Disclaimer not mine

Human?

Jane shook her head as she looked at the computer screen. The images sickened her. Swallowing hard she pushed her chair away from the computer. The seemingly violent but random murder of a man in a Boston apartment was descending into a murky and underground world that frightened her.

"Dog fighting has been illegal I the USA and UK for years." She stated as Korsak walked in. "Hey, how is he?"

"Good, considering the start he had in life."

"Did you get any sleep?" Frost asked as he shrugged.

"Not much. Spoke to the vet yesterday. She's going to check Spike over again later." Korsak yawned as he placed the small dog in the basket under his desk. Jane couldn't help but smile as she watched him. Korsak was one of the best detectives she had ever worked with, he was the man that had saved her life. It was nice to see him happy. The phone ringing caught her attention as the puppy settled back to sleep.

"Hey, Korsak." The Captain stood with his arms folded. "Is that dog considered evidence?" Spike clearly wanted to have his say and yipped from the safety of his basket. Shaking his head the Captain laughed. "I'll take that as a no."

"Sir."

"Just don't let him poop in my police department."

"Sir." He chuckled as Jane grabbed her jacket and left.

Xxxxxxxxx

"Of course I'm sure." Maura raised an eyebrow. "The victim, who we don't have a name for yet."

"Ah we do. The apartment was let to a David Hughes. Aged 45. Single, one former partner listed as next of kin. His former partner - Kevin Schlutz used to breed dogs for fighting."

"What?"

"He was convicted in 2012. Served 16 months." Jane stated. "Not long enough. The ringleader - Tony Hernandes is still in prison. Apart from dog fighting, illegal bare knuckle fighting and extausion he also had a sideline in killing for money."

"A hit man."

"No, he never got his hands dirty." Jane glared at the exposed body in front of her. "Cause of death?"

"Hypovolemic shock - he bled out. Quickly too."

"Murder weapon?"

"Something sharp and pointy."

"Maura."

"And about three centimetres in diameter. Best I can do. Anything else would be conjecture at this point." Jane nodded, knowing that was the best her friend would be able to give her.

Xxxxx

"Hey, how's he been?" The vet smiled as Korsak carried Spike into her office. The puppy wriggled in his arms as he saw her. "Hey no needles today, Little Guy. Detective Korsak."

"Vince." He corrected as he closed the door to the consultation room.

"Vince." She smiled. "In that case you'd better call me Karen."

"Ok." He smiled as she weighed the puppy and checked him over. For the next ten minutes all the conversation turned to canine matters. The puppy lapped up the attention, enjoying every second of the interactions with two humans who actually seemed to like him. Once it was decided that the little puppy was doing fine there didn't seem a reason for Korsak and Spike to hang around.

"Ah Vince?" She looked up as he lifted Spike from the exam table.

"Yeah."

"Same time tomorrow?"

"Ok." He smiled. "Ok, I could bring coffee. Oh I. Well."

"You're my last appointment of the day. Coffee would be great." Vince smiled and nodded before leaving the office, already wondering what the next appointment would bring.

xxxxx

a/n please review