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"Thank you, Officer," Morgan said. "Keep forensics on this. We need this whole area dusted for prints and checked for possible DNA from the killer."
The officer nodded with a tip of his hand. "We're on it."
He turned to walk away, just as Morgan felt another presence near her—a familiar one. She turned to see Derik Greene, his hands in his pockets as he jogged over to her. His slicked-back black hair was messier than usual, and he had deep-set bags under his eyes. He looked like crap, then again, Derik had been looking progressively thinner and unhealthier ever since he and Morgan had their falling out.
"Derik," she muttered under her breath as Derik approached from behind, his footsteps crunching on the sand. He stopped beside her, his expression hesitant. Things just weren't the same between them, and they never would be. Morgan would be happy to have Derik gone, but Derik, for some reason, seemed to still be attached to the idea of making things right with her.
"Mueller sent me," he said, his voice low. "He said you needed backup."
"Did he now?" Morgan's tone was icy, but she couldn't afford to let their personal history cloud her judgment. They had a job to do, and he was still her partner. "Well, since you're here, take a look at this."
She gestured to the victim, Mary, her body crumpled and lifeless in the sandbox. Derik crouched down, his brow furrowing as he examined the woman's teeth.
"Jesus," he whispered, disgust coloring his features. "What kind of sick bastard does something like that?"
"Your guess is as good as mine," Morgan replied, snapping another photo. "We haven't found a clear cause of death yet, but it's obviously not a natural death like the local cops thought. This was planned, executed with precision."
Derik straightened, his eyes locked on Morgan's. "I'll go notify the relatives – see if they know anything about who could have done this or why."
Morgan nodded. Derik turned on his heel and left her alone with the corpse and her thoughts. As she continued to document the scene, Morgan couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched, that a predator lurked just out of sight. She glanced around, one hand resting on her gun, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.
***
Morgan crouched beside Mary Jenkins's lifeless body, committing it to memory one last time before standing upright. She had gathered all she could for now and knew she had to move on from the crime scene. As much as she wished for it to be that easy, she had a feeling the crime scene alone wasn't going to tell her who killed Mary Jenkins. That was going to require a lot more leg work.
"Hey, Morgan," Derik called out as he approached her, breaking her concentration.
"Did you speak to the family?" she asked, her eyes never leaving the scene before her.
"Yeah, I notified her children. They both live out of state – a son and a daughter," Derik informed her, his voice tinged with sadness. “It seems they didn’t see her very much.”
Morgan glanced up at him, her expression somber. "That's tragic. She lived the end of her life alone and scared." She shook her head, feeling a pang of empathy for the woman.
"Seems like it," Derik agreed. "But the daughter said she's visiting a friend not far from here. She's planning to come into town so we can talk to her."
Morgan looked back down at Mary, her eyes narrowing as she committed every detail of the scene to memory. The dress, the expression on Mary's face, even the shape of her gold earrings... like tiny swallows. All things Morgan wanted to remember, and never forget. Not until her killer was behind bars.
"Where do you want to start?" Derik asked, faltering slightly under the intensity of her gaze.
"Her home," she said decisively. "We need to see if there's anything there that can help us understand why someone would do this to her. Maybe she had enemies we don't know about." Morgan gazed over at Skunk, who was patiently waiting for her nearby. She gestured to him. “We’re gonna have to bring some company.”
Derik spotted Skunk and nodded. “Sure thing. I’ll drive.”
As Morgan and Derik walked away from the crime scene, she couldn't help but think about Mary's children. They were absent from their mother’s life, and now they would never have the chance to make amends. She wondered if they would regret not being there for her when it mattered most.
***
Morgan sat in the passenger seat of Derik's car, her eyes focused on the passing cityscape as they drove through Dallas. Skunk lay in the backseat, his nose pressed against the window, watching the world go by. The ride had been quiet and awkward, with neither of them speaking since they left the crime scene.
"Turn right up here," Morgan said suddenly, breaking the silence. Derik glanced at her before following her directions. As they traveled down the unfamiliar streets, Morgan couldn't help but think about Mary Jenkins and the strange circumstances surrounding her death. She couldn't shake the feeling that Mary's teeth held a crucial piece of evidence, but she couldn't figure out what it was.
"Want some music or something?" Derik asked, reaching for the radio dial.
"No, thanks," Morgan replied curtly, still lost in her thoughts. It still felt off to work with Derik as though nothing had happened between them, even though as far as Morgan was concerned, he was still her enemy. She couldn't trust him. Even if he claimed that he didn't actually know the identities of those who framed her, that didn't mean he was telling the truth. Derik had lied about so many things, and Morgan didn't forgive or forget easy.
"Okay," Derik said quietly, pulling his hand back from the radio. Morgan could feel the tension between them, but she didn’t want to give it too much breath.
As they continued driving, Morgan found herself reflecting on her own life and how she ended up here, working alongside someone she used to trust implicitly. She wondered if they would ever be able to move past the betrayal and find a way to work together effectively. The silence in the car was suffocating, with only the hum of the engine and the rhythmic tapping of Skunk's tail against the backseat providing any semblance of sound. Morgan stared out the window, watching as the Dallas cityscape blurred by. Her jaw clenched involuntarily, muscles tense with suppressed irritation.
