July, 1947 - Los Angeles
Flora let out a soft yawn as she stretched and rises up out of bed. She tosses the comforter and sheets back, grabs her shimmery green silk robe and heads to her godson's room to wake him up. She pulls on the robe and ties it as she gives Teddy's door a soft knock and enters. She pads over to the bed quietly and sits down on the edge of the bed next to the still sleeping boy.
"Teddy, it's time to wake up." She told him softly as she ran her fingers through his thick honey brown hair. The boy makes a soft noise before turning over as his eyes fluttered open. Flora gave him a gentle smile as his big doe eyes focus on her's. "Good morning, baby boy."
"Morning." He whispered as he rubbed at his eye. Flora chuckled and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. She gets up and walks over to the window pulling the curtains open letting the bright California rays in. Teddy let out a grunt and pulled his comforter over his head. "Maria!" He whined from under the blankets.
"Come on, rise and shine!" She chuckled as she picked out his outfit for the day. "You want to be ready by the time Howard's ready to leave for the studio, don't you?" Suddenly, the covers are thrown off his small form and he races over to her. He snatches the clothes from her hands and rushes to the bathroom.
Flora shakes her head fondly at his actions before heading back to her room to change and get ready for another day at the office. She pulled out a pair of dark blue slacks and a white button down. She changes into her clothes and goes into her personal bathroom to pin up her hair and put on her makeup. Once she puts on the final touches, she walks back to Teddy's room and knocks on the door again. She opens the door and pops her head in.
"Are you ready, Teddy?" She asked him. Teddy spun around to her in excitement, slightly tripping over his untied shoes. "Woah, there." She catches him before he could face plant into the floor. "Let's get those tied before you trip again." Teddy quickly bends down and ties his strings then stands back up.
"Ready!" He cheered. Flora chuckled as they leave his room. "Do you think I might meet Whitney Frost, Maria?" Teddy asked as he placed his hand in her's. Flora tilts her head to the side.
"It's quite possible that you could, but why Whitney Frost?" She questioned as they walk into the dining room were the Jarvis's were preparing breakfast. Teddy blushed lightly as he sat down at the table. Flora raised an eyebrow and a small smirk forms on her lips as the eleven year old blushed a deeper red. Flora placed her elbows on the table and leaned forward. "Teddy, do you have a crush on Whitney Frost?"
"No, I don't!" He exclaimed covering his glowing cheeks. Both adults chuckle as Jarvis puts their breakfast down in front of them.
"Today's breakfast is strawberries and cream with muesli, poached eggs on toast with deviled ham, along with coffee and milk for the young sir." Jarvis told them as Howard shuffles in.
"Morning, kiddo." He ruffles Teddy's hair as he passes him.
"Morning, Howard!" Teddy chirps back. Howard leans down and place a kiss to Flora's cheek as he sits down beside her.
"Morning, doll face." Flora gives him a soft smile and returns the kiss.
"Morning." She whispered then goes back to her breakfast as Howard opens the paper and takes a sip of his coffee. "Teddy was just telling me that he wondered if he might meet Whitney Frost while you two are at the studio." Howard lowers the paper and glances over at the young boy.
"Is that so?" He questioned with a quirk of his eyebrow. Teddy looked towards his grinning godparents then back down at his food.
"She's interesting is all." He told them as he takes a bite of his eggs. Both Howard and Flora chuckled and left him alone to eat his food in peace. Flora looks at her wristwatch for the time and stands up from her seat after wiping the corners of her mouth with her napkin.
"Well, it's time for me to head to the office. I'll see you boys at the studio to pick you up, don't be late." She placed another kiss to Howard's cheek then to the top of Teddy's head.
"Bye Maria!" They yelled in unison as she left the room causing her to let out a snort of laughter. She paused in the doorway and turned back to them.
"You two be safe now and have fun." She blows them both a kiss and heads out to her German imported car. She puts on her sunglasses as she turns over the engine and drives to the California SSR office. "Good morning, Rose." She greets the plump redhead woman as she walks into the front office.
"Good morning, Maria." Rose gives her a bright smile. Flora walked into the filing room and pulled the R handle to the S cabinet. She quickly walked up the stairs and placed her things on her desk that was next to the Chief's office. Just as she about to sit down, Sousa crutches out of his office.
"Erskine, let's go. We got a call." Flora stands back up and walks after Sousa. They get into one of the work cars and drive to crime scene. The drive up to scene was silent and not from Sousa's lack of trying to start a conversation with his second in command.
"You the science cops?" A man asked them as they got of out of the car. "Detective Andrew Henry, Homicide."
"Daniel Sousa, Strategic Scientific Reserve." Sousa replied then points to Flora. "My partner, Maria Erskine." Flora gave the man a quick smile while Sousa holds his hand out to him.
"Oh, I'd shake your hand, but I'm one of those suckers who catches a cold whether it's summer, spring, winter, or fall." Flora grimaced and took a few steps away from the detective. Sousa dropped his hand with a grimace of his own.
"What do we got?" He asked as they walked towards a lake.
