Race Against Time

I showed up to the scene with Jo and Lindsay. A mangled body hung from a pole, body parts dropping off.
"Boy, this job never gets boring, does it?" Lindsay commented. I nodded, shuddering.
"Nope. Victim's name is Samuel Boscoe, 30 years old. Works at a convenience store on 82nd and West. Joggers found him an hour ago", I said, flipping through my notes. Lindsay went through a messenger bag by the pole.
"This is our vic's. What does 'IPT' stand for?" she said, holding up a notepad. I shrugged.
"You guys are the scientists, I'm just the detective", I replied. Jo studied the notepad, then rifled through it. She held up a cylinder and a roll of Ace bandage.
"This is Max Freeze, it apparently helps with injuries", she said, reading the label.
"Was our vic injured at some point?" I wondered.
"Intense physical therapy. IPT", Lindsay said. I nearly slapped my forehead. Duh, Danny went through that.
"That would make sense", Jo agreed, nodding slowly. I looked around.
"I'm gonna go talk to the joggers, see if they noticed anything", I said. I walked up to the two women, holding up my badge. One was a blonde, the other a brunette.
"I'm Detective Flack, NYPD", I said, flipping over a new page onto my notepad.
"I'm Laura", the blonde said, fluttering her eyelashes.
"I'm Avery", the brunette added. Both were clearly fake.

"Did either of you touch the body?" I asked, ignoring them. They were both pretty tall, it wouldn't have been hard.
"Just to check the pulse", Laura replied.
"Which I said was dumb, because the guy was obviously dead", Avery spoke up.
"Detectives Messer and Danville will have to take elimination prints from you two, sit tight", I said.
"Oh, don't you worry about that, blue-eyes", Laura practically purred. Avery let out a snicker. I looked down, walking off.
"You are the last person I ever expected to be whipped, Flack", O'Riley called. I rolled my eyes.
"'Course, I don't blame you", he added. I tried to ignore him, but he kept at it.
"I think she would approve of your good taste", he continued. I knew this was coming, getting poked at for having a girlfriend. Ignoring him was clearly not an option after fifteen minutes of being a total ass.

"Leave her alone, O'Riley. You're only pulling this because she's not here to defend herself", I finally fired back.
"Chill, Flack, I was only making a joke", he said.
"It's not a joke when you're saying inappropriate things about your co-worker. Lay off", I warned. I was getting sick of the constant jabs and jeers about Isabella. 'Hey, Flack! Is Isabella that rough with all her cases or does she save the best for last?' one had called. It wasn't easy to ignore that.
"Don't worry, you're not the only one defending her. They're just horn-dogs, Don", Jo said, patting my shoulder.
"Man, I wonder if that philosophy with country girls is true. 'Save a horse, ride a cowboy'", one officer sneered as he walked by. Danny shoved him.
"Lay off, Murphy", he snapped. Murphy had leered that at Lindsay.

I heard footsteps and I turned around. A very, very familiar figure walked up. Lindsay smiled and hugged her tightly. Isabella's face lit up with her beautiful smile.
"Hey, Cowgirl!" Lindsay greeted her.
"That just made my day", Isabella teased. She was walking with a slight limp.
"Gotta love physical therapy, right?" Jo said with a chuckle.
"Yeah, Ian's living with me until I stop limping completely. Mac said I was good to go back to work, I just can't jump around", Isabella replied.
"Or tackle suspects?" I teased. She rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, but I'm almost there. I've been on therapeutic riding everyday now. If I can jump by the end of the week, I'll be fine to do all the vigorous activities I want", she replied, winking.

"Go talk to the joggers over there. Careful, they hit on me", I teased.
"Then I'll just have to show them who's boss", she replied, raising her eyebrow. The girls' faces fell when Isabella limped up to them.
"It's a surprise having her back, I didn't even know she was coming", Lindsay commented. Jo smiled.
"I knew. She told me not to tell anyone", she replied.
"Well, if only she'd heard the guys talking about her earlier. I'd have loved to see her knock their egos back to where they belong", I said. I glanced over, watching Isabella's face turn blank. After she printed the joggers and took their DNA, she came back over.

"I think I just lost five IQ points talking to those two", she complained.
"That bad?" Lindsay asked.
"Yep. I practically had to use kindergarten words, I kept having to rephrase everything. Then they complained I wasn't that really cute detective that talked to them earlier", she replied. She went through her notes.
"Then they made fun of my height and called me House", she said.
"House is a doctor, not a cop", I pointed out.
"Tell them that. I'm just glad I don't have to use a cane anymore, I might've hit them with it", she replied.
"Like father, like daughter?" I teased.
"Yep", she replied.