Happy Accidents

Chapter 6: New Evidence

Sakura woke up the following day bright and refreshed, ready to tackle the day. After the digging she had done last night, she found herself determined to ensure that there was an element of trust between her and her new partner. Maybe she was going a bit overboard, but if they did well on the case and worked hard, perhaps they could do it. For that reason, she was coming extra prepared: she was bringing her fresh coffee grinds to her office to make some good high-quality coffee, including her milk steamer so she could have lattes; she was also packing a nice hearty lunch with enough rice balls to share. She wasn't sure what the detective liked, but she figured anything with tuna mayonnaise would be a safe bet. Her own was made with pickled plums and separated so they wouldn't get mixed.

Satisfied with her work Sakura packed everything up and made it to her car, stopping along the way at the same coffee shop he'd stopped by yesterday. She ordered herself a white hot chocolate and a cinnamon raisin bagel, as well as a plain buttered bagel and a black coffee for the detective. Getting into her car again, she turned her phone on hands-free and dialled the detective as she was on her way to the office.

"Uchiha," he answered politely.

"Hey, it's Dr. Haruno. I did some digging on some of the x-rays last night, and I thought it'd be best to work through things together while I examine the bones. I can't bring them up to your office, but there's space in mine if you wanted to work there. I think it'll be better that way, and then I don't have to feel weird dictating my audio notes." That was the one part she hated about her job: she couldn't take physical notes, meaning she had to dictate them on a recording verbally. Essentially, it meant she spent most of her day talking to herself.

"Yeah. Good idea. I have old case files you may want to look at. Bones are buried already, but I have x-rays and coroner's reports you can reference." That sounded promising, for sure.

"At this point, the behaviour indicates we're dealing with something bigger than just one attack. Hopefully, I can find some sort of link between them. Just parking now, see you in five." She hung up the call and gathered her things, briskly walking to the small kitchenette area to put a few things away. She got her coffee grinds in the freezer, milk steamer plugged in, and the rice balls ready to go on the counter, wrapped in plastic wrap to preserve them. She'd just finished when the door opened, leaving her to greet the sour-faced detective with a smile.

"Morning! There's coffee for you, and I even have extras for lunch if you'd like. I, uh, had some extra rice I needed to use up, so I thought I might as well make extra." Now that was a lie. He stared at her, eyes narrowed like he didn't believe her for a second before offering a grunt and sitting down at the table. He glanced at the coffee and almost begrudgingly took it, glancing at the bagel.

"There's a plain one with butter or cream cheese, whatever you prefer. I wasn't sure what you liked, so I got the most versatile flavour." There was a pause as he slowly reached for the bagel, taking the cream cheese and spreading it a bit before he spoke.

"...sun-dried tomato," he stated. Sakura was confused for a moment before remembering the little cafe had quite the selection. Sun-dried tomato, huh... she'd have to remember that for next time.

"Okay. I'll just be laying the bones out, and then I'll put up the old files' x-rays to compare." She got to work quietly, setting up the bones one by one as she turned and compared. She started to dictate her notes verbally, unsure if he was listening or not, but the more she looked, the more she found. One thing was off, though...

"Detective? In case 85774, there was a suspected weapon listed as evidence, wasn't there? What was it?" She asked, moving over and away from the bone table as she held one of the ribs in her hands. She was scrutinizing it.