"You ever hear of the Lady of the Lake killings?" Detective Henry asked them. Sousa glanced back towards Flora and she shrugs her shoulders.
"Can't say that we have." Sousa told him. Henry turns to look at them.
"How long you two been in L.A.?" He questioned.
"Six months." Flora answered.
"Two years ago, the Lady of the Lake killer dropped two dead women in Echo Park lake. Led a task force with manhunts, press conferences, and everything." Henry explained.
"And?" Sousa questioned.
"Never caught the bastard. Disappeared. Till today." Flora moved to walk on the detective's other side.
"You found another body." Flora inquired.
"Dead woman in the exact same lake. No two ways about it, my guy's back." Flora raised an eyebrow.
"Then why was the SSR called in?" She asked him.
"If it was up to me, you'd be working on your tan right now, sweetcheeks." Flora glared at the man. "But my lieutenant's got a bee in his bonnet about jurisdiction. The hottest day of the year, right? Only the lake don't know it." Henry sighs and walks closer to the lake. Flora and Sousa stare at the partially frozen lake in shock at they follow after the detective. Flora could hear the ice cracking from where they were standing.
"Look at this." They move over to a giant ice block and looked inside.
"Bloody hell." Flora muttered as they stared at the woman trapped in the ice.
"So, until we catch this lunatic, looks like you and me are partners." Flora and Sousa shared a dreading look before making arrangements to get the body to the corner. They head back to the office with the detective right behind them.
"I'm going to call Thompson to see if he can send over an extra man or two to help with the case." Flora hummed in agreement as they walked into the office. Sousa sighed as the woman went straight to her desk and began some paperwork, completely ignoring him. He hobbled into his office and picked up the phone to call the New York office.
"How's the surf today, Agent Sousa?" was the first thing Thompson asked him.
"That's Chief Sousa to you. And congratulations, Jack. I hear you caught Dottie Underwood." He tells him.
"Yeah, we caught a lead right after you and Erskine left to open the west coast Bureau. Seems as if you two were our bad-luck charm." Sousa chuckles while tossing a glance towards the mentioned woman, as well. Sousa was sure if she had heard what Thompson had said, she would be on a plane back to New York just to kick his ass.
"You tell that joke at least once a month." Sousa leaned forward and picked up the case file on the desk.
"What you got?" Thompson asked him.
"We caught a mystery out here, an ice cube the size of a lake with a dead woman trapped inside." He told him.
"Who's the body?"
"Don't know yet. I got a homicide dick who says this is the work of a killer he's been chasing the past two years." Sousa flops back into his chair. "I'm heading up a task force with him and Erskine, but, Jack, my L.A. is too green."
"So, what? You want to leave New York thin because the moment you catch a real case, you throw your hands in the air?" Sousa rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"You know I'm understaffed as is. And that Erskine doesn't work as much as she used too now because of her godson. I'm sure you can spare one guy." Sousa said. Thompson gives a light chuckle.
"I have just the man for you." He replied.
"Thank you." Sousa hangs up the phone and clutches out of his office over to Flora's desk. "Thompson's sending over an extra agent, so you can leave early today if you want."
"Thank you, Chief." She replied and handed him a few files. "These all need your signature." Flora stands up from her seat and grabs her purse. "I think I'll leave now before Detective Sneezy comes back to ask me to make him another cup of coffee."
"You know you don't have to do that." Sousa said suddenly causing her to raise an eyebrow. "Make coffee and stuff for us."
"Oh, I know and that's exactly what I told him before I poured the coffee on his lap." Flora gave him a smirk as his eyebrows raised to his hairline. "Is there anything you need me to do before I head out?"
"No, not at all." He answered. Flora smiled and nodded her head.
"Very well, see you tomorrow then." Sousa returned the farewell and watched her walk out of the office but not before giving Detective Henry a shark-like grin as she passed him. Sousa chuckled as the man gave her a wide berth and a pathetic glare as she walked by. Flora waved to Rose as she left the building and hopped back into her car. She turned over the engine and drove to Stark Pictures to see her boys. She parked her car in her personal spot and walked into the studio.
"Good afternoon, Dr. Carter." One of the security guards greeted her.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen!" She greeted them cheerfully as they let her into the studio.
"Mr. Stark and Mr. Lupin are on set right now but they should be done very soon." Another told her as he escorted her to Howard's office.
"Thank you for letting me know." She replied. The man nodded and shut the office door behind him as he left. Flora dropped her purse on Howard's desk while kicking her heels off before helping herself to some of highly expensive imported whiskey. She placed a cube of ice in the glass then poured some whiskey till it filled the glass halfway. She took a small sip as she curled up on the couch and rested her head on her fist then takes another drink. She quickly finished her drink and set the empty glass on the coffee table. She looked at her wristwatch and decided that she could take a quick nap before the boys were done. She crossed her arms on the arm of the couch and laid her head on them. Her eyes fluttered shut and she quickly went to sleep.
