Franziska and Adrian met Detective Gumshoe in front of his desk at Criminal Affairs. The Detective seemed to be organised for once, leaping to his feet to usher them into conference room no. 2.

Like all the Precinct's conference rooms, this one was spartanly decorated. A laminate table and blue plastic chairs (which had probably been there since the 1980s) sat in the centre of the room. A black and white picture of the Precinct at its establishment hung crookedly on the left wall. Hunched over in one of the chairs with a handkerchief twisted in her hands was the supposed sister. Apart from her black, shoulder-length hair, the woman looked exactly like the Jane Doe lying in the morgue. She took a shuddering breath as Franziska and Adrian entered the room.

"I'll be at my desk if you need anything, Ms von Karma," Gumshoe assured as he closed the door behind them.

"Good evening," Franziska said, throwing out her chair and sitting down. "I am Franziska von Karma of the Prosecutor's Office."

"Adrian Andrews," her companion said, sitting down beside her without the theatrics.

The woman before them nodded weakly and dabbed at her eyes with the handkerchief. "My name is Moon Sun-mi," she supplied, her voice rough from crying. "Please just call me Sun-mi."

"Sun-mi," Franziska repeated, flicking open the case file Gumshoe had handed her moments ago. "You have reason to believe you know the deceased woman?"

"She's my s-sister," Sun-mi sputtered. She brought the handkerchief back to her face and wiped her nose. "I'm sure of it."

"What makes you so sure?"

Sun-mi dropped her hand into her lap. Her lips quivered as her eyes grew distant. The truth weighed heavily on her but she seemed unwilling to unburden herself.

"Sun-mi, please," Adrian spoke up, clasping her hands together on the table. "We can't help you unless you tell us… We won't judge anything you say."

The last sentence caught Sun-mi's attention, her eyes attracted like magnets to Adrian's.

"My family has acted unforgivably," she insisted.

"It isn't our place to decide that," Adrian assured. She turned to Franziska for support. The prosecutor was momentarily struck by how confident she was, a stark contrast to her first interview.

Franziska tore her attention away from her admirable companion to face Sun-mi.

"Indeed. We only wish to determine the deceased's identity."

"Okay." Sun-mi took a deep breath to compose herself. "My sister's name is Hae-won. We're identical twins so…" Her eyes flicked down to the report sitting in front of Franziska. "You probably already know whether the woman you found is her or not."

Franziska and Adrian shared a pensive look. It was almost certain that Hae-won was the Jane Doe, but neither wanted to confirm Sun-mi's suspicions. It was at moments like these that Franziska wished she was less 'hands on', content to let her subordinates do the dirty work.

With an inaudible sigh, Franziska flipped through the case file to the post-mortem photo of the deceased's face. There were no gory signs of decomposition. However, the purple, waxy complexion of the skin meant the casual observer could not mistake the woman's peaceful expression for sleep. Franziska placed the photo onto the table like a fragile piece of glass and slid it over to Sun-mi.

A sorrowful moan burst from Sun-mi's lips as her crying began anew. Her chin dropped to her chest as sobs wracked her body. Franziska sat at the table stiff as a board, completely out of her depth when it came to emotional matters. She opened and closed her mouth, unable to find appropriate words of comfort.

Adrian leant over and whispered into Franziska's ear. "I think she may need a glass of water. And some tissues." She raised her brows and tipped her head towards the door.

Franziska looked at her quizzically for a moment, Adrian tipping her head more insistently.

Oh.

Franziska rose to her feet, careful not to let her chair scrape against the lino floor too loudly. She left the room as Adrian was stretching across the table to give Sun-mi's hand a comforting squeeze.

The Precinct was a cacophony of noise and light making Franziska wince as she made her way to Detective Gumshoe's desk.

"Oh, Ms von Karma, what can I—"

"Water and tissues. Now."

Detective Gumshoe sprung to his feet. "Yes, ma'am!" he saluted, before disappearing into the depths of the building.

Franziska sighed and leant against the Detective's desk. She cast a glance towards the conference room. The blinds were closed so she couldn't peek inside. What Adrian was doing in there, she didn't know. What she did know was that Adrian had sensed her discomfort and sent her on this errand to distract her. The realisation that she was so easy to read was unnerving. Franziska tapped her nails against the desk, unused to handing the reigns over to another during an investigation. She had always prized herself on her ability to work on her own, for the path to perfection was a solitary one.

