Discerning Retribution

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 The Odd Pieces

THE ONLY THING REAGAN COULD THINK OF when she entered the labs was how bright and clean everything seemed to be. Pretty much everything except the wires that snaked behind the equipment was a blinding white that had her cringing the first time she laid eyes on the room. The sight was a tad too illuminated for her wide vision.

"Hi, Doc." The detective managed to say the moment she spotted the good doctor behind the monitor closest to the sliding, glass door.

"Reagan!" Karina beamed, looking up from her work. Her eyes then landed on the man in the dress shirt standing by the other woman. "And you must be the Agent Sy I've been hearing so much about. Nice to finally meet you."

The agent merely nodded without much interest, which caught the doctor a bit off guard. She dismissed the cold shoulder completely. The man's attitude wasn't something she should be concerned about, as long as he's able to carry his own share of the workload.

"You wanted to see us?" Reagan was the one to speak again.

"Well, I wanted to tell you the DNA test for the other body came out earlier. It's a match to the club manager, I'm afraid. Although we already kinda knew that."

"No evidence of foul play?"

"Yep. Died from the explosion and nothing else. Hit him upfront, judging by his burns."

The other woman nodded. "Fits what a witness told us."

Reaching for her computer mouse, the doctor leaned closer towards the monitor in front of her and started clicking away at something the partners couldn't see. "Well, now we have to go visit the guy's brother to tell him the bad news." She frowned. "I hate ruining people's days."

What the other woman had said nudged at a fleeting thought in Reagan's mind, pushing it to her consciousness. "Oh, Right!" She faced the man beside her. "We need to see Fiona's family too."

Samuel stared back at his partner, and mused how the look on her face seemed a mixture of emotions he couldn't quite identify. There was a touch of pain and sadness reflecting in her eyes, and perhaps a bit of determination; he wasn't sure. He could only assume it was reluctance to go and tell the family of their victim's death, but at the same time a reeling of her emotions, knowing it was her duty. She might even be considering the family's right to know. With the detective, he couldn't ever be certain. The woman had a way with being too friendly, but she definitely didn't like to be bossed around - especially by him if any of their past interactions were to be used as basis.

He shook the useless thoughts away before finally answering her. "Tomorrow." He nodded. He could only hope the mild reassurance he wanted to give her was evident on his face. Breaking bad news to the families had always been a difficult part of the job, even he understood that.

Hearing the conversation, the doctor looked up from the monitor again. "Who's Fiona?"

"Sanchez.The victim." Reagan gladly turned her attention back to the doctor. There was something different about how the agent had looked back at her. She could've sworn she even saw a shadow of empathy in his eyes, which wasn't normal for him. She'd rather deal with the facts than have a go at figuring out her partner, she decided.

"You already identified her?" Karina's voice was half an octave higher, her eyes widening slightly.

"Why do you sound so surprised?" The detective asked in a lighter tone. "Penny sent a copy of the results of the facial recog to your email. You mean you haven't checked?"

The other woman raised her gloved hands. "Too preoccupied, I'm afraid." She smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "But anyway, that's a good thing! Now you can check if our victim has been suffering from anxiety and depression."