Ben & Zach

Shrink Wrapped Vacation

by Nelson


Special Guest Star: Dexter, from the Showtime series "Dexter"
Warnings: A tiny bit of gore in this one. Nothing major, but there is death.
Author's Notes: This is a bit of a fanfic/cross-over story. You do not need to be familiar with the show Dexter to get his character. If you don't know who he is, he is a serial killer, going after the folks who slip through the justice system. I'm including Showtime's description of his character below. He does belong to Showtime. I'm only borrowing him and others from the series for this story.

Dexter Morgan: He'll charm fellow officers with a doughnut, while away a Sunday with his girlfriend Rita, or chop up a victim and package the body parts in plastic bags. Hiding beneath the mundane exterior and contrived façade of Dexter, a charming blood spatter expert for the Miami Police Department, is an obsession with meting his own twisted brand of justice: stalking and murdering the guilty. – Character description from Sho.com.


Part I

Zach led the way into the house, basketball clutched under his arm, and fell in a pile on the sofa. "It's too fucking hot!" He stretched out, and wiped the sweat from his brow.

Ben collapsed in the recliner, relishing the breeze from the living room ceiling fan. He peeled his tank top off and tossed it on the floor. "I thought El Nino was supposed to make things better. Did I misunderstand that?"

"I don't know about El Nino," Zach replied, pushing the basketball out from his chest, catching it neatly as it careened back down to him. "Is that a hurricane or something?"

Ben rolled his eyes. "Try watching something other than Showtime and USA on occasion."

Zach shrugged indifferently, and punched the basketball back into the air toward the ceiling. He blew out an annoyed breath. "I'm bored as all hell."

"Me, too," Ben agreed. "As much as I hate sitting in a classroom all day, it beats looking at the walls by maybe a fraction. Why did I pick an MBA?"

"Because you have no sense of adventure?"

Ben shot him the finger in reply.

Zach frowned as he caught the basketball and pulled it to his chest. "I'm kidding. It's not like I've had a lot of adventure going on. Business has been slow all summer. No one gets pictures taken when their finances are tight. I feel useless."

"I thought you had a couple weddings scheduled."

"A couple, yeah. I should have about three times that."

Ben offered an explanation. "Maybe people aren't getting married?"

"Nah," Zach shot the idea down. "They're getting relatives to do the work instead of professionals. Makes me feel like I'm not contributing to the household income; but try explaining that to Nelson."

Why Nelson couldn't understand Zach's frustration, he would never know. He was bringing barely any money into the household kitty. If Nelson at least tried to see Zach's point of view, maybe he wouldn't have gone all postal like he had the night before. Zach's butt clenched with the memory, rubbing him wrong all over again.

Ben said, "Maybe the money isn't that important to Nelson."

"It doesn't matter to him, but it does to me. He won't even try to understand," he grumbled. "I'm bringing in a third of what I should be."

Ben kicked back in the recliner, closing his eyes as the cool air of the ceiling fan blew over him. "It's better than not bringing in anything, I guess."

Zach caught the basketball, and leveled a look at his friend across the room. "Have you been talking to Nelson?"

"No, sorry."

Zach shook his head, and huffed. "He really doesn't seem to care that I’m not contributing much these days, and can't understand why I do."

"It really bothers you, doesn't it?" Ben asked. He speculatively viewed his friend, not quite getting the problem. "I don't contribute much financially right now, but I will. I do other things."

"God, you really sound like Nelson now," Zach groaned. If Ben started blathering that Zach had a tone, and needed to watch it, he was going to swear that Nelson was trapped inside Ben's body.

"Sorry," Ben muttered again. The last thing Zach needed was for someone else not to understand. "I'd probably feel the same way if I wasn't still in school."

"Thanks."

"At least we can be bored together during the summer. That might help take your mind off things."

"Yeah, I guess so," Zach said disconsolately. It was too hot to do much outside, and there wasn't a lot going on inside, but at least he wasn't being bored alone. They needed to find something to do. Something of a distraction. Something…

Zach sat up suddenly, and Ben's eyes narrowed at the gleam in Zach's eyes. "What?" Ben asked suspiciously.

"You know what we need?" His eyes danced with the thrill of excitement.

"Do I want to know?"

"Yes. A road trip."

