Maura exhales as she exits her vehicle. She briefly straightens her jacket as she moves towards the crime scene tape. She has opted not to wear scrubs, despite their level of comfort. She has finally given up, and bought more clothes. Despite her usual excitement over buying new clothes this shopping trip was not as enjoyable. She realizes that she has been surrounded by an overwhelming sense of denial. She feels nervous as the uniformed officers lift the crime scene tape for her. She wears a jacket that has a belt at the waist. As she approaches the body that lies on the ground she realizes that this is a poor choice. She un-cinches the belt before squatting down to get a better look at the body, realizing that she will not be able to breathe adequately otherwise. Korsak turns towards her with his notepad. She squats next to the victim. He instantly notices that she is wearing flats instead of heels. Her hair is neatly secured in a ballerina bun.

"The victim is Tom Wheatley, age forty two. He is an investment banker. The neighbor called after he heard shots fired early this morning," he explains.

She glances at her wristwatch, "It is nearly nine o'clock," he points out.

"The call came in at fifteen after six. Patrol came by, but they saw nothing. There was not a body lying in the driveway when they drove by."
She glances at the smeared blood trail. She quickly realizes that it is coming from the garage. The garage door is only slightly open.

"A second call came in, about an hour ago. Another neighbor was headed to work, and saw him lying on the pavement."
She tilts her head, and looks at a smear mark behind the body. The body is in a prone position.

"Those look like palm prints," Maura points out.

"When officers first arrived on the scene they assumed that the body had been dragged out of the garage. They found a garage door opener lying just inside the bay, and his car door was open. There was blood on the door handle, and inside the car."

"It appears that he crawled out of the garage. There were no car keys in the car. He is single. The neighbors informed me that today is trash day, and that the garbage truck rolls by around a quarter til six."

"His bins aren't out," she points out.

"They are still inside the garage. I am thinking that someone ambushed him when he went to take his trash out."

"We need to find out what company does refuse service on this block. They may have seen something."

"My thoughts exactly. Meanwhile, do you need a hand?"

She looks up at him, and reaches for his hand. He helps her out of her squatting position. When she stands up she smooths her slacks, and tugs at the hem of her shirt. She waits for Korsak to say something, but he doesn't. She furrows her brow, and tilts her head as she looks at him.

"Am I supposed to notice this now, or continue to pretend that I don't? You tell me."

She grins, "The former."

"I assume that this is not a topic that you want to discuss at a crime scene."

"You assume correctly. Where is Jane?"

"You are stuck with me," he informs her, "Jane took the day off."

"She never takes time off."

"She said she had to attend some appointments, so she just took the day off, and scheduled them all for one day. She had to go to the dentist to get her teeth cleaned, and she was scheduled to see her therapist too. I think she also mentioned that she had to go for her annual physical with her regular doctor. I am really not envious of that kind of a day off. Oh, I almost forgot, she said that she had to take her car in for maintenance."

"Yuck," Maura grimaces.

Later on that afternoon Maura finds herself neatly tucked away in the morgue. She feels as if she can breathe in her black scrubs. The double doors open, and Korsak enters the autopsy room, as she is suturing.

"The refuse people came through. They saw a grey sports car parked in the driveway this morning."

"Do you have a make, and a model?" She questions.

He holds up a piece of paper, "I surely do. The garbage man is a nineteen year old, so he noticed the car. He even memorized the license plate, just because he thought it was odd. Nina is running the plates now."

"I found black fibers under his finger nails. I will have to analyze them further. I found abrasions on his right knuckle, which I swabbed for trace."

"On his knuckle? That wouldn't have been from crawling."

She shakes her head, "No."

"He could have gotten a swing in," he suggests.

"It is definitely a possibility."

"Maura?"

"Yes?"

"Can we talk about this now?"

She grins, "Would you like to discuss it now?"

He nods in confirmation, "I certainly would like to state for the record that I am deeply upset that you did not come forward with this information before. I feel as if you could have shared it with me sooner."

"I apologize."

"I will get over it. I am very happy for you. Of course you can name the tyke after its uncle Vince, and I would be even more excited."

"I haven't chosen a name," she admits.

"Do you know if it is a boy, or a girl?"

"Apparently my offspring may share some of my stubborn tendencies," she admits.

"It won't uncross it's legs?"

"Right," she nods, "I had an amniocentesis, but I feel like it is such an invasion of privacy. If he, or she wanted me to know they would uncross their legs."

"Everything appears okay?"

She nods, "Yes. No abnormalities were noted, and growth is right on target."

"Was this planned?" He probes.

"Are you asking me if I chose to be artificially inseminated?"

"I couldn't think of a politically correct way to ask you that," he admits.

"We can pretend that I was."

"Are you telling me that this happened naturally?"

She nods, "The events surrounding this conception were similar to that of many."

"One too many drinks?"

She nods, "It was definitely something like that."

"And the other party responsible for this?"

"It was a onetime thing, and there will be no involvement from that end. I have the financial means to care for the baby on my own, and I fully intend to."

"I'm here for you if you need me."

"I appreciate that," she smiles.