Wendy leans back against the shipping container, her feet crossed at the ankles and her hands behind her head. It feels like it’s been hours and she doesn’t know how much more she can wait. The waves crashed repeatedly against dock and it is driving her insane.

Being a cop was definitely more glamorous when she was a child, but then again, so was everything else. She has a steady paycheck, decent benefits and a mortgage that’s more than halfway paid off and she’s not even close to thirty yet. But on days like these, when she’s stuck watching over a crime scene and making sure that it’s not disturbed, she wants something more for herself. Playing guard dog and writing parking tickets aren’t exactly mentally stimulating.

She sighs and looks at her watch. 9:14:50. She snaps her head up and keep her eyes trained on the doorway. Wendy doesn’t look back at her watch, but the moment black booted feet step into her line of sight, she knows that it’s exactly 9:15.

“Officer Son,” She’s addressed with cool professionalism and Wendy isn’t surprised. She thinks that the air might have gotten colder

“Detective Bae.” Wendy can be equally professional.

Dark-coloured top, dark-coloured pants, black blazer. Pale skin, black hair, red lips. Austere as a marble statue. Similar skin tone too. Detective Bae Joohyun looks as if she’s walked right off the glossy pages of Vogue. Wendy had seen at her desk at three in the morning and her posture and outfit had been impeccable.

All work and no play, her meteoric rise to detective is the stuff of legend. Bae Joohyun doesn’t stop until she cracks the case. And she always cracks the case.

“Dispatched radioed in a disturbance at a nearby container port and I checked it out. This was the only one that was open. Found glass and blood and nothing else. Called it in. Cordoned the area off and waited for a higher up to show.”

“Anything of note?”

“This.” Wendy holds up small plastic bag.

“A collar?” Detective Bae frowns.

“For a medium to large dog. Full grain leather. Stainless steel. Most likely custom made.”

Detective Bae raises a well-groomed eyebrow.

Wendy answers the unasked question with a careless shrug. “I have dogs. Tag’s engraved. But it’s in English.”

“That’s not uncommon. English names pretty popular for Korean dogs.”

“It’s a pretty unusual name. I expected something like Coco or Zero. But this is… different.”

“Different? How?” Detective Bae reaches over, takes the bag, and holds it in front of her face.

“Irene.”

There’s a sharp intake of breath before the evidence bag clatters to the ground with a soft thud.

Wendy pushes her palms back against the container wall and stands up. Detective Bae had intruded into her personal space when retrieving the collar. And so she had seen the widening of her eyes and heard the sharp intake of breath.

“Alright detective?”

Detective Bae’s face is deceptively neutral. “Of course. I was just surprised. You were right. It is an unusual name.” She bends gracefully and picks up the collar before slipping it into her blazer pocket. “Good work, officer. I’ll leave things to you.”

Wendy watches her leave with narrowed eyes.