When Duty Calls

Caitlyn Kiramman absolutely hated sternation.

She hated the loss of control, the absurd facial expressions, the inevitable mess, and the unwanted attention. She tried to hold back whenever she could, waiting until she had escaped to an isolated room to let it out. While this wasn’t always possible nor easy, it was what she preferred to do. She was sheriff. She was in charge.

So it wasn’t hard to imagine the chagrin she felt when a lead on the case led her to none other than a greenhouse. Normally she would have Vi lead a group of enforcers to survey the area, but this required her attendance. The station had been overwhelmed by a string of murders around Piltover, and a new victim had been found at the local greenhouse. Since Caitlyn had long since suspected a serial killer, she needed to be on the crime scene to identify any commonalities.

The problem was, Caitlyn had terrible hay fever. In the springtime she combated it with allergy pills, sometimes twice a day depending on the pollen count. However, since it was the dead of winter, she had none with her and there was no time to obtain any. She tried to keep the apprehension off her face as she and Vi approached the glass building, flanked by five other enforcers. No one noticed except for Vi, who eyed her with concern. The deputy was well aware of her partner's sensitivities. But she knew that voicing her concern would only aggravate Caitlyn's anxiety, so she held her tongue.

The sheriff silently motioned for Enforcers to spread out and clear the building as soon as they entered it. For all they knew, the culprit could still be somewhere in there, hiding out of reach. None of them noticed her nose twitch as she gave the signal. The pollen was already getting to her. She quickly rubbed it with her wrist as she and Vi approached the body. 

The first thing she noted was that there was no blood surrounding the body, similar to the other recent cases. Her eyes swept over the nearby area. No sign of a weapon either. Caitlyn blinked her eyes. It was growing more difficult for her to concentrate as the itch in her nose increased. She attempted to distract herself from it by kneeling near the body to get a closer look at it. The eyes were open and bloodshot, which she noted as strange. 

“ah-TSCHOO!” Caitlyn’s interrupting sneeze was louder and harsher than she’d hoped. It came on so suddenly that she had no time to pull out a handkerchief and instead buried her face in the crook of her elbow. Her breath hitched instantly after, and she sneezed two more times so intensely they blended into one. 

“Gesundheit," Vi tried to hide the concern from her face. She handed the sheriff her signature top hat, which had been knocked off. “Do you think you’ll be okay?”

Caitlyn sniffled instead of replying, taking out her handkerchief before straightening and taking the hat. “Thank you. It’s fine. Right now the most important thing is to find the culprit before they can do any more damage.”

Vi rolled her eyes before obliging. She knew that once her girlfriend set her mind to something, nothing could change it. She could only watch as Caitlyn sniffled again and dabbed at her nose with the handkerchief before turning back to the body.

“Cause of death appears to be strangulation.” The sheriff said as she leaned in closer to the body, examining its neck. Vi nodded as she jotted down the notes, trying to ignore the congestion distorting Caitlyn’s usually crisp voice. “There seems to be no sign of a str-uh!”

Her voice suddenly caught. Vi looked up just in time to see Caitlyn clamp her handkerchief over her nose, pinching it shut as her face crumpled.

She stifled a set of five sneezes, her head jerking forward with each one, and her hat fell off once again. Vi would have laughed if she wasn’t so exasperated with her girlfriend’s stubborn work ethic. “You don’t sound like you’re fine. And you’re always the one who tells me that stifling is bad.”

Caitlyn frowned as she placed the hat back on her head, but Vi could see her cheeks flush. “Vi, not now. I’m in the middle of something important.”

Her voice was even more congested and she swiftly rubbed her eyes. They were bloodshot and beginning to get puffy. Vi looked her partner over, and rolled her own eyes.

This was going to be a long few hours.