Piper's high heels clicked on the night-cold concrete as the scent of jasmine floated to her in the breezy spring night. She climbed the steps to the front door of the Victorian manor she shared with her sisters, Phoebe and Prue.
"Phoebe!?" She yelled, shutting the door behind her. When no answer came, she called for the eldest. "Prue!?" Again, no response.
Piper sighed as she wandered into the kitchen, throwing her shoes and purse on the couch. She found a note on the fridge.
Piper, had to go back to Buckland's, only had time to come home and grab more papers. Prue.
Dear Piper, I was lonely, so I decided to go to Quake, you know maybe meet a cute guy at the bar. I hope you get home soon. There's still more of that great salmon in the fridge, eat it! It's still good, I promise. Love always, XOXO, Phoebe.
Piper chuckled softly at the personality differences, Prue was always so efficient and Phoebe…Phoebe was Phoebe. Piper took Phoebe's advice and heated up the salmon. Just when she settled down to eat her meal in front of the TV, the phone rang.
"What?" Piper snapped, taking a bite of fish.
A solemn sounding Darryl replied. "You're ready to go into the field."
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"I'm here." Piper said, pulling her long hair into a ponytail atop her head. "What's going on? I didn't even get the chance to eat before you guys called me back."
Piper looked around the room in disbelief. The first two men weren't that surprising, as they were Dan and Darryl, but the third was Leo. He appeared to be sleep, again having his feet propped up on the table, that hat tilted over his eyes, blocking out the light.
In realty, he was studying her, under the convenient guise of a nap. She looked good, even in jeans and a simple navy blue tank top.
"We've got Moroccan." Leo said loudly, making her jump a mile.
"Who eats Moroccan?" she asked, crinkling her nose in distaste.
"Moroccans do." Leo replied logically.
Dan watched the effortless banter with resentment. He didn't like the easy vibe he got from them. He watched as the two continued to joke around until Darryl brought to attention the reason they were asked to come.
"We've found another body and I'm positive that it's connected to the Gladstone murder case." That intrigued both Piper and Leo as Darryl slid a file across the table. Piper opened it reveal a picture of a bloodied and beaten woman, who had obviously stabbed multiple times.
"Fuck." Piper murmured under her breath. She was blonde, but the eye color was unable to be seen, there was too much blood, but Piper figured blue or brown. After a moment, she felt Leo looking over her shoulders.
"Don't these pictures bother you?" Because of Piper's line of work, she was used to seeing graphic pictures. But then again, he'd probably seen worse.
"Nah, it's just a little blood."
To Piper, it looked like most of the girls blood was on the bed she was resting in but she wouldn't question him. As she continued to look at the would-be horrifying pictures, she felt the uncomfortable warmth of Leo's body, so close to hers. There was something deliciously unscrupulous about him that got her blood running. She wondered if he was doing it on purpose. And still, she wondered what Leo had to do with this. Were random criminals allowed to look at police documents?
"What's this all about, Morris?" Piper said finally, sliding the document back.
"Well, you're one of or best detectives—" The man began.
"Junior Detective, since I just can't seem to get a promotion."
"Is that what you're bargaining for?" Dan questioned.
Piper titled her head to incline a "maybe".
"I know that I'm the best woman detective in the district, junior or not. And from the murder victims, you want a woman to go undercover. I want to be made Detective."
"Done." Dan quickly agreed. He hated the possibility that she could get hurt or maybe killed, but this case was just too big.
"Alright then." Having gotten what she wanted, Piper was content, but one question still haunted her. "But what's he got to do with all this?"
This was the part of the mission that Dan really despised. She was to go undercover with Leo.
"You have to pretend to be his girlfriend." Dan mumbled angrily.
"What!?" Piper exclaimed, clearly shocked. Leo kept his face unreadable, but secretly he was pleased. "Couldn't I just go there?"
Darryl shook his head. "Nope, it seems that you have to be a woman of that circle to get murdered."
"Goody gumdrops," Piper muttered sarcastically, "where do I sign up?" After a moment, she spoke again. "Please tell me you're kidding." But their faces told her just the opposite.
"Guess not."
AN: So, there goes another chapter. Please review!!