minute. "How about 'Killer'?"

Amanda gave him a look.

Amanda sat on the floor of the ring, after having been hit and knocked down for the umpteenth time, looking dejected. Jesse approached her with his bag to see if she was alright, but she waved him away.

"I’m alright, Jesse," she said as he helped her to her bladed feet. "I’m just tired of getting knocked down so I decided to stay down. You know this is a lot harder than it looks?"

She sat down on the bench. "Yeah, but look at all the fun you’re having," Jesse pointed out.

"Fun," Amanda said sarcastically then put a finger in the air and twirled it in circles. "Whoopie!"

Jesse just shook his head and walked away. Amanda sat watching as the others skated around the ring. Tiny came up to sit next to her. "Hey Killer," she said.

"I should strangle him for coming up with that name," Amanda said under her breath.

"Would you prefer Wuss?" Tiny asked.

"Killer will do just fine," Amanda said.

Tiny laughed and smacked Amanda on the back almost knocking her off of the bench. Steve and Jesse were nearby watching and looking very amused.

"You know, maybe we should make you the lead." She turned slightly behind to talk to Steve. "Hey Sloan. How about we try Killer here in the lead spot?"

"Sounds like a good idea," Steve said. "I’ll see what we can do."

Amanda turned to find that Steve had an evil grin on his face. "Isn’t the whole other team gunning for the lead? She’s the one who makes laps for points, right?"

Steve nodded. "A point for every other team member she passes in two laps. But look at the bright side. The whole rest of your team will be protecting you as well as gunning for the lead on the other team."

"What if the lead on the other team is bigger than I am?"

"Then you’ll just have to be faster," Tiny said.

Amanda stood alone in the showers letting the water pelt down over her aching muscles. Her eyes were closed and she looked like she was in considerable pain, but most of it seemed to be humiliation.

"Hey Killer," Kiki said from somewhere in the locker room, her voice echoing into the shower area.

"I’m in here," Amanda called.

Kiki poked her head around the corner. "Are you ever going to come out?"

"Just as soon as my pain and humiliation are washed down the drain with the soap," she replied.

"Pookie was worse when she started," Kiki put in as she turned off the water and handed Amanda a towel. "And she ended up becoming team captain."

"Pookie?"

"Paula Ashford," Kiki explained as Amanda wrapped herself in the offered towel. "She’s the one you’re replacing on the team."

"You called her *Pookie*?"

"It was funny," Kiki said. "Like calling you killer."

"Har har," Amanda said as she followed Kiki back into the locker room.

"The new doc says that you might feel better if you let the trainer give you a massage," Kiki told her.

Amanda sat down on the bench and opened her locker. "What happened to Pookie anyhow?"

"She was murdered," Kiki said matter-of-factly.

Amanda feigned surprise. "Do they know who did it?"

"No, and they probably never will."

"Why not?"

"Because she deserved to die," Kiki replied before she started away.

"What do you mean by that?" Amanda asked, her question stopping the other woman.

"Nobody liked her," Kiki said. "She was a thorn in the side of the team."

Amanda pulled her clothes out of her locker and started to dress. "What exactly did she do to make everyone hate her so much?"

"She slept with every guy on the team," Kiki said. "Except coach. Then she strutted around like she owned everyone and everything."

"Why would she do that?" Amanda said as she pulled her shirt on.

"She slept with the owner, too."

"Is that how she made team captain?"

"That’s the theory," Kiki was leaning against the row of lockers. "What are you, terminally curious?"

"Something like that," Amanda replied as she pulled a pair of shoes on her feet.

"I would be careful who you ask questions of," Kiki said. "With some people they can kill you."

"I’ll try to remember that."

Steve rubbed a bit of ointment on Amanda’s shoulder and began massaging it in. "That feels much better," Amanda said with a sigh.

"You want to tell me what you found out?" Steve asked as he rubbed a knot in her shoulder muscles.

"Nobody liked her," Amanda said, letting her head swing. "Sex seemed to be her main reason for being captain of the team."

"She slept with the owner?"

"Yes," Amanda replied. "Kiki said she slept with almost everyone associated with the team. Except Miles."

"Did she elaborate?"

Amanda shook her head and had a muscle spasm for her trouble. Steve’s hands moved to take care of it as he asked his next question. "Is that the only thing she said?"

