"Oh my gawd, I’m so sorry," Bette suddenly said as she nearly opened the door onto a girl standing outside. "Not it’s  alright, I just wanted to speak with Dean Lerner," Adele said. "Thank you for your time again, Jodi," Gen said, "We’ll be in touch."

It was 11:30pm back the forensics laboratory. Gen quietly examined the most recent body they had discovered. With gloved hands, she carefully peered closely at the decapitated head. All the bodies had every hair shaven off and were completely painted white, she thought, how did the UNSUB manage to cut through the head without any blood splatter?

“I have to give it to them, the UNSUB is meticulous,” Gen muttered under her breath. She looked at the thick pink ribbon which had been sealed in the air tight evidence bag. They hadn’t found any blood on the ribbon either. Gen was so deep in thought that she didn’t hear the footsteps enter the room. “Still working?” the familiar voice echoed through the quiet room. Gen turned around to see Bette walking towards her. “I just can’t seem to figure out how the UNSUB managed to make the cut without any blood splatter, it’s just so confounding!” Gen said, frustrated. Bette laughed and lightly put her hand on Gen’s shoulder. Gen felt the warmth spread through her body with Bette’s touch. “How about we grab a glass of red,” Bette suggested, “There’s a place nearby and this is your first day, you shouldn’t push yourself too hard.” Gen took off her gloves and smiled, “Sounds like an idea.”

◊◊◊

The bar was buzzing with conversation when Gen and Bette entered. They took a seat near the corner and ordered their drinks. “So tell me, what’s your story?” Bette asked Gen, “How’d you land up doing forensics?” “Where do I begin,” Gen replied, half laughing, “How much time have you got?” Bette teasingly looked at her watch, “I have all night.” They gazed at each other with familiarity and smiled.

“That will be sixteen dollars,” the bartender said, interrupting their moment. Gen reached to pay for their drinks, her thigh accidentally brushing against Bette’s as she stood up. Bette felt herself blushing, getting slightly aroused from having Gen so close to her. Thank God for the dim-lighting in here, Bette thought to herself. “I guess my story starts with my parents. My mom is an officer in the L.A.P.D. and my dad was a major in the army,” Gen said, “He died in Iraq.” Bette immediately felt sorry for Gen, but held back as she continued to listen intently. “My brother, Mark, he’s the curator for the Metropolitan Museum and came to New York a couple years back. My best friend, Jin, also lives here. I think you might have heard of her. She’s made quite her name for herself blogging, kinda like Perez Hilton? She hosts a blog and goes by the name of jinjenie.” Gen laughed. “I’ve heard of her,” Bette said, “She’s hilarious!” “So what about you?” Gen asked.