A/N: Welcome to the first chapter of my new story!

To any of my faithful Fractured Love readers, welcome back! To any new readers, welcome, I hope you'll enjoy your stay!

With this story I've decided to do something really different for a change. I'm not really into detectives, or watch series like CSI or Bones a lot. Still, the urge to write this was just too strong. It was inspired by a dream, which isn't uncommon for me. And it's usually those kinds of ideas that stick and nag until I put them to paper. So I did :).

Now this was originally intended to be a one-shot, but as I progressed I found myself adding scenes for more clarity and fleshing out characters. In short, I suck at writing one-shots. So by the time I had reached approximately 14,000 words, and still had quite a bit to write, I decided to serialise it instead. And here it is!

Just to make a few things clear, this story won't be as long as Fractured Love is going to be. I guesstimate it'll probably become about 5 chapters long. Updates will be on Sunday every two weeks unless something comes up. I try to alternate working on both stories every week, but FL will stay my main focus. If I hit a snag with that one and need more time, it might delay an update for this story. I'm not expecting it to happen, but I'll give you a fair warning anyway.

Now I've rambled on for too long. I'll just get to some warnings for this story and let you get to reading. Enjoy!

Warnings: Though rated T, this story might be slightly disturbing to those sensitive to the subject. I don't want to spoil too much, but let's just say the subject fits into the category Special Victim's Unit. You are safe for this chapter, but reader's discretion is advised for later chapters. I'll give you fair warning in advance.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters.

0o0o0

Chapter 1

The crime scene was both neat and messy. That was the first thing detective Tseng noticed. The body was lying in the victim's living room. A quick survey of said room immediately told the detective that the person had died at the spot his body had been found. There was no other blood, no sign of struggle, no of nothing of note really. It was like the murderer had simply stepped in, killed the man, and left.

But that in itself also made the crime scene messy. This had been a brutal kill. No grace, no show, no message left behind. This immediately made Tseng cross off any of the known serial killers they had yet to hunt down from his list. They always made sure the police knew that the crime was theirs. This also included any of the known hitmen. After all, his victim had been someone of great importance before he died. It could have been an action from an opposing company, but this didn't fit with any of their known profiles, and was clearly the action of a deviant.

Tseng was joined by Reno, his second in command, as he came to stand next to him. The red-head whistled while he regarded the dead body in front of them, "Damn. Seems like whoever murdered this guy didn't really like his pretty face, yo."

Tseng nodded, his eyes drawn to the victim's face. It had been severely bashed up to the point where it would have been difficult to get an id on him if it wasn't for the fact that there was one physical feature that served as conclusive evidence. With his long silver hair spread around him, this could only be Sephiroth, head of security and poster boy of Shinra, one of the most powerful companies in the entire world.

"You think this is the work of AVALANCHE?" Reno inquired after only a short moment of silence.

"No." Tseng disagreed with a shake of his head.

He sighed. Upon hearing whose body had been found he'd actually hoped that it would have all the signs of AVALANCHE. Nobody knew whether it was a single person, or a complete organisation, but what they did know was that their targets were important Shinra employees. Tseng personally had been working overtime in an attempt to track down the elusive killer or killers, and had fully expected this specific murder would bring him one step closer. Instead he would have to deal with another killer.

"They would have made sure we knew it was them." He continued as he looked around the room, gesturing at the walls, "They would have used his blood to write down their name and slogans on the walls, but they haven't. Also, this is a bold move even for them. They wouldn't have chosen Sephiroth as their victim unless they felt certain they could successfully bring down Shinra." He shook his head again, "No, this isn't AVALNACHE's doing. I suspect this might be a new killer."

"Another person fighting against Shinra?"

"Not necessarily." He disagreed again as he crouched next to the body to observe it more closely, "From what I can tell right now there is his beaten up face and this bullet wound in the chest here. Though Elena will have to figure out which one was the cause of death it almost seems too personal."

Reno cocked his head to the side as he considered his superior officer's words. Indeed it was strange. No sign of a struggle, yet the man had clearly been beaten up. The thing that was odd was that it seemed that it was only his face that was attacked. Other than the bullet wound, the body seemed to be in good condition. Tseng was right that it seemed to be too personal, like someone wanted to kill him, and that it had to do something with his face.

"He must have done something really bad if some person found the courage to kill him inside his own house, yo." Reno noted.

