The crime scene was at once chaotic and ordered. Carlos Sanchez, Chief Medical Examiner, Best Man, sat in a daze against the far wall of the living room. He absently noted the 20 or so police and crime scene techs methodically going about their jobs. When he and Michael Longworth arrived at the front of the house he knew something was wrong. At that same moment his cell phone rang.

"Colleen, somethings wrong. Send backup." He stammered as he climbed out of the car.

Her reply was a terse professionally bland and emotionless reply. "It's already on its way. What is the situation?"

"The front door is open. No lights on inside." He noted as he cautiously made his way up the sidewalk. Michael Longworth jogged up the path radiating worry and concern.

"Jimmy? Jimmy are you in there?" Michael Longworth called as he entered the house. "Jimmy, we are all a little worried here. Where are…"

That's the moment Carlos knew. He had barely set one foot in the house and he knew. He could smell the blood and feces. His heart rate doubled as he instinctively flicked on the nearest light.

"Oh god! Jimmy. Oh god, no. No. No." Michael Longworth collapsed on floor next his sons lifeless form. His hands hovering a foot over the body. Fingers spread in apparent indecision of where to touch first. He was reaching down as Carlos roughly grabbed with both arms around the chest and bodily hauled him back.

"You can't touch him." He barked.

"Jimmy!" Michael Longworth screamed. "Jimmy!" He struggled in Carlos's arms. "Let Go! Jimmy!"

"If you touch him, it could contaminate the scene and we won't be able to find who did this. Do you here me? We have to find who did this." Both men fell in a heap onto the floor ten feet from the body. Carlos held Michael Longworth in that position until the uniforms and Manus arrived. That had been hard. Yet Carlos hadn't had to tell Callie. He hadn't had to stop her from entering the house. He heard her calling. He heard her cries of terror and pain. His soul hurt. He had seen hundreds of dead bodies. Had visited hundreds of crime scenes. He had never had a personal connection like this. A small detached part of him chided his sometimes cavalier attitude towards the deceased. It was a job. He was good at it. But he never understood the pain it carried until now. The pain he would carry with him from now on.

Colleen Manus approached with a short latin man at her side. "Carlos, this is Alfonso.." Manus began.

"No." Carlos broke in. "I know Alfonso, and no. I will take him back not Alfonso."

"Thats not protocol." Alfonso stated.

Carlos stood and focus his gaze on the man. "I don't give a shit. I am taking him back. Nobody else." Carlos stated flatly.

"Ok. Ok. Carlos can take him back." Manus agreed. She turned her gaze onto Alfonso forestalling the objection forming on his tongue. "You can help."

Carlos closed his eyes and took three deep breaths. When he opened his eyes again. He was simply the Chief Medical Examiner at another crime scene. The most important crime scene he had ever worked. "Lets get to work. I want to get him back to the lab and see what we can find."

—

They had arrived at the FDLE lab at 2:47am. The crime scene had been processed very efficiently. Very thoroughly. The team had been meticulous and hyper focused on their tasks. The collection of the body and its transportation was equal parts efficient, professional, and reverent. Carlos made a note to send a very heartfelt thank you to the team and a special thanks to Alfonso. He gazed at the zippered black bag laying motionless before him. The office was awash with people. Carlos was tired. He was also profoundly heartbroken. Nothing in his life had prepared him for the sorrow he felt. But none of these were what he felt as he stood there gazing at the black bag. Carlos was a ball of barely contained overwhelming anger. They would find who did this. They had to find who did this.

He had to suppress his anger. He had to suppress every emotion he had contended with in past several hours. He closed his eyes and tried to push past his emotions to the dispassionate professional beneath. As he stood there he spoke aloud to himself as if giving sage advice to someone else in this situation. "You need to go home. You need to go home, grieve, focus, and then find who did this."

"I agree" a voice intoned.

Carlos snapped around his eyes wild in their search for the owner. Colleen Manus stood half in and half out of the door. "Its 3am. I was just about to tell you to do exactly that." She offered.

"Are you going home?" Carlos spat. He could not keep the angry contempt from gushing out.

Manus took a steady breath. "Yes. For the same reasons." Her eyes were instantly full of tears as her professional demeanor broke. Her face betraying her as shattered and disheveled human rather than the stoic professional she had somehow embodied since arriving at the scene. "I had to tell her Carlos." She choked. The tears now flowing unabated. "I had to tell her.." Carlos was there pulling her into an embrace. She stayed there for several long minutes loosing herself to her grief. Her face now buried in his chest. For his part, he held her there not giving into his grief. It was his time to project strength and hers to finally feel the pain.

