An Old Ally

-Season 1: Episode 1- (A Study in Pink)

"Bloody hell, I'm going to be late!" I ran through the halls at the morgue, trying hard not to bump into anyone on the way there. I felt myself trip, as one of my flats fell off my foot. First day on the job, and I've already screwed up! I bumped into someone, my things falling in disarray. "Sorry!" I quickly picked up my things, as my thoughts continued to tumble through my head. Seeing the right door, I slammed through it, Molly's head bobbing up in surprise, a small jump to go with it.

"Sorry... I forgot that I had to work today Molly..." I kept my head down, as I took off my red peacoat and tried to see what I had placed on myself in the quick morning. I had on a black lace blouse with dark washed jeans, a soft red button up sweater, and simple red flats. I groaned. I felt like I was dressed up like a child. At least it was color coordinated in some way. Putting on a lab coat, I walked over to Molly, her hands already getting to work on unzipping the body.

"Well, that's fine. We've got a new body he-" The doors to the morgue suddenly opened as a tall man came in, wearing a greatcoat and a navy blue scarf around his neck. He was pale, his cheekbones and jaw all sharp lines. His hair was brown and curled, his eyes a piercing blue. As he got closer, I saw a fleck of brown in his right eye, nearly impossible to see. There was a cold feel in them, something that one couldn't easily get over. His hands were rough and burned, perhaps because of his work. The tips of his fingers were calloused, maybe from the use of a violin or guitar. The observation caught me off-guard as I felt something move deep inside me when I saw the man. I shook the feeling off as he came by.

"How fresh?" The man walked past me, not even acknowledging me. He began fully unzipping the bag. "Just in. Sixty-seven, natural causes. He used to work here. I knew him. He was nice." I turned to Molly, disturbed. He re-zipped the bag, before looking at Molly, a fake smile on her lips. Her eyes darted towards me, as he said, "Fine. We'll start with the riding crop." As Molly left the room, it took me a beat before I realized what he had said "A-A riding crop?!" He looked at me briefly before nodding.

I watched in shock as the man placed the body on the table, before starting to flog it mercilessly with an actual riding crop. I looked over at Molly in the observation room to see that she was just watching with a look of admiration. I shook myself, before walking over to him, my hands stretching out to the body. "Stop! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" He gave it one more nice good whack, before stopping and turning to look at me.

"Jennieve, if you don't have much to say, don't say anything at all. It's a waste of thought process." I looked at him with narrowed eyes, my quick temper getting the best of me. I hardly knew this man, and yet he knew my name. Before I could say anything, Molly entered the room. As if she could feel the sudden tension, she joked, "So, bad day, was it?" I turned to Molly as the man turned back to the body. I saw, to my surprise, a tinge of color on her lips. Was she really trying to impress this man?I gave her an odd look, and she coughed as he looked over to us, a notebook in hand.

"I need to know what bruises form in the next twenty minutes. A man's alibi depends on it. Text me." I crossed my arms over my chest, as Molly walked up to him. " Listen, I was wondering: maybe later, when you're finished ..." He looked over to her, than me, then back to her. A frown settled on his mouth, his head creasing.

"Are you wearing lipstick? You weren't wearing lipstick before." She flustered as I gave her a glance. I sighed as she said, "I, er, I refreshed it a bit." He gave her an oblivious look as she gave him a smile. He continued to write. Before he could say anything, I said with exasperation, "Look. She's wondering if you want to have a coffee." They both looked at me, a worried look in Molly's eyes. A moment of silence before he says, "Black, two sugars, please. I'll be upstairs." He walked away, leaving Molly in somewhat of a daze. "...Okay."