"Indeed." Tseng agreed as he stood back up, "That's what makes this person even more dangerous. We should start finding some leads immediately." He turned around to face his second in command, "Are you done surveying the crime scene?"

Reno nodded, "Rude was finishing up with all the photos. Once he's done they should be ready to bring the body back to the labs. Elena is on standby, and so is Cissnei for any other clues we'll find. We haven't really found anything of note so far though. Whoever did this made sure to clean up."

Tseng nodded in approval, taking one final look at the victim's body before turning to leave, "So we do not only have a brave murderer, but a clean one as well."

"Dangerous indeed, yo." Reno replied with a grin, "Exciting though. The chief will be very pleased once we bring this fucker in."

Tseng couldn't agree more, though it was with less excitement than his subordinate. Veld was a difficult man to please. He didn't take failure well, and was also constantly pressing Tseng to get him AVALANCHE. That wasn't surprising considering the amount of pressure president Shinra most likely put on it behind the scenes. If Tseng could just find out who did this, it would put him back into Veld's graces somewhat and save the police department Shinra's wrath, especially since the victim was a very important man.

0o0o0

Tseng was never a man to be impressed easily. That was one of the qualities that made him such an excellent detective. He didn't let the sight of severely mutilated victims get to him, or the sob stories of those who committed the crime. But whenever he drove past the Shinra building, he couldn't help but feel some sense of awe. It hadn't abated over the few times in the past half year he had been inside this building because of the AVALANCHE investigation.

With its seventy floors it was easily the tallest building in Midgar. It was also positioned smack down in the middle of the city, like some sort of beacon. The nature of Shinra as a company was slightly obscure. It was essentially an electric power company, but with the discovery of Mako energy, it had soon overpowered the market and was now the only company in the world to supply electricity to the masses. They had no competition and no opposition asides from the incidental fanatic who claimed Mako was harmful to both man and the planet.

In any case the company had accumulated a lot of power in the span of a few short years, and it sometimes felt that they had a more political role than was officially decreed. Tseng supposed the sheer size of their headquarters only strengthened that opinion, for it surely was much too large to be simply the office building of a power company.

But Tseng didn't allow such thoughts to occupy his mind for very long. It wasn't his place to question the nature of Shinra. He was simply here today because one of their most important employees had been found dead inside of his own home.

"This place gives me the creeps, yo." Reno commented from beside him, flicking the ash from his lit cigarette before popping it back between his lips.

Tseng couldn't help but slightly agree internally with the redhead, but didn't show any outward signs of it for the sake of staying professional, "It shouldn't matter whether it's Shinra or some small rundown business you're visiting. Your role as a detective is to investigate all aspects of the victim's life, including his workplace. Treat it as you would any other situation Reno."

"Eh, you know me boss." Reno grinned, "Just leave it to me. I know how to snoop around."

Tseng nodded in silent approval. Reno could occasionally appear to be flippant, not taking anything serious at all, or he needed a push in the right direction in terms of thinking, but there was one thing that Tseng could entrust to him without any doubts in his ability. Reno knew how to scour any place for possible clues or information on the case. His charming demeanour could even get information out of the toughest suspects. It was exactly that demeanour that made people underestimate him, but Tseng knew better. Reno could be deadly, in any way, shape or form, and had deserved his trust over the years they had worked together.

They walked inside together, entering a wide open lobby. There was a reception desk right in front of them. Two large open staircases curved along either side of the room, leading to a floor higher up where a few exhibitions were on display. The latter featured mostly vehicles that could run on Mako, yet another project that Shinra concerned itself with.

Tseng went straight for the reception desk though, not interested at anything else the building had to offer. He had a crime to solve. Nothing else mattered.

"Welcome to Shinra. How can I help you?" The woman behind the reception desk asked the two men cheerfully.

"I'm detective Tseng of the MPD, and this is my colleague Reno." Tseng said as both he and Reno flashed their badges, "It is paramount that we speak to the president immediately."

The receptionist visibly paled. Why would two detectives want to see the president? She couldn't deny the request though, "Jus-Just one second." She stammered as she quickly fumbled for the intercom.

"Of course." Tseng replied calmly, hoping to put the woman at ease a bit, though failing miserably with his stiff demeanour.

Reno decided to step in then, flashing the woman a charming smile, "Ah, don't worry toots. Your boss hasn't done anything wrong. We just need to talk to him for a bit, yo."

