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Detective Henry drove Sousa, (Y/N) and Peggy to the coroner's office, where the body of the latest victim was being examined for an autopsy. The receptionist allowed them in quickly because there was no time to waste, but she failed to mention the extreme weather condition inside the autopsy room. From the moment the door was opened, (Y/N) was hit with an intense cold air that had her shivering in less than ten seconds. She and the others were forced to stand there as they waited for the medical examiner, with rattling teeth and goosebumps over their arms.

"A thousand heaters blasting in here and it's still freezing." the medical examiner, Dr. Meltzer, walked inside the office, breaking the previously awkward silence. "I wish you'd called."

Peggy noticed the heavy coat that Dr. Meltzer wore over his clothes, eyeing him up and down. "So we'd know to bring long john's?"

"So I could tell you not to come." He corrected with a serious expression, stopping on the other side of the table. "I don't have an autopsy report."

He moved to uncover the body by removing part of the sheet to reveal the victim's face and shoulders. (Y/N) was no stranger in seeing dead bodies, especially in her line of work, but the sight of this victim's corpse was something she'd never witnessed before. The body was completely covered with dark colored veins that stood out from the icy pale skin.

"Meltzer, you're kidding me." Detective Henry exclaimed, flickering his eyes between the body and the medical examiner. "This is the best chance we've had in two years to catch our man."

"Why the delay?" Sousa asked instead.

"This isn't a layer of frostbite. She's frozen through and through."

(Y/N) did not believe her ears. "Even with the heat shining on her?"

"She's only beginning to thaw, but you'll have to wait a bit longer, unless you want the autopsy performed with a chisel."

"Is there anything you could tell us from a visual inspection?" Sousa tilted his head in questioning.

"Well, her stab wounds are consistent with the other Lady of the Lake victims."

Detective Henry reached out to remove the sheet from the body's legs. "Here's the shoes."

(Y/N) followed Detective Henry's gaze and pressed her lips on a thin line. Just as she had read on the case file, the poor woman's heels were purposely placed on the wrong feet.

Peggy flinched. "They're on the wrong feet."

"Well, the killer's signature is to switch his victim's shoes."

"That detail was never released to the papers," Detective Henry crossed his arms once again with a small smirk. "See? We got our guy."

"Do we know whether the body because the lake to freeze or vice versa," Peggy returned her attention back to Dr. Meltzer.

"No." was Dr. Meltzer's only answer. "And to add to your ever-growing list of things we don't know. . ."

His voice trailed off as he walked away from the examiner table, four different pairs of eyes following after him. Dr. Meltzer headed toward the light switch near one of the doors and stopped with a hand hovering over it.

"I can't explain this either."

He turned the remaining light off and (Y/N)'s attention was caught by the body once again, only this time by a completely different reason. She thought her mind was playing tricks on her, but once she saw the looks on the people's faces beside her, she knew she wasn't going crazy. Clear as day, the victim's body glowed in an unnatural, blue light.

"Fetch a chisel."

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There was nothing else that the medical examiner could do to determine the cause of the victim's odd glow, so Sousa decided to take a sample and take it back to the SSR laboratory for further investigation. There was one of the many agency's scientists unoccupied to help with the sudden examination, which they were thankful for. Once the scientist, Dr. Samberly in this case, finished studying the sample, he allowed Peggy to take a closer look for herself through the microscope.

"That's not ice," Dr. Samberly announced.

Peggy stood up to her full height. "Then what is it?"

"Short answer is, I don't know," Dr. Samberly responded cheekily. "So is the long answer."

"And there is nothing else you can tell us?"

"I'm doing my best." He bit back with an offended smile. He did not miss a beat before speaking once again. "You field agents, always looking down your noses at us lab techs."

Sousa frowned at his unprovoked remark. "Excuse me?"

"Just because we don't carry guns doesn't mean we're not in the SSR."

"We value your contributions. We're just asking —"

"Then why not invite me when you agents grab drinks?" Dr. Samberly cut him off with a shrug.

(Y/N) wanted to laugh at the sudden change of conversation, because she was sure that this was something that had bothered Dr. Samberly for quite a long time and this was the only chance he got to voice his opinion. Peggy and Sousa exchanged a glance before the latter returned his attention back to the man.

"Aren't you always invited?"

"No. Never."

"Well, yes. Of course you're invited, doctor. . ."