"Maria." She gasped awake as someone shook her shoulder lightly. "Hey, it's okay. It's just us, doll face." Her wide eyes settled on Howard's and she relaxed as she let out a breath.
"You startled me, Howard." She told him as she sat up. Howard brushed some of her hair out of her face before placing a soft kiss to her forehead.
"Sorry, I forget sometimes about shaking you awake." He said as he sat beside her on the couch. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and tucked her into his side. Flora laid her head on his shoulder and curled her feet under her. "How was work?" Flora let out a soft groan before burying her into his chest. "That bad, huh?" Howard chuckled.
"We got a new case with a homicide detective, who I haven't decided if he's worse than Thompson when it comes to women." She tells him.
"What'd he do?" He asked as he rubbed her arm, soothingly.
"He ordered me to get him a cup of coffee, so I did." Howard looked down at her in shock. Flora looks up at him and a sly smile crosses her lips. "Then proceeded to dump the contents onto his lap." Howard burst into laughter and pressed his face into her hair.
"Never a dull moment with you, doll face." He told her once he calmed down.
"Good." She pats him on the chest before looking around the room for her godson. "Where's Teddy?" As soon as his name left her lips, he popped up behind them with a shout causing the couple to jump apart in shock.
"Edward Remus!" Flora clutched at her chest while Howard pulled the boy over the back of the couch and onto his lap. He began to tickle Teddy causing him to let out high pitch squeals of laughter as he tried to get away. Flora shook her head at two before standing up to pick up her purse and put away the glass.
"You're gonna give us a heart attack one day, kiddo." Howard ruffled the breathless, red face boy's hair as they follow behind Flora to her car. "Here, let me drive tonight, doll face." Flora sent him a grateful smile as she hands over the keys to him. They quickly get into the car and drive home. They soon settle down for dinner then head off to bed for the next day.
~o~
Flora glared at the detective from her desk as he talked to Sousa about her, well more like complained about her again. She shot the man a smirk when Sousa dismissed him but made sure to make herself look innocent whenever Sousa looked at her. Flora looked up when the sound of heels clicking against the floor entered the room.
"Peggy!" She exclaimed in surprise and shot out of her seat to tackle the woman in a tight hug.
"Hello to you too, Maria." Peggy giggled at her friend's excited behavior.
"Peggy?" Flora let go of her and turned to Sousa as he clutched over. "What are you doing here?" He asked, confused. Peggy looked between Flora and Sousa for a moment.
"The Lady of the Lake killer." She said as if it was obvious.
"Right." Sousa looked towards Flora.
"Don't look at me, I'm just as surprised as you are Chief." She told him.
"Thompson said you requested backup." They turned to Peggy in unison with disbelief written across their faces.
"Yes, yes. Yes, of course." Sousa pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Is he really that threaten of you, Peggy?" Flora questioned as she put her hands on her hips. Peggy sighed and looked down for a moment before looking back at them.
"You didn't put the request in." She said.
"No, I did." Sousa tried to explained.
"But not for me." Sousa fumbled for a moment.
"It's Thompson's lost that he sent us his best agent." Flora spoke up before Sousa could make a fool of himself. Sousa shot her look that cause her to laugh and raise her hands in mock surrender. "I'll be at my desk if you need me." She replied and walked back over to her desk. Flora snuck glances towards the oblivious couple as they fumbled around about their feelings. 'If he hurts Pegs there's going to be hell to pay.' She thought to herself just before Detective Wanker interrupted them.
"Okay!" Flora rolled her eyes as she got back up and walked back over to them. "I've got three more boxes of old case files downstairs." Henry places two boxes down on the desk in front of them.
"Detective Andrew Henry, L.A.P.D. Homicide," Henry turns to look at Peggy. "This is Agent Peggy Carter, SSR, New York." Peggy and Henry shake hands which causes Flora to raise an eyebrow. 'Wasn't it just yesterday that he told us that he couldn't shake our hands because he had a cold?' She thought as he opened one of the boxes.
"How many of you agents do we need?" He asked.
"As many as it takes to catch the killer." Peggy told him.
"Well, that's zero. This new body means I'm gonna have journalists clawing down my door." Flora crossed her arms as her eyes narrowed at the detective in suspicion. "With a little help from the press, I'll catch our bad guy before evening rush on Cahuenga pass."
"What if the frozen lake and the murder aren't connected?" Peggy asked looking at Flora with a raised eyebrow. She looked towards Henry then back to Flora. Flora shrugged her shoulders, she didn't really trust the man.
"How do you figure?" Henry asked her.
"You think they're unrelated. The body was dumped at another time. . ." Sousa began.
"But was found only when another incident caused the lake to freeze." Peggy finished. Flora watched them with an amused smirk as they finish each other's sentences.
"Unlikely." Sousa shrugged.
"Most doubtful." Peggy looked down at purse.
"But not impossible." They looked towards each other. 'Merlin, it's like watching a tennis match.' Flora rolled her eyes at the two.
"What was that old Dooley saying?" Peggy asked him.
"Explore all avenues for unturned stones." Peggy smiled as Sousa walked off towards his office.
