13

By the time Karadec dropped Morgan off at her house in the early hours of the morning, the sky was already beginning to lighten. He'd insisted she try to get some sleep, though they both knew it was a lost cause. Her mind was on fire, chasing threads and details, pulling apart the neat little lie Justin and Bianca had fed them.

It wasn't until a few hours later, fueled by a single coffee and sheer stubbornness, that Morgan burst through the bullpen doors, case folder under one arm and a fluffy pink tiger print jacket on the other.

The team was already assembled. Karadec, Daphne, Oz, and Lieutenant Soto stood by the case board, eyebrows lifting when they spotted Morgan marching in like a woman on a mission.

"Morning," Soto said dryly. "Or whatever time it is to you caffeine zombies."

Morgan ignored the teasing. She slapped her file on the table, clicked open a marker, and turned to face them.

"I figured it out," she announced, eyes bright.

Everyone stood up a little straighter.

Karadec caught her gaze briefly. He could tell. She hadn't slept. And yet she looked more alive than ever.

Morgan jabbed the marker at the case board. "The siblings, Justin and Bianca, they're the murderers."

Oz blinked. "Wait, but... the aunt, Janice—"

"Janice isn't the killer," Morgan cut in sharply. "In fact, the thing that got her in this is that she found out the real secret behind this family's mess."

She paced in front of them, words tumbling out fast but clear, sharp like blades.

"A few days before the siblings came here pointing fingers, Janice discovered the truth. Justin and Bianca, full-blooded brother and sister, were in a romantic relationship. They were incest."

A beat of stunned silence.

Daphne let out a soft, horrified "Ew."

Morgan nodded grimly. "Exactly. Charlotte and Dean Morrison found out about it too. They were furious. Cut the kids off financially, kicked them out of the house, and most importantly, rewrote their will to exclude them."

Karadec frowned thoughtfully. "So they had a big motive."

"Big motive," Morgan said, tapping the board again. "Money. Revenge. Shame. You name it."

Soto crossed his arms, listening intently. "And the murder?"

Morgan inhaled deeply, then started piecing it together.

"Justin and Bianca realized that as long as their parents were alive, they'd have no money, no house, no status. So they teamed up. Planned it together."

She pointed to the old crime scene photos taped to the board. "Notice the timing? No signs of forced entry, no alarms triggered. Whoever killed Charlotte and Dean was let in. They trusted their killers."

Oz whistled low under his breath.

Morgan continued. "They staged it to look like an outside robbery gone wrong. But it was too clean. No valuables stolen. Just brutal, personal violence."

"Fits the anger theory," Karadec said quietly.

Morgan smiled faintly. "Exactly."

She flipped to another page. "And Janice? She caught on. She confronted them privately. Threatened to go to the police. So what did Justin and Bianca do?"

Daphne's eyes widened in realization. "They flipped the story. Made her the scapegoat."

"They rushed to accuse her first. Get ahead of the narrative. Make her look crazy and vengeful, trying to cover her own tracks," Karadec added.

"Bingo," Morgan said, delighted.

Soto shook his head slowly, impressed. "You got all that from what we had?"

Morgan smiled, a little sheepish now. "Once I stopped trying to force the pieces to fit... it all snapped together."

Karadec watched her with an expression caught somewhere between admiration and awe.

Soto stepped forward, voice firm but warm. "Good work, Gillory. Outstanding, as always."

Morgan ducked her head a little, cheeks pink.

"We'll get Janice back in for re-interrogation," Soto added. "If her story matches yours, we'll move on Justin and Bianca."

—

Janice Roberts sat in the interrogation room, hands folded tightly in front of her. She looked exhausted, worn down by years of suspicion and grief. But when Karadec and Morgan started asking the right questions, she opened up.

And every word matched Morgan's theory.

Every. Single. Word.

Even the gathered evidences, which were all hidden at first, proved that Morgan was right.

By the time further investigations had finished, it was clear: The siblings are guilty and Janice was innocent. She had only tried to protect the truth about what her niece and nephew had done.

Within few hours, Justin and Bianca Morrison were arrested.

The siblings' smug smiles cracked when they realized the jig was up. Justin cursed loudly, Bianca burst into angry tears, but none of it changed the facts. Their fingerprints, their phone records, even pieces of security footage pieced together the timeline perfectly.

Case closed.

The bullpen buzzed with the rare satisfaction of a cold case solved. Laughter and chatter floated across the room as the team wrapped up the paperwork.

Morgan leaned back in her chair, stretching, rubbing the back of her neck tiredly.

Lieutenant Soto appeared at her desk. She looked up, blinking.

Soto smiled, small but genuine. "Great job today, Gillory."

"Thank you, boss," Morgan said, straightening.

"No, really." Her voice dropped, sincere. "Not many could untangle something like that. Cold cases are ugly. People forget. Evidence rots. But you stuck with it. You saw the truth when no one else did."

Morgan felt a flush of pride. She nodded, swallowing the emotion threatening to rise in her chest.

"Thank you," she repeated, softer.

Soto gave her a final approving nod and moved off.

As Morgan gathered her things, she drifted toward Karadec's desk, where he was working on something in his computer.

He noticed her approach and smiled faintly, something easy and warm in his expression.

"You killed it today," Karadec said, voice low and honest.

Morgan shrugged one shoulder, but she couldn't hide her grin. "Team effort."

"Maybe," he said, standing. "But you were the brain behind it. I only had a nap after I dropped you off. And I'm absolutely sure you didn't sleep at all."

She laughed lightly. "Who needs sleep when you can obsess over murder?"

Karadec chuckled, shaking his head. "Seriously though. You outsmarted everyone. Even the original detective of that case four years ago."

Morgan gave a mock bow. "Flattery will get you everywhere."

They shared a smile—lingering, meaningful.

"You can finally take your trip to slumberland," Karadec said, nudging at her direction with his elbow.

"You too," she replied, smiling up at him. "You deserve some rest after babysitting my manic energy all night."

He snorted. "Wasn't so bad. Free entertainment."

Morgan smiled, cheeks flushed. "Goodnight, Karadec."

"Goodnight, Morgan."

She turned as if about to leave. Then paused and looked back over her shoulder.

"By the way..." she said, a teasing glint in her eye. "That pasta you made was insanely good."

Karadec raised an eyebrow, surprised and clearly pleased.

Morgan flashed him a bright grin. "You've been hiding a five-star chef under all that broody detective vibe."

Before he could reply, she winked playfully and headed toward the elevators, bag slung over one shoulder, humming softly to herself.

Karadec watched her go, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Heart beat faster than ever.

Yeah.

Today was a good day.