"Right." She replied back, feeling a bit reassured by Reno's attitude. She even shot him a small smile back while the device rang a couple of times before someone on the other end picked up, "Moira, there are two detectives from the MPD here who wish to see the president. Is he available right now?"

"The president actually told me he expected them, and wishes to see them right away. Please let them through." Moira replied.

"Okay. Thank you." The woman thanked before disconnecting. She then turned her attention back to the two men in front of her, "The president is expecting you. His office is on the top floor. His secretary, Moira, will let you in."

"Thank toots. You've been really helpful." Reno replied with another charming grin.

The woman blushed and ducked her head. She briefly rummaged through one of her desk drawers to pull out a key card, "You can find the elevators over there to my left." She pointed in the right direction, "You'll need this key card to access the top floor. Please return it to me before you leave the building."

"Sweet! Keep up the good work Catherine."

Besides the blush the woman's eyes grew wide, wondering how the redhead knew her name. But then she remembered the nametag she was wearing with her name stamped right on it. Silly her, she shouldn't be thinking there was any other reason the charming, and rather handsome, man in front of her would know. But as the two men started walking away to the elevators, she saw how Reno briefly turned around to give her a small salute, accompanied by that charming grin. She swooned right at that moment. Perhaps having the two detectives visiting Shinra wasn't such a bad thing after all.

0o0o0

The first thing Reno noticed about president Shinra's office as he stepped in was that it wasn't big. No, it was massive. The size of the room could easily count as a very generous hotel room. The size was only emphasised by the fact that it held little furniture, other than the equally massive desk behind which the president was seated.

"Tseng." The president started after he had taken a fat cigar from his lips, "Considering you are standing here I take it you do not have good news for me."

"I'm afraid not mister president." Tseng concurred.

Shinra let out an irritated sigh. He placed the cigar back between his lips and took a long drag, "Those damn bastards. I never thought they would have gotten to Sephiroth of all people."

"Sir, if I may, I do not believe this to be an action made by AVALANCHE." Tseng spoke up, knowing what the president had been referring to.

"Oh? And how so?"

"AVALANCHE always makes sure we know they did it, but this crime scene was clear of any signs."

Shinra hummed and folded his hands as he leaned forward on his desk, thinking about what the detective had just told him, "But who else could it be? Sephiroth isn't one for taking risks."

"Judging from the state we found the body in, I believe this might have been a totally unrelated action by an individual over a personal matter."

Shinra's stare was hard as he looked at Tseng, "I find that hard to believe detective. It could also be that AVALANCHE is trying to distract you."

"Perhaps." Tseng admitted, who wasn't deterred in the slightest by the glare, "But my gut feeling is telling me differently."

"I have no uses for gut feelings Tseng, only results." The president interrupted Tseng before taking another drag from his cigar.

"Of course mister president. However, no matter the case, I will investigate Sephiroth's death further. As part of my investigation, I would like to speak with those who worked closest to him."

"Fine then. I'll have Moira make sure you'll have access to the security floors."

"Thank you mister president. We'll be on our way then."

Tseng turned around to walk away, but before he and Reno had left the office, Shinra spoke up again, "AVALANCHE has been terrorising my company for nearly half a year now. It's bad for business and my reputation. You'd better solve this case quickly Tseng, and get AVALANCHE in as well. Otherwise you might find yourself in need of a new job."

"Duly noted." Tseng replied stoically as he continued to walk out the door.

"Woah boss! Who does that guy think he is to make such a threat, yo?" Reno blurted out as soon as the door was closed behind them.

"Be careful with what you're saying Reno. Shinra is more powerful than you might think." Tseng replied softly, glancing at the bewildered expression of his colleague, "Technically he's the one who's paying your bills. Shinra and the MPD may not be related on an official level, but I know that the president has got some connections with Veld, so he might very well be able to make his threat reality."

Reno whistled, "Damn. We'd better find whatever fucker did this soon then."

"Indeed." Tseng agreed with a nod.

0o0o0

As massive as the president's office was, as normal sized was the main security floor. It held all the necessities an office needed: A few desks with computers for the necessary paperwork, some lockers to put away personal stuff while on the job along the side, a coffee machine tucked away into an opposite corner, and a separate break room with a few couches and a tv. It wasn't that they were cramped together, but considering how big the office on the top floor was, this just seemed…more mundane to Reno.