"Samberly."

"Samberly."

(Y/N) cleared her throat to change the subject. "What about the glow?"

"The non-native matter is in radioisotopic form, ionizing the nitrogen molecules in the air and blood to create the luminescence." Dr. Samberly went on to explain back in his neutral tone. "The only occurrence that could create such a phenomenon is by producing the radioisotope in the form of uranium."

"What does that mean?" Detective Henry asked.

(Y/N) tilted her head to the side. "She was close to a particle accelerator."

Sousa turned to face the women. "The one used in the Manhattan Project is in Tennessee."

"There's another one in Pasadena at Isodyne Energy." Dr. Samberly spoke up. "I applied there but instead chose to go with SSR. Unfortunately."

"What is Isodyne Energy?"

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"Isodyne Energy is a development laboratory dedicated to fuel initiatives in the 20th century."

The lady at the front desk of Isodyne Energy answered to Peggy's question with a rehearsed smile on her face. They had no other choice but to drive all the way to Pasadena to find answers on their newest discovery, which they hoped that could be solved without having to dig deeper than necessary.

"Is there anything else I can help you with today?"

"Do you know who works with the particle accelerator?" Sousa asked the receptionist.

"Our scientists." she responded simply. "Is there anything else I can help you with today?"

"We'd like to look around your facilities."

"Do you have a search warrant?"

"We do not."

"Is there anything else I can help you with today?"

At the same time, one of the Isodyne employees arrived and easily slipped to the other side of the front desk without the receptionist batting an eye. (Y/N) saw how the employee pulled a key card out of his lab coat's pocket that unlocked the door for him and disappeared behind it.

"We're pussyfooting around here while the killer's stalking his next victim," Detective Henry whispered to Sousa, but it was loud enough for everybody else to hear.

Peggy cleared her throat and flashed an innocent smile at the receptionist. "Before we leave, um, may I use your restroom?"

"Why not?" Detective Henry scoffed, clearly not getting the hint. "We've already wasted an hour coming here."

"It's, um, on your right," the receptionist gestured behind her. "Is there anything else I can help you — ?"

"No!"

Peggy walked past the front desk and spared a simple glance back to (Y/N) and Sousa, knowing it was enough to ask for backup in the risky plan of hers.

Sousa did not miss a beat and stepped closer to the desk with a flirtatious smile. "Do I need the search warrant to know how many years you've worked at Isodyne?"

"Um, three years," the receptionist seemed caught off guard by the sudden question.

(Y/N) kept an eye on Peggy as she easily snatched the key card from an employee walking out the door and slipped inside the laboratory before the receptionist — or anyone else — could even notice.

"Is there anything else that I can help you with today?"

Sousa did his best to buy Peggy some time as she hopefully found answers for their case, with (Y/N) butting in on his flirting attempts every time he stumbled through a sentence, but their efforts didn't seem to help that much. The receptionist seemed to engage in the conversation with Sousa, but she suddenly grew aware of the absence of someone in their group and got back to her full senses.

"That lady has taken a lot of time in the restroom, hasn't she?"

"I'm sure there's just a long line," (Y/N) attempted to dismiss her concern.

"I'll go and see for myself."

(Y/N) and Sousa shared a nervous glance before moving to try and stop her, but she ignored their protests. The receptionist stood from her chair and skipped down the hallway where the women's restroom was, where she didn't waste much time before realizing Peggy wasn't there. She angrily marched up to the door to the laboratory and marched inside, and that's when (Y/N) knew they were done there.

Luckily, the receptionist only escorted Peggy back to the front door along with Detective Henry, Sousa and (Y/N), along with an unfamiliar man that was with Peggy the moment she got caught. While she and the man talked between themselves in the steps of the Isodyne Energy building, (Y/N) leaned against the side of the car, fanning herself with her hand to provide coolness in the dry heat.

"I'm sorry I got you caught."

"Well, at least they didn't find my scotch distillery." the unknown man replied with a smile that made Peggy laugh, and (Y/N) guessed it was part of an inside-joke between them.

He held out a card from his lab coat pocket. "Here's my business card. If I can be of any more help, or if you want some more wine."

Peggy accepted it with a smile of her own and read the card. "Thank you, Doctor. . .Wilkes."

"Let me give you my personal number," Dr. Wilkes grabbed a pen and took the card back to write it down in a simple scribble.