Ben's relief turned to negativity, and he started shaking his head. "No way. No way will Vic approve of that. He's got a ton going on at work right now, so I doubt seriously he'll …"

"Just us," Zach clarified. "You and me. Like old times."

Ben gave Zach a wry grin. "I'm not sure he'd approve of that either."

Zach jumped up from the sofa, and tucked the basketball under his arm as he paced. "Nelson might be a little work, too," he mused as he paced. "What could we tell them?"

Ben could almost smell the smoke from the friction of the wheels spinning inside Zach's head. "We could try the truth." Zach stopped suddenly, and faced his friend before chucking the basketball in his direction. Ben caught it deftly. "Well? What's wrong with the truth?"

"I wasn't planning to lie," Zach explained. "But I think…" he started pacing again, "it's all about presentation."

Ben spun the basketball on the tip of his finger. "In a box with a really big bow?"

Zach kept thinking as though he were alone in the room. "We need to point out the positive, first. Tell them why it's a good idea." His feet quit moving, and Ben raised his eyes to his friend, waiting for the grand plan. "Or we could figure out how to present it to them so they think it's their idea."

"Ok," Ben said as he stood up. "That's too close to manipulating, and Vic's not a fan of manipulating. I'm going, before this gets to a point that I wish I had left."

"Wait!" Zach dashed to catch up to Ben, and launched himself in front of Ben before he could reach the door. "It won't be manipulation, I promise. Trust me, Nelson isn't a fan, either."

Ben considered the proposition, but made no move to commit to further planning until he made one thing clear. "I'm not doing anything to get into trouble."

"You won't. I'm not going to get you into trouble."

Ben tilted his head toward the ceiling, and tapped his chin. "Hmm. Where have I heard that before?"

"Really, this time. What's wrong with a road trip?"

"It sounds so innocent, but you're already plotting! Your plots and plans tend to end with me having a sore ass, and I prefer my ass unblemished, thank you very much."

Zach shooed Ben with a sweep of his hand. "Nonsense. We're talking about a vacation. How would a vacation get you into trouble?"

"Gee, I don't know," Ben said sarcastically. "It's not like we've ever been in trouble on vacation before. Not like that time when –"

"Never mind," Zach interrupted. He grabbed Ben by the wrist and escorted him with purpose to the sofa then grabbed his laptop off the coffee table. He rubbed his hands together excitedly while he waited for it to boot up. "Let's start with where we want to go."

Despite Ben's reluctance, he couldn't help being pulled into the vortex of Zach's enthusiasm. "Don't you think we should try to get the green light first?"

"I'm still working on that. I can let that process while we pick a place. So where do you want to go?"

Ben exhaled a heavy breath. Going somewhere would be fun, and it beat trying to do something at home in the heat. "I don't know. How about somewhere cool or with water close by?"

Zach thought for a second as he clicked through several screens. "Something like the beach? Daytona? Myrtle?"

"It's not cool, but at least there's water. Alaska?"

Zach shivered in spite of the heat. "Too cold."

Ben's mind ticked through options, but aside from the beach, he was coming up with nothing that didn't seem too hot. Vegas came to mind, but he chucked that scorching idea before he even voiced it.

"I'm checking for special offers," Zach told him as he clicked a link to package deals.

"Hey, what if we check for last minute deals? You can usually find some good stuff there. Maybe we'll see something we like that's cheap?"

"That's a good idea," Zach commented as he started surfing. The screen loaded and he scanned the options. "Hey, here's one for Miami at a decent price. Scott lives there. We could visit him, and vacation at the same time."

"I owe him a phone call," Ben said remorsefully. "It's amazing how quickly time goes by. It seems we were graduating yesterday."

