FF: Everyday Heroes 1/13 (WMC) NC-17 (Lindsay/Cindy)
Prologue:
He lifted the model's arm and stretched it out, letting it fall in an outstretched grasp toward the horizon. Smiling, he adjusted her dress, lifting just enough of the material to show an inviting amount of thigh - not too much, of course. Just enough to entice the viewer into wondering what lay beyond the rest of the material.
Unbelievably pleased, he stepped back and started snapping photograph after photograph.
The model stared up at him, her eyes unblinking.
He leaned down, tenderly brushing back a lock of her hair.
"Baby, I'm gonna make you a star."
*
I'm waking up at the start of the end of the world,
But it's feeling just like every other morning before,
Now I wonder what my life is going to mean if it's gone…
But I believe the world is burning to the ground
Oh, well, I guess we're gonna find out
Let's see how far we've come
Let's see how far we've come
Droplets of water sprayed through the air, creating a splattered pattern across the glass as Cindy danced back and forth in front of her bathroom mirror. Brushing her teeth and wiggling her hips in time to the music, she bopped around the bathroom as the rocking, upbeat chorus deceptively hid the nihilistic lyrics under a booming bass drum.
Moving around the small bathroom, rolling her head and tossing her hair in a personal shout-out to Flashdance, Cindy couldn't help but feel optimistic. The overcast morning had burned off to reveal a pristine blue sky, she was an up and coming crime reporter for a major Bay Area newspaper, and she'd been included in one of the most exclusive clubs in all of San Francisco.
Not that they actually had a name, or were, really, a club. But she had friends, and for Cindy Thomas, that meant more than anything. On a day like this nothing could bring her down.
Almost.
Running for her cell phone, she flipped the radio off just in time to pick up before the call went to voice mail. "Hello?"
Claire's amused alto rolled over the line. "Hello to you too. Any particular reason you're that breathless at 8:30 in the morning?"
"Nothing fun," Cindy answered, her smile transmitting through the phone. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Claire's tone dropped from amused to professional in the space of a heartbeat. "A woman's body was discovered over off Embarcadero. I'm almost there, and Lindsay's about five minutes behind me. Thought you'd like a little inside scoop."
Cindy already had her jeans tugged on and was halfway into her shirt by the time Claire finished. "I'll be right there."
Claire chuckled. "I knew you would be."
*
I sat down on the street, took a look at myself
Said where you going man you know the world is headed for hell
Say all goodbyes if you've got someone you can say goodbye to
I believe the world is burning to the ground
Oh, well, I guess we're gonna find out
Let's see how far we've come
Let's see how far we've come
Lindsay flipped off the car radio with a jab of her finger as she pulled onto Embarcadero Street, glimpsing the Pacific Ocean just beyond the piers and warehouses. There was something undignified about driving to a crime scene with Rob Thomas singing about the world burning to the ground. Even if it was sadly apropos.
Lindsay parked her SUV behind the string of SFPD police cars that littered the waterfront and made her way through the crowd of onlookers and under the police tape, two cups of coffee in hand. Jacobi was waiting for her at the far side of the pier, his trench coat flapping in the breeze, the picture of the ultimate cop.
"There ain't nothin' worse than starting the morning off with a dead body," he grumbled, taking the cup of coffee Lindsay offered.
"I'm pretty sure it's worse for our vic." She knelt down, lifting the white sheet covering the body. "Speaking of which… what do we got?"
"Female, mid-twenties, no purse, no identification. Claire says obvious signs of strangulation."
Lindsey nodded absently as she looked the woman over. In life, she had been beautiful. Light auburn hair, blue eyes, good body. In death, that beauty was overshadowed by the bruises that littered her neck black and blue. "Uniforms are canvassing?"
"Yep, but I doubt they're gonna find anything. Looks like a bump-n-dump to me."
"Yeah, me too," she sighed, straightening back up. "She's got marks on her wrists and ankles too - from the bruising I'd say someone kept her tied up for at least a couple of days. The rest of her looks pretty good though. She took care of herself."
"You know, with you two on the job, I'm not sure why the city even bothers to pay me."
