Dani was staring at a vein on the side of Jax's forehead. It looked ready to explode.

"You're seriously not going to tell me what Madam Cordelia said to you?" Dani asked.

"I told you, she didn't say anything," Jax answered, his eyes steady on the road before him.

"Right...that's why you look so happy right now. Please forgive me if I don't believe you."

Her sarcastic tone wasn't lost on him.

"Look, I never mentioned this to you but there are rules when it comes to being someone's partner," Jax said.

"Rules?"

"Yes, rules. Rule number one, don't annoy your partner."

Dani scoffed, "You always break that rule."

He ignored the jibe and continued, "Rule number two, when the head partner gives an order, the secondary partner listens."

"Am I the secondary partner?" Dani asked.

"Well it's not me," Jax held back a grin.

"No way. You be the second banana. I should be the lead partner."

It was a ridiculous conversation but Dani was playing along because clearly whatever Madam Cordelia had said to him had upset him.

"I'm the one that's a detective so I should be the head partner and what I say goes."

"Such a child," Dani muttered.

"What was that?"

"I said that also I have a rule," Dani answered.

He grunted as though he didn't believe her but Dani didn't care.

"We need to be honest with one another."

"Panda Ey—"

"No, I'm serious, Jax. We need to be able to trust each other. I know you're still skeptical about my dreams and I know that Madam Cordelia said something to you that you didn't like. It's okay if you don't want to share. I'm not going to force you but if we're really going to find out what happened to Billy or find out who the Maestro is...we need to have one another's back. Am I right?"

Jax felt his knuckles loosen around the steering wheel. He flashed his signal light and pulled into an empty parking lot.

"You're right."

Dani waited for him to continue.

"The truth is...she said I have a darkness around me."

For Dani, it was an anticlimactic confession, "That's it?"

"What do you mean that's it? That's not a nice thing to tell someone."

"We need to reevaluate your status as head partner if something like that is going to piss you off," Dani said disapprovingly. "She tells me that all the time. Just ignore her. That's what I do."

"She said you have a darkness too?"

"Wait a minute," Dani's eyes widened. "Did you believe her? Is that what I'm hearing? Aha! You do believe in all this psychic stuff."

"It's not that I believe in psychics. It's just that I believe there may be some bad juju around me."

Dani stopped herself from laughing, "What do you mean?"

"It's a long story but it has to do with this," Jax pulled on the thin chain he always wore around his neck.

"Is that an engagement ring?" Dani asked, staring at the beautiful piece of jewelry attached to the chain.

"Yeah. It belonged to Vivian, my fiancée. Before I became a cop, I worked at my family's law firm. Vivian and I were college sweethearts."

"What happened?"

Dani couldn't help but notice how Jax stared at the ring. She could almost feel the sadness suffocating them in the small space of the car.

"She was killed."

Dani had never experienced the urge to comfort someone through touch but for some reason, his sadness made her want to hug him. Instead, she offered words.

"I'm sorry Jax. Is that why you want to catch the Maestro so badly?"

"I never really wanted to become a cop. I always thought I'd be some big time lawyer."

"Then why did you?"

"It's my penance. Vivian— she had warned me that he had been harassing her. I didn't think anything of it. I thought he just had a crush on her. I knew him. It was innocent. No big deal. I never— not in a million years thought that he could do something like that."

Dani saw Jax's eyes become glossy as he continued, "The worst part...the worst part is that I never said anything. I saw him at the rosary. He didn't shed a tear. Not one tear. I swear I almost killed him that day. Everyone kept talking about how her murderer was still on the loose and all the while I kept eyeing him. Waiting for him to give me a sign that he did it."

"Did he?

"The rosary was at her parents' house and he didn't say anything so I thought that maybe I was caught up in my grief. Maybe I just wanted someone to blame for not staying with her that night. For not protecting her. Hell, I just wanted to hate someone more than I hated myself. I had just about called myself an idiot for suspecting him when I saw it."

"Saw what?" Dani asked, unsure if Jax was even paying attention to her.

"It was almost time to leave when he sneaked into her old bedroom. I didn't notice at first but when I found him, he was humming some tune, sniffing her clothes. Then he looks up and he sees me. It was the weirdest thing. I'll never forget it. He smiled. It wasn't a normal smile. It was creepy— made my skin crawl. He puts down the shirt he's holding and he comes up to me like I didn't just catch him acting like a sick pervert and he grabs my hand. I can't even move I'm so shocked. I watch him pull this ring out of his pocket. He puts it in my hand before he whispers something in my ear. Then he left."