"Pretty much," Amanda answered. "You should have been a doctor. You’ve got great hands."

"I got them from dad," Steve said. "Jesse said that he talked to the previous doctor and, sure enough, she slept with both him and the trainer that I’m replacing. That’s one reason they left."

"Maybe she should have been a prostitute," Amanda said. "She’d have made better money."

"Maybe she *was* a prostitute," Steve said thoughtfully.

Amanda sat up, turned around and looked at Steve. "You think so?"

"I’m checking into it," Steve said. "The reason that Miles may have never slept with her may have been because he didn’t want to pay her enough."

Amanda whistled and turned back around where Steve resumed the massage. "It would sure explain a lot."

Steve finished the massage and stepped back. "Feel better?"

Amanda got to her feet stiffly and put her jacket on. "At least the worst of it feels better," she replied. "If you’d come over and give me a full body massage before I go to bed…"

"Not on your life," Steve replied with a smile. "Ron would kill me."

Steve turned the key in the lock at the apartment which he and Amanda had been told belonged to the dead derbyist. He pushed the door open and went inside where Amanda followed him. He whistled as he looked around the lavishly decorated room. "Looks like my little theory might have been right."

Amanda glanced at him with raised eyebrows. "Or she was rich in the first place."

"We’ll find out soon," Steve said. "I’ve got a court order for her account information."

Amanda only nodded and began looking through the cabinets in the living room while Steve looked through the desk nearby. For a couple of minutes the only sounds were Steve opening the drawers and Amanda sliding books on and off the shelves. Amanda pulled one book off the shelf and a bank book slid from between its pages and onto the floor.

She leaned down and picked it up before looking at her companion. "Steve," she said. "Look at this."

Steve opened the book and looked down the columns. The deposits were irregular and at different amounts while the withdrawals were regular, mostly at the first of the month, and of the same amounts for bills and rent. Even with the irregularity of the deposits, there was a deposit on the same day of every month. Steve pointed it out to Amanda.

"That’s the day that the team gets paid," Amanda said. "It looks like the right amount, too."

"Then what are these other deposits?" Steve asked thoughtfully.

Amanda shrugged. "They could be anything."

"I think we’d better have a talk with the bank president," Steve said.

Amanda accompanied Steve when he went to talk to the president of First Bank of California. Mr. Charles Wallace led them into his office and offered them coffee, which both accepted, before they sat down to have their discussion.

"What can I do for you, Detective Sloan?" Wallace asked.

"I am looking into the murder of Paula Ashford," Steve told him. "I was wondering if any of her recent check deposits were still here."

"I’ll check," he said then left them for a moment. "One of my tellers is looking," he said when he came back. "Is there anything else you need?"

Steve pulled out the deposit book. "Can you tell me about these unusual deposits?"

Wallace took the book from him. "Paula came in so irregularly, that it was hard to tell what was going on. Not one deposit into her account in the two years since she opened it has been under a thousand dollars."

"Has she always had the same address?" was Steve’s next question.

"As far as I know," Wallace reported. "Even before she was with the LA Waves, she had the irregularity in deposits."

"Did anyone ever come in with her?" Amanda asked.

"Yes, often," Wallace told them. "He seemed to be her brother or some other kind of close relative."

"Do you know where we can find him?" Steve asked.

"I’m afraid not," Wallace replied. "He rarely, if ever, spoke to anyone."

The teller interrupted their conversations with a printout. "Here’s the information you asked for, Mr. Wallace."

"Thank You, Theresa," Wallace replied as she left the room. He glanced down at the paperwork. "Looks like she’s had several different people writing her checks. Here’s the list." He handed the sheet to Steve.

Steve looked at the sheet. "Is it OK if I take this?" Wallace nodded. "Thank you for your time and help," he said as he and Amanda stood.

"If you need anything else," Wallace began. "Let me know."

Outside in the car, Steve handed the paper to Amanda to look at. "Take a look."

The most checks were written by an Andrew Perry. "That’s the team’s owner," Steve told her.

"And that’s how Kiki thinks she was able to become team captain and assistant coach," Amanda said. "Where to now?"

"Back to the arena," he replied. "To talk with Mr. Perry."

Kiki put the last of the towels in the bin and set them near the door where the laundry truck could pick them up. She was startled into turning around by someone.