"I know. I haven't talked to him in about a month, I guess." Zach grabbed his cell phone, and flipped it open. "No time like the present to catch up, is it?"

~~~~~

Zach picked up Nelson's dirty plate, and scraped what was left of the pork chops and apples into the trashcan before doing the same with his own plate. The quiet in the room was tangible, and not at all what Zach was hoping for when he broke the news to Nelson.

"And how did this come up?" Nelson finally broke the silence.

"I told you, Ben needs a break. He wants to get away, and Vic doesn't have the time."

Nelson pulled the bottom rack in the dishwasher out, and held his hand open for the plates Zach had rinsed. "This is all for Ben, is it?" he asked with a curious raise of his eyebrow.

"Yeah," Zach said before he added, "I mean, for me, too, but mostly for Ben."

Across town, a similar conversation was taking place. Vic stopped stirring the pasta, and turned his attention squarely on Ben. "You want me to believe this is all for Zach? Not just Zach's bright idea?"

Ben squirmed under the scrutiny, and he petted Maggie as a distraction. Maggie didn't mind one bit, closing her eyes while Ben scratched her muzzle. "He needs to get away."

"Away from what?" Vic asked, suspicion touching the corners of his eyes.

"Well… he and Nelson have been spatting a little, and he wants some space."

"Spatting?" Vic asked curiously. "About what?"

Nelson stashed a plate between the tines in the dishwasher, cut his gaze over to Zach. "Does this have anything to do with our little spat last night?"

"'Spat'?" Zach parroted, and narrowed his eyes at his partner. "Is that what you call it now when you get testy?"

"I got 'testy', as you call it," he couldn't help adding, "when you couldn't figure out when enough was enough. Even after you were warned, I might add."

"You *might* add, but didn't have to," Zach dryly commented. "All I wanted was for you to agree that I don't contribute much these days, and understand how I felt."

"Oh, I understood. And I told you that contributing money isn't the only thing partners bring into a relationship. We talked enough about that last night."

Zach bit back a growl, and turned the conversation back to the vacation plan. "Anyway," he said with a glare, "I figure since I’m not doing anything around here, a vacation wouldn't hurt."

Nelson straightened up from the dishwasher, and turned a withering stare in Zach's direction. "I was right, then. It isn't for Ben, it's for you because of last night."

Ben picked up the Sheltie, and she nuzzled his ear. "I guess it's for both of us to get away. Really."

"And what are you getting away from?"

Ben shrugged. "I'm just going for moral support, and a vacation. I'm not needing space or anything."

Vic put two and two together, and gave the solution to Ben. "This is not about a spat, is it?"

"Well…"

Vic put his hands on his hips, foregoing the dinner he was making. "Benjamin, why not just say, 'Zach and I would like to take a trip'? Did you have to drum up a production about Zach and Nelson arguing?"

"Well, they did argue!" Ben mumbled something else into Maggie's fur, and she whipped her head around to lick him in the face. Ben turned away from her just in time to miss the kiss.

Vic asked, "What did you say? I didn't catch that last bit."

"I said," Ben hesitated, "it was Zach's idea to ask that way."

Zach glanced away from Nelson, and found the wall a more interesting view. "I guess it *was* mostly my idea to say Ben needed to get away. It wasn't a lie; he *did* want to take a vacation."

"Just asking outright didn't cross your mind?" Nelson asked. "You had to act like it was all for Ben because he was bored at home?"

"Well, yeah. But I thought you'd agree quicker if…er…" Zach bit off the rest of the sentence, wondering if too much had slipped already.

"Exactly," Nelson said shortly with a finger jutting toward Zach to punctuate the word. "I have half a mind to say 'no' just because of the way you asked, let alone the reason."

"What do you mean 'the reason'? I didn't want you thinking I was just asking because of last night, which you do, so I was right to be cautious about how I asked," Zach pointed out victoriously.

"This isn't so you can leave because you're still miffed?"

"No! I mean, I'm aggravated, yes, but I'm mostly bored. I'm not running off in a tiff. Cross my heart and hope to die."

"I don't want you to die. You can cross your heart, though," Nelson smiled.

Zach's index finger painted an 'x' across his chest. "There. Can I go?"

Nelson sighed, and leaned against the counter. "When is it?"

"In two weeks."

Vic's jaw dropped so low, it threatened to hit the floor. "Two weeks? Why so soon?"

"It's one of those last minute vacation deals. That's why we picked Miami. It was a good deal, and we haven't been before. The only weird thing is we have to travel Wednesday to Wednesday to get this price. You don't care if I go, right?"

"I didn't say that," Vic commented with a glance cut Ben's way.

"But Vic! It's just a week! I told Zach you were going to say no!"

Vic held his hands up to quiet Ben before the volume rose much more. "I didn't say no, I said I'd care. A week will be a long time to be apart. I don't like it when you're gone."

"Oh," Ben said as his temper started to cool. "I'll miss you, too. We'll talk every day, though. And you'll have Maggie." Ben grinned as he let the Sheltie back down on the floor.

She ran over to Vic, panting as she stared longingly at him with her almond brown eyes. "I can see whose side you're on," he said to her. "Are you two ganging up on me?"
Ben gave Vic a hopeful and innocent expression. "Would we do that?"

"Yes." Vic took a deep breath and relented. "Fine, you can go. Leave me here with the dog while you go have a good time. At least she loves me."

Ben slung his arms around Vic's neck making him take a step back. "I love you, too."

"You know I love you," Zach said. "But about last night… you didn't have to go all Alpha male on me."

Nelson crossed his arms. "I wouldn't have, but you kept on, and on, and on about it, even after you were warned. I needed to redirect your energy. It's my job."

Zach scowled. "If you ever want to get promoted, you need to start thinking of other more positive ways to redirect my energy that don't include me getting spanked."

Nelson grinned. "I'm sure there are other ways - and I would have used them - but at that point, you weren't going to willingly go along with any of them."

"I didn't willingly go along with the one you chose!"

Nelson pulled Zach to him with a smile. "Yes, you did. Because you knew I was right."

"Well, you're not right that I want a vacation because I'm mad about last night, but I knew you were going to think that," Zach deliberately changed the subject. "Ben and I were bored today, and we had the idea to go on a road trip."

Nelson cupped Zach's chin. "Nothing more to the story than that?"

"'Nothing more,' quoth the raven, 'Nothing more'."

"Nevermore," Nelson corrected.

"But I can go?" Zach asked hopefully.

Nelson said, "I hope I don't regret this, but yes."

Zach beamed with the news. "I knew you'd say yes eventually. It'll be great to see Scott again."

Nelson filled the soap cups in the dishwasher and closed the door. "How long has he been down there?"

"About six months?" Zach thought and counted silently on his fingers. "No, make that eight months. We found a last minute deal with the airfare and the rental. We could have gotten the hotel, too, but Scott said we should just stay at his place. Save the money."

"That was nice of him," Nelson said.

"Yeah, and since I'm not making any…"

"Zachary," Nelson said in his best warning tone.

Zach held his hands up defensively. "I'm just saying!"

"Well, stop 'just saying'. That's what got you in trouble last night, so let's not have a repeat."

"No, let's not," Zach agreed wholeheartedly.