He didn't comment on it though as he was following Tseng's lead. His superior officer had been here a few times over the past few months for the AVALANCHE investigation. There was even a security officer that he worked alongside with, so he knew his way around. That was a good thing, since the office space was empty as of this moment. They could hear voices come from the break room though, so decided to follow those.

Tseng entered with a brief but firm knock on the door. It successfully caught the attention of the room's three occupants, "Tseng." The shortest man addressed the newcomer, "What are you doing here?"

"Zack." Tseng acknowledged with a nod, "I'm afraid that I've got some bad news for you. We found your boss dead in his house this morning."

"What?!" One of the other people exclaimed, "Sephiroth is dead? Impossible!"

"Gen." Zack tried to admonish his colleague, though he was clearly shocked by the news too, "Please try and calm down."

"How can I calm down knowing that Sephiroth is dead?!" Gen countered.

"Genesis." The third one murmured softly, "I know you're upset. We all are, but this is not the time for this."

"Angeal…it's just…please excuse me for a moment." And with those words Genesis stormed out of the room.

"Sorry about that Tseng." Zack apologised as he rubbed the back of his head, "We were all worried when our boss hadn't come in for work, and he and Seph were very close."

"No need to apologise Zack." Tseng reassured him, "His reaction is quite understandable."

"Well then." Angeal spoke up again, "Could you tell us what happened?"

"We do not know much yet I'm afraid. We were called in as soon as the president noticed that Sephiroth hadn't come in for work yet. At his house we discovered his remains in his living room with a bullet wound in the chest and his face bashed up. Other than that, anything that has been found on the scene still needs to be investigated. Meanwhile I decided to come here and try to find some leads."

"Wait a minute." Zack spoke up again, "That doesn't sound like AVALANCHE at all."

"Indeed it doesn't." Tseng agreed, "I also don't think they did it. That's why I'm asking you whether you have any idea who could have done this."

Zack and Angeal shared a look, "You think someone from the company did this?" Zack wondered.

"It's possible." Tseng admitted, "There were no signs of a break in or a struggle. Whoever did this must have known Sephiroth enough to have the latter allow him inside his home."

"Indeed. Sephiroth wasn't the kind of man to easily let people into his house." Angeal informed him, frowning slightly as he thought about the case, "But I wouldn't know of anyone from the workplace to do something like this."

"He didn't have any enemies?"

"Not that I know of. Seph has always been a person you need to get used to at first, but he was a good boss and treated everyone fairly."

"But even then Seph wouldn't have let just any of his colleagues inside of his home." Zack added, "He kept social interactions limited to a very small group. For as far as I know he only considered Gen, Angeal and I to be his friends."

Tseng hummed as he thought about it. From what he could tell it was unlikely that any of the three men who were mentioned could be considered as suspects. Zack wouldn't have admitted to be one of the select few who could gain easy access to Sephiroth's house, and he didn't notice any tension in Angeal when he was mentioned as well, clearly hinting that he wasn't concerned about the fact and therefore not involved. That left Genesis, but somehow Tseng felt that he wasn't involved either. It would still do well to investigate though.

"Reno, I would like you to talk to every person from this department to make sure we're not overlooking any potential subjects."

"On it, boss." Reno replied with firm determination, glad to finally be able to do something worthwhile in this investigation, "But what about you?"

"I'd like to get access to Sephiroth's office. I might be able to get some clues there."

"Good idea." Zack agreed, "I'm not sure what you'll be able to find, but I can let you in anyway."

"Good. Lead the way then."

0o0o0

It had been late morning by the time Tseng and Reno had arrived at the Shinra building, and it was a good few hours later when they finally got back outside. The most annoying this was that they were still no step closer to finding a suspect. All of the security personnel had an alibi, but more importantly, no motive whatsoever. They had even expanded their investigation to the heads of several other important departments, but again there had been no one who would have wanted Sephiroth dead.

Tseng had also found no leads in Sephiroth's office. There wasn't much to investigate in the first place, since the man had kept the place very clean and organised. He'd been able to access the personnel files, but they too held no clue. There wasn't a single employee that was clearly on the wrong foot with the victim.

Reno did not fully agree with that assessment though, "I might have a suspect, boss." He said as soon as they had entered the car.

Tseng rose his eyebrows in interest, "Who?"

"That Genesis guy, yo."

"Genesis?" Tseng wondered as he thought it over, "And what would have been his motive?"