"What the hell are you trying to do?" she said. "Give me a heart attack?"

"You told that Bentley woman too much," the other said.

"What harm can it do?" Kiki put in. "She’s part of the team."

"She’s an outsider. Outsiders can be dangerous."

"She’s a member of the team and if we want to be able to trust her, she’s got to be able to trust us," Kiki said. "Besides, this is just a team, not a secret society."

"It’s more than a team. It’s a family. *MY* family."

Kiki nodded slightly but with a smile that said she thought the other was crazy. "I think that’s a little too far," she said. "We’re just a group of people with a goal. To win when we go out in that ring." She paused. When she got no response, she went on. "Just because you had her sleeping with every guy on the team doesn’t mean…"

She never got the chance to finish her thought. Her guest’s gloved hand grabbed the back of her neck while the other twisted her head, breaking her neck but not killing her. He slammed her head into the wall a few times then dropped her now dead body to the ground. Blood pooled around her head as it poured from the wound like her thoughts had poured from her mouth just moments earlier.

Footsteps left the scene and seconds later Tiny came in. When she saw Kiki’s body, she screamed until everyone in the building came running. Jesse pushed his way through the shocked crowd that was forming and knelt down next to the body. Amanda and Steve arrived just in time to see Jesse take his hands from Kiki’s body.

"Her neck’s broken and her skull’s caved in," Jesse said. "She’s dead."

Amanda was up to her elbows in the gore of Kiki’s autopsy when Mark walked in. Amanda looked up at him through the goggles she wore on the tip of her nose. "What?"

"I didn’t say anything," Mark said. "How’s it going?"

"Swimmingly," Amanda responded. "Her neck was broken then her head was slammed into the wall. It was not a pretty thing to see."

"I’d guess," Mark stated. "But I was talking about your place on the team. Have you learned anything?"

"I’ve got bruises everywhere," Amanda said. "But before Kiki was so brutally murdered, she told me a couple of things that Steve and I followed up on." She explained what they had found.

"Sounds interesting," Mark said. "Any leads as to who did this and the other murder?"

"Not a clue," Amanda said as she took her goggles off and set them on the instrument table. Her gloves followed in short order but they went in the trash receptacle.

"Everyone’s a suspect but you haven’t got a clue as to which one actually did it," Mark added.

"Right," Amanda told him. "Steve and I were going to talk to the owner about some checks he wrote to Pookie…"

"Pookie?"

"That was Paula’s nickname," Amanda explained. "As I was saying, we were going to question the owner about these checks he wrote to her."

"What’s your nickname?"

"I don’t want to talk about it."

"Is it Cutter?… Killer?"

Amanda eyed him dangerously at the last one. Mark laughed. "It’s Killer?"

"You know me too well," Amanda said with a shake of her head.

"I know Steve," Mark said. "It was his idea wasn’t it?"

Amanda looked at him with a weird smile and nodded.

BBQ Bob’s was busy. Steve was looking at the autopsy results from Kiki’s autopsy between customers. At least he was trying to. Tonight was the grand opening of the 14 screen Cineplex down the block and the extra people were keeping Jesse and Steve hopping.

Steve wiped a bit of BBQ sauce from his nose and sat down next to Amanda and Mark as Mark perused the document. Mark closed the file and handed it to Steve. "Tough night?"

"Business is good," Steve replied as he opened the file to look at the report. "Amanda get you up to speed?"

"Yes," Mark replied. "Sounds like you have your hands full."

"Not as full as they have been tonight," Steve said with a sigh. "You may be right. Maybe we should hire some extra help."

"At least you have a lull right now," Mark said just before a group of people came in the door. "Oops. Spoke too soon."

Steve closed the file and stood to see to the needs of the newcomers. "Moonlighting Sloan?" one of them asked. Attila, Mable, Ralph and Jake from the team had come into the restaurant.

"Moonlighting? I own part of the place," Steve told them. "What can I do for you?"

Jake snickered. "Then what are you doing working as our trainer?"

"The restaurant business can fool you sometimes," Steve explained. "One day you make money hand over fist while the next it’s all you can do to make a penny. So, can I get you something?"

"Bar BQ for everyone," Mable said. "It’s on Jake."

"Hey!" Jake protested. "When did I say that?"

"Just now," the other three said together.

