Morgan's POV

Opening my eyes, I am found in a vehicle… strapped to a chair. Letting out a squeal, I find a thick layer of tape around my mouth. Feeling around, my hands are tightly tied together, in front of me.

Coming to a stop, the hooded men in the seats around me get out of the car. Opening the dark door beside me, I'm am ferociously ripped from the seat by my upper right arm. Pulling away, another man comes to my other side. Looking around, my eyes adjust to the small gray building. The group pulls me through the large warehouse, walking me through the long hallways.

We ambulate throughout the building, then they open a door, shoving me into it. Looking around, i'm in some sort of make-up room. There are vanities with blinding lights, makeup sprawled over top of them. The musky smell of foundation clogs my senses, threatening to choke me.

Out of nowhere, a strange woman grasps onto my shoulders, thrusting me onto one of the benches. Taking a glance of her face, I am frightened by her choice of wardrobe.

Her hair was a bright red, with strands of black and blonde throughout the long waves. The top of her head laid a feathered short veil. She wore a casual black shirt, much like a blazer. Her make-up shocked me the most. Her eyebrows looked like they were sharpied in, and her eyeliner was red and black. Her lips were a shade of gold, surrounded by black.

The strange woman takes the tape off my mouth, but leaves the ropes on my wrists. She takes a blue, damp cloth off of her side, rubbing the material on my face. I pull away and she tisks. Removing the dirt and smeared makeup from my cheeks and forehead, she opens a drawer from the vanity. Pulling out a large red pair of scissors, I panic. Instead of going for my throat, she stands me up, cutting the straps of my dress. The smock falls to the floor, in a large red heap. I shiver in response, eyes blazing.

The woman then goes to the side, pulling a blue dress from the silver rack. She takes a pocket knife out of her back pocket, and cuts the vines from my wrists. Handing me the dress she tells me to put it on. I sigh, knowing that I had to comply.

She steps behind me, zipping the clothing upon my spine. Her cold hands brush over my back, making a trail of goosebumps along the way.

Pulling me back on the bench, she starts to cover my face in powder, making me cough. She then applies blush and cheekbone enhancer. Grabbing blue and black eyeliner, she puts the blue below my eyes and the black on top. She then applies fake eyelashes, topping it off with mascara. She smiles in acceptance, proud of her work.

Leading me out of the room she heads me through the building, stopping at a the door at the end of the hallway. Typing in a four digit number, 8625, on the keypad, she opens the door. Smiling once more, she pushes me in.

I look around the poorly lit space, windows surrounding me, spiraling into a tall tower-like room. Over the intercom I make out, "Number 168, bid starts at 10,000 dollars"

Bid?

Greg's POV

Arriving at the hotel, Sara and I approach the woman at the desk. She starts with, "Hello, you must be the criminalists looking for that girl… have you found her yet?" Sara responds with, "No ma'm, we were wondering if you could help us with that." The woman smiles once again, obviously waiting for us to ask her a question. "Uhm, we were wondering if you could restate any detail that you saw on her." I say.

"Yes, she was a blonde woman, about 5'5"." Sara nods, waiting for her to continue. "Uhh, her makeup was smeared, like she was crying." "The thing that stuck out to me the most was a tattoo on her right shoulder. I could barely see it from her dress, but I could tell it was a small key."

I gape, in shock. Morgan has the same exact tattoo.

6 Months Before…

Greg and Morgan sat at a diner, they decided to talk about their case over breakfast.

"So, the vic' has a lock shaped tattoo on his ankle, and the wife removed the her tattoo of a key one day before his death… but she states that it was 'a perfect marriage', sounds like motive to me." Morgan states… shoving another bite of pancake into her already cramped mouth.

Greg smiles at the woman, seeing that she was focused on the laptop to the side of her. "Well, first of all, try to talk without having a plateful of food in your mouth." Morgan gives him a look. "Second of all, removing a tattoo can cause serious pain… she must have really hated him to do that." "Tell me about it, I tried removing my tattoo after my first session-" she starts, but Greg cuts her off. "You got a tattoo?!" "Yep" she plainly says, not even looking him in the eye. "I got it before my parents split, I was mad at my dad… so I kinda rebelled." "Wow, what is it of?" "A key…" she says, pulling the collar of her shirt back, turning slightly to show Greg the ink. "I got it small so it wouldn't be so noticeable"

Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait! I needed a little time to take a break from the online area but now I'm back! Thanks for reading! PS: I added the tattoo part because I needed some sort of connection, I know that in "Skin in The Game" It shows no tattoo on her shoulder so just try to imagine a key… please?