"He had that ring?"

"I gave this to Vivian the day she died. I had proposed to her that morning. We had always joked that we were already married so we needed to make it official. I was going to meet with her again later that night but was stupid enough to meet up with some buddies at a bar. The next morning I got the call that her parents had found her dead in her apartment."

"Oh Jax, I'm so sorry."

She watched him wipe his eyes with the back of his hand before asking, "You said he whispered something to you. What did he say?"

A bitter laugh escaped Jax's lips, "What did he say? He said, 'She was a lot of fun. Tell mom and dad goodbye for me.' We haven't seen him since."

"Mom and dad? Don't tell me—"

"He was my brother."

"Your own brother? That's so crazy. You've never turned him in?"

"You must think I'm some giant hypocrite, huh? Gotta catch the bad guy...unless he's my brother."

"Why didn't you turn him in?"

"As much as I loved Vivian...how could I? He's my brother."

"So you became a cop to catch him yourself?" Dani guessed. "Did no one else suspect him? I mean isn't it odd that he left right after she was murdered?"

"No. He was a rich kid with lots of money. Now he's a rich man who bounces from one country to the next. Mom gets a postcard every now and again."

Dani felt a shudder run down her back, "That's...insane. He got away with murder! I mean how else could he have gotten Vivian's ring unless he was there with her the night she was killed? How could you let him go free?"

"You think I don't know that? He's my brother...I didn't become a cop because I believed in justice. Or because I had a dream to catch bad guys. I became one because it was fair."

"Fair?"

"A life for a life, right? Vivian was killed. Her life was gone. So I chucked all of my dreams and opportunities of being a lawyer. Instead, I became a cop. It may not make sense to you but every time I catch a bad guy, it's to make up for what he did. For what I didn't do."

"Jax...I'm sorry your fiancée was murdered and I'm sorry that your brother is probably a murderer but this doesn't make sense. You need to turn him in. You can't let him get away with this."

"Dani, let's just focus on the Maestro right now, okay? I can only deal with one murderer at a time."

He looked defeated and Dani wanted to argue with him because if years had gone by and he still hadn't reported his brother, she probably wouldn't be able to convince him anytime soon.

"Fine. I'll drop it for now even though you've just dropped a verbal bomb on me. First, we'll catch the Maestro and find out what happened to Billy. After we take care of them we can focus on your brother. For all you know, maybe your brother is the Maestro."

Jax shook his head, "I wish it was that easy but we won't be that lucky."

For a second, Dani thought that maybe Jax did want to catch his brother. She pushed the thought aside. Thirty minutes later, they were nearing Dani's apartment building when she urged him to stop the car.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Look!"

Her whisper might as well have been a shout as she pointed to the large dumpster next to her building. Derek had just tossed a bag in and was walking back inside the building.

"If it's in the trash, then anybody can claim it, right?" Dani asked.

Not waiting for him to answer, she pushed open the door and ran to the dumpster. She looked behind her and waved Jax over.

"Help me up."

"What?"

"I want to grab the trash bag and see if the shirt is in there. What if it has Billy's blood on the shirt? It would prove he hurt Billy. Also, remember I found classical music in his apartment? He might even be the Maestro so help me up."

"Did we really just meet a couple of weeks ago? How do we have a relationship where you order me to throw you in a dumpster?" Jax asked.

"It's about quality not quantity. Besides crazy circumstances throw people closer together. And aren't we partners? Just help me up!"

"Alright already, but don't get any garbage juice on me," Jax muttered.

"Oww this hurts," she complained as her stomach hit the edge of the dumpster. "I'm almost there Jax. Just hold on to my ankles. Jax held on to her jean-clad legs trying to help her get in the dumpster without completely falling in.

"There's a few trash bags in here already. Hold on. I have to open them to see what's in them. Eeew gross."

"Just hurry up, Dani!" Jax groaned. "Maybe you should lay off the pancakes at work, huh? You're a lot heavier than you look."

"Just be quiet and hold on," Dani ordered, flailing her feet around.

"Rule number four, don't kick your partner!"

"What are you doing?" a male voice asked.

It caught Jax off guard who immediately let go of Dani's legs, causing her to fall into the dumpster and scream. Jax banged the giant blue receptacle but Dani continued cursing at him. Finally she managed to peer over the edge of the dumpster and gasped. Standing before her was a familiar face, bemusedly looking at the scene, a backpack over one shoulder.

Dani gasped before the words tumbled out of her mouth, "Billy! What are you doing here? I thought you were dead!"