"Unrequited love." Reno revealed with a smug grin, "You heard how Zack mentioned the two were close, but also how Sephiroth wasn't exactly the most romantic guy around. I'd say Genesis had feelings for Sephiroth, revealed those feelings, was rejected, and killed the man in a fit of impassioned rage."

"That is a possible conclusion, but how do you explain his reaction upon hearing the news this morning?" Tseng questioned.

Reno shrugged, "Heard the guy likes drama, yo. Perhaps he's just a good actor."

"Perhaps." Tseng mused, "It's a bit of a stretch though. One can only fake grief so well, and to me he seemed genuinely upset."

"Well there's only one way to find out, yo. I got a hold of him later and he told me he was watching the LOVELESS play in Sector 8. We just need to verify if he was actually there."

"All right. I seems that Cissnei has got a lot of alibis to verify. Let's had back to the station and see what more they've managed to find out while we were gone."

"Sounds like a plan, yo."

0o0o0

Tseng had known from the start that Veld was going to be particularly interested in their current case. After all, they had first believed this to be another successful strike by AVALANCHE. What he hadn't expected however, was to see his chief nagging Cissnei in the crime lab.

Normally Veld was the kind of chief who would sit inside of his office barking orders. Though he made sure to stay on top of what his investigators were all doing, he rarely had the opportunity to really get involved with any of the cases. It had always been a bit different with the AVALANCHE case, since president Shinra had personally pressured him into finding out whoever was responsible for the killings. Whenever the chief had received yet another angry call, he would let out his frustration on Tseng, demanding to know everything about the case. But during all that time he had never actually decided to get out of his room and get personally involved.

And yet he was here today. Despite the likely fact that AVALANCHE had nothing to do with this, Veld was there, glancing over Cissnei's shoulder as she was running some tests and bugging the heck out of her.

"Chief." Tseng greeted curtly, much to Cissnei's relief and their boss now finally turned his attention elsewhere.

"Well finally you decide to show up." Veld responded with irritation laced heavily in his tone, "Report."

"Sir, Reno and I have examined the scene of the crime and went to talk to the victim's colleagues in search of any suspects."

"Well? Have you found out anything useful?"

"We have a lot of alibis that need to be checked, but other than that we've found no lead yet. I was hoping the crime lab would have some more clues."

"So, in other words, you've spent a good few hours finding nothing." Veld accused with a growl, "You had better hope that you find some leads soon Tseng. President Shinra called me and he was not pleased when he heard that it's unlikely that AVALANCHE is involved in this. His company has already suffered a significant blow when the press found out about Sephiroth's death. If you cannot find out what bastard had the guts and the skill to kill Shinra's finest, then it's your ass that's on the line."

"I understand Veld."

"You'd better. I'm starting to feel that it was wrong to put you on such a sensitive case in the first place despite you being my finest detective. Please do not disappoint me any further."

And with those words he turned on his heel and walked away. Tseng, Reno and Cissnei too watched him go. The latter two seemed quite shocked at what had just happened before them. They both held Tseng in high regard for his investigative skills, and to hear him basically be called incompetent by their chief was quite a surprise to them.

On the outside Tseng seemed unfazed by the reprimand he had just received, but on the inside he was seething. He clenched his jaw and was only just able to keep his hands from curling into fists. Though he had hoped to have solved the AVALANCHE case long ago, it wasn't really his fault. Whether it was a group or an individual, they clearly knew what they were doing. They didn't leave any clues, and even when they did, they would lead to dead ends. Though they had a clear grudge against Shinra, they didn't voice it in other ways but killing employees and writing slogans on the victim's walls.

Of all people Tseng was probably the only one who could get even remotely close to solving the case, so to be insulted so was a bit of a sore spot for him. Add to that that this case was probably not even related, and it felt like Veld had just rubbed salt into the wounds. He shook the feeling off however. He had a case to solve, and would spend all of his efforts in finding whoever was responsible.

"Cissnei." He nearly barked, "What have you found out so far?"

Cissnei was a bit taken aback by his tone, but understood and quickly turned to give him her report, "There really wasn't much evidence to be found at the crime scene. So far I have found no fingerprints other than from the victim himself. I was hoping to get an imprint of the attacker's shoe, but the victim's face was kicked repeatedly enough to make that impossible. I just started working on examining the victim's clothes, but I'm not finished yet."

"So, is there anything you can tell me?"

She nodded, "Rude managed to find the shell casing. I was able to determine that the victim's chest wound was caused by a standard handgun."