"What's a Dooley?" Henry suddenly questioned. Flora sighed and turned to him.
"The SSR came on board because a body of water froze during a heat wave. The first step we should take is to determine whether or not the dead body and the frozen lake are even the same crime." She told him then grabbed her friend's arm and dragged her to her desk. "I swear could you and Sousa be any more obvious about your feelings for each other yet still be completely oblivious."
"This coming from the woman who didn't even recognize her own feelings until said man rescued her from a Hydra compound." Peggy fired back.
"Touchè." Flora chuckled.
"Maria. Peggy." The girls looked over towards Sousa. "Come on, we're going to the coroner." All four of them stuffed themselves into car and drove to the L.A. coroner office. Flora gave a violent shiver as they entered the autopsy room.
"It's bloody freezing in here." Her teeth chattered together as she hugged herself for warmth.
"A thousands heaters blasting in here and it's still freezing." The medical examiner told them. "I wish you'd called."
"So we'd know to bring long johns?" Peggy sassed.
"So I could tell you not to come. I don't have an autopsy report." He pulls the cover to reveal the woman's face.
"Meltzer, you're kidding me. This is the best chance we've had in two years to catch our man." Flora leaned in close taking in the black marks that cracked along the woman's face and body.
"Why the delay?" Sousa asked him.
"This isn't a layer of frostbite. She's frozen through and through." Meltzer explained.
"Even with the heat shining on her?" Peggy asked.
"She's only beginning to thaw, but you'll have to wait a bit longer, unless you want the autopsy performed with a chisel." He answered.
"Is there anything you could tell us from a visual inspection?" Flora questioned this time.
"Well, her stab wounds are consistent with the other Lady of the Lake victims." Meltzer told her.
"Here's the shoes." Flora raised an eyebrow at the shoes being on the opposite feet.
"They're on the wrong feet." Peggy said just as confused as Flora was.
"Well, the killer's signature is to switch his victim's shoes." Meltzer explained to them.
"That detail was never released to the papers. See? We got our guy." Flora rolled her eyes.
"One track mind you are, detective." She muttered as she shuffled towards Peggy to keep her warm.
"Do we know whether the body caused the lake to freeze or vice versa?" Peggy asked while wrapping an arm around Flora's thin shoulders and pulled her to her side.
"No." Meltzer shakes his head. "And to add to your ever-growing list of things we don't know." He walked away heading towards the door. "I can't explain this, either." He switches off the lights and the body began to glow. Flora's jaw dropped in awe.
"You might want to get the chisel you mentioned." She told him as they all stared at the body. The doctor quickly gets them a sample and they head back to the SSR. Flora slowed down as they reached the lab and tried to hand the sample off to Peggy. "I am not going in there. Not on your life." Peggy rolled her eyes and grabbed her friend's hand.
"Peg!" Flora grappled with the doorknob trying to get a hold on it before she was pulled into the lab.
"Maria, you're acting ridiculous." Peggy told her before yanking her into the room. Flora glared at her friend.
"You don't understand this man is worst than -"
"Who's worse than who?" Flora let out a startled gasp as the new voice behind her. She quickly spun around to face the newcomer.
"Dr. Samberly, hi." Flora greeted weakly. Samberly gave her a quick smile.
"Hello, Agent Erskine." He looked behind her to the sniggering traitors. "And company. Is there something I can do for you, Agent Erskine?" Flora open and closed her mouth for a few times before letting out a slightly airy laugh.
"Oh, well you see, Dr. Samberly we have this sample." She holds up the piece of frozen skin to him. Samberly takes the jar from her hand and studies it. "That sample there glows in the dark and we haven't a clue as to why it does." He looks back to her. "So, we were wondering if you could help us out?"
"What's in it for me?" He asked her with a raised eyebrow while crossing his arms.
"I'll put in a good word about you to Rose." She offered.
"Alright, deal." Samberly nodded and got to work on the sample. Flora slowly turned and gave her best friend and boss a death glare as they tried to cover up their chuckles. "That's not ice." Flora and Peggy took a look at the sample through the microscope. 'The actual hell?' Flora thought as the blood cells begin to unthaw and flush with color.
"Then what is it?" Peggy asked him.
"Short answer is, I don't know. So is the long answer." Flora rolled her eyes.
"And there's nothing else you can tell us?" Peggy pushed.
"I'm doing my best." Samberly snapped. 'Oh, no, here we go.' Flora groaned to herself as she takes another look at the sample. "You field agents, always looking down your noses at us lab techs."
"Excuse me?" Sousa asked, shocked.
"Just because we don't carry guns doesn't mean we're not in the SSR." Samberly told him.
"We value your contributions. We're just asking-"
"Then why not invite me when you agents grab drinks?" Samberly interrupted Sousa.
"Aren't you always invited?" Sousa asked him while the girls glanced towards him.
"No. Never." He shakes his head. 'There's a reason for that.' Flora thought as she places the sample back into its jar.
"Well, yes. Of course you're invited, Doctor. . ." Sousa trailed off causing Flora to turned to him with a raised eyebrow.