"Alright." He whispered. "We were both right. We need to go home. Recharge so we can focus." As they walked down the hall the lights flickered and died. The emergency lights came on immediately after. They stopped and looked around then made their way through the labyrinth like hallways to the front of the building.

Manus had once again assumed a commanding presence. "What's going on?" she asked a uniformed officer who had just entered the building.

"Lots of lightening out there. Freak storm or something. Anyway, the transformers are all blown. Looks like the power is out for the whole block."

"Ok. Carlos, I need to go check into this. Please go home. I'll be right behind you as soon as I make sure this can all be handled by someone else."

"You sure? I can wait." He said

"I'm sure. I'll only be fifteen minutes and then I'll be out of here too." She then turned and bustled back towards her office. Carlos turned and walked out into the night.

—

Colleen finally walked to her car at 4:15am. She needed a shower and sleep. Though she was uncertain if the latter would come. She began to pull out of the parking lot when her phone rang. She stopped the car and rummaged through her purse for the phone narrowly catching it before the call was shunted to voicemail. "This is Manus" she stated flatly. The fatigue and frustration clearly evident.

"Director Manus, this is Marshal Tony Morales. I am the case officer assigned to Ray Cargill." The voice sounded a little shaken.

"Yes, I remember you." Her thoughts went wild. Ray Cargill had skipped out on his Witness Protection identity. But Jim had told her that he was still in Washington state.

"I was told that Detective Longworth, Jim, was shot and killed tonight. Is that true?" Morales's voice was most certainly shaken. Colleen had an idea where this was going and she didn't like it.

"Yes. Where is Ray Cargill?" She demanded.

The man on the phone audibly deflated. She could hear his shoulders slump and his posture drop as the confirmation of his worst fears washed over him. When he spoke his voice carried both regret and disbelief. "We don't know exactly. His credit card was last used at a road side motel. After I heard of Detective Longworth's death I asked some local Marshals to go grab him. Sometimes we have to give protectees a bit of space when emotional things are happening in families they can no longer have contact with. Its hard on them. But most come around and accept it." He paused and took a deep breath. "When the Marshals entered the room they found two men. Both obvious heroine addicts and neither one was Ray. They say a man gave them his credit card nearly two weeks ago in exchange for a motorcycle. We have no idea where Ray is." He stopped and waited on her response.

She sat motionless for long moments. "You think Ray killed Jim to stop him from taking his family?"

"I think it's possible. But its also possible that Ray was a victim too. One of the junkies, Samuel Mayfield has a Florida drivers license and a hell of a rap sheet. In fact Mayfield was released from prison few years ago. He was sent there after a trafficking arrest. He used to be muscle for a drug runner named Tommy Bucks. Bucks was a known associate of Gio Reyes. As you may know, Reyes has a history of cleaning up problems." Morales paused to make sure she was still following him.

"Why would Reyes have any interest in killing Jim?" She asked.

"Reyes is big time but he isn't the top of the tree. That honor goes to Guillermo Diaz Garcia. I'm told that Detective Longworth put his son Eduardo in prison. I know you have a lot on your plate but I want to bring by our lead investigator on all of this tomorrow. He's really good. I think he can help find who did this to Jim." Morales paused again trying to guess her thoughts.

"Ok, I'll be in around 9. Just promise you aren't going to walk in and declare this your case. That would cause a lot of resentment from the team. One of our own, one of our best was just killed. We want to hunt down this son of a bitch ourselves." Her voice was hard and determined. "We want to bring this person to justice. This person gets no deals and no protections for related testimony."

"Don't worry. Raylan doesn't want command of anything. He just wants to help find the killer. Just between us Director Manus, his version of Justice is exactly what these bastards deserve." Morales stated.

"Bastards? Plural?" She asked.

"Whoever pulled the trigger and whoever is hiding the guy that pulled the trigger." Morales said flatly. "If they knew before or know nw and don't call the cops. Screw 'em."

Colleen ended the call and sat motionless in her car for a long time. Then, she drove home to shower. On the way she thought of all the favors she was owed and how they could help find Jim's killer.

—

Colleen pulled back into the parking lot at just after 9. Carlos was just getting out of his car as well. "Did you sleep?" she asked.

"No. But I rested and I'm focused." Carlos responded.

Colleen had to admit, his eyes looked sharp and his body language was certainly determined. They talked as they walked towards the building. "Ok, I am setting up a task force from a few FDLE stations. Also, the Marshals called. They can't find Ray Cargill." She reported. Carlos stopped mid stride.

