It was always possible the peripheral could become pertinent.”
-- Ballard (chapter 4)

Importance: When Haddel is shot in the fray, investigating any possible connection she may have had to the shooter is shifted onto Ballard because the other detectives regard her as only an auxiliary victim. However, as this quote shows, prioritizing victims goes directly against Ballard’s modus operandi. While investigating Haddel ultimately does not result in a lead that propels Ballard to a solve on the case, it is only because Ballard takes her seriously as a victim and investigates her locker that she sees Chastain is working the case and messing with evidence. Taking every victim seriously, even a young waitress with seemingly no connection the career criminals in the booth, is in the end what makes Ballard a good detective.

The hour of overtime she had worked pushed Ballard into the heavy morning traffic moving west toward the beaches. The...
-- Narrator (chapter 8)