"Samberly." He said slowly.
"I just said his name not even thirty minutes ago, Sousa. How could you possibly forget already?" Sousa shot her a look before turning back to Samberly.
"What about the glow?" Peggy asked.
"The non-native matter is in a radioisotopic form, ionizing the nitrogen molecules in the air and blood to create the luminescence. The only occurrence that could create such a phenomenon is by producing the radioisotope in the form of uranium." Samberly explained with a shrug of his shoulders.
"What does that mean?" Henry lets out a loud cough that has Flora flinching away from him.
"It means she was near a particle accelerator." Flora simplified it for him.
"The one used in the Manhattan project is in Tennessee." Sousa stated. Flora shook her head.
"It'd have to be the one in Pasadena at Isodyne Energy." Flora explained.
"I applied there but instead chose to go with SSR." Everyone turned to look at Samberly with a deadpan expression. "Unfortunately." He finished and walked off. Sousa turned to Flora as they walked out of the lab.
"Now I understand why you won't step a foot into that room." He grumbled.
"Thanks, but if you excuse me, I have to go talk to Rose about her creepy admirer." She begins to head to the front desk.
"Wait, what about Isodyne Energy?" Peggy asked her. Flora looked up at her from the bottom of the stairs.
"Can't go. They know me as Dr. Carter, if I go there as Agent Erskine there'll be problems." Peggy nods her head.
"Right well, have fun with Rose." Flora glared at her friend and flipped her the bird causing Peggy and Sousa to laugh. Flora huffed and trotted down the rest of the stairs to open the door.
"Hey, Rose." She greeted as she entered the room. Rose looked up and raised an eyebrow at her.
"Hello, Maria. Is there something I can do for you?" Flora let out an awkward chuckle as she rubbed the back of her neck.
"Yeah, well you see. . ." Flora trailed off as Rose slumped with a groan.
"You spoke to Samberly didn't you?" Flora gave her a sheepish smile. "What have I told you about talking to him?"
"It's not like I had the choice! Peggy forced me into the room and we needed him to look at something cause you know he doesn't like it when we "field agents" touch his stuff." She explained to the woman.
"What did you promise him?" Rose sighed.
"Just that I'd put in a good word and I have, so I'll be going back upstairs." Rose shook her head at the young woman as she rushed back up to the main office. Flora looked around the office for Peggy or Sousa but didn't see them. 'Must of gone out the back entrance.' She thought as she got back to work on reading the files of the Lady of the Lake killer.
"Maria?" Flora snapped her head up at the sudden call.
"Peg?" She asked confused as her friend walk towards her. "When did you get back?"
"About ten minutes ago." Peggy told her used to her friend not noticing her surroundings when she was focus on something. "Now do you have the paper?" Flora raised an eyebrow but nodded handing over the paper to her. Peggy quickly looks through it before making a sound in triumph and walks towards Sousa's office. Flora quickly follows after her.
"Mr. Chadwick owns a horse racing this afternoon at Santa Anita." Peggy tosses the paper onto Sousa's desk while Flora leans against the doorway.
"The man is running for Senate." Henry tells them.
"Well, then he'll be kissing babies and pressing palms, as well as hooves." Peggy replied causing Flora to snort in laughter.
"That's not my gist, lady." Henry sent both girls a glare that had them smirking in amusement then cowing in fear. "Calvin Chadwick is wealthy industrialist. He's not going around killing women and throwing them in a lake."
"What lead are you proposing we follow?" Flora questioned.
"Not one from the word of some janitor." Henry shot back causing Flora to look at him confused.
"Jason Wilkes is a Physicist!" Peggy exclaimed. 'Well, it looks like I missing something.' Flora thought as she looked towards Sousa.
"Look, sweetheart, I don't know how you do things in New York, but out here, if we go after Chadwick, the papers are gonna crucify us when they find out we're wrong." Henry explained.
"And what if we're right?" Peggy argued.
"How would you handle it, Detective?" Sousa cuts in before the fight escalates into shouting. They both turned to him.
"I would use the press to our advantage. Give an interview to the newsreels, get the word out there." He shot Peggy a look.
"I take it you have Journalist contacts?" Sousa asked him.
"I got contacts all over the place." Flora narrows her eyes at this. This man was become less and less trustworthy in her eyes. "I'll arrange everything, okay?"
"Have at it. We'll comb through your old files, see it there isn't a clue we missed." Both Peggy and Flora stared at him in disbelief.
"Thank you." Henry leaves the room with a bit of smugness to him while Flora crosses her arms as she watches him leave before turning back to Sousa.
"So," She gives him a crooked smile, "what horse should we place your money on while we're gone?" Sousa snorts as he brings out his wallet and throws a couple bills on the desk.
"El Lobo's racing the fourth. Place a bet for me after you find Chadwick." Flora chuckles as Peggy takes the money from the desk.
"Got it, boss." Flora gives him a mock salute as they leave the office to pick up their purses.