"Oh, very well."

"Maybe I should have your number, as well."

From the corner of her eye, (Y/N) saw Detective Henry and Sousa exchange a glance beside her at his comment, but said nothing about it.

"I, uh, don't believe that's necessary."

Doctor Wilkes didn't pry. "Of course."

Peggy nodded and stumbled through her words, quite an odd behavior to see on her. (Y/N) hadn't seen her act this flustered and bashful in a long time, and it was clear to see that she wasn't used to it as well. Doctor Wilkes muttered a quiet 'thank you' as Peggy took the card from him and turned around in direction of the car.

On the long-hour drive back to headquarters, Peggy was able to share what Dr. Wilkes had shared with her in their brief conversation regarding the victim. According to Dr. Wilkes, the victim named Jane Scott, was particle physicist and was also personally involved with the owner of Isodyne Energy, Calvin Chadwick. Sousa decided it would be a good idea to make some calls to know more about the man once they got back.

Sousa slammed the handset back on the dial after another unsuccessful call. "Calvin Chadwick's office is stonewalling us, too."

(Y/N) was busy writing down on her notepad the numbers that Sousa called and got dismissed of, starting from the bottom at the Isodyne Energy landline and climbing up to reach the number of Mr. Chadwick's office — which wasn't of that much help either. She let out a sigh of frustration and tapped an end of her pen against the notepad as she thought of another way to chase the lead.

"This is a sketch from a witness's description of a man seen near Echo Park late at night two years ago." Detective Henry held out the photograph and pinned it next to the sketch on the cork board. "You know who this doesn't look like? Calvin Chadwick."

(Y/N) lifted her head to look at him. "We're not saying he's guilty just yet, detective, we're following a lead."

Peggy opened the door to Sousa's office with a newspaper in hand. "Mr. Chadwick owns a horse racing this afternoon at Santa Anita."

Sousa read the headline and held it for (Y/N) to see once he was done reading it.

"The man is running for Senate."

"Well, then he'll be kissing babies and pressing palms, as well as hooves," Peggy answered back.

"That's not my gist, lady," Detective Henry shook his head in dismissal. "Calvin Chadwick is a wealthy industrialist. He's not going around killing women and throwing them in a lake."

"What other lead do you think we should follow?" (Y/N) stepped in with crossed arms.

"Not one from the word of some janitor."

Peggy's frown deepened. "Jason Wilkes is a physicist!"

"Look, sweetheart, I don't know how you do things in New York, but out here, if we go after Chadwick, the papers are gonna crucify us when they find out we're wrong."

"And what if we're right?"

"How would you handle it, detective?" Sousa's calm voice was a contrast from the other rising tones.

"I would use the press to our advantage." Detective Henry answered with residual anger in his voice, sparing a sideway glance throughout his words. "Give an interview to the newsreels, get the word out there."

"I take it you have journalist contacts."

"I got contacts all over the place." He said confidently. "I'll arrange everything, okay?"

"Have at it." Sousa nodded. "We'll comb through old files, see if a clue we missed."

"Thank you."

(Y/N) didn't miss the glare that Detective Henry sent their way on his walk out the office, leaving the three alone in Sousa's office. Peggy raised her eyebrows at Sousa's unexpected course of action, but she didn't get to voice a single thought before he looked at both of them with a knowing smile.

"El Lobo's racing in the fourth." He pulled cash from his back pocket and set it on his desk.  "Place a bet for me after you find Chadwick."

Peggy smirked and took the money from him with a smile. (Y/N) suppressed a chuckle at witnessing yet another Sousa and Peggy moment before following behind, already making a mental note to call her favorite ( and the only one she knows of ) butler to drive them down to the horse race.

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"My wife Ana, has a very modern sense of style," Mr. Jarvis stated without diverting his eyes from the road. "Certainly she'll pick out the perfect outfit for you for a covert operation at the races."

"She's your stylist, what could go wrong?"

The car came to a sudden stop in the middle of the street, too unexpected that the tires screeched in process at Mr. Jarvis's halt. (Y/N), who now had the privilege of sitting in the front, turned to Mr. Jarvis with a frown on her face. Once she followed his line of sight — more specifically his glare — she saw Bernard the flamingo walking out in the front garden of the Stark estate.

