All the officers who went were men.

The only women present were the victim and Laura, especially when the victim died a terrible death, which scared most of them.

Naturally, it took someone mentally strong to handle such situations.

"Cut out the nonsense." Morrison gave the man a stern look. "Focus on the case and skip the irrelevant talk."

“Captain Armstrong, you always stick up for Laura..."

Before the man could finish, Morrison had grabbed his ear. "Would it kill you to be quiet?"

Laura didn't say a word.

Being the newbie on the team, she hadn't yet gotten comfortable with everyone.

Given the delicate subject, chiming in felt even more challenging.

When they got back to the station, everyone dove into their assigned tasks.

Laura had to get started on analyzing the samples she had collected right away.

Morrison caught up with her and asked, "When will we get the results?"

“I'm planning to stay late tonight, so pretty soon," Laura responded.

"Thanks," Morrison replied.

Laura looked back at him. "We're all busy, aren't we? It's not just me. And you're here, working extra hours even with that injury. You're way more committed than I am."

Morrison, in his thirties, had a presence that was both respectable and upright, radiating a sense of integrity and a steady, mature personality.

“Um... he paused, searching for the right words. “He didn't mean anything by that comment. He's just a bit of a joker."

Laura smiled. "I wasn't upset by it.”

“You know, you're very professional."

This was Laura's first time on duty with them since she started her job here.