"I'll call Jarvis to come pick us up." Peggy said as she makes for the phone.
"Oh, no need for that. I can drive us but we should call ahead to let Ana know that we'll need outfits for the race." Flora stated as she takes the phone from a shock Peggy's hand.
"You drive yourself to work?" She asked as Flora dials the number.
"Yes, Howard bought me a 1943 Mercedes-Benz 770 Großer Cabriolet as an early birthday gift. So I drive myself while Jarvis drives the boys around and I pick them up after work." Flora explained before Jarvis answered the phone.
"Stark's residence, this is Edwin Jarvis speaking. How may I help you?" He said in that calm and collected voice of his.
"Ah! Mr. Jarvis, it's so good to hear from you." Flora exclaimed with a wide smile.
"Miss. Erskine? Is something quite the matter?" Jarvis asked, bewildered on why the lady of the house was calling at such a time.
"Why in fact there is something quite the matter. Peg and I have been giving a task that requires a change of dress, you see. I was quite hoping that Ana could be of service to us?" She explained.
"Ah, I see and what event will the two of you be attending to?" He questioned as he called for Ana.
"The Races, Mr. Jarvis. We'll be at the mansion in thirty minutes." She replied.
"Will I be escorting you and Miss. Carter to the races, Miss. Erskine?" Flora tilted her head for a moment.
"Yes, that would be quite suitable, Mr. Jarvis." She gives a nod of her head even though he couldn't see it.
"Very good, ma'am. I'll see you at the house very soon. Goodbye, Miss. Erskine." He answered.
"Goodbye, Mr. Jarvis." Flora hung up the phone and turned to her companion. "Shall we be off?" She held out her arm to Peggy. Peggy laughed as she hooked her arm around Flora's.
"You are ridiculous, Maria Erskine." She told her as they got into the car.
"I know but you love me that way." Flora replied as she turned the engine over and pulled out of her parking spot. "So, what happen at Isodyne Energy? Who's Jason Wilkes?"
"He's a physicist that works at Isodyne Energy, who was very helpful in regards to Jane Scott." Flora shot her a confused look. "Jane Scott is the dead woman."
"Ah." She nodded her head as she took a left turn. "That makes a bit more sense than it did earlier but why did Detective Henry call him a janitor?"
"I'm guessing because of the color of his skin." Peggy growled out as she glared out the window. Flora bit her lip as she took another turn that took them to her street.
"Well, there's a job for him at Stark Industries if this case throws him out of having one. Just have him give me call and I'll set him up." Peggy sent her friend a grateful smile.
"Thank you." Flora just shrugged her shoulders.
"It's nothing really." She replied as they pull into the long driveway. Flora looks to the side of the car and slams her foot on the brake. Peggy snaps her head to her before looking in the direction she was. "Is that a flamingo in my yard?"
"Didn't you know about it this morning?" Peggy asked her. Flora gripped the steering wheel and squeezed her eyes shut.
"Howard." She groaned out before driving the car the rest of the way. She parked the car and turned off the engine. "Mr. Jarvis!" Jarvis rushed into the foyer.
"Good afternoon, Miss. Erskine. Miss. Carter." Jarvis greeted them. "Allow me to show you to where you'll be staying, Miss. Carter." Jarvis lead them out of the foyer and down the wing of guest rooms. "Here we are. Mrs. Jarvis!" Ana walks out of the personal bathroom and lets out a gasp at seeing Peggy for the first time. "Miss. Carter is here."
"Miss. Carter." Ana exclaimed, her Hungarian accent coloring her words in excitement. "I feel like I already know you." She pulls Peggy into a tight hug.
"Oh!" Peggy exclaimed, shocked while Flora sniggered.
"She hugs." Jarvis explained to Peggy. Ana let's go and smiles at the girls while Jarvis turns to her. "She does not hug."
"It's a pleasure to finally meet." Peggy told her.
"Yes." Ana nods her head and rubs Peggy's arm.
"Well, I'll give you three some privacy." Jarvis makes to head out of the room until Ana turns to him.
"Excuse me, Mr. Jarvis." Flora smirks as Ana beckons him back towards her.
"Oh." Jarvis gives an embarrassed chuckle as he walks back towards his wife. "Hmm." Ana grabs his tie and pulls him into a passionate kiss. Flora gave a wolf whistle while Peggy looked away in embarrassment. Ana releases him from the kiss with a big grin as Jarvis looked towards Flora and Peggy with a bright pink face.
"She's an embarrassing creature." He quickly rushes out of the room before his beloved wife can do anything else. Both Ana and Flora burst into laughter.
"He's too easy." Peggy looks at them in bewilderment. "What's that look?"
"Uh, I don't know." Peggy finally answered. Flora chuckled and turned to Ana.
"I'm assume you already picked my outfit out, Ana?" She asked.
"Of course, Miss. Erskine. It's laying on your bed." Ana replied.
"Thank you so much. Now, I'll leave you two to get acquainted while I go talk to Mr. Jarvis about a certain pink bird." Flora walks out of the room and heads towards her own. "Mr. Jarvis!"
