Adri woke up before her alarm and spent two hours willing herself to fall back asleep before her phone finally started beeping at her. This was not an everyday occurrence, but today was not an ordinary day, not for her. She followed her routine as usual:

[pre]6:00 Quick snack and her prescriptions (including half a Xanax, which she normally skipped but today she knew she needed it).
6:15 Run. Outside. She had no interest in running, but it was healthy, so she put up with feeling like a cold, clammy corpse. 
     (The irony.) The visual was nice, at least; she ran through a park. And she did get to pet a dog.
6:40 Shower. Today was not a hair-wash day, thank goodness. She blow-dried the dampness out and put it up in a neat bun. No 
     make up today. She was dressed for business today, with a blazer and skirt over a plain long sleeved shirt.
7:00 Breakfast at 7. Eggs and toast.
7:30 Brush her teeth.[/pre]

She ended up at the courthouse a good 45 minutes before she needed to be, which was fine with her. With her outfit she could have easily been mistaken for a lawyer as she waited, if not for the fact that she was sitting there reading a novel, not hard at work. She was absorbed in the words up until a Hispanic man in a suit walked up, putting his toes right up against hers. “Aren’t you cold?”

She closed the book and grinned, standing up to give Santino Estrada a hug. “No, thermal tights. Are you still Sarge or should I call you Lieutenant?”

He squeezed her back, laughing as he stepped away, shaking his head. “No word yet. Supposedly I’ll find out today. How has life been treating you?”

They began down the hallway. “Good. I’ve been doing good.” Their path was slashed with sunlight, the columns outside the tall windows casting their shadows on the wall.

“I’m sorry they keep bringing you out to talk about Kendall. It must be hard.”

She shrugged. “I’m used to it. Thanks for being here anyways.”

“At least they’re closing the case soon.”

“Yeah, I [I]am[/I] looking forward to that.”

——

Adri checked her phone as soon as she was out of court. Fortunately, the address was only a five minute drive away, and she kept a go bag in her trunk. She swapped her blazer for a well worn, dark green hoodie before leaving, wanting the freedom of movement that the blazer simply would not provide.

She parked across the street, saw everyone in the alley, and went around the other way, clipboard and pen in hand. She started her crime scene diagram as she walked. The Sunday Group wasn't the police, but old habits die hard.

“Sorry if I'm late, I had court this morning,” she said as she finally strolled in, giving a wave with the hand that was not holding a clipboard. “Did I miss anything?”

“Just the one victim?” she asked. “I might have seen some of the black stuff on the corner back there, but there are four dumpsters down that way, so…”

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1214260885431001229/1214951271165988864/Sunday_Group_Map.tiff?ex=65fafa8b&is=65e8858b&hm=688641369831e9a54781a21f135042cb4d54a83d8bb4e798f5bb42da7810a67c&