"Hello, Adalet! Hi, Amy!" Hannah waved her flag as the pair took the two seats she'd been saving for them, "you're just in time for the competition to begin! Have you seen a roller derby game before? It's so much fun!"

"I don't know about you, Capt. Adalet, but I'm still not sure how it's played," Amy admits, "teams of girls on roller skates score points by pushing each other off the track?"

"Pretty much," Adalet nods.

"You need to be fast, fierce, and show some skin! It's all about girl power! You'll love it!" Hannah clapped the rookie on the back.

The announcer's voice came over the speakers, ". . . the Helter Skaters are leading by five points, but there's still plenty of time for the Pacific Pixies to fight back! This competition is the battle of roller derby's finest . . ."

"Go, kick some butt, girls! Helter Skaters foreveeeeer . . .!" Hannah hollers waving her flags.

"Susie the Slayer is leading the jam, but there's Mona Middlefinger trying to block her, and . . . uh-ohh! Did you see that!" the announcer asked the crowd, "Mona pushed Susie hard enough to send her flying! Penalty, I hear you say?"

"Don't worry," Hannah says seeing Amy covering her eyes, "these girls know how to roll with the punches . . . Although it's strange she's not getting up . . ."

"Susie the Slayer is down, ladies and gentlemen," the announcer sounded worried, "Susie is down, and the game is suspended while the medics find out how serious her injuries are."

"The poor girl must have gotten knocked unconscious!" Amy guessed, "Capt. Adalet, please, let's go down to the rink and see if we can be of help!"

With a flash of Adalet's badge, the three women jumped the guard rail and rushed over to the fallen skater. The paramedics on-site were surrounding the body, and one stood up and shook his head. Adalet nodded in understanding and ordered the tournament security to clear the stands.

"I can't believe it, Susie Pickley's dead!" Hannah sucked in a sharp breath, "I know derby girls play it rough, but how could she have died just from being pushed?"

"It's not the push that killed her," Adalet says kneeling beside Susie's head, "look at Susie's face! It's all swollen and . . . blue! She must have been poisoned!"

"So we're dealing with another murder! Time to get my notebook out!" Amy says drawing out the black book from her utility belt, "Capt. Adalet, I'm sure you already spotted some suspicious elements around the crime scene!"

"Well, I think Dean and Hunter found the victim's sports bag," she replied as the dogs trotted over each holding a strap bag in their mouths.

"Good call! I bet we'll learn a lot by rooting through it!" she nodded, "and this fan card you picked up is so tattered, you can't even read the owner's name! I hope you can retrieve it, Capt. Adalet! It might be a lead!"

"And we need to talk to the skater who pushed her," Adalet added.

"Oh, you're right, we should also talk to the woman who pushed Susie!" Amy agrees, "I think her name was Mona something . . . I'll go find her for you."

"Well, I'll leave you guys to it," Hannah says, "I'm heading back to the lab, too much sunshine can be lethal. I'll make sure Roxie gets the victim's body, Adalet!"

"Thanks, Hannah!" Adalet replied.

They left the clues with the body and went to talk to Mona before she could leave the track. The skater was cooling off at the sidelines near the lockers, when asked if she was the one who hit Susie, Mona laughed.

"Yes, I pushed Susie. You have to push'em to score points in this game. Go, Pacific Pixies! Kill! Kill!" Mona chanted.

"Miss Middlefinger, you do realize Susie's dead, don't you?" Amy asked.

"It's not my fault she died," she glared, "I'm a blocker, my job is to, like . . . block her. I just did that! I couldn't know she was so dainty!"

"What about the other derby players, or the fans? Did you notice anything suspicious before the match started?" Adalet inquired.

"Ah, where there are girls in shorts, there's bound to be a couple of creeps lurking," Mona shrugged, "but we can handle them, 'cause we're, like, tough and we're the PACIFIC PIX-"

"I think we get the idea," she cut her off, "thank you, Mona."

"Capt. Adalet, did Mona seem a little excitable to you?" Amy questioned as they walked away, "or is it that the violence in roller derby, uhm, damages the brain?"

Adalet chuckled, "I'm no doctor, but . . . I think those chances are pretty high."

They returned to the crime scene where they saw that Hannah and Roxie had already left with the victim's body. Adalet picked up the large sports bag and unzipped the zipper. She sorted through the badges, spare pads and guards and found a small star-shaped charm in the bag. She pulled it out and held the silver/gold trinket up to the sunlight.

