She stared at her drink and looked at the door. Where was she? This was her idea. All she wanted to do was go home and crawl in bed. Her first day at work and it was the worst day ever. All she wanted to do was pull the covers over her head and forget it ever happened. She flipped opened her cell and dialed her number, no answer. "Oh geez here comes another one," she thought.
"Hey sweetheart," he said as he leaned on the bar putting his face into her personal space.
"Can I buy you a drink?"
She looked at her glass, still full. "Listen, I don't mean to be rude but I am waiting for someone and I don't need another drink."
"Well hun, maybe I could just keep you company till they get here," he said as he slid onto the bar stool next to her.
She rolled her eyes, ran her fingers through her hair, and looked again at the cell phone.
"Look! I am trying to say this politely but you're not taking the hint. I want to be left alone," she said forcefully.
He saw her as she walked into the bar. If it would have been any other night he might have approached her and asked to buy her a drink, but not tonight. Today he worked one of the worse cases of his career. A man walked into a day care center and slaughtered 5 preschool children. A memory he was trying to drink out of his head. He watched as men approached her and each one kept getting the brush off. But this last guy wasn't taking the hint. This angered him and he walked over.
"Excuse me sir. I think the lady told you to get lost," he said as he tapped the man on the shoulder.
The man told this intruder to get lost but when he turned around he noticed the intruder was taller and a lot bigger than he was.
"Oh well sweetheart, I will catch you later," the man said.
"Thanks," she said. "I am waiting for someone, but they seemed to have left me stranded." Her cell phone rang. "Hello...But it was your idea...ok well see you tomorrow Beth. Well its official I was stood up. Guess I should just go home. Just a great ending to a horrible day."
"You too?" he said. "Please stay we can drink to our horrible days."
"As long as I don't have to talk about it," she said.
"Deal," he said.
They continued to share drinks and talked about everything but their jobs. They discussed politics, art, books, movies, weather, and even vacations they took or wanted to take. Before long they were laughing and the bartender was calling last call.
"Wow, time flies when your having fun," she said. "I have to thank you for making this a better day."
"Well actually its tomorrow, but it doesn't have to end. I have some wine at my place if you would like to come over awhile?" he asked.
She thought about it for a few moments, he looked and seemed nice. She had never done anything like this before. "Sure maybe for a few minutes."
His apartment was within walking distance. It was a nice stroll. Each time they crossed the street he would gently grab her arm to make sure she didn't lose her balance. For being a big giant, he was a gentle giant. They arrived at his apartment; he opened the door and let her in first. He got the wine and turned on some music. She walked around the apartment and noticed pictures of him as a child with a woman and a boy.
"Is this you?" she asked as she held up the picture.
"Yes. That's me, my mother and brother," he said as he handed her a glass of wine and put the picture back on the shelf. "Let's not talk about that either."
"Ok, I understand," she said. "I love this song." She started to sway to the music."
He took her wine glass and put it down. "May I have this dance?"
"Yes, you may," she smiled.
He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. She nuzzled her head into his chest. "He smells so good," She thought. When the song finished they didn't break the embrace. They continued to hold each other. He kissed her on her forehead, he was afraid he was pushing it, he just met her. But then she reached up and touched his face and looked deep into his eyes. Their lips met and ignited a passion; he picked her up and carried her into the bedroom. Their bodies melted into each other and became one. The next morning he woke up and she was gone. He could still smell her on his pillow. He rolled over on his back and thought, "Damn, her name I never got her name!" He left early for work. He had something to drop off to lab.
"So Bobby is this wine glass from a crime scene?" asked Tim.
"No, Tim, I need you to do a personal favor and keep it between us," responded Goren.
"Ok, I will dust it for prints and check if they are in the system," said Tim.
"Call me. But just me," said Bobby.
Bobby went upstairs and saw Eames at her desk.
"You're running late. Had a rough night?" asked Eames. "I know I did."
"What? Oh, yeah. I will be glad when we get this guy locked up," said Bobby.
"M.E. is finished with the autopsies. I was about to head down there," said Eames.
"Let's go," said Goren.
They headed down to the Morgue.
"What you got Rodgers?" asked Goren.
"This is got to be the worst case I ever worked on. Multiple stab wounds in all the children. But Sam found part of the knife in one of the victims. The knife also hit bone so Sam was able to make a mold of what the edge of the knife looks like. It seems it was a Civil War knife," said Rodgers.
"Who is Sam?" asked Eames.
"The newest ME," said Rodgers. "Let me see if the mold is ready." Rodgers gets on the phone. "Sam, is the mold of the knife ready?... Can you bring it?...Ok thanks."
He recognized her immediately as she walked around the corner "Her horrible day was the same as his horrible day."
"Here you go Beth it's..." she stopped mid sentence when she saw him.
"Sam, these are Detectives Goren and Eames with Major Case they are working this case. I told them about the knife piece you found and the mold you made. Detectives this is Dr. Sam Ryan our newest M.E."
She shook hands with Eames and then Goren. "Very nice to meet you," said Goren.
"Likewise," she smiled.
"So is Sam short for Samantha?" asked Eames.
This broke Sam out of her trance she had been staring at Goren.
"No, it's Sam. My dad wanted a boy. He used to take me to these Civil War reenactments and I recognized this knife tip from those. The knife cut into the little girl's hip bone so I was able to make a mold. So you can see what the edge looks like. These are very rare and expensive. The one you're looking for will be missing a tip. The Civil War Reenactment committee will have a list of people who own these. Hope it helps catch this guy," she said.
"You have just gave us the only lead we have," said Goren. "I think that deserves dinner tonight."
"Really? That would be great," Sam smiled.
"Here is my card if you come up with any other information."
"Robert Goren." She read off the card.
"Everyone just calls me Bobby," he smiled.
"Ok, Bobby. Guess I will see you later then," she said.
"You guess right," he smiled.
Eames and Rodgers looked at each other with confusion.
"Let's go Eames. We have to catch this guy, I have plans tonight," he smiled.
"He never bought me dinner," said Rodgers.
Goren phones rang.
"Goren, I have that report for you," said Tim.
"Never mind, Tim. I solved that case on my own," he laughed.