"They think he did this?" Carlos asked.

"It's a theory they are exploring. There are some other possibilities. They are sending over a couple of Marshals today to brief us and join the task force." She told him.

"Great. They have good resources. As long as they aren't taking over I welcome the help." Carlos said. They continued walking as they spoke. "I want to do a full autopsy today. Also, I thought of a few more things I want to check at the house. I'd like to take Daniel and some techs."

"Ok, I'll come with you. I need the morning to get the ground work started for the task force and reroute some outstanding cases to other stations. We have a team briefing at 11:30. You'll want to be there for that." She told him. They parted ways at the entrance and she made her way to her office. Every eye on the floor tracked her. She entered her office and composed herself quickly. Then turned and walked out to address the gathered staff. She couldn't keep her eyes from falling on Jim Longworth's office door. "Yesterday, one of our best was taken from us. We will find his killer. We will not rest until we do. I am setting up a task force …" Her speech was cut short by an angry Carlos Sanchez yelling from across the room.

"Where is he? What happened?" he was striding angrily towards her. "Who the hell took him? I told you I was doing the autopsy, no one else! Me!" Carlos was brimming with anger. His eyes bored into her and his teeth showing as he approached within a foot of her. "Where is he?" he spat.

"What are you talking about?" her confusion was palpable.

Carlos recognized the confusion and dialed back his aggression. "His body is gone. The lab is a mess and the body is gone." He said flatly. "You didn't know?"

Colleen froze and then the same unbridled anger rose from within her. "Who knows where Jim's body is?" she called scanning the crowded room for some signs of recognition. Nobody spoke. Colleen stormed to the front of the office with Carlos in tow. They rounded on the now panic looking receptionist. "Who came for Detective Longworth's body?" she questioned.

Two men stood a few feet away. One in a professional dark blue suit and one in jeans, boots, and a cowboy hat. The cowboy wore a gun at his hip and the circled star badge of the United States Marshal Service on his belt. Colleen instantly recognized Tony Morales and made the connection.

"Did we come at a bad time?" The cowboy said.

"Nobody came. Nobody that I know of." The receptionist made her way quickly to the desk and hastily grabbed the sign in sheet and scanned it. "Nothing here. Nobody came for him. The body, I mean."

Colleen looked up at the two Marshals. "Did you take him?" she half asked and half accused.

"Take who?" Morales asked. He look utterly confused. The cowboy just looked thoughtful, even calculating.

Colleen gazed at them with a hard eyed stare and then turned to Carlos, "Lets see the lab."

—

They stood outside the lab looking in. There half on and off the table was the black zippered body bag. It was unzipped and smears of congealed blood and other bodily fluids were spilled onto the floor. The clothes Longworth had worn were piled in a heap against the wall. A few foul looking towels were mixed in with them. Another pool of fresher looking blood lay on the other side of the table with another towel close to it. An instrument trey and scales typically used to weigh organs lay in strewn across the floor.

"Did you go in there?" Colleen asked Carlos.

"No" he responded. "No, I didn't really look at it until now. I just saw the body was gone and then I got really mad." He paused fully taking in the scene. "What the hell happened in there?"

"Someone cleaned the body and took it with them." The cowboy said.

"Why clean it? It would be faster to take the entire bag." Colleen observed.

" They had to make sure it was the right body or they didn't want the odor giving them away. Whichever, you now have a second crime scene." The cowboy said.

"Who are you?" asked Carlos.

"Rylan Givins, Marshals." The cowboy noted.

"Carlos, get the techs and start working the lab." She turned to the two Marshals "I need to go review the security cameras."

"It won't do you no good. They'll all be off or broken." Rylan prophesied.

True to his prediction the cameras recorded nothing past the freak lightening storm. A closer look proved them all, sixteen in total, to be shorted. That was a first. The IT tech was completely baffled. "There is just no way for this to happen. It's not just the cameras. The magnetic door locks were all offline. We can't even open the holding cell doors at the moment. It's just freakin' impossible!" the tech sounded just as frazzled as everyone else. Everyone except the cowboy.

"Well, look at it like this, things can't get any weirder." He said after the tech finished.

"Director Manus" the voice came from her office door. When she looked up a uniformed officer stood with a very puzzled look on his face. "We found a body behind the building." He said.

Colleen jumped up and began walking to the office door as she spoke. "Behind this building?"

"Yes ma'am. The thing is, its missing a head." The officer said in a haunted voice.