"Hm, you found a tiny star in our victim's sports bag. I'm . . . not sure what to think about that," Amy frowns, "oh! I know who can help us, Capt. Adalet! You haven't met Russell Crane yet, have you?"

Adalet shook her head, "no."

"Ooooh, you're in for a treat! He's our profiler. Let's send that star to him!" she said.

Adalet handed the star charm to Amy to bag up for the profiler while she took a look at the faded card. It wasn't too hard to recover the name and black and white photo of a man grinning from ear to ear. The name listed was "Howard Pickley", the same last name as the victim.

"Didn't Hannah mention that our victim's last name was Pickley?" Adalet asks showing Amy the card, "Slayer" was just her derby name. So this Howard must be related to her!"

"Of course I'm related to her!" the man from the card appeared from behind them crying a river, "she's my wife! I can't believe I wasn't even allowed to see her body! Booo-hoooo-hooooo!"

"Susie was married to . . . you, Mr. Pickley?" Amy tried to hide her shock, "I didn't think that you . . . that she . . . erm . . ."

Adalet elbowed her in the side.

"I mean, we're very sorry," she squeaked, "crime scenes are always locked for security reasons. But Capt. Adalet will need to talk to you about your wife."

"Oh, my Susie! My darling! How am I to face this world without her?! Who will do the cooking, who will iron my shirts?" Howard cries.

"Had . . . Had you and Susie been married for a long time?" Adalet asked.

"We were high school sweethearts. She was . . . homelier in those days, but still I knew I would never find someone better than her, so I proposed as soon as we graduated!" he smiled at the memory, "we had a quiet life before she took to roller derby. I encouraged her, came to all the matches, but now . . . I wish she'd kept to her roof garden instead. She loved it, and gardening was a safe hobby! Oh, I can't bear to think of living on my own! I'm not cut out for the single life!"

"No Howard, why do you go home and relax?" she suggests, "we'll let you know if anything else comes up."

Howard nods and tugs away from the scene of his wife's death.

"Capt. Adalet, I think poor Mr. Pickley is in no state to drive. Do you think we should give him a lift to his place?" Amy offered, watching the man sulk.

"Howard's house is also where the victim lived! So we absolutely have to search it for clues, or to learn something about the victim's life," Adalet ponders, "how about the rooftop garden?"

"A roof garden? Yes, I remember Mr. Pickley mentioned Susie spent a lot of time in her garden," she nods, :I agree, it sounds like a promising lead! Let's start the search there!"

At Susie's Garden . . .

"So this is the victim's garden. It's so peaceful and beautiful!" Amy remarks looking around at the jungle of plants, "it's hard to imagine the woman who took care of this garden also enjoyed something as violent as roller derby, don't you think?"

"I've seen weirder people with green thumbs!" Adalet laughs, "now, "let's have a look around!"

For an area covered in plants, dirt, and gardening tools, Susie had kept the place in an almost spotless condition. Adalet looked around all of the potted plants and bushes and found a book which someone must have forgotten on the small table.

"What's that book you spotted in the victim's garden, Capt. Adalet?" Amy asked.

"The Woman Warrior" Adalet answered flipping open the cover, "oh, and there's a message inside: "For Susie. Read it!"

"Well, obviously someone really wanted the victim to read this book! But who?" she wondered.

"These pages would take some nice prints of the reader," she quipped setting the book back down.

"Oh, good idea, Capt. Adalet!" she grinned realizing what the older woman was implying, "I'll get the powder kit out and you can swipe the book for fingerprints! There's a good chance we'll find some that belong to the owner of the book."

Amy opened the captain's case and got out the carbon powder and brush. She passed it over to Adalet who accepted it with thanks. The Muslim dusted the outer edges of the pages and uncovered fingerprints belong to the last person who touched the book.

"How do you do it, Capt. Adalet! Every time I try to gather prints, they end up all smudged," Amy says embarrassed, "but the fingerprints you found on this book are crystal clear!"

"It just takes time and practice," Adalet responded, "don't worry, you'll get it one day!"

"Now, if you have a look in the Police's fingerprint database, we might find who gave this book to the victim!" she says, "I'll keep my fingers crossed, Capt. Adalet!"

