It almost seemed cliché that the morgue was always so cold. It was one of the first things her husband had asked about when she transferred from vice to homicide, second only to the obligatory question about how her first day had gone. "It's exactly like you think it is. It's cold and absolutely pristine." She had laughed. "What's so cool about morgues, anyway?"
His eyes had grown wide with excitement, his lips pursed together as he figured out how best to phrase whatever it was that he wanted to say." How easy would it be to break into one?" She dismissed his question at the moment, choosing to instead lift her son into her arms and cradle him close, while listening to their daughters chatter about the crafts they were doing for Christmas gifts. After she had tucked the kids in bed later that night, they spent almost two hours on the couch together as he asked her questions about the plausibility of one of his antagonists stealing a body, him taking down notes as she spoke.
Today was no different. In fact, it almost seemed colder in the early morning. Lanie waved her in with a smile, pushing the bowl of personal effects toward her. "I just turned the heat on, so hopefully it will warm up soon."
"You get that a lot, huh?" She slipped on gloves before handling any of his personal items, picking out a simple key, the number 470 etched into it in a primitive manner, like it was done at home with a hammer and a nail.
"Almost every day." The doctor circled the body, coming around to stand close to Kate. "So, how do you like the new gig?"
She shrugged as she slipped the key into an evidence bag. "It's okay, I guess. It's weird getting to know a new partner." McNulty was not like the people she'd worked with in vice. He was a stickler for the rules, only seeing things in black and white. It reminded her of the detectives who had worked her Mom's case. He had boxes that he liked to make murder fit into. Murders that didn't fit his molds made him insufferable, and until she could find a way to make it all make sense, he would work himself in circles while reviewing the same evidence over and over. The difference was, he didn't ignore evidence that pointed outside of the boxes to achieve that goal, and he always fought to bring the real killer to justice.
"At least he makes you coffee."
"Rick's is better." The words sounded ungrateful, something that didn't seem to be lost on the medical examiner. "I just mean, I would prefer to bring it from home."
"Well of course you would. I bet the coffee you drink at your house is ten times better than what the department pays for. Even I stop at a shop on my way into work so I don't need to drink that sludge." Her frank attitude helped Kate relax, the key falling back into the bowl as she reached for his wallet. "I sent the bullet over to ballistics, so we should know later tomorrow whether they came from the same gun. What I can tell you for sure is that it's the same size as the others. So far, the paint on his head seems the same, but I have to run more tests before I can determine the brand. And three officially makes the perp a serial killer, so it looks to me like you have your first big case."
Her stomach churned, whether from nerves or excitement, she wasn't quite sure. "Okay." She took a breath as she tried to settle herself, the waves in her gut subsiding. "I should go fill in McNulty. And Montgomery." A loud rumble, along with the twist of her insides, reminded her that she left her house before throwing something down her throat. "Maybe I should eat a real breakfast too."
"Don't forget about your shoes. I took my spare pair out, they're on the desk in my office."
"Thank you!" Kate offered the woman a warm smile as she backed toward her office, a tiny room next to autopsy with just enough room for a desk and a few chairs. "I'll talk with Rick tonight so we can plan for our night out."
"Just let me know. You have my number."
Kate didn't answer. Instead, her eyes fell on a picture frame at the front of the desk. Silver letters around it spelled out Best Auntie, a picture inside showed Lanie snuggling two girls, one around Carrie's age and one a little younger. The Doctor looked so carefree with those girls, her happiness radiating from every pore on her body. Kate turned away to focus on her shoes, reminding herself that being distracted was what got her in this whole situation to begin with.
"And leave your shoes here." Lanie's voice made her head snap up as she startled. "No need to do the walk of shame through the bullpen."
Doing as she was told, Kate left her own shoes on the desk, her smile spreading as she walked back into autopsy. "Who taught you how to be such a life saver?"
