In the Beginning

He was playing pool with a couple of his friends. She was sitting at the bar completely alone. He looked up, and the first thing he noticed was the wave of her long brown hair. He then noticed the blue of her eyes, and the sorrowful look she had in them.

“Be right back,” Matt said to his friend Jimmy, who was bent over the table charting out his next shot. Jimmy grumbled something Matt couldn’t make out, but that was always how it went with the two of them.

“Hello,” Matt said to the woman. She stiffened, but gave a weak smile.

“Hi,” she said, sitting straighter on the bar stool.

“My name’s Matt Sanders.”

“Juliet Simmons,” the woman replied, looking up into his hazel eyes. She had to admit, he was darn attractive.

“You play pool?” Matt asked suddenly. “My friends want to have a team game, but I don’t have a partner.”

“Not really, but I guess I could learn,” Julie smiled, standing up and grabbing her glass. As always, Julie’s new partner, Cassandra Martin’s, voice filled her head with warnings and words of caution.

“So, what do you do?” Matt asked as they made their way to the pool tables.

“I work for the FBI, though I just started a few months ago. I’m originally from New York where I was a regular detective.”

“That’s cool,” Matt commented when they reached the table.

“Guys, my partner for this team game of pool, Juliet Simmons.” Matt announced to two other guys.

“Hey, I’m Zack,” one of the guys said. Juliet noticed his eyes right away. They were almost emerald green and stood out against his dark hair. The other guy was tall with blue eyes hiding behind dark rimmed glasses and dark hair.

“I’m Jimmy,” he introduced himself as.

“Julie,” Juliet replied, using the nickname she had given herself. She hated to be called by her real name. She hated everything about her name, but she kept it to remind her of the hardships she had endured, and came out of to be the strong woman she is today.

As the night went on, Julie found herself more laid back and having more fun than she had her entire life. Her phone beeped as Zack was racking up the pool balls and she sighed, knowing what it was.

“Sorry, guys, my fun is over,” Julie stated, reading the text message from her partner. “Off to work.”

“What kind of person gets called into work at midnight?” Jimmy asked, looking at his watch.

“One that works for the FBI’s homicide division,” Julie replied.

“So, will I see you again?” Matt asked, leaning against the pool stick in his hand. From the corner of his eye he saw Zack do something inappropriate with the pool stick to Jimmy, who nodded and grabbed the tip, but he ignored them for the moment.

“I don’t know, maybe,” Julie replied. She noticed the other two as well, but chose to ignore them as well. She grabbed a napkin and wrote her name and number on it before handing it to Matt. Without another word she walked out of the bar and to her car, her mind reeling with thoughts of Matthew Sanders.

~Crime Scene~

Juliet barely heard her partner and friend talk as she looked around the crime scene. It wasn’t as brutal as some of the things she’s seen when she joined the Bureau, but it was still pretty grizzly. Even still, her thoughts kept going back to the man at the bar. She never felt so comfortable with a total stranger before, unless you count Cassandra Martin.

“Jules, what’s up?” Cassidy asked suddenly, pulling Julie from her thoughts.

“Sorry, I guess I’m a little distracted,” Julie answered, looking over the blood spatter on the wall.

“Something happen earlier?”

“You could say that,” Julie replied, a flutter filling her stomach as she pictured Matt’s eyes. “I was at Johnny’s Bar and I met a guy.” Julie informed her friend.

“Really?” Cassidy asked. Though she tried to hide it, Julie noticed her almost panicked expression. Julie didn’t blame Cassidy for being nervous about people. As a child, Cassidy’s father left her, and her mother was so depressed she barely had any contact with her daughter, even though she was only in the next room.

Julie understood because she had a similar childhood. Her father died just a month before she was born. Her mother, becoming depressed over the loss of her husband, withdrew into herself. Eventually, alcohol came into the mix, and finally, drugs like cocaine and heroin.

Knowing she had to get away from that life, she left home when she turned eighteen. She knew college wasn’t an option, and she wanted to make a difference in the world, so she applied for the New York Police Academy. She got in, and after a rocky start, proved that she belonged there. After graduating the Academy, she quickly moved up in the ranks to become one of the best detectives in the city.

