Jake stood in shadow to one side, positioned to watch Peter Harding and his sidekick during the lineup. If he was Phoebe and Phagan's current target, he wanted to know it. He heard the shuffle of movement as five women came out and formed a ragged line on the other side of the one-way glass. Harding licked his lips, his gaze moving along the row, stopping for a long moment on Phoebe before moving on.

"Turn to the right," Luke directed the women through a mike.

Again Harding's gaze traveled the row. It didn't stop at Phoebe, but it came back to her. He licked his lips again, and Jake saw sweat pop up on Harding's upper lip. Jake's skin crawled. The guy had a definite kink. No question.

"Now to the left," Luke said. "See anyone you recognize, sir?"

Jake saw him look at Phoebe one last time, then at Luke. He shook his head.

"Sorry."

He's lying. Jake knew it even before he saw Harding watch Phoebe file out with the others. So why not finger her? Dumb question. If he was her target, he'd have a lot to hide. But what part of Phoebe's past was he involved in? Research had revealed that all of Phagan's other targets had a family connection of some kind to one of his runaways, but this guy, while old enough to be Phoebe's stepfather, didn't even remotely resemble the descriptions of Montgomery Justice. Maybe they needed to cast the net wider, look at her schoolteachers and others from her past.

Harding started to leave. Jake stepped into his path. He was convinced Harding was Phagan and Phoebe's target and decided to play a new card, one he'd been holding back. "Could you look at this picture, sir?" Jake pulled a mug shot of Oliver Smith out of his inside pocket. "You ever seen this guy?"

Harding took the picture with an odd air of reluctance and studied it. "I'm not'sure-" He licked his lips again, but this time it was an obviously nervous movement.

Stern took the photo, studied it, and handed it back to Jake. "He worked at TelTech for about three months. Then one day last week he didn't show up for work."

"I'll need the exact day," Jake said.

"I'd have to check his personnel file."

"We'll need a look at that file," Bryn said.

"Our files are confidential and-" Harding began.

"He's dead. I don't think he'll care," Jake said. Neither man looked surprised. Stern looked like a guy who might get his jollies pounding faces. Jake was already looking in to his past, but he'd look harder now.

"I'll see that it's sent over," Stern said. "Will there be anything else?"

"No." Jake watched them leave, oddly relieved to have them gone. There was something off, something definitely wrong about the pair. No question'stern was running interference for his boss.

"Lovely pair, aren't they?" Bryn asked.

"You don't like them?"

She made a face. "I don't like them, and I don't like that I can't find what they're hiding. Did you see Harding staring at our girl?"

Jake nodded. "You're so sure they are hiding something?" he asked, curious to get Bryn's take.

"Oh, yeah. Guys like that, they can't help it. I just haven't found the right rock to look under yet." She gave a frustrated sigh. "And I might not, without Little Miss Larceny. If we don't open her up-" She looked at Luke. "You monitoring her?"

Jake looked at his brother, too, noticing Luke didn't look too happy.

"Of course I am, but I'm not sure this is such a good idea-"

"What's not a good idea?" Jake asked. He looked at Bryn. "What's going on?"

Her expression hovered between defiant and guilty. "We haven't got much time until she's out on bail. Once she's out, she's gone."

"What have you done?" he asked Luke.

Luke's look was apologetic. "We put Phoebe in with Holly the Horror."

"What the hell?" Jake didn't have to ask why Holly was a horror. Every jail had a prisoner who could be counted on to make life rough for the newly incarcerated. "Have you lost your minds?"

Bryn bristled like an outraged hen. "It's a proven technique for softening up-"

"Explain to me how putting someone who was probably abused into running away from home into an abusive situation is going to soften her up?" He got in her face. "From where I'm standing, it just makes us abusers, too."

Her mouth worked for a moment as she struggled for control. "I didn't think of that."

"Next time you have a plan for my collar, have the professional courtesy to run it past me first." He saw red spots of rage bloom on her cheeks, but he didn't give a damn. He whirled on his brother. "Get her out of there. Put her in federal holding. Alone. Now. And I want her watched all the time. No one-I mean no one-goes near her without my permission."

Luke raised his hands in surrender. "I'm on it."

Jake saw more than surrender in his brother's eyes. He also saw questions sprouting like weeds. He didn't have answers. Well, he didn't have good answers for why he was so pissed-off. At least not answers he wanted to share with his big brother. Life was hard enough without Luke and Matt knowing he'd gotten emotionally involved with a perp.

"Chill, little brother," Luke said, stirring the still-hot embers. "No one's going to let your...collar...get hurt."

Jake's hands curled into fists. He turned and stalked out before he took a swing at his brother. He'd lose that one, since Luke topped him in height and weight. That left Bryn, but, even pissed to hell and back, he knew better than to hit a woman. Maybe he ought to hire Holly to kick her ass.

Phoebe knew something was up before she reached the cell in the local, not federal, section of the jail. When the cop opened the door, the hair on the back of her neck rose in warning. She stepped far enough through the door so he could close it, but no farther.

"Be nice to the new girl, Holly," the cop said with a smirk before strolling off.

Phoebe heard a low growl from the shadows of the lower bunk. The bed creaked, then groaned as Holly rolled over and got up.

She was beautiful. Tall and formed like an magnificent Amazon, she had a rioting mop of red hair and hard purple eyes. Her lush body strained every seam of the drab prison garb. The pointed red tips of lethal-looking nails fanned across her hips as she surveyed Phoebe with a distinct lack of welcome.

Phoebe had a feeling Holly's "nice" wouldn't be pleasant.

"You must have pissed somebody off, honey, 'cause that asshole knows I hate sharing. And I really hate getting woke up from my beauty sleep."

"I guess that means you're going to try to kick my ass." Phoebe spread her feet and softened her knees, her body tensed to respond to any sudden movement.

"No, honey, it means I am going to kick your ass." Holly clearly didn't think it would be a problem.

"It may not be as easy as you think. You're gonna get bruised, too." Phoebe met her suddenly narrowing gaze squarely. "Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"I don't see why we should give the cops what they want, getting all bloody and bruised? Besides being messy, it's boring."

"Boring?" A touch of amusement softened Holly's hard eyes. "Getting pounded on is boring?"

Phoebe shrugged. At least she'd succeeded in piquing Holly's interest. "Let's just say I prefer the unpredictable."