He looked at them a moment then looked up at Steve. "I guess we want bar BQ for everyone."

Steve smiled and put the order in just as Attila noticed Amanda sitting with Mark. "Yo! Killer!" she called to her.

Amanda closed her eyes in a gesture that said ‘Please, no.’ Mark grinned and leaned over. "Looks like you’ve been recognized, ‘Killer’."

She gave Mark a dirty look and turned around. "What are you guys up to?"

"Dinner," Mable said. "Why don’t you and you friend join us?"

"Could be a chance to get some more information from them," Mark whispered.

"I hate it when you’re right," Amanda replied softly. "Sure why not."

After they situated two of the tables together, Amanda and Mark sat down between Mable and Jake. "So why do you introduce us," Jake said.

"I was just going to," Amanda replied. "This is Steve’s dad Mark. Mark this is Mable," she pointed at each as she said their name, "Ralph, Attila, and Jake."

Mark shook each person’s hand as Amanda said their names. "Pleased to meet you." He paused a minute before going on. "Amanda tells me that you have been cursed with two murders in less than a week."

Mable shivered and shook her head. "Pookie I can understand. She was such a loner that she wasn’t well liked, but Kiki… she was a great lady."

"Kiki told me that Pookie went around like she owned the place," Amanda said.

There was silence at the table as the four skaters looked uncomfortable. Finally, Attila spoke. "She was the team whore."

"Literally," Mable put in. Both women looked at Jake and Ralph who sat shifting in their chairs. "How much did you pay for a night with her, Jake?"

Jake cleared his throat and sat up. "Two hundred… and it was an hour."

"She was a prostitute?" Amanda said quietly as she leaned forward.

"Yeah," Ralph replied. "She got quite a bit out of us."

"Except Miles," Mable shivered. "He seemed content to rule her as if he were…" she stopped.

"Her pimp?" Mark asked.

Everyone looked at Mark. The conversation stopped when Steve came followed by the waitress, both with plates loaded with bar bq ribs. They set them down and the waitress left. "Let me know if you need anything…," Steve began when he noticed the looks on everyone’s faces. "Something wrong?"

Mark told him with a look that they’d talk about it later as Mable spoke aloud. "Not a thing, Steve."

Steve smiled warily and said, "OK then. Enjoy." He glanced at Mark before he turned and left.

"I don’t think we should talk about this anymore," Attila said.

"You OK?" Mark asked her.

"Kiki was talking about it to Amanda here, and now she’s dead," Attila said. "I overheard them."

"Was anyone else around when they were talking?" Mark asked with a sideways glance at Amanda.

"I think Miles overheard, too," Attila told him. "Do you think Amanda could be in danger?"

"I sure hope not," Mable said.

"You hope not," Amanda said. "I *REALLY* hope not."

Mark finished telling Steve and Jesse what had transpired at the restaurant earlier as he passed the potatoes to Amanda. Amanda plopped a spoonful on her plate between the green beans and the grilled chicken breast as she waited for Steve’s comment. She didn’t have to wait long.

"Miles Denton, huh," he said. "He was the only one who hadn’t slept with Paula Ashford, and the other team members have said he acts like he’s her pimp."

"If that were true, you think they’d have slept together at least once," Jesse put in. The others looked at him. "You know, to check out the merchandise." He paused. "By the way, I found out that the skate belongs to the victim herself."

"How’d you find that out?" Steve asked him.

"Cool observation," Jesse said. When they all looked at him again, he went on. "OK, I tricked it out of Rhonda." He paused. "I think she likes me."

"She’ll like the knife in your back when Susan finds out," Amanda said as she took a bite of her potatoes.

Jesse looked slightly sheepish. "She won’t find out." Another pause. "Will she?"

"The thing is," Mark said, bringing the conversation back to the murder. "Pookie didn’t actually do anything to anybody."

"Just *for* them," Jesse said. "Wait a minute… Did you say Pookie?"

Mark rolled his eyes and went on. "Miles might have a motive if she told him she didn’t want to ‘work’ for him anymore."

"The owner might have a motive as well," Steve put in. "if his wife found out that he was one of… what did you call her?"

"Pookie," Mark said.

Steve smiled and shook his head. "Pookie’s best clients, then she’d probably file for divorce."