Adalet got out her tablet and portable scanner and scanned in a picture of the fingerprints to the database. She compared the three main parts f the prints to similar ones on file and got a match to a woman arrested for unruly behaviour a few decades ago.

"Great, you found a match! The fingerprints you found on that book in the victim's garden belong to a certain . . . Mrs. Pickley!" Amy read the suspect's name, "another Pickley! Apparently, she was arrested 18 years ago for unruly behaviour during a Women's Rights march . . . and the records show she is Howard Pickley's mother!"

"So she was our victim's mother-in-law!" Adalet commented, "looks like we need to talk to her about our victim!"

They found Barbara downstairs in the Pickley home tending to her son. They caught her alone in the kitchen and asked her about her relationship with her late daughter-in-law.

"Susie was like a daughter to me," Barbara told them, "when she met Howard, she was just a shy wallflower, but I had more hopes for her than I ever had for my son, the poor thing."

"What hopes did you have for Susie, Mrs. Pickley?" Adalet asked.

"Women have responsibilities in this world," she replied, "I wanted Susie to be confident, to know her strength."

"So that's why you gave her the book!" Amy guessed.

"It doesn't befit a woman to be weak and helpless. So many men are like Howie, flapping about and whining, expecting us to take care of them," Barbara rolled her eyes with a huff, "I wanted more for Susie. Just because she married my son doesn't mean she has to be his devoted servant. I saw myself in her!"

Later in the morgue . . .

"Adalet, I think I know what killed the victim: a popular energy drink called Rocket Cow!" Roxie sounding like she had just drunk some herself, "pretty tasty stuff when you mix it with vodka . . . Aaaand, it contains a high dose of caffeine!"

"No wonder I've never had it," Adalet chuckled, "I'm all for caffeine, but I'll pass on the alcohol bit!"

"Wait, I don't get it . . . Why is caffeine important?" Amy asks confusion painted on her face.

"I tested the victim for caffeine allergy, and boy, she scored higher than I do in drinking games!" Roxie laughed at her joke "the anaphylactic shock killed her almost immediately."

She gasped, "but, but if Susie was allergic, why did she decide to drink, what was it, Rocket Cow, before the match? Surely she avoided anything with caffeine in it!"

"Rocket Cow tastes like regular lemonade! She didn't know what she was drinking, she thought she had her usual drink in her bottle. Someone, and by someone I mean her killer, mixed some Rocket Cow in Susie's lemonade, and they made damn sure she would drink it!" she explained, "and check this out: I also found a note in her clothes. Look, Adalet, it says: "Don't forget to drink a sip from your bottle before the big game!"

"Really?" Adalet said, "do you have the page?"

"Here's the piece of paper the message was scribbled on, Adalet," Roxie handed over the paper, "maybe you should take a closer look and see what it reveals about the killer?"

Adalet took the page and saw that the upper half of it had had something drawn on it, but time had faded the markings. She got out her brush and dusted a thin layer of powder across the faded area and blew away all the unneeded powder.

"Adalet, what are these symbols you revealed on the killer's message?" Amy asks.

Adalet handed it to her, "a grid with some black dots."

"It looks familiar, it looks like a . . . a . . . Oh, wait!" her eyes lit up, "I know, I know what this is, Adalet! It's a guitar tab! I played the guitar when I was little, I recognize it! The dots show you where to put your fingers on the strings!"

"So what does this tell us?" she inquires.

"Don't tell me, Adalet, let me guess!" she knitted her brows together in concentration, "if the killer wrote the message on a guitar tab, it means . . . It means the killer plays the guitar!"

"Well done!" she praised, "now, time to go meet this profiler!"

"Oh boy!" Roxie spoke up, " you might need an energy drink after this, Russell will put you to sleep!"

"Thanks for the warning," Adalet giggled, "let's go, Amy!"

Amy led the way through the station to the profiler's office near the back of the building. The room was lined with bookshelves and had a large table in the center. A man with curly blond hair was standing near the large bay window reading from an orange book.

"So you're Capt. Adalet," Russell, she assumed it was the prolifer, who else would it be? Says eyeing the woman, "I was starting to think you'd never come into my humble office. Russell Crane, profiler at your service. Now, about that charm, you found in the victim's bag. It obviously belongs to the killer."

"How can you be so sure?" Adalet questioned.