"I couldn't maneuver him into the enclosure," Mr. Jarvis confessed. "He's the devil in pink."

The seriousness in his tone was quite amusing to say the least, but (Y/N) remained quiet as Mr. Jarvis drove the convertible down to the main entrance of the enormous house. It was a beautiful home, she couldn't deny that, and it wasn't that different in architectural style from the mansion back in New York. Although, it was quite adapted into the muted color scheme that the other houses in the city were known for, with tiles in distinct shades of red and tall palm trees that surrounded the house in a lovely perimeter.

Mr. Jarvis, as always, offered to carry the suitcases inside the house, which gave (Y/N) and Peggy the only option to carry their purses as they stepped into the surprisingly quiet estate.

"Mrs. Jarvis!"

Mr. Jarvis guided them through the house as he called out for his wife, leading them toward one of the many bedrooms inside the house.

"Miss Carter and Miss Dewitt are here."

Ana Jarvis, a woman with her red hair pinned back into a braid, walked into the room from another door and she let out a surprised gasp at the sight of the two women. She threw the handkerchief in her hand to open her arms for an embrace. "Miss Carter, Miss Dewitt! I feel like I already know you."

(Y/N) allowed Ana Jarvis to pull her into a tight hug, one that she was surprised to receive. Once she greeted her, Ana moved on to hug Peggy, who let out a sound of surprise in the back of her throat at the unexpected gesture of affection.

"She hugs." Mr. Jarvis shrugged and set the suitcases on the floor, not shocked at all. Ana pulled away from her embrace with Peggy and Mr. Jarvis lowered himself to meet his wife's eyes. "She does not hug."

(Y/N) held out a hand for Ana to shake, although it didn't seem like much after the welcoming hug she'd gotten. It didn't look like it bothered Ana, in fact, she grabbed it with enthusiasm and cradled (Y/N)'s hand in both of her own before letting go.

"I've been waiting a long time to finally meet you."

"She's right," Peggy agreed with a nod of her own. "It's a pleasure to finally meet."

"Yes," Ana rubbed a hand down Peggy's shoulder.

"I'll give you some privacy."

"Excuse me, Mr. Jarvis."

Mr. Jarvis halted on his way to the door at Ana's tone of voice and call, and she gestured him forward with a simple move of her finger. Mr. Jarvis, though quite flustered at first, did not waste a second before walking back to meet Ana before she pulled him down by his necktie into a kiss. What (Y/N) thought was going to be a simple peck as a farewell turned into a passionate kiss between a husband and wife, and she uncomfortably diverted her eyes to the roof to at least give them some amount of privacy. She did not remove her eyes from the same spot on the roof until she heard them pull away from one another.

Mr. Jarvis's cheeks were tinted in a red shade and he wore a happy smile on his lips. "She's an embarrassing creature."

Mr. Jarvis did not utter another word before he darted toward the door and left the three women alone. Once he was far away, Ana let out a laugh.

"He's too easy."

(Y/N) and Peggy shared a look of surprise.

"What's that look?" Ana smiled knowingly as she grabbed her handkerchief and headed to the bed, which had several dresses laid out over it.

"Uh, I don't know," Peggy was the one to respond.  "I suppose I was expecting someone more like — "

"Like Mr. Jarvis? In a girdle?"

(Y/N) laughed. "Exactly."

"From his tales of your heroics, I was picturing two circus strongmen in wigs." Ana let out a giggle before facing the dresses to smooth down the wrinkles. "I've selected a few potential ensembles for the racetrack, but I've also sewed you. . .this."

Ana left her place near the bed to grab something from the drawer. She held it out for them to see with a proud smile adorning her features, and all (Y/N) could think of was how she managed to sew two pieces in a short amount of time.

"What is it?"

"A garter." Ana responded and grabbed the revolver hidden inside it. "That's also a holster."

(Y/N) did not hide the gasp that left her lips and smiled at Ana when she met the woman's gaze. All she did in response was let out a simple giggle at the compliment and moved to close the drawer behind her. (Y/N) could not contradict Mr. Jarvis in everything he had said about his wife up until now — she was one of the most fantastic women she'd met.

"You are splendid."

hello hello
ana jarvis i am your number one fan.
the way im only in the first episode and i already wrote two chapters of it and im not done yet makes me scared because there are ten episodes in this season.

- see you soon, bex <3