"Where are we going?" Junaid asked, as he and Mark followed Gail out of the crime lab.

"To my office," Mark answered, as they walked down the corridor that lead to his office. Gail had her hand on the metallic door handle, just about to enter Mark's office.

"She tends to get very impatient when she finds a new clue. She has to work on it immediately. And that's when, she hijacks my office," Mark smiled, and nodded his head in Gail's direction, who was seated behind the teakwood desk, typing away at his laptop, as he and Junaid entered the office.

"You didn't bother to the change the password in the last four years, did you?" Gail asked Mark, eyes on the screen.

"I just did, a week back!" Mark said in his defence. Gail momentarily stopped her browsing, and looked up at him with an arched eyebrow.

"But, then I forgot my new password, and had to get I.T. to change it back to my old password!" Mark answered raising both his hands in defeat. Gail just rolled her eyes at him, and got back to her work.

Junaid could help the smile that formed on his face.

"You were saying that you know what the tattoo means. Care to enlighten us?" Junaid asked a few moments later.

"Mark, you said the tattoo was new? Can you tell how recent?" Gail asked, again without looking up.

"Yeah. She had gotten it done recently, probably just two or three days back," Mark answered.

"Okay. So, getting back to the tattoo. In some cultures, a dice is seen as symbol of destiny," Gail explained. "Every roll of the dice either takes you near your destiny, or away from it. And the blood dripping from the dice represents, that a person can do anything, even kill, to achieve his destiny."

Junaid and Mark looked at each other, confused and then at Gail, who was back to browsing for something on the laptop.

"So," Junaid said, slowly,"it is a random tattoo."

Gail finally found the file she was looking for. She opened the file on her screen. It was a photo of a young man. He had piercing blue eyes and streaks of blue highlights in his messy black hair.

"I wouldn't say that," Gail corrected Junaid.

She connected the laptop to the large screen that had been mounted on the wall in front of the desk. The photo of the young man appeared on the large screen.

"Oh my God!" Mark exclaimed.

"Who's this guy, now?" Junaid asked, surprised at Mark's reaction.

"This is Milo Mianchi. Head of the Mianchi drug cartel." Gail answered.

"One of the most brutal and feared cartels in Krystal City," Mark added.

"But, how is he related to this case?" Junaid asked.

Gail searched through Milo's file for another photo, and found the one she was looking for. It was of Milo looking to his right.

"The tattoo on Candice's arm also happens to be the symbol of the Mianchi cartel," Gail said, pointing at the tattoo on Mianchi's neck. There was the same tattoo of the blood dripping from the dice on Milo's neck, just below his left ear. "This cannot be a coincidence."

Junaid and Mark both were examining the tattoo on Milo's neck. It was indeed the same tattoo.

"Are you sure?" Junaid asked, unsure about all this new information. "Why would a kindergarten teacher get a gang tattoo done on her arm? It doesn't make sense."

"But," Mark said, "why didn't this photo come up when I searched for a match of the tattoo in our database?"

"That's because you were looking in the wrong place. Everyone knows that Milo Mianchi runs a drug cartel, but we've never been able to prove anything. The Task Force barely has any information on Mianchi," Gail answered. "None of our agents have been able to penetrate his cartel. We and Krystal City PD, have been trying for years to get some intel on Mianchi, but have been unsuccessful. I pulled up this photo from the District Attorney Office's records."

"How do you know so much about Mianchi?" Junaid asked, surprised.

"You hear a lot of things when you work for the D.A. The D.A's Office has been trying to build a case against Mianchi for some time now. But it has been kept under wraps as the only thing the case is missing, is evidence." Gail replied, turning towards Junaid.

"But, my question still remains," Junaid said, slowly. "Why would a kindergarten teacher get a gang tattoo done on her arm?"

"Maybe," Mark started, thinking out loud, "her job wasn't paying her enough, and with a new member on the way, she needed more cash and so she decided to make some extra money by being a part-time drug peddler."

"That's not implausible, you know A lot of schools kids and teachers are turning to drug peddling to earn a few quick bucks, unfortunately." Junaid added with a sigh. "Just yesterday, I arrested a drug dealer outside the warehouse where we had found Candice's body." Gail raised a surprised eyebrow a this new information.

"Have you searched Candice's apartment?" Gail asked, a few seconds later. "We might find some clues there."