"You called, Miss. Erskine?" He asked once he appeared before her.
"Yes, I did indeed." She place her hands on her hips. "Now would you like to tell me why there's a flamingo in my front yard?" Jarvis fingers begin to twitch nervously.
"Yes, well, that would be the newest addition to the menagerie." He starts and glances away from her. "I couldn't maneuver him into the enclosure. He's the devil in pink." Flora sighs in exasperation.
"Well, as long as Teddy hasn't -"
"His name is Bernard Stark." Flora stared at him, mouth still open slightly. She shut it with an audible click and rolled her eyes.
"All right, fine. Bernard can stay but you have to get him into his enclosure." Jarvis gave her a grateful smile and went to say something but Flora beat him to it. "But I'm still having a talk with the three of you later tonight." Jarvis deflated slightly at that but nods his head.
"Now, I'll be getting ready." Flora quickly changed into the beautiful green dress and hat Ana had picked out for her. She meets Jarvis and Peggy in the foyer and they head out to the races. By the time they get there the races are over, so they head towards the flashing cameras.
"That is Calvin Chadwick." Peggy said while looking at the man holding onto a slight blonde woman.
"Oh, and his wife, Whitney Frost." Jarvis states.
"Who?" Both Flora and Jarvis turned to her in shock.
"Whitney Frost, star of "The 'F' Stands for Freedom"." Jarvis explained to her.
"She doesn't look familiar." Flora rolled her eyes.
"Peg, I told you, you need to get out more. I think Teddy has a crush on her to be honest." Flora digged around in her purse before finding a blank piece of paper. She quickly looked around before muttering a spell towards the paper to turn it into a picture of Whitney Frost. She grabs a hold of Jarvis arm and starts to pull him towards Whitney. "Jarvis and I will keep Ms. Frost occupied while you talk to Mr. Chadwick."
"Excuse me. Ms. Frost?" They turned to the group. "Edwin Jarvis." He held out a hand to her. "Head of production, Stark Pictures." They shake hands and she turns to Flora.
"Doctor Maria Carter." She holds her hand out. Whitney's eyes widen in shock slightly before she wraps her hand around Flora's. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Oh. Charmed." Whitney replied.
"Might we have a word?" Jarvis asked her. They walked away a bit. Flora pulls out the picture from her purse and look towards Whitney.
"Ms. Frost? I was wondering if you would sign this?" She holds the picture out with a pen. "My godson is a big fan of yours." Whitney gave her a soft smile and took the picture and pen.
"Anything for my fans." She said as she signed the picture and hands it back to Flora.
"Thank you so much! This will make me the best godmother ever in his eyes, even better than his godfather." Flora gushed as she gently put it back into her purse.
"Well, I'm glad I could be of help, Dr. Carter." Flora shot an uneasy look at her before plastering on a bright smile.
"You have absolutely no idea how much of help you've been, Ms. Frost." She replied. Whitney narrowed her eyes at her.
"Mr. Jarvis, our horse lost." Peggy exclaimed as she walked by. "Maria, come on." Flora sends Chadwick and Whitney a suspicious glance before following after Peggy with Jarvis in tow. "Mr. Jarvis if you could drop us off at the coroner, that would be splendid."
"Of course, Miss. Carter." He replied and quickly drove them to the coroner office. They met Sousa there as they walked towards the exam room.
"Chadwick was nervous." Peggy told him. "He has more to hide than a dalliance with an employee."
"Now that the autopsy report's complete, we'll have a better idea of what happened." Flora looks behind her as a door opens and out steps Detective Henry, coughing.
"Been on this case for two years and you're not gonna wait for me?" All three SSR agents rolled their eyes and slowed down their steps. "Boy." Henry quickly got in front of them and opened the door to the room. "Still freezing in here." He held the door open for the other three as they walked in looking around at the place.
"How did Meltzer even cut into the body?" Henry asked as he shut the door.
"What'd you find, Dr. Meltzer?" Sousa asked the man leaning over the body. There was the sound of ice creaking loudly in the room. "Dr. Meltzer?" Sousa touched the doctor's shoulder and the man tilted to the side before shattering into a million black shards on the floor. They all looked on in shock.
"I need a sample." Was the first thing that popped out of Flora's mouth. Peggy and Sousa shot her an unimpressed look while the detective looked at her in disgust. "Not good?" She asked her coworkers.
"No, Maria not good." Peggy told her as they left the room.
"But I really do need a sample!" She exclaimed as Sousa made a few calls. "This is a new symptom caused by the woman's body." Flora explained while the hazard control team cleaned up the mess.
"Miss. Carter, I brought Dr. Wilkes as you requested." Flora and Peggy turned to Jarvis and the doctor.
"That used to be a person?" Jason asked them as he looked into the room.
"Can you explain such an occurrence?" Peggy asked him.
"I could if they would give me a sample!" Flora yells at the man that just came out of the room and was walking away. "Hey! I requested for a couple pieces of that!" She raced after the man.