She remained hunched over the body, taking measurements and swabs of abrasions. "When you are one of a few women in a highly competitive medical program, you learn to look out for your own." Her mind flashed back to the Academy, to her friend in robbery, Mia DiSalvo. She pushed DiSalvo on her mile, and the blonde taught her more than she thought she'd ever need to know about using someone's size against them. Together, they made a perfect team, and helped each other make top marks across the board.
Tossing one last grateful smile over her shoulder, Kate headed for the door. "I'll call you later." With a wave, she left the ME to her work, her spirits lighter as she realized she had found someone new she could relate to.
As she made her way across the bullpen, she saw her partner deep in discussion with her Captain, both of them bent over the papers he had spread all over his desk. The sound of her heels must have alerted them to her approach, as both of them looked up and greeted her long before she was anywhere near them. "Detective Beckett. It's nice to see you this morning."
She gave her captain a sad smile, stopping to look over everything McNulty had. "I wish I could say the same." More than anything, she wished the phone hadn't woke her, making her miss time with her family.
"Now what did I ever do to you, Detective?" His raised eyebrow and quizzical look had her stifling back a chuckle. "Did you find anything out from Lanie?"
"She couldn't say much conclusively, but so far, it looks like our guy. She's sent the bullet to ballistics and is running tests on the paint."
Her partner snorted. "That's what you went to see Lanie about? That couldn't wait another hour until she had more information."
Her eyes traveled down to her shoes before coming back up to meet his. "Well it was too early to do much else."
"Well, I've got a rough timeline." He pointed to his desk, where pictures and documents were spread out in a haphazard manner, seemingly no rhyme or reason as to why they were placed where they were.
She reached for them, grabbing his semi-organized piles and arranging them in her hand. "I can't see anything when you do this. Why don't you use a board like normal people?" Her Captain bit back a smile as she walked to the board, McNulty muttering under his breath about how 'his way always worked before.' It wasn't entirely McNulty's fault. His training officer had done the same thing, and that's what he and his old partner had done. But Kate had used a board in Vice, and she found it was easier to see everything when it was all spread out in an organized manner. She jotted down a few things, about Pike's girlfriend and the maintenance man, before turning back toward the men in the room. "So we talk to these people, get the sketch from the boy next door, and we'll officially be farther along than we ever have been."
"First," McNulty started, pushing his chair in as he stood, "we need to notify his next of kin."
The hair on her arms stood up as the adrenaline kicked in. Six years earlier, when Detective Raglan had shown up at her door, she never thought she would be the one making these types of house calls. Each time, McNulty reminded her that it never got easier. But she wondered if she would ever get over the general uneasy feeling that the whole situation gave her. Kate nodded once, setting her jaw as she threw her jacket over her arm. "I'll follow your lead."
After a long talk with Pike's family, and tracking down his girlfriend, there still weren't any concrete leads. McNulty had left her behind, leaving to talk to the manager of the maintenance company alone. But staring at the board, waiting for something insightful to jump out at her, made her want to bang her head against a wall. Her phone ringing was a welcome intrusion on the frustrating day. She picked up the phone a bit too eagerly, barking her name into the receiver. "Beckett."
"Wow, Mom. You sound grumpy."
"Sorry, Lex." She grinned as she spoke, resting her elbows on her desk and giving her daughter her full attention. "Not grumpy, just confused. Happy to talk to someone though! How was school?"
"Great! I got a hundred on my spelling test! I told Daddy that I had to thank you for going over my words with me."
The gratitude, while not necessary, made Kate's heart swell, and she could feel her whole body relaxing. "Aw, Pumpkin, you don't have to thank me. That's just me doing my job."
"I know. But Daddy doesn't make up songs that help me remember the tricky words."
In her mind's eye, Kate could see the redhead, singing along to the songs she'd made up on a whim, remembering when her mother used to do the same for her, and wondering if she ever looked as cute as her daughter did while she sang along. "Well, that just makes learning fun."
"Carrie wants to talk to you, so I'm gonna give her the phone."
"Okay. I love you."