Lindsay turned, smiling drolly at Claire's arrogant smirk. "'Cause you're so pretty." The bark of laughter from the older woman made Lindsay's smile expand into a full-on grin. "Can we help it if after years of watching you work, we know what to look for on a dead body?"
"Yes," Claire dead-panned.
Both Jacobi and Lindsay shrugged sheepishly and backed off a good five feet to let Claire have another look at the body. "Let me take her back to the lab and test for fibers, but from first glance, I don't think it was a rope - not enough abrasion around the wrists - it was something smoother."
"Like a scarf?" Lindsay ventured.
Jacobi nodded, as usual, right in step with her mental leaps. "Wouldn't be the first time people around here took a sex game too far."
Claire shot them both another look. "How about you let me get her back to the morgue and I can tell you more after I've done an autopsy?"
"Fine," they both sighed.
Claire motioned a couple of her assistants over, instructing them to transport the body back to the morgue. That task completed, she turned to answer the question she knew was already on Lindsay's lips. "This afternoon, you'll have my preliminary report-"
"But-"
"-And not a minute sooner," Claire warned, knowing full well she would put an extra rush on all the tests. Still, she didn't need to let Lindsay in on that fact. The woman was hard enough to live with as it was.
Lindsay sighed again. Jacobi just smiled. There weren't many people who could keep a tight leash on his partner, but the Chief Medical Examiner was one of the few, and he was infinitely grateful she was on his side. Most of the time.
"Fine," Boxer grumbled, giving Claire a half-hearted smile. The smile faltered as she caught a glimpse of red hair at the police line. Following the inspector's line of sight, Claire turned to see Cindy chatting up one of the uniform officers. "She got here fast."
"I called her."
"What? Why?"
"Because it's her job to report about crime in the city?" Claire ventured with a knowing smile as they started to walk toward the police line. "And she's one of us."
"She has a police scanner - you don't have to make it so easy for her."
"Why not?"
"Because…" There was no good end to the sentence other than the fact Lindsay didn't like Cindy hanging around crime scenes; didn't like the young reporter watching her, even if she didn't understand fully why. "It's morbid."
"And what we do isn't?" Claire challenged, her tone leaving Lindsay with the distinct impression the medical examiner didn't believe a word she'd said. That was always the problem with Claire - Lindsay couldn't lie to her.
"What we do is, uh, for the public good." Not that she didn't try.
"Uh huh, sure." Claire hid a smile as Cindy, seeing their approach, meandered away from the crowd to talk to them. "Hey Cindy."
"Hey guys. What's going on?"
"Jane Doe," Lindsay answered, slipping into inspector-mode easily. "Looks like somebody tied her up and strangled her."
"Ouch," Cindy winced in sympathy. "Anything you need me to do?"
"I think we've got it," Lindsay answered slowly, giving Cindy a half-smile. "You just go file your story Lois."
Cindy let one eyebrow arch up in challenge, unflinchingly meeting Lindsay's arrogant gaze. "If I'm Lois Lane - who does that make you?"
Claire snorted, and turned away to keep from laughing right in Lindsay's face. If there was one thing she liked so far about the new girl, it was that Cindy Thomas didn't take any shit - especially from Lindsay.
"Well, I'm sure as hell not Clark Kent."
Cindy just gave her a lazy smirk looked her over. "You're too skinny to hide tights and a cape under that leather jacket."
"Cape's at the dry-cleaners," Boxer replied dryly.
"Yeah, it's always something with you superheroes."
"If you two are done, we do have a murder to solve," Claire interjected, watching the two women to see who would give first.
Cindy blinked, letting the teasing and the moment fizzle, a quick flush working over her cheeks. "I should check in with my editor. Call me if you get anything new."
Lindsay watched the redhead go, staring after her until she was lost in the crowd. Claire cleared her throat pointedly. Lindsay blinked. "What?"
"Don't 'what' me, missy," Claire shot back. "What the hell was that about?"
"We were just teasing each other," Lindsay defended, walking back toward the crime scene, Claire a few steps behind. "It's what friends do."
Claire snorted, mumbling under her breath, "Yeah - friends with benefits."
"What'd you say?"
"Nothing."
Part Two