Olivia sat in front of a computer screen in the bullpen at Boston headquarters. Frustrated and tired, she ran a hand through her hair
and leaned back in the chair. Staring at the blinking cursor on the screen next to the words "Name Not Found," she wondered how it
could be that she had all of the best resources at her finger tips for finding missing persons, but she had yet to uncover one single
fact as to the whereabouts of the one man in her life that seemingly knew how to track her down whenever he felt like it. In a
random parking lot, of all places.
He knows it's a game and he's good at it. He appeared out of nowhere and hit her so hard that she didn't see it coming, and then he
disappeared while she lay on the ground in a daze. And it wasn't even her birthday. What was she supposed to do? Call the cops?
File a complaint? Get a restraining order? No, she wanted to take care of this all by herself, once and for all. She was FBI for goodness sake.
Looking down at her watch, she realized she spent the whole afternoon working on a personal pursuit. She needed to get back to the
lab and concentrate on their current case. Olivia thought that if she couldn't solve her own problem at the moment, she could at least
throw some energy into finding the S.O.B. that murdered Susan Donavon by sending her chemically-altered deadly flowers. If this was
part of The Pattern, Olivia knew she needed to stay focused.
"This is the second victim, Opal Daniels, age 32. Single, lived alone, found dead in her apartment by her landlord," Broyles said as two men
from the coroner's office wheeled the body into the lab.
Walter put on a fresh pair of latex gloves and looked absolutely giddy as he peeled the sheet back off the victim's face.
"She was a pretty girl," Walter commented. Spreading open her eyes, he said, "Such a shame that she would succumb to a horrible death,
first experiencing difficulty in breathing, then nausea, drooling, loss of bodily functions including defecation and urination, followed by
suffocating in a series of convulsive spasms."
"Nice, Walter," Peter cringed. "Thank you for painting that lovely picture for us."
Broyles handed Peter an evidence bag. "These are some of the roses that were found next to her. Have them analyzed for traces of
the bio-weapon."
"I'm on it," Peter grabbed the bag of flowers and headed toward his work table.
Olivia came through the doors of the lab in a rush. "Astrid, did you get anywhere with finding out which florist the roses came from?"
Before Astrid could answer, Olivia looked around the room and noticed Broyles and Walter standing in front of the latest victim.
"What have we got here?" Olivia asked.
The room went quiet as everyone stared back at Olivia, who no longer hid the fact that she had a gruesome black eye. After staring at
her a moment longer, Broyles answered. "A second victim...Olivia, can I see you privately?" He started walking to her office at the back
of the lab.
Olivia sensed that everyone present was more concerned for her at the moment than the poor girl lying dead on the cold metal table.
"Sure," Olivia said quietly as she followed Broyles.
Peter's eyes trailed Olivia as she left the room. He wished at that moment to be a fly on the wall of her office. She never did call him back
that afternoon, which made him worry all the more about what kind of predicament she had gotten herself into.
Once in the privacy of Olivia's office, Broyles asked, "What is going on with you, Dunham? Your phone has been off all day, and someone
took the liberty of smashing your face in. Now you can lie to Peter about it, but I know it didn't happen in a drug raid..."
"Sir, with all due respect..."
"With all due respect, Dunham," Broyles cut in, "it is part of my duty to make sure my agents are safe and protected. Now what happened?"
"Peter talked to you about this?" Olivia asked, ignoring his question. She was getting angry.
"He is concerned, and so am I."
"Well, don't be. This has nothing to do with you or Peter, or my job. It's personal and it's going to stay that way. It's being handled. I am still
perfectly capable of performing my duties, and we are wasting time here talking about this. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to my
team. If you haven't noticed, we have a case to solve."
Olivia walked out of the office with her head held high. She proceeded towards Walter who filled her in on the body he was examining.
Peter snuck out to the front hallway where Broyles was preparing to leave. "Did she tell you anything?"
Broyles sighed. "She's being obstinate."
Peter frowned. "Of course she is. Nothing new there."
"She said it was personal. I have a feeling she's going to want to talk about eventually. Tread carefully, Bishop."