~~~~~~

Ben and Zach deplaned with the other passengers, and followed the signs to baggage claim. "I can't believe we managed to get here on schedule," Ben said. "When's the last time that happened?"

"I know," Zach agreed, following Ben out the door, rolling his bag behind him.

"Scott knows where to find us?"

"Yeah, I told him we'd be outside terminal D."

They stood on the curb, and Zach pulled his sunglasses on to watch for Scott. "I don't see him yet, but he said he was maybe five minutes out."

"I'm going to melt before he gets here," Ben complained against the Florida heat. He tugged at the front of his t-shirt, fanning it to get some air.

"It *is* hot, isn't it?"

"Alaska. We should have gone to Alaska." Ben pointed toward a familiar red car, coming around the bend. "Is that him? It is!" He started waving as Scott pulled up to the curb.

He jumped out of the car, dressed appropriately for the heat in a loose-fitting tank and running shorts. His face broke out in a smile. "Hey, guys!"

Scott was still the handsome man they remembered from less than a year ago in school. His dark hair was still cropped short, but he sported a deeper tan than he had in the northern region of the country.

They hugged each other in greeting, and Zach snaked his fingertips over the double earrings in Scott's left ear. "Nice touch. Have you gotten anything else pierced? Any tats since you left?"

"Hell, no," Scott laughed as he opened the trunk for them. His blue eyes sparkled as he joked, "My pain threshold has its limits."

They stopped for KFC takeout on the way to Scott's house, and he promised them the grand tour after they ate dinner. The house was a nice, two-story structure, tastefully decorated with simple, modern styles of clean lines and bold colors.

"We have a couple rooms we didn't get to with furniture. We were working on it a room at a time, and this room didn't make the final cut," Scott said, showing them the formal dining room. "And that's it."

Zach said, "It's a great house, Scott."

"Thanks, I like it. Much nicer than that cramped up apartment Vince and I had back home." He finished the tour by ending back in the kitchen where they started. "Hey, I got some stuff to make strawberry shortcake. Do you have room?"

"Dessert, too?" Zach asked, rubbing his stuffed belly. "Oh, I think I can manage."

