Page 16 of Her Only Hero

“He is real,” Lara said. “He honestly believes little green men exist. Says he has proof—bacteria from the clouds of Venus, or something.”

“Shhh! Not so loud,” Vinny said.

Lara waved him off. “What is it, June? What’s going on.”

I took a breath. “Last Friday, I missed my bus, and Officer Verbeek was kind enough to offer me a ride home.”

The others exchanged glances.

“On the way, we stopped at a disturbance call that turned out to be a murder scene, and the apparent perp shoved me into a dumpster, and now my work badge is missing.”

Dead silence.

“Dear God, June.” Lara ran over and hugged me. “You poor thing. Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. But if we assume this person has my badge and knows where I work, we should all be on the lookout for anything suspicious. Maybe use the buddy system when going to our vehicles.”

“I have mace,” Lara said with excitement. “And my spiked heels are an excellent weapon.”

“Good stuff,” Vinny said. “I can fill syringes of etorphine for all of us to carry.”

I giggled. “Vinny, this isn’t a TV episode of that vigilante serial killer.”

No one else laughed.

“Wait,” I said. “You have access to etorphine?”

Vinny pursed his lips and remained silent.

“Okay, guys,” I said. “I think it would be best to focus on analyzing the blood swabbed from my arm, the potential murder weapon, and items from the crime scene. The sooner this guy gets caught, the safer we’ll all be.”

Edward cleared his throat. “Are we all in for overtime tonight, people? I know I am.”

Everyone nodded, and tears moistened my eyes. I worked with a considerate bunch. They were a little odd at times, even worrisome, but I couldn’t ask for a better group to rely on.

****

I put the automatic pipette down and shook my hand. Without looking at a clock, the aching in my thumb alerted me I’d reached my limit for the day. I inserted the plastic tray of dispensed samples into the analyzer and touched a series of buttons on the screen to start the overnight run. It was now up to the instrument to complete the sequencing.

Tomorrow, DNA analysis would be complete.

At the end of a long shift, we all stood near the sink, waiting for our turn to wash our hands. The phone rang, and I grabbed the receiver beside me.

“Forensics. June Harber.”

“Hi, June. How are you doing?” Patrick said.

“Hey, I was just thinking about you. Do you like salmon?” I curled the spiral phone cord around my finger.

“Yes, I do.”

“Great, because I have a couple filets in my freezer and I thought I’d bake them for dinner, if you would like to join me.”

“Ah, sorry I’d love to, but I’ve been in court all day and still have work to finish.”

My insides sank. “No problem. I can save them for another night.”

I tried not to appear disappointed when I hung up. I said good night to my crew, and on the way out I stopped by security and picked up a new ID badge. The wind whipped the door open and then slammed it shut with a deafening bang. Jumbo clouds billowed in a dreary gray sky, and I held my skirt down while battling uplifting gusts.

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