"You know, Miles has to know where every team member is all of the time," Jesse said. "A few of the team members, especially the women, have complained about it."

"Do you think he’s capable of killing the two women?" Mark asked.

"I don’t know," Jesse said. "He avoids me like the plague."

Steve and Amanda looked at each other. Jesse looked at them both. "You too?" They both nodded. "You think he knows?"

"Perry said he wanted the case taken care of, and that he wouldn’t tell the team that we’re undercover," Steve said. "He’s the only one who should know."

"Maybe Miles just isn’t good around strangers," Mark suggested.

The three relaxed a bit, but they still seemed uptight. Finally Amanda voiced their concerns. "Maybe they‘re working together."

Amanda pulled her roller blade on and centered herself for another brutal practice session. She was the last one in the locker room, so she was a little surprise when Miles came in. "You ready?" he asked, making Amanda’s flesh crawl with the look he gave her.

"As ready as I’ll ever be," she replied as she stood. Miles was still looking her over in a creepy way. "What?"

"Nothing," Miles replied. "Get out in the arena." He watched as she skated out of the room.

Out in the arena, Amanda went straight to Steve and told him what had happened. "I’ll keep an eye on him," Steve promised.

Amanda started her rounds of the ring with the rest of the team, skating as fast as she could only to get knocked off of her feet within the first two minutes. "Lead isn’t working either," she mumbled.

"You’ll get the hang of it," said someone from behind her.

Amanda turned to see Miles standing behind her. "When? Sometime next century?"

"It won’t take that long," he replied. "Look, I want you to stay late for a little extra practice."

"I don’t know if I can do that," Amanda began.

"If this is about your son," Miles began as he helped Amanda to her feet. "Call your sitter and tell them you’ll be late."

Amanda looked at him for a minute. "What exactly will this ‘extra practice’ entail?"

"You’ll skate around the rink as fast as you can and I’ll throw balls at you."

Amanda looked skeptical. "How big are the balls?"

"Various sizes," was the reply.

"I suppose," Amanda said. "But not for long."

"Good," Miles said. "We’ll do that every night until you think you get the hang of it."

Before Amanda could agree or disagree, he stalked off. Amanda looked at Steve getting his attention and headed for the bench to sit down. He came up behind her and waited for her to talk.

"He wants me to practice late," Amanda reported. "Until I get the hang of it."

"I’ll be here," Steve said. "Do you want a wire?"

"Isn’t it a bit late to get one for tonight?"

"I’ve had one on standby just in case I needed it," Steve told her.

"Then I want one," Amanda replied.

"Wait fifteen minutes then head into the locker room," he ordered. "I’ll be there to get it on you."

"Thanks, Steve," Amanda said and got up to rejoin the team in the race around the ring.

Steve turned to see Miles watching Amanda closely. After watching him for a few minutes, Steve grabbed a pile of towels and headed to the locker room to wait for Amanda.

Amanda skated around the rink with Miles throwing soft foam balls of all sizes at her in different intervals. The longer they did the exercise, the less Amanda fell. Finally, Miles called for her to stop.

"You’re doing better," he said. "We’ll see how you do tomorrow."

Amanda started to pick up her bag and a towel to wipe the sweat off her face when Miles took her arm to stop her. "What is it?" Amanda asked nervously.

He looked at her face, her short hair, and her eyes before he answered her. "I think you’ll be perfect," he said before releasing her and walking of towards the offices.

Amanda watched after him for a minute before she went into the locker room to change. When she pulled her tennis shoe on her foot and tied it, she was startled by a hand on her shoulder. She jumped several inches and turned around before she realized it was just Steve. "Don’t scare me like that!"

"Sorry," Steve told her. "What was that about before you came in here?"

"I haven’t the foggiest," Amanda replied as she shoved her equipment in the locker and shut the door. "It sounded a bit strange to me."

"Keep your ears open," he told her. "I’ll keep an eye out and have Jesse on stand-by in case he hurts you before we can get to you."

"Your confidence in yourself is overwhelming," Amanda stated.

"Just covering all the bases," Steve said. "If you plan for the worst, it tends to not happen, but when it does you’re ready for it."

"Thanks for the pep talk," Amanda said. "Now would you give me a ride home?"

Steve smiled. "What are friends for?"