"Grab the beers and head out back, make yourselves comfortable," Scott told them amiably. "I'll be right behind you."

Scott served up the shortcake, mounded high with strawberries, and topped off with a dollop of Cool Whip. Ben savored a sweet bite. "This is really good, Scott. You didn't have to go to any trouble because of us."

Scott smiled courteously. "What trouble? All I did was buy the cake, slice the strawberries, and put it all together."

"Well, it's good," Zach said.

"I'm glad you like it. You look like you need a refill, Ben," Scott said, as he handed Ben a fresh beer. "You know, I think you'll like Crandon Park. It's a pretty popular beach."

"Thanks for the beer," he replied, taking the offered bottle. "We thought we'd do some hiking while we're here, too."

"There are plenty of places around that area that are good for hiking, some a bit north."

"I'm hoping to get some good pictures while we're there, if it doesn't get too hot." Zach wiped his forearm across his forehead. "It's just as hot here as at home, and the sun is even down."

Scott laughed. "It's the humidity. It doesn't help. Make sure you take plenty to drink tomorrow, whether you go to the beach or hiking."

"We will," Zach said. "I know Ben won't forget. He's like that Heat Miser guy from the Christmas show. What is it called?"

"A Christmas Story," Ben said.

"No, that's not it."

"I know the one you're talking about," Scott laughed. "It's one of my favorites."

"Oh! The Year Without a Santa Claus," Ben said. "And, yes, I could be Heat Miser."

"He's Mr. Sun, bah, dah, da-dah," Zach sang. Ben shoved Zach's shoulder, unable to argue the point.

Scott asked, "So what else do you guys plan to do while you're here other than beach comb and hike?"

Ben looked to Zach before speaking. "We really don't know. We thought we'd just play things by ear."

"I'll stay out of your way, during the day at least. Duty calls."

"I thought the beauty of being a teacher is that you get the summers off?" Zach commented.

Scott shrugged. "I could use the extra hours, and I've got nothing else to do. It's just summer school anyway. Half days."

Ben and Zach exchanged a look. Zach said, "We're sorry about you and Vince."

Scott looked down the neck of the bottle of beer between his hands. "So am I." He shrugged and put on a sad smile. "It wasn't like I saw much of him anyway. That was part of the problem. He's been covering that ice truck killer story, and he was obsessed with it."

Zach shuddered in spite of the Florida heat. "Ice truck killer?"

"Oh, yeah. I guess you wouldn't know about him. It's gruesome. We have a serial killer among us here in Miami-Dade." Scott leaned back in his lawn chair and grinned. "The three of us are safe, though. So far, he's only interested in female hookers."

"Good, I guess. How many women has he killed?" Ben asked nervously.

"Um…" Scott thought for a second. "Two or three? I can't remember. Vince could tell you. It's not so much that he kills people, but what he does to them. He cuts them up and packages the parts in brown paper. Really gross."

Zach's nose wrinkled at the thought. "That's disgusting."

"I know," Scott agreed. "I hope they catch the son of a bitch for more reasons than one."

"More than one reason?" Ben asked. "The only one I can think of is so he'll stop killing people, right?"

"Yeah, but I think he's the reason Vince and I didn't make it, not that it wouldn't have happened later," Scott said with an acerbic smile. "Vince was always focused on chasing the next big story, and that one has been huge. Nothing like the Podunk stories back home."

"You'll find someone," Zach said with a supportive pat to Scott's knee. "You're good-looking, and a great guy. You deserve someone who wants to spend time with you, and who puts you first, not the next big story."

"I appreciate the compliment, but it's been tough. I still love him."

Ben understood how difficult it was to find that special someone. He was grateful to have Vic. "Have you been out with anyone since Vince?"

"Sure, I try. I'm not looking to be celibate," he grinned with a gleam in his eye. He turned serious again. "Going out, and having a relationship are not the same thing, though."

"That's true," Ben agreed. "You think there's any chance you guys will get back together? You seemed perfect for each other."

Scott sighed. "I thought we were."

"It's only been a couple months, right?" Zach asked. "You never know. Anything is possible when you love each other."

"I guess. You guys are lucky, you know it? I mean, Nelson and Vic are…" Scott shook his head. "Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places for long-term."

"We'll go out while we're here. See if we can't find someone for you," Zach said.

"Not on a school night," Scott laughed.

