The Lure of the Lie: A Modern Detective Anthology (*On Hold*)

5 Ligature

"McKinnon!"

I headed into the living room of my apartment, blinking against the morning light streaming in through the windows, and tied my robe tighter around my waist as I wondered absentmindedly what time it was. My alarm hadn't gone off so it must have been early. I went to the door and looked through the peephole. Special Agent Jake Parker was standing on the other side, bellowing my name from the hallway.

"McKinnon! Let's go! Come on! Burning daylight here," he called. I wrenched open my door and he stepped easily inside without being invited.

"I have neighbors, you know," I chided as he looked around. "What are you doing here? How did you even know where I live?"

"Got your address from your file," he told me casually as if that wasn't a massive invasion of my privacy. "We've got to get going, come on."

"Am I permitted to get dressed at least? Maybe make myself some breakfast?"

"Dressed, yes," he answered. "Breakfast, I got it covered."

He held up a bag.

"Donuts?" I asked as I headed back into my room to quickly get dressed for the day.

"Yeah, donuts."

"Donuts are an incredibly unhealthy breakfast choice," I shouted from the bedroom as I stripped out of my robe and rifled through my closet with a frown. I'd only worked in research institutions or professional office settings while in the city and my wardrobe reflected that fact. I would need to go shopping at my earliest convenience for certain articles of clothing that might be more useful in chasing down the perpetrator of a violent crime. "Fried yeast rings at six in the morning?"

"Well, you're a cop now so get used to the donuts."

"I'm not technically a cop strictly speaking," I reminded him as I pulled the most stretchy dress I owned from the closet and hoped it would provide at least enough comfort and flexibility for whatever another day in the FBI would bring. "You eat donuts?"

"Yes."

"Regularly?"

"Yes," he snapped from the other room. I could hear him getting irritated with the conversation and couldn't help but smile as I slid into the dress. "What are you getting at here, McKinnon?"

"Well, you just don't look like someone who feasts on fried dough every morning."

"Not every morning but- wait, what's that supposed to mean?"

I exited my room in the professional fitted purple dress I'd chosen, smoothing it out as I piled my brown hair atop my head in a this-will-have-to-do bun. I would have to forego most of my makeup but I managed to swipe some mascara and a tube of lip gloss from the top of my dresser as I exited my room.

"You're in very good shape," I told him simply with a shrug. "That's all I meant. Far better shape than someone who I would assume eats so much junk."

"Was that a compliment, Doc?" He asked. I looked up and saw him smirking at me. I rolled my eyes and approached, uncapping the tube of lip gloss and puckering my lips as I turned my back to him only a foot away.

"Zip me?"

"I- oh um-" he cleared his throat and I smiled at having wiped the smirk right off his lips. "Sure."

I felt his fingers fumble with the zipper on my lower back before pulling slowly up to secure the dress around me.

"Sorry," he muttered after a bit of fumbling. "I'm not used to helping my partner get dressed. Frank did alright on his own."