I just wanted to say thank you for editing this chapter Arinlianette. This chapter is so much better because of you. Thanks! :D

Chapter One: Pilot, Part 1

"What do you think of this ring?" my best friend, Nick Burkhardt, asked. I took the object into my own hands and examined the jewelry. It was a simple ring with a thick band, was generally nice-looking, had no distracting details...and was too small.

"That's a pretty ring, but this one is more Juliette' taste and it's at the same price," I answered showing him another ring with a clever smirk. It had a delicate, thin band with three small—but beautiful—diamonds. I knew that Juliette would love it.

Nick took one look at the ring and a smile sprang across his face. "Caroline," he clicked his tongue and snapped his finger to point at me, "that's why I brought you."

I laughed as he went to pay. "Thanks. I feel so loved now," I smiled. "Hey, I'll meet you outside, Nikki."

"K."

With a ding, I exited the little shop, walking outside to meet my other best friend, Hank Griffin.

"Carol!"

I laughed, making my way over to him. He was leaning against his car, waiting for us to finish. Before I reached him my phone rang.

"Dr. Baker here," I answered while continuing my walk across the street.

"Doctor, we have a new body. However, the body is not complete. We require help in searching for all the pieces."

"Of course," I sighed. "Send the address to my GPS and I'm on my way."

I hung up and weakly smiled at Hank. He laughed at my expression.

"New body?"

I nodded. "Yep. Apparently, the body was ripped apart so I have to help look for the missing pieces. Blah," I responded. Nick stepped out of the store and made his way over. "I'll catch up with you two later." I walked down the street, hopped into my BMW, and drove to the crime scene.

After an hour of searching, all body parts were found and dumped in a large bag. An MIT handled the evidence, giving me room to breathe for a moment.

"Finally." I was on my way to the lab when I saw Nick and Hank on their knees looking at something.

I poked my head between both of theirs. "So...whatcha looking at?"

"It's the girl's iPod," Hank said before singing, Sweet Dreams, as it plays repeatedly on the device.

"Oh, that's cool. But why is her iPod here when the body was found all the way over there?" I pointed behind me.

"Well, that's what we're here to figure out," said Nick. We got up and returned to the police station. Nick and Hank went to their desks while I went to my lab to start the girl's autopsy.

The cause of death was from an animal, but what kind? I didn't recognize the bite marks. They clearly weren't from a bobcat, dog, lion, nor a shark. It's similar to a wolf's bite but it's not an exact match...I'm at a dead end.

I sighed. Could this animal be related to a wolf?

My pensive state was interrupted by the ringing of my cellphone. I peeled off my gloves and answered, "Dr. Baker here."

"Hey, Carol, it's me, Juliette. I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner with me and Nick tonight," I heard the giggly voice of the possible-future Mrs. Burkhardt.

"Hmm. I think I'm free tonight. So, yeah, I'll have dinner with you guys. What time should I be there?"

"You get out at six, so come around seven."

"Alrighty, see you tonight." Click.

Work ended quickly, so I went home and took a shower before changing into a black tank top, a gray wool sweater, a pink-embroidered tutu skirt, and suede ankle boots. Before I could leave, my roommate, Amelia, just had to poke fun about me going to meet a married man and his wife, completely leaving out the 'best friend' part. Ugh.

When I arrived at Nick's and Juliette's house, Nick wasn't there. Juliette said that his aunt, Marie, arrived so they went out on a walk together. I flung my purse onto the couch while taking in the smell of boiled pasta, garlic, and seasoned vegetables.

"Mmmm. What's on the menu?" I asked, taking a peak into the kitchen, where Juliette continued cooking. I knew to not go in there when we had these little get-togethers. Juliette's butcher knife would find its way to my olive-colored finger. She was that serious about her food.

"Oh, just cheesy spinach and chicken pasta..."

Yum. I bit my lip and squeezed my eyes shut, just imagining the heavenly dish sliding down my throat.

"Jules—can I call you 'Jules'?" I didn't wait for a reply, "You are amazing," I said to her, sincerely.

She smiled and continued to stir the deliciousness that was the pasta. "Thanks, Carol. If only I had someone to say that about my cooking all the time...Wait," she stopped stirring to feign thinking. "I do," she concluded, referring to our past activities, smiling at me.

I smiled and sat on the couch, flipping through a romantic novel I found collecting dust on their top shelf while throwing commentary around with Juliette every once in a while.

We hadn't heard from Nick, neither his aunt.

"Hello," I said, answering my phone, leaving the coffee table and entering another room.

"Hey, Caroline, it's me, Nick. I was wondering if you could help me out," Nick said, out of breathe.

"Yeah, sure. Anything," I furrowed my eyebrows. "What's up?"

"Um, somebody attacked my aunt and I while we were walking. I kind of had to shoot him." I stopped breathing for a second, "He's dead now. Can you work on his body for me? I don't trust anybody else."

"Yeah, I-I'll do that," I confirmed, a little confused. "Are you two alright?"

"I'm fine, but Aunt Marie got hurt. She's on her way to the hospital right now. Tell Juliette that that's where I'm going and to please not worry."

That'll go well.

"Yeah, sure, I will. I hope your aunt gets better. I'll be there to check up on her later tonight. Nick, please be careful," I said before hanging up.

I went back to Juliette, told her what happened, and, sadly, went back to the lab.