"We won't keep you out too late, but getting out will do you some good."
Scott nodded. "Maybe we can hit Halo while you're here. It's a gay bar in SoBe. I don't go that often because the drinks are high, but good. Nice atmosphere."

"I'm game," Ben said. "At the very least, you'll have something other than Vince to think about while we're out."

Scott tipped his head in agreement. "That's what my therapist says. His opinion is that I'm obsessing. I need to think about something else."

"You're in therapy?" Ben asked. "I mean, that's good. Is he helping?"

"Oh, yeah, every Monday night," Scott said, as his face lit up. "He's a great guy. He's cute, too, but straight."

"I'm glad you're seeing someone," Zach said. "You and Vince were together for a couple years, right?"

"Yeah, but when we moved here…" Scott looked back into his beer, then glanced back with a sarcastic smile. "I guess there were too many shiny toys to distract him in the big city."

"Small towns have an appeal for a good reason," Zach said.

Scott brightened up. "Yes, they do, but you're here in the big city to get away from it all, not wallow in my misery. I'm really glad you guys came to visit. So tell me what I've missed since I left."

Zach burst out laughing. "Not a thing. Not a damn thing."

"Boring," Ben agreed. "That's why we're here. Zach thinks we need an adventure."

"Well, men," Scott said, raising his beer. "To adventures." They clinked the necks of their bottles together in a toast. "May you find one in Miami."

~~~~~~~

Ben's eyes darted left and right, scouting for wayward alligators, as he and Zach tramped through the leafy, fern-like wild plants, and dodged around the tall trees that were providing enough shade to keep Ben from melting where he walked. This was a horrible idea.

"I knew this was a good idea," Zach announced as he led the way through the marshy weeds and native plants.

"You think this is a good idea? I was just thinking it was a dumb idea." Ben waded through the tall grass and brush with Zach, wondering why the hell he had agreed to leave the beaten path. "I don't know how I let you talk me into these things."

"Remember: adventure, Benji. I want to get some pictures of the native plants and wildlife. Wildlife does *not* hike on the main paths."

"Sane people do."

"Adventurers don't. Hey, maybe we'll see a crocodile."

"Florida has alligators, not crocodiles, moron, and I'd better not find one." Ben had hardly finished his sentence before he started flailing at something he felt crawling on his arm. "Crap!"

"What's the matter? Did an alligator get you?" Zach asked indifferently without even looking as he squatted down to get a closer look at a species of flower he hadn't seen before. Small fluted clusters of red flowers jutted out from a bed of oval green leaves, and small white tongue-like petals slithered out of the red blooms here and there.

"No, it wasn't an alligator. Something was crawling on me." Ben looked around anxiously for the culprit but saw nothing in the air that could have been the stalking insect.

Zach poised the camera and twisted the lens to focus in closely on the delicate red clusters then he snapped off a couple shots. "Did you get it?"

"I guess. I don't see anything now." Ben barely took a second glance at the flower that had captured Zach's attention. "Let's go back. We're way off the path. There's no telling what we might run into out here."

"I just want to go a little farther, then I swear we'll go back."

"Come on, Zach!"

"Just a little more, ok?"

Ben huffed and trudged along behind Zach. "I hope we don't see any—"

"Snake!" Zach exclaimed, and carefully tiptoed out of the way.

Ben's heart lodged in his throat. "Shit!" Ben whispered as his mouth went instantly dry. He saw the tail of the reptile disappearing through the brush, going the other way, and he finally took a breath. "That's it. I'm going back," he declared.

"It's just a black snake."

"I don't care if he's purple." Ben turned, and started walking back toward the path.

Zach watched the snake slither in the other direction, and thought about chasing him for a picture, but the farther Ben got, the more alone Zach felt out in the woods. He quickly had a change of heart. "All right, I'm coming!" he yelled after Ben. "Wait up!"

"Did you get a picture of it?" Ben snarled, as he stopped to wait for Zach.

"No. I didn't."

They headed back the way they came, and Ben hesitated after they had walked some distance. He put his hands on his hips as he looked around. "Is this the right way?"

Zach checked the horizon and then shielded his eyes to look at the sky. "Yeah, I'm sure it is."

Ben shook his head. "Seems like we should be there by now. How the heck far did we go?"

Zach scanned the woods carefully, and spotted something in the distance. "What is that over there?"

"If it isn't the path, I don't care what it is."

Zach squinted and tried to make out what he was seeing. It looked familiar, yet… "I can't tell for sure what that is, can you?" Zach asked as he headed in that direction.

"What is what? Zach!" Ben called after him before grudgingly following as Zach went in the opposite direction.

"That." Zach stopped, his finger pointing toward something white in the distance, lying on the ground.

Ben stared at it, and his eyes widened as the form took shape in his mind. "That looks just like –"

"The sole of a tennis shoe."

Ben swallowed on a dry throat for the second time in too short a span. "Why is it sitting up like that?"

Zach nervously licked his lips. "Because it's attached to someone's leg."

Zach started to move closer, inching around the tree that was blocking part of their view. Ben grabbed at the back of Zach's t-shirt, his fingers just grazing it but not enough to get a grip. "Zach!" he hissed. "Wait!"

Zach came around the tree with Ben close behind him, and they both stopped, cold in their tracks, unable to move while their minds absorbed what they were seeing.

"Oh. My God," Ben breathed.

