"So High School"
Part One: Tan Lines
"Man, this has been a tough shift!" Warrick exhaled sharply as he sank into a chair across from Nick. "Can't people take a break for just a night?"
"Hear you there, bro." Nick yawned, jaw cracking. "Heard Griss might have to call in some dayshifters for backup if anything else comes in tonight."
Warrick chuckled. "Now that'll be a sight. Get them up out of bed for a change."
Nick scrubbed his face with his hands before running his fingers through his hair. "Amen, bro." He opened his eyes to find Warrick staring at his hands. "What's up?"
"Nick, where's your ring?"
"Huh?"
"Your college ring, man." Warrick pointed at Nick's right hand. "Haven't seen you without it for…" He frowned, thinking for a moment. "A year or more."
Nick brought his hands down and looked at them. Sure enough, his right hand was ringless, only a faint, pale band of skin standing evidence to the fact that at one time, there had been a ring there. "Oh, yeah." He shrugged. "I was getting in some heavy-duty cleaning before shift, took it off so it wouldn't react with the chemicals." He grinned sheepishly. "Kinda lost track of time, and had to get ready for shift in a hurry. Must've forgotten to put it back on before leaving."
-#-
In the garage, Catherine was scraping her hair back into a ponytail. "I can't believe the a/c went down," she grumbled. "And no tech coming to fix it until Monday?"
"Well, you know Ecklie, always concerned about the bottom line. Apparently a weekend service call cost too much," Sara commiserated, pulling her own hair back from her face and off her neck.
"And we can't bring in fans, because they might blow away the evidence." Catherine just shook her head as she knotted the jumpsuit sleeves around her waist. "It's gonna be a long night."
Sara, jumpsuit also knotted around her waist, pulled on her gloves before opening the car door. "Let's just get started on this. The quicker we start, the quicker we can get back to the break room and air conditioning."
"Amen." Catherine picked up her flashlight and started scanning the seats for stray hairs. Sara did the same on her side of the car, the two women methodically searching.
"Hey, Cath? I think I've got blood," Sara announced after a few minutes. She held the light steady as Catherine looked up, focusing her light in the same spot.
"Looks like." Catherine met Sara's eyes with a grin. "At least we're not out here sweating for nothing."
Sara grinned back, before pulling her tank top away from her chest a few times, fanning herself. Catherine caught a glimpse of a gold chain before it tumbled out from under Sara's tank.
"Sar…what are you wearing on that chain? It looks like…a ring?" Catherine looked up in time to catch Sara's sheepish expression…and a blush.
"It's…I'll explain when we're done here."