Dr. Kay Greenwood drove up next to the chain link fence, being sure to give her Hummer some breathing room. She'd been doing this job for almost five years, so she knew just what to do. She popped the trunk and removed her processing kit and, noticing the newly falling drizzle, her CSI windbreaker. She unlocked the gate, which was totally falling apart, and turned the corner down the flagstone path. At the sight of the scene she was about to have to examine, Kay could feel the dinner she had just shared with her husband Mac struggling to make an appearance.
"Hey, boss, you okay?" Kay's intern, Peyton Lewis, asked. The two had been working together for only six months, ever since Peyton graduated university. But the two had become close friends, becoming able to read each other like an open book. All that aside, Kay didn't feel she could tell even Peyton why the scene troubled her so. Instead, the doctor knelt next to the body that lay next to the backyard shed. She couldn't have been more than 20 years old, and was clad in a scarlet cocktail dress. Her brown hair was splayed across the damp ground. Cause of death was rather apparent, considering the line of blood across her windpipe.
"Peyton, hand me my penlight." Kay instructed. The processing began.

Kay was fifteen when her mother was murdered. The police had deemed it reckless homicide, but the killer had never been caught. Kay felt most sorry for her elderly neighbor, Mrs. Jacobs, who had discovered her mother's body, sprawled in the family's backyard. Kay's father then proceeded to ruin his life, blaming grief. Kay was sent off to live with her aunt two towns away. It was her senior year, with her mother's murder still unsolved, when Kay decided she wanted to go into the field of forensic sciences. Her original plan was criminalist, but forensic pathology snagged her attention and never let go. She was hired to Allan County's crime unit, and it was en route to her new apartment when Kay met her future husband Mac Sinclair, a police officer who had lived in Allan County all his life. They married one strong spring afternoon two years later. What Kay never told anyone was the cause of her mother's death. A slashed throat.

Clad in her pristine navy scrubs, Kay entered her home away from home, the county coroner's office. She was only about a minute late, but everbody noticed. Evan the guard, Chase the receptionist, even Peyton.
"Where have you been?" she asked her mentor as Kay scrubbed up.
"Mac made a collar last night, so we went out to breakfast to celebrate." Kay explained, crossing over to the steel table on which lay the victim from last night.
"So, ladies, did I miss all the fun?" Detective Jack Farmer, with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his trenchcoat. He looked like the stereotypical detective, with his trenchcoat, bachelor ways, and smooth demeanor.
"Oh brother." Peyton muttered. She was not one of Jack's fans."
"Haven't even started yet. Mac and I were out late." Kay explained, arranging her tools on one of the sliding metal trays. Jack got a look on his face that was a confusing mix of hurt and jealousy. It was a look Kay and her colleagues were used to. Unfortunately, Kay always seemed to get the feeling that Jack loved her, and she almost felt the same feelings inside herself. She hated herself for it. Despite the guilt running through her mind, Kay managed a weak smile, then switched her focus to the autopsy she was about to perform. The woman looked so pleased that she was no longer in pain. That was the worst part for Kay. There was a family out there, mourning the loss of a very beautiful daughter, niece, or granddaughter. Keeping her emotions at bay, Kay started her work. She had been so wrapped in her thoughts, she hadn't noticed that Jack had left. She was pleased. Peyton handed her a scalpel, and the torturous process began.