"Maria!" Peggy called after her friend but sighed as the small woman continued to pester the men in the suits.
"Your friend is quite interesting." Jason chuckled as they turned back to the room.
"She's a woman of science. I forget sometimes of what she's all doctored in." Peggy tells him. "We'll be giving you some samples as well, to do some test on them to figure out what happen."
"Dr. Wilkes, can you excuse us, please?" Sousa asked as Flora came back to Peggy's side with samples in hand.
"Yeah, I'm gonna get some water." He tells them and leaves the room. Peggy raised an eyebrow at her friend.
"Are you happy now?" Flora gives her a big grin and a bob of her head. Peggy sighed and shook her head before turning to Sousa. "What is it?"
"The official autopsy report." He holds the file out to them to read it.
"Cause of death, organ failure due to unknown toxic substance." Both girls turn to look at the body.
"Exactly, not the stab wounds." Sousa said.
"So someone stabbed the body after she'd already died." Flora states.
"The murderer wanted us to think Jane Scott was killed by the Lady of the Lake killer . . ." Sousa trails off.
"When actually, she was killed from exposure to the substance that froze the lake." Peggy finished.
"Her shoes were switched on her feet." Flora said as she remembers the fact. "The only people that knew that detail were the actual Lady of the Lake killer and -" She stops in shock.
"And the police." Peggy and Flora snap their head towards Sousa.
"Where's Detective Henry?" Peggy asked him. They quickly race out of the room and out of the building.
"Mr. Jarvis!" Flora exclaimed as she rushed towards the man lying on the ground by Howard's car. She turns to Peggy as she pulls out his handkerchief from his pocket. "Peg, help me get him into the car." They quickly loaded him into the back of the car while Sousa hopped into the front seat.
"The suspect is Detective Andrew Henry, L.A.P.D. He is armed and dangerous." Sousa said into the radio com. "Approach with caution." Flora pinched the bridge of Jarvis's nose.
"Oh! Oh, is it broken?" He asked her.
"You'll live. Keep your head back." She told him.
"Of course I'll live." He snatches the handkerchief out of her hand. "I'm worried about the aesthetic. Ana's absolutely mad about my profile." Peggy and Flora rolled their eyes as the man pressed the handkerchief to his nose.
"Look." They turn to see where Sousa was pointing and spot Henry's car. They pull over behind it and step out of their car with caution.
"Keep your head down." Peggy tells Jarvis before he moves to get out of the car. "A bullet hitting your nose will be harder to explain to Ana." All three agents raise their guns as they walk over to the car.
"Andrew Henry! Jason Wilkes!" Sousa yells. "If you're inside, come out with your hands raised!" Peggy shines a light at the windows.
"The windows are frosted over." She said. Sousa opens the door and the inside is covered in ice. He touches the steering wheel and pulls his hand back with a hiss.
"Steering column frozen. He had to ditch the car." Peggy shines the light into the cab.
"Look." Flora points to the card left in the seat. "Dr. Wilkes left us a bread crumb."
"Mr. Jarvis, I'll need you to wait here for the police." Peggy told him as she walked back over to the car. "Direct them to follow us." Peggy lifts up her dress a little and pulls out a small gun.
"Will do." Jarvis replied. Peggy hands him the small gun.
"Here." Jarvis takes it be the end.
"Well, I suppose this is progress." He muttered. Flora shakes her head and turns to the others.
"I'll stay with Jarvis so the cops can spot us." She takes the torch from Peggy. "And to tell them not to fire."
"Thank you, Maria." Peggy told her as she and Sousa race off to find Dr. Wilkes. The sirens of the cops quickly approached and Flora waved her arms in the air to signal them. One of the cops ran over to her after he parked his car.
"We need Henry alive, so no guns." She tells him.
"You got it, ma'am." He replies then goes to tell the rest of the cops. Suddenly, everyone ducks as gunshots go off. "Don't fire!" The cop yells. "Let's go! Move in!" Another shot goes off and Flora could hear Peggy yelling. Soon, Sousa and Peggy returned with Jason in tow. Flora watched Peggy as she spoke with Jason at the ambulance and raised her eyebrow as she walked towards her. Peggy just rolled her eyes and got into the car so they could head back to the coroner office.
"I'm going to ride with Jarvis. I'll see you at SSR." Flora told her as she got out of the car. Flora looked at her watch as they follow after Sousa and Peggy. "Howard is going be worried out of his mind at how late I'll be picking them up."
"Drats!" Flora turns to Jarvis in astonishment.
"Mr. Jarvis!" She exclaimed with a chuckle.
"I knew I was forgetting something." He muttered. Flora laughed as he stops the car and honks the horn. Peggy soon comes out of the SSR building and gets into the car. They quickly head to the mansion and as Flora gets out of the car, Jarvis turns to her. "Don't worry about picking up Mr. Stark and Teddy. I'll go get them, you go in and rest."
"Thank you, Mr. Jarvis." Flora tells him, grateful and heads instead. She heads straight towards her room and collapse on her bed, quickly falling asleep as soon as her head hits the pillow.