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“Now, what about this extra security you’re concerned about for the pageant that’s coming to our city?” Davis asked, directing his attention to me.

“I have an idea. What if I went undercover to keep an eye on things behind the scenes? I’d be able to hear gossip and keep an eye on the contestants,” I replied.

“Undercover as what, exactly?”

“A makeup artist with the pageant crew,” I said, not thinking ahead about what he’d ask next.

Davis’s eyes went wide. “What do you know about makeup, detective?”

Craig snickered, but immediately shut it down with a choked cough.

Oh, shit.

It was as good a time as any to fess up about my drag persona to my captain now I was being forced to. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Craig turn and look at me. I wasn’t about to look at him because I knew he was smirking. “Uh…” I cleared my throat and saw the captain was eagerly awaiting my explanation.

“Well, Cap’n, you already know I have singing gigs on the side.”

“I do. I heard you sing at Detective Philips' wedding last year. I also asked you how it was going.”

“Uh, right. Well, there’s a different angle to my regular performances that I don’t think you’re aware of.” I paused. “I sing in drag occasionally,” I replied quickly, wanting to get it out of the way. Craig was no help, as he sat there with a crooked grin.

Davis looked at me with a neutral expression. “Drag? Like female impersonation?”

“Yes, sir,” I said, waiting for the fallout. I wasn’t sure how he’d feel about one of his detectives doing something like that.

Craig finally spoke. “He’s good. He performed last weekend at Beaux Nightclub at a fundraiser for the LGBTQ Youth Center.”

I cleared my throat again, and before I could say anything, Davis said, “That’s pretty cool. It’s different, and I didn’t expect that coming from you.”

“You’re not upset?”

“Detective… we live in San Francisco. It’s a Mecca for the gay community. You’re openly gay in the department. I’m more shocked that this information hasn’t made its way to my office by now.”

“Not many people in the precinct know, Cap’n. And the ones that know keep it to themselves.”

“So, putting two and two together, I’m assuming you do your own makeup and know the ins and outs around it?” Davis said, sitting back in his chair.

“As I said, he’s good,” Craig boasted. I rolled my eyes, feeling a little embarrassed.

Davis tapped his pen on his desk. I figured he was assessing my idea, or trying to visualize what I looked like in drag.

“Okay, this actually sounds like a good plan. Let’s see if Lieutenant Anderson can come in here and get his opinion.” The captain dialed Anderson’s number on speaker so we could hear, and he answered right away. “Lieutenant, can you come to my office? I’ve got Detective Jones here, and we’re talking about the pageant security.”

“On my way, sir,” he replied before the line clicked off.

Davis looked at me with a slight frown. “Does Anderson know you do drag?”

I shook my head. “No. But I guess it’ll get out soon enough.”

“It doesn’t have to. We can keep this between us, and the department will know that you’re just going undercover.”

I gave the captain a tight smile and a nod as Anderson walked in. We discussed my plan, and the lieutenant was on board and agreed to keep my drag persona under wraps. He didn’t seem surprised, since he was gay as well, but gave me a raised eyebrow upon hearing what I did in my off-hours. We scheduled a logistics meeting to iron out the details, and I made it clear I needed Sean involved. After Anderson left, the captain turned to Craig.

“Jonesy tells me Mrs. Raymond Chandler was a client of yours. Did you get any sense of uneasiness from her about his accident?”

“Not at all. She was out of town when it happened and came back right away after receiving a phone call. When I saw her this morning, she didn’t look emotional or grief-stricken, and the more I talked with her, the less I got any sense of unease or that she was hiding anything. She was upset with Raymond for lying to her and left for Sacramento to visit her sister on Friday night. She had motive, but the opportunity would have made any premeditation difficult with her sudden departure. If that’s what happened. On top of that, she’s the one who came from money. It would be interesting to see if he had a life insurance policy, though.”

“Hmmm… it doesn’t mean she couldn’t have hired someone to do the dirty work. But all suspicions aside, we’re still working on the vehicle’s forensics and have nothing definitive yet,” Davis replied. “We’ll bring her in, interview her further and check her alibi.”