Alexis' reply was muffled as the phone changed hands, the rustling in Kate's ear loud and abrasive, but her youngest daughter's voice came clear through the receiver. "Hi Mumma! Daddy's taking me to figure skating soon!"
"Good. You need to show Miss Veronica how much work you've done on your jumps."
Kate could feel Carrie's vibrations of excitement through the phone, and could see her jumping up and down. "I know! She's gonna be so surprised!"
"Yes she will! We should start calling you 'Jumping Bean' now, huh?"
Her daughter's giggle breathed a new energy into her. "Mom, stop it!"
"Make sure you find out when the next competition is, I want to make sure I get it off, okay?"
"Okay. Daddy wants his phone back. Bye, Mumma, love you."
"Bye, Carrie Jo, I love you too."
This handoff was much smoother, and she could hear her daughter scurry away as she shouted about getting ready. Her husband's voice sounded much more alert than it did that morning, his tone playful as he greeted her. "So, Derrick is having trouble with a case a lot like yours, please tell me you have some sort of insight."
"No such luck. There is a teenager coming in later who might be able to do a sketch, but any good defense attorney could get that thrown out."
"But it's such a good lead!" She could hear the frustration in his voice, the same that was inside of her head.
"I know. But the kid heard gunshots and was scared. They will try to argue that his state of mind wasn't right, that he's fabricating a face so he won't upset us, that the face could be anyone he's seen on the streets. We need hard evidence."
"And?"
She had to smile at his push for information. "Nothing more than we had yesterday."
The disappointment in his voice was genuine. "I'm sorry, Babe. I know you've been working your ass off."
"I always do. It's just frustrating to do all the work and find nothing."
"I bet." He lowered his voice, his next question only loud enough for her to hear. "Will you be home tonight?"
She glanced at the clock, stretching and yawning in the process. "If this thing with the maintenance company doesn't pan out into anything, I will be home on time."
"Good! The kids will be happy."
A throat clearing from across the bullpen made her look up. Her personal call had taken more time than she'd thought it would, and McNulty was back with notes. "Babe, I have to go. I'll see you tonight. Give everyone a hug from me."
"Will do. I love you, Kate."
She grinned, those butterflies making her stomach go wild. "I love you too." She hung up the phone, and met her partner's eye, crossing her arms defiantly over her chest. "What did you find?"
"You know the policy about personal calls?"
She sighed, her eyes rolling back into her head. "I do. We can call that my lunch break if it makes you happier. Did you find anything?"
His smug look told her everything she needed to know. "Not only did the same company service Pike's apartment, but the same worker responded to calls at the other two victim's places."
Her mouth dropped at his words, and she sat back in her seat as he wrote a name on the board under the category 'Of Interest.' "Please tell me we have a meeting with him?"
"Tomorrow, at noon. You're doing the interview."
She jotted down the info on her calendar, and typed his name, Alonzo Cortes, into her computer. "I will find out if there's anything I can use to get under his skin, and I'll let you know the plan of attack tomorrow morning."
"Good plan." He backed up toward the elevators, travel cup grasped firmly in his hand. "Now I'm taking my lunch. I hope when I come back you're not on the phone." He turned before he could see her eyes rolling.
A/N: I'm so sorry about the long wait! for those of you who don't follow me on tumblr, basically, I'm doing the Disney College Program, so I recently moved to Florida. They put me up in housing, and its a wonderful experience, I highly recommend it. I DO NOT recommend dropping your home state license in the Orlando International Airport. Because then the program threatens to cut you off (meaning no housing). And in case you didn't know, it is a little hard to fly home without identification... Yeah, I was too stressed out to get any writing done in the four days I had off. Thanks to my wonderful mother, who after working all night, went to the town hall where I was born (Thank GOD we still live close!) and got me a certified copy of my birth certificate, then overnighted it to me, I now have a Florida ID, and I still get to work at Disney World! Go Mom!
Thanks again to Brandi for the beta!