"Standard handgun?" Reno questioned, "Hey boss, isn't that the kind of weapon the security guards at Shinra carry around?"

"It is." Tseng confirmed which made it possible that they might have overlooked something in their assessment of the victim's colleagues after all. After all, getting a gun in Midgar wasn't exactly easy. They were only a few places where they were sold, and they were usually too expensive for people to buy. Add to that that most of the vendors resided in the slums, and created guns out of whatever parts they managed to salvage, finding standard handguns was even more difficult. There were perhaps two shops in the whole of Midgar that sold genuine issues of that type of gun. It made the possibility that perhaps it was a colleague after all that much more likely.

"Have you been able to run an analysis on it?" Tseng continued.

"Rude is working on it. He found the victim's own gun and is checking to see whether that one was used as the murder weapon."

"Good. Make sure he reports the results to me as soon as possible."

0o0o0

After Tseng and Reno had gotten every bit of information Cissnei had to offer, they went to see their resident pathologist. Tseng wanted more details on the victim's death than Cissnei had already provided him. They entered the sterile room located in the basement of the police station. Upon entering Elena was still performing the autopsy on their newest corpse.

"What have you got for us Elena?" Tseng started without announcing that they had arrived first.

The sudden sound made Elena shake up a bit. She quickly turned her head to the newcomers and blushed a bit at them. Reno couldn't help but smirk lightly at the reaction. He knew the girl had had a crush on his boss ever since the first day she started working here a couple months ago. Sadly it was unreciprocated, but that didn't stop her from becoming a slightly nervous mess whenever she talked to him. It was such a sharp contrast from the woman who had been confidently examining the body just a few moments before.

"S-Sir!" She piped up, pulling the facial mask she'd been wearing down to make it easier for her to talk, "I-I'm sorry. I didn't hear you come in."

Tseng shook his head, "Elena you're a good pathologist, but you need to stop being nervous around me. Just give me your report."

"O-Of course sir! I-I'm sorry." She didn't notice how Tseng let out a small sigh of exasperation to which Reno chuckled softly.

"Don't mind him Elena. He's only your boss." Reno couldn't help but tease.

The tease made Elena glare at the redhead in annoyance. It was good for something though, because she grabbed her unfinished report roughly and started doing what Tseng had requested of her, "The victim has suffered a chest wound caused by a bullet and multiple cuts and bruises to his face. In fact, nearly all of his facial bones have either been cracked or broken. But judging from the colouration of the bruises, I was able to determine that the gunshot was the cause of death, and the beating was done after the victim had already died."

Tseng hummed while he pinched his chin in thought. Meanwhile Reno couldn't resist but tease Elena some more, "See? That wasn't that hard now, was it, yo?" Reno said with a grin, impressed by Elena's ability to shove her nervousness aside in order to give a good report.

The blonde shot him another glare but otherwise ignored him. A wise decision considering that Tseng would most likely not have appreciated it.

"Would the injuries to his face have killed him if he wasn't already dead?" Tseng liked to know.

The young pathologist nodded, "Quite likely. It might not have been immediate, but it is unlikely that he would have survived long enough for the paramedics to arrive. In any case the blows would have knocked him unconscious, making it even more likely."

"And are you sure the victim was already dead prior to the beating?"

"Absolutely positive." Elena replied resolutely, "I've analysed the location and depth of the bullet wound. He was hit straight into his heart from a near point blank range, approximately five metres, so he was killed instantly."

Tseng hummed again, thinking about the information he was given. Reno felt that it was time to throw in his two cents, "The killer must be a strong and very angry person to have caused this much damage. I guess that pretty much confirms that he was killed over something personal."

"I agree." Tseng nodded, looking back up to Elena again, "What's the estimated time of death?"

"I'd say he died less than twenty-four hours ago. I have yet to reach a definite conclusion, but I'd say somewhere early last night."

"Thank you Elena. Keep up the good work."

Elena blushed again at the compliment while the two detectives turned around and started walking out of the room. Reno couldn't help but give her a quick salute that was partly thankful and partly mocking before following his boss out of the room. Elena resisted the urge to throw her clipboard at him. For one it wouldn't look very professional, and two it wouldn't have done what she intended it to do because the two had left her lab quite quickly. She settled for taking a deep breath to calm herself down, pushed the facial mask back up over her mouth and nose and continued with her examination of the body.

0o0o0

A/N: So? What do you think? I love reviews, so please leave your thoughts.