Still, it didn’t feel right staying in the city that caused her so much heartache, so after saving as much as she could, she applied for the Huntington Beach branch of the FBI. To her amazement, she got a reply just two days later. Her captain had put in a good word for her, so within the week she was flying out to California. Right away she met her partner and friend, Cassidy. She was sent to meet her at the airport and to show her around the city. During the couple of hours they were together, they formed a friendship like neither of them had ever known.

“Yeah, look, it’s fine if you don’t want to hear about it,” Julie said. “I know it makes you uncomfortable talking like this.”

“No, it’s fine. I need to get out of that awkwardness, and what better way than to hear about the guy you met?” Cassidy asked. Juliet smiled, knowing her friend was really trying to better herself.

“His name is Matt, and he is just so gorgeous,” Julie finally gushed out. “He’s nice, and funny, and his friends seemed to like me too.”

“I’m happy for you,” Cassidy smiled. Juliet saw how genuine the smile was, and her heart melted over having such an amazing woman as a partner, and an even better friend.

“What about you? Have you met any hot pieces lately?” Juliet asked, knowing exactly what would happen. Sure enough, Cassidy turned a slight pink color and turned back to the crime scene, avoiding the question. Julie decided to let it slide for now. There was a line between business and pleasure, and she knew Cassidy was set on follow protocol.

A little later, the two agents were standing outside the morgue, waiting for the Medical Examiner to tell them she was ready for them for the rest of the autopsy. Julie’s phone buzzed, and she looked down to see it was a text from Matt. She smiled slightly and replied back to him before looking up and into her friend’s eyes.

“Be careful Jules,” Cassidy said. “I don’t want to see you hurt.”

“I know, and I am. Lord knows I’ve seen enough evil to just jump right into something, and that was just from living with my mother.” Cassidy gave a grimace of a smile, showing that she understood. They went back to waiting in silence until the ME came out and got them.

Julie had to remind herself to breathe through her mouth once they entered the autopsy room. The stench of decayed flesh, chemicals, and death itself lingered in the room. The ME, Dr. Nevar, wasn’t much better than the room. Cassidy had warned Julie when she first joined the Bureau that the man enjoyed his job a little too much; and she had been right. Julie’s first crime scene he showed up and stopped himself just short of rubbing his hands together in glee and excitement.

“Hello Agents,” Nevar said, walking up to the body lying on the table.

“Hello Doc,” Cassidy said, grabbing a pair of rubber gloves and handing them to Julie. They had an agreement where they would take turns assisting in the autopsy. To Julie’s dismay, this time around was her turn.

“The lovely Agent Simmons is working it today I see,” Nevar said, clapping his hands together. “Let’s get started then.”

Cassidy watched as Julie started gagging as Nevar looked over the contents of the victim’s stomach. They were both relieved to be in the hallway, but more frustrated than ever.

“That was a waste of time,” Julie grumbled as they walked down the hallway. “Of course, what are the chances the FBI finds a guy who died of a heart attack while choking on a pepperoni?”

“Not too likely,” Cassidy agreed as they walked out of the building into the fresh air.

“Well, no case, so I guess I’ll go catch up on my paperwork.” Cassidy said as they reached their cars.

“I’m going home to shower and get some sleep,” Julie said, pulling out her car keys. “You should too. The papers will still be there in the morning.”

“There’s not that much,” Cassidy assured her. “If you want I’ll call you when I get home.”

“No need,” Julie said, knowing she would be asleep before that call came. “I’ll see you in the morning.” Cassidy nodded her agreement and Julie watched as she left. Her phone rang and she looked down at the screen. She couldn’t help but to smile as it revealed Matt’s name.

“Hi,” she answered as she climbed behind the wheel. She shut the door, but didn’t start the car. She never drove while she was on the phone. She preferred to keep her head on one task at a time.

“Hello yourself,” Matt said. “I was just thinking about heading to Johnny’s and called to see if you wanted to meet up?”

“I would, but I think I’m just going to go home and crash. It’s been a long day and I feel like I’m covered in blood and pizza.”

“Pizza?” Matt asked the confusion obvious in his voice.

“Long story,” Julie replied quickly.

“Well, okay, so a rain check then?”

“I should be free Saturday night,” Julie replied.

“It’s a date then,” Matt said. “I’ll see you Saturday.” Julie hung up the phone with a smile. Excitement filled her at the thought of seeing the man again.

“This will be a long week,” she sighed to herself.