~~~~~~~~~~~

My day job demanded my attention, which dragged me away from my extracurricular activities. Today, that included sending an email on Craig's List to try to entice the ice truck killer to come out and play. I hadn't received any messages from him since he left the chopped up Barbie in my freezer, laid out exactly like his last victim. Thinking about my clever email made me smile.

"Dear Barbie, I'm in pieces. Why the cold shoulder? Ken."

Being called to a scene would keep me occupied while I waited for a reply. Angel was already at the crime scene when I got there, staring at the slumped over body of a blonde female, hideous dried blood streaking trails down her chin. Blood. It was everywhere. Staining the front of her white cotton shirt, and all over the leaves and brush that got sprayed simply because they were in the way. It set my teeth on edge.

"What have we got?" I asked Detective Batista when I got close.

Angel stopped studying the tree, and turned to me. "Looks like two circus clowns fighting to me. You?"

I concentrated briefly on the blood spatter pattern that had his attention, burned darkly into the bark of the tree where the remnants of the back of the woman's head had spray-painted a bloody design. "Lobster," I corrected him. "Can't you see the claws?" I scratched the air with two fingers in claw-like fashion.

It was so clear to me. How could anyone get clowns from that? No, definitely a lobster. Angel turned to face me. "Why do blood stains always look like crustaceans to you, Dex?"

"I like fish." Sue me. I directed a thumb over my shoulder toward the two young men being grilled by Sergeant Doakes. "They call this in?"

"Yeah. Out-of-towners. Decided to go off the beaten path, hoping to see some wildlife."

They saw something wild all right. "Tough break. Looks like Doakes is giving them the third degree."

"Yeah," Angel agreed with a glance in their direction. "He won't let them go until he's asked them a million questions."

I nodded toward the corpse, and asked, "Who was she?"

"Deceased is Vanessa Gale. She's been missing a few days. We've contacted her husband."

I noted the handgun that appeared to have fallen from Vanessa's hand after she sucked on the barrel. "Suicide?" I lifted my camera and fired off a few shots, but none as lethal as the one Vanessa had fired into the back of her throat.

"Looks to be that way. We'll have to check out the husband. It's too early to rule out homicide, but it looks pretty clear to me. She was apparently some hot-shot lawyer; had every reason to want to live."

Why would a successful lawyer take her own life? This case has a familiar ring to it. "Didn't we have a couple other suicides recently of powerful women?"

Angel thought about it for a second. "Yeah, I think we did. Guess the pressure finally got to them."

Or not. I had to ask myself if there might not be a link between them. It was just too coincidental to assume they all simply snapped. I finished with my work then stepped under the yellow line of police tape. One of the two who had found Vanessa's body was staring at me. Did I have something on my shoe?

He started walking toward me, the other one on his heels. "Can I help you?" I asked when they approached me.

The one with the darker hair pointed at my camera. "I was noticing your camera. Nikon is a good brand." He motioned toward his to show me the Canon he owned. "I'm a photographer, too."

"Oh," I held up the camera from against my chest. "I'm not really a photographer. I'm a forensic scientist. Goes with the territory."

"We wondered if you were a CSI guy," the blonder one commented. "Cool job."

"Pays the bills," I said more amiably than I felt.

The photographer said, "Wonder if it pays enough for me to quit working with living people? The dead ones seem easier to deal with." The guy stuck out his hand in friendly form. "I’m Zach Bartholomew. This is my friend, Ben Monroe. We found her."