"By applying logic, psychology, and some intelligent guesswork. Let's see: a single, broken charm turned up in the victim's sports bag No other jewelry was found on her, nor in the bag," he summarized, "which makes sense since jewelry is forbidden when playing a contact sport. The fact that the charm obviously broke away from its chain is also important. It means someone lost it while rummaging through the bag."

She nods, "alright, I see where you're coming from . . ."

"And since we know Susie died from poisoning, what does that tell us about her killer?" he smirks sliding on his glasses, "that they accessed her personal belongings to conceal the poison in something she'd ingest!"

"Which means that this charm was dropped by Susie's killer! They're wearing charms! Capt. Adalet, isn't psychology brilliant?" Amy asks.

"If used for the right reasons, yes," Adalet replied.

"Well, in this case, a bit of common sense was enough," Russell chuckled, "but Adalet, don't hesitate to call on me if you need insight into the criminal mind!"

Later on, at the station . . .

"Capt. Adalet, I don't get it. Why would anyone want to murder Susie Pickley? She seemed like a nice woman, despite playing a really violent game . . ." Amy mused, "so far, the only suspect who seems to have any animosity towards her is that hot-headed derby girl who plays in the rival team.

"But Susie's husband sounded devastated," Adalet chimed in, "and her mother-in-law obviously doted on her."

"Russell says the killer wears charms, you've discovered they play the guitar, and I think . . ." she pouts, "I don't know what to think, I'm sorry."

"Adalet! You'll never believe it!" Hannah exclaimed as she bursts into the room, "I've found a fan website about your victim! And the latest entry is called "Susie's Life - The Truth Behind Her Murder"!"

"WHAT?!" Amy gasped, "you mean someone knows why our victim was murdered?! Hannah, this is huge!"

"The website I found about the victim is full of drama and intrigue! Rumours about a secret admirer, and a fierce rival among the derby girls!" she tells them.

"Hmm," the rookie hummed, "I thought the only excitement in Susie Pickley's life was roller derby itself . . ."

"Well, it got her murdered, Amy," she deadpanned, "there must have been something more to it than a couple of punches."

"Well, yes, of course . . . Capt. Adalet, what should we do?" she asked.

"Hannah, do you know who was writing about Susie?" Adalet inquired.

Hannah shook her head, "not yet. But let me rummage through the blog's source code a bit, and I should be able to give you an answer pretty soon. I think you might also want to check out the Plaza. There are many pictures of Susie skating there, she must have used it as her training ground."

"Great, two new leads!" Amy cheers, "Capt. Adalet, while we wait for Hannah to look through that code, what do you say we go inspect the Plaza?"

"Let's hurry!" Adalet said grabbing the keys.

They drove out to the Plaza Hannah had told them about and looked around for anything that could tell them about the murder. Adalet picked up an advertisement for Rocket Cow off the ground, and also grabbed a torn flyer someone had tried to throw into the trash.

" Capt. Adalet, you really have a keen eye for picking up clues! This torn flyer is a promising lead . . . If only we could restore it!" Amy added, "and what is that printout you picked up?"

"It's an advertisement for Rocket Cow," Adalet responds.

"Wait a second, Rocket Cow is the energy drink that was used to murder Susie! So that's why you picked up this paper!" she grins, "there seem to be some words scribbled on the attached piece of paper, but they're half faded. I really hope you'll manage to make them legible again!"

Adalet took a look at the torn flyer first. After placing the Rocket Cow advertisement into her case, she got her tape out. She pieces together the flyer bit by bit and got the complete poster reconstructed in a flash.

"Hey, there's our victim on this flyer!" Amy pointed to the side profile of Susie on the flyer.

Adalet points to the other side profile, we also know the other woman, it's Mona Middlefinger!"

"So it seems Susie and Mona had a personal rivalry going on within the roller derby community!" she remarks reading the information on the flyer.

"We need to talk to Mona again!" she says rolling up the poster, "I just hope this time she'll make more sense!"

They returned to the station and called Mona in on their way back. They brought the skater to the interrogation room and Adalet laid out the flyer before her.

"Mona, you forgot to mention that you and Susie had a personal popularity contest going on! What was that about?" Adalet asked.

"That squeaky little housewife? Puh-lease," Mona scoffs, "she was no match for me! She was a newbie! Six months ago, she didn't know her knee pads from her panty liners!"

"Newbie or not, Susie was the captain of her team, just like you! Did you feel threatened?" she questioned.