—

The body lay just at the tree line. Burned vegetation surrounded a 15 foot area around the body. The body itself was dressed in drab yet comfortable looking slacks and dark pullover shirt. Still grasped in the right had was an antique looking sword. The torso had three long gashes and what looked like a single large stab wound that went completely through piercing the heart in transit.

Carlos stood from a long examination of the body and walked back to speak to Colleen and the two Marshals. He looked even more confused by this than the scene in his lab. "First, the blood in the immediate area isn't enough to have come from both a severed head and a pierced heart. I estimate a single liter at most more likely it's less. Other than the neck wound the others show signs of healing. As much as a week for the two smaller slashes. I'll know more after I examine it in the lab." His face scrunched in deeper confusion. "The neck wound is cauterized. Completely cauterized. Something, presumably an axe or guillotine caught the neck between C5 and C6 at an angle that allowed the blade to barely graze the actual bone."

"So not the sword then" Colleen asked

"No. At least I don't think so. The head was severed in one stroke. Aside from needing an almost inhuman degree of accuracy you would also need some amazing strength. A headsman used to be considered good if he managed to sever a head in under three blows." He sighed. "The one thing I am certain of is that this is not Jim Longworth."

"What about the burned grass and trees?" Colleen asked quietly.

Carlos walked them back over to the body. As he knelt he spoke. "Yeah, thats odd. The grass beneath the body isn't burned. That suggests that the body was here when the lightening happened. But, the patch of ground under his lower legs is burnt. But there aren't any burn marks on the trousers or shoes." Carlos finished.

"How is that possible?" Colleen asked.

Carlos and Raylan answered the question together. "Its not."

Carlos rose and shook his head. "The scene tells two stories. It's going to take time to figure out which one is right."

"But there is a chance the this body was placed here around the time Jim's body was taken, right?" Colleen asked.

Again, both Raylan and Carlos answered in Unison. "Yes."

Raylan wiped the perspiration from his brow as he spoke. "It could have been a distraction. It might give them the time to steal Longworth. It just wasn't needed."

Carlos nodded. "Yeah, thats what I was thinking."

"Yeah, and now I have a 3rd crime scene." Manus reflected.

"Ill get this one transported to the Miami Coroners Office. I'll go with it and get started on the autopsy as quickly as I can." Carlos strode off to coordinate with his team and Colleen beckoned the two marshals to follow.

Once back in the detectives bull pin Manus played out the known facts and speculations to the team. "Obviously somebody is afraid we would find something to connect them to Jim's murder. If Carlos hadn't shown up when he did they would probably have disposed of the body and we wouldn't have as much to go on. Which, isn't all that much. But, we know they are afraid of us. They should be. We will find these people and they will pay. I'll give you all your assignments as soon as I have them." As the team dispersed Colleen noticed Daniel Green scribbling furiously on a note pad. She walked over and put a hand on his should. "Daniel, are you ok?"

He stopped writing and sat rigidly, unmoving. "No. I don't think so. I'm really, really angry."

Colleen spoke softly, "I know. Don't let it overwhelm you. Use it. The body we found behind the building had a sword of some kind. It looks like some kind of an antique. Can you research it for me?"

Daniel turned to look at her through wattery eyes. He nodded once got up to go find the sword. Colleen walked back to where the Marshals stood waiting.

Morales spoke first. "I am going to fly to Washington and speak with the two suspects there. I'll coordinate with Marshal Givins and update you when I have more."

Rylan spoke next. "I'm gonna head over to the murder scene and poke around. I know your gonna want to talk to the family in the next day or two. I would like to tag along."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea. A marshal being there will definitely upset them. Callie is smart and she'll figure out why your involved pretty quick." Colleen stated.

"Does she know her ex-husband is in the wind?" Raylan asked.

"No. Jim wanted to wait until after the wedding to tell her." Colleen smiled a sad smile. "He didn't want to ruin her day with worry."

"Yeah." Rylan shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "The thing is, I need to ask them some questions. The boy especially. Now, I think that might be easier to do while you speak with the mother. I know its a… sensitive situation. But, I have to talk to Jeff."

Colleen nodded slightly. Then closed her eyes and nodded again more resolutely. "Ok. If it helps find those responsible." She opened her eyes and look hard into Raylans eyes. "It's going to be rough. Jeff is going to want to protect his dad and help find Jim's killer. Please go as easy as you can with him."

Rylan returned her gaze cooly. "Give me a call when your ready to go. I'll be nice."