"No, not yet." Junaid answered.

"Then, that's the very first thing we are doing tomorrow." Gail said.

~

There was a knock on Gail's office.

"Come in," Gail called out in a polite but firm voice.

"Hey," Junaid said, as he entered Gail's office.

Gail answered with a stiff nod. Junaid got the feeling that he was intruding, but what he had to say was more important.

"I needed a favor. Candice's mother has flown in from out of town. She wants to meet the detectives handling her daughter's case..." Junaid's voice trailed off.

Gail raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue.

Junaid shifted his weight from one feet to the other. He sighed, "I just can't talk to Mrs. Morgan. I don't think I will ever be able to do this. I was never able to break the news to those grieving parents then, and I won't be able to do it now..."

"It's okay. I'll take care of it." Gail said in a warm voice. It surprised Junaid, that Gail had readily agreed and not argued with him over it. He was grateful for that.

No matter how indifferent she had become, she could understand what Junaid was saying. The hardest thing in the world was not taking a bullet, it was telling a parent that they would never be able to see their child again.

She knew how it felt.

Because, she had had to tell her parents that their older daughter was no more. Even, if it was lie. It had destroyed her family. No matter how hard she tried, nothing was ever the same again.

Their once happy, loving family was now in ruins.

~

Gail excused the officer who had been trying to console a grieving Mrs. Morgan. She sat down on the beige sofa next to the bereaved mother.

"Mrs. Morgan." Gail said softly. "I am one of the agents investigating Candice's murder." Hearing the word murder, Mrs. Morgan started sobbing even harder.

You couldn't blame her, could you?

"I just need to ask you a few things about Candice," Gail paused. "We can do this later, if you want."

"No," Mrs. Morgan said. She wiped her tear-stained face and put on a brave look. But, her puffy eyes gave her away. "I want to help you get justice for my daughter." Mrs. Morgan voice was weak but firm.

"Okay, then." Gail gave her a small smile. "How long had Candice been living in Krystal City?"

"She moved her just a year back. She completed her college, with a degree in teaching. She had been offered a job at Kingston High School." Mrs. Morgan managed to answer.

"Did she live alone? Or have a roommate?" Gail asked.

"She lived alone." Mrs. Morgan answered.

"Did she tell you about her boyfriend? His name? Or anything?"

"No. She just mentioned that he was rich. And that he used to pamper her with lots of expensive gifts." Gail raised an eyebrow at the last sentence.

"And nothing else?" Gail pressed.

"No," Mrs. Morgan answered, slowly shaking her head.

"I hope I was able to help," Mrs. Morgan asked in a hopeful voice.

"Yes, Mrs. Morgan. The information that you gave me was very helpful," Gail said in a gentle voice.

Mrs. Morgan suddenly had a distant look in her eyes, as if she was thinking about something. "Can-Can I see my baby, my Candy?" Mrs. Morgan asked. She was unable to control her pain any longer, and started crying.

"Of course, Mrs. Morgan," Gail said, placing her arm around Mrs. Morgan's shoulder, trying to calm her down.

"Why? Why!" Mrs. Morgan howled looking at Gail. "What had my Candy done? She was so young!" Mrs. Morgan's face was red wit rage and her eyes were brimming with tears.

"I know nothing that I say or do will make you feel better, Mrs. Morgan," Gail said in a warm voice, taking Mrs. Morgan's hand in hers. "But, you need to be brave for Candice. It would have broken her heart to see you like this. I know it's hard and it will take time but you need to know that Candice is in a much happy and peaceful place."

These words could not take away all the pain that Mrs. Morgan was feeling, but it helped her felt better.

~

Junaid had been waiting for Gail near her office.

He saw Gail asking an officer to escort Mrs. Morgan to the lab and also to make sure that she was safely dropped at the hotel, she was staying in.

Junaid was relieved and a little surprised too, on seeing Mrs. Morgan in a much better condition than before. Seeing the way she had been sobbing, had really melted his heart. That's the reason he had asked Gail to talk to her. And, Gail had successfully managed to calm her down.

"What did you tell her?" Junaid asked, as Gail neared him, unable to keep the surprise from his voice.

Gail looked at Junaid, then at the retreating form of Mrs Morgan, and said, "Something that she needed to hear."

Junaid didn't understand what she meant, but didn't press the matter any further.