I accepted his handshake like a normal person would do, and returned the introduction. "Dexter. Dexter Morgan." I wasn't looking for two new friends, but the guy was relentless, and over-the-top chatty.

"So what kind of forensics do you do?"

"Blood spatter." I think the other one went a shade paler.

"You deal with blood all day?" he asked.

"Only when there's some to study." My idol, the ice truck killer, managed to do the deed and not leave so much as a drop of blood. It was beautiful.

Zach surmised with a sense of morbid fascination, "You must like blood then."

"I hate it."

Ben seemed to perk up at that. "You hate it?"

"When you deal with it as much as I do, it loses its power over you. Squeamish people should be blood spatter analysts." I was ready to change the subject. "So, you said you found the body?"

"Yeah." His eyes darted toward my nemesis, and Zach talked behind his hand as though he were sharing a dark secret with me. Bet he didn't have one as dark as I did. "That big – no, *huge* - detective grilled us like we had something to do with this woman's death."

Doakes. He could make an innocent person's skin crawl with nervous guilt, though their heart be white as snow. I glanced over to him and saw him barking out orders to some of the junior detectives who had arrived on the scene. His bald black head glimmered with beads of sweat in the Florida heat, and his biceps bulged without him flexing them. I could see how he could make someone uncomfortable.

"Sergeant Doakes has a knack for that," I confided. I thought I saw Ben shake off a chill. "He's a good cop. He just seems to be mad at the world all the time."

"We picked up on that," Ben said, keeping an eye on Doakes as he spoke.

"Don't take it personally." I was sure it was just his manner with the two out-of-towners. With me, he meant it to be personal.

Zach was ready to move on. "What's the dead girl's name? Can you tell us?"

"Vanessa Gale." It would be public knowledge soon enough. I didn't see the point in not sharing. Besides, I had a feeling the guy wouldn't quit until he knew more, and I was right.

"Do you think she killed herself?"

"We're investigating," I told him, unwilling to give him more than that. "That's all I can tell you."

"I thought I heard someone say she was some big lawyer." The guy didn't give up. He must have been a terrier in another life. "Why would a successful lawyer kill herself? What could be that bad?"

Interesting. Had he been listening to my conversation with Angel, or was he in my head? Could he be that astute? "That wouldn't make sense on the surface, but people never cease to amaze me with what they'll do," I had to agree. "We'll investigate all angles."

"When I saw her foot, and realized it was connected to a dead body, I thought we had found an ice truck killer victim."

Ah. My friend the ice truck killer. I wondered if he would come out to play again soon. "Not the same MO."

"I know. Our friend said he chops his victims up. Have you seen any of them?" He was salivating for information, just like I was about the subject.

"Yes, I've been involved in the cases." He'd keep me talking all day if I didn't get away, and once he switched the conversation to one of my favorite topics, it was really going to be hard to cut it off. I had to be strong. "But right now, I'd better get involved with this case."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry. Nice talking to you."

"Enjoy the rest of your vacation."

"Doakes said we can't go anywhere just yet," Ben finally spoke again. "Do you think he really thinks we did something?"

"Trust me. If he thought that, you'd know it for a fact. And you probably wouldn't be standing here. You'd be in the back of a black and white with cuffs on your wrists." They had no idea how it could feel to be under the suspicion of Sergeant Doakes, but I certainly did. In a building full of cops, Doakes was the only one who got the creeps by being around me.

"That's a relief. We haven't been arrested or cuffed," Zach said.

"Thanks for calling this in." I barely got turned away from them before Zach called to me again.

"Hey, Dexter."

I had no choice but to turn around. I hadn't gotten far enough to act like I hadn't heard him. I turned to them, and pretended to smile. I was good at pretending. I practiced a lot. "Yeah?"

"Could we come by and see what you do sometime before we leave? Ben and I have always been interested in forensic science."

A field trip to watch me work? That was odd. Could they really be that interested in what I do? More importantly, what were the odds they'd actually show up? "Sure, why not?"

They were on vacation, and I doubted there was any way they'd look up the Miami PD and spend time watching me work. The most important job I had to do as soon as I got back was a little research. My Dark Passenger was whispering to me that there had to be more to Vanessa Gale's story, and that I should try to find out what that was. Yes, I had work to do.

End Part I