For the third night in a row, Amanda was working with Miles to improve her derby skills, and she was definitely improving. He’d throw a ball at her and she’d dodge it or keep her balance. At the end of each practice session he would follow her to the locker room and wait for her there until she got changed and came out. Even during the regular sessions of practice with the team, he watched her like a hawk. It made Amanda uneasy. She was glad that Steve was watching her.

Tonight, Steve waited in the locker room for Amanda to come in after the practice session. "You doing OK?" Steve asked.

"He makes me nervous," Amanda answered. "How long do I have to do this?"

"Until we get a motive out of him," Steve answered. "They’ll be waiting for you as usual."

"Thanks Steve," Amanda said as he went out the back door.

She changed her clothes and went out to find Miles waiting with an angry look on his face. He slapped Amanda then grabbed her hair and threw her to the ground where she banged an elbow. "What were you and that ‘trainer’ talking about?" he demanded.

"He asked me if I needed anything before he left," Amanda said as she rubbed her elbow.

"You don’t talk to ‘ANYBODY’ unless I specifically say you can," he growled then dragged her to her feet only to knock her back down by slapping her. "I’m in charge here and if you do anything that goes against me, I’ll kill you!"

"Like you killed Pookie and Kiki?" Amanda yelled back.

"Paula was ‘MY’ sister," he yelled back. "She had no right to stop doing as I asked. Kiki was mine too. Maybe not through blood, but it was strong."

"And now that they’re gone you decided that you wanted to rule me," Amanda said.

"The minute you came on this team you were mine to do with as I pleased," Miles growled. "Just like everyone else!"

"Not like everyone else," came a voice from behind him. "Freeze, police!"

Steve held his gun on Miles, finger on the trigger. Miles held up his hands and took a couple of slow steps forward. Steve came in closer with a couple of uniformed officers behind him, but Miles surprised him by pulling a gun out of his pocket and firing it at one of the uniformed officers, wounding him, and aiming it at Amanda as she lay on the floor.

"We," he said calmly. "Are leaving. If you try to stop us, another one of you will get a bullet." He pulled Amanda on her feet and put his arm around her neck, the gun pressing into her cheek.

"You hurt her and you’re a dead man," Steve said as he followed Miles movements with his own gun.

"You come after us and she’s a dead woman," Miles said. "She’s mine to do with as I please."

"What makes you think that?" Steve asked through gritted teeth.

"Because she was given to me," Miles replied. "Hell, you should know. You were the one who GAVE her to me!"

He squeezed Amanda tighter, not realizing that he was cutting off her oxygen. She tried to breathe, but to no avail. Finally, as he dragged her away towards the exit, she was in so much need of air that her instincts took over. She hit him in the groin so hard that it knocked the wind out of him and sent the gun flying. She fell to the floor gasping for air as Steve and the remaining officer ran forward to cuff him.

Steve knelt down by Amanda. "You OK?"

She took a few gasps of air before she nodded. "I’m fine. Take care of Miles while I check on the officer."

Amanda, her arm in a sling, picked at her food as she sat with Mark, Jesse and Steve at Bar BQ Bob’s having lunch. "I’m just glad the officer’s injuries weren’t too bad," she said.

"You and me both," Steve said. "He’s a good officer and a great guy."

"You only say that because he likes your ribs," Amanda said with a smile.

Mark smiled. "Then Miles was pimping for Pookie and she was his own sister."

Steve nodded. "He had this misguided notion that all men owned all women and the women on the team were his."

"Yeah," Jesse put in. "Kiki and he were lovers for awhile until he got too possessive for her tastes. He still controlled her a lot after that though."

"Some of the other team members said that they thought it might have been Miles that killed Kiki, but they had no evidence to prove it," Amanda explained.

"And you got it," Mark said with a look of pride on his face.

"She almost got herself killed, too," Steve said. "Why did you goad him like that?"

"You got a confession, didn’t you?"

"Yeah, but I think we could have done it without getting you that broken elbow," Steve said. "Or my officer shot."

"You could be right," Amanda conceded. "But my going undercover was all your idea."

Steve groaned. "I’m sorry, OK?"

"Just do me one favor?"

"Anything," Steve responded.

"If I ever get the bright idea to help you in the field again," she paused.

"What?" Steve asked.

"Please shoot me. Save the bad guys the trouble," Amanda said.