And there was that awful word again: perfection. It only reminded her of her father and he was perhaps the greatest fool she'd ever known. What was the point of her little display with Flores yesterday if she was unable to distance herself from her father's central tenant?

She couldn't deny the sense of relief that washed over her as she left that dismal conference room. Working in a partnership, an equal partnership… was not as bad as she thought. In fact, it wasn't bad at all. She enjoyed it — a revelation she surprisingly didn't recoil from.

Adrian Andrews…

"Ms von Karma?"

Franziska jolted out of her reverie and snatched the water bottle and tissue packet out of Gumshoe's hands.

"Don't just stand there, Scruffy. Get back to work!"

"Yes, ma'am," Gumshoe said, slinking round to his chair like a dog with its tail between its legs.

When Franziska reentered the conference room, Sun-mi and Adrian's heads snapped towards the door.

"Ah, here she is," Adrian said. Franziska passed the items to Sun-mi wordlessly who accepted them with a whispered 'thank you'. She sat down as Sun-mi took a long gulp of water. Adrian gave her left hand a squeeze, her lips quirking up into a quick smile.

"Sun-mi has confirmed the photo is of her sister, Hae-won," Adrian said.

"Right." Franziska returned the photo of Hae-won to its case file. "Are you ready to answer a few more of our questions? It won't take long."

Sun-mi nodded solemnly. "What do you want to know?"

"First, can you tell us where Hae-won was living at the time of her death?"

Sun-mi winced. "I really can't say. She moved to Montreal for college and when she dropped out she went off the radar for a little while. It wasn't until six months ago she contacted me out of the blue to say she'd moved to LA."

"So you're from Canada then?"

"Yes. We migrated to Canada from South Korea when we were six. We grew up in Ottawa."

"How did she come to the United States?" Franziska asked, skimming Dr Saadeh's report in front of her. "We have no record of her entering the country."

"I…" She opened and closed her mouth several times but the words refused to come out.

"It's alright," Adrian said softly. "We're not interested in immigration issues." Her concerned eyes slipped towards Franziska, brows raised. Franziska tilted her head, encouraging Adrian to continue. "What happened to your sister last night is all that matters to us."

"I don't know the details," Sun-mi began after a long pause, "but I do know she went through New York at one stage."

"Hmm…" Adrian twirled her pen in thought. "I think if you go by car there are some unstaffed crossings. She wouldn't've had to go through customs." She turned Franziska for support but the prosecutor could only shrug. She was the last person who'd have knowledge of such matters.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Sun-mi said. "Hae-won was careful not to leave a record of her whereabouts. She didn't want our father finding her."

Franziska's back went rigid and she curled her gloved hands into fists.

"Hae-won and your father didn't get along?" Adrian ventured. Franziska didn't miss Adrian's eyes dart in her direction as Sun-mi chose her next words carefully.

"These past few years there was… tension between them. Hae-won went to college to study medicine, but I knew she never wanted to be a doctor. When she dropped out, our father was furious. They couldn't see each other without fighting about it." Sun-mi shook her head sadly. "Our father is a doctor and had always expected one of us to take over his practice one day. I can't stand the sight of blood, so if it was going to be anyone, it had to be Hae-won. But my sister didn't want to live under our father's shadow. She was a free spirit." A nostalgic smile spread across Sun-mi's face. "She wanted to be a writer, a tattoo artist, an interior decorator. She once talked about opening her own doggy day care!"

"But she couldn't do that in Canada," Adrian surmised.

"No. No, she couldn't."

There was something about Sun-mi's story that resonated with Franziska. She felt a pang of longing in her chest for that same freedom Hae-won had pursued.

Tch! Stop this foolishness at once! Franziska shook her head to bring her focus back to the case at hand. Identifying with a dead girl. Pathetic.

"Do you know the significance of this?" Franziska pulled out a photo of Hae-won's tattoo and handed it over to her sister.

"Ah." Sun-mi handed it back. "I was hoping you wouldn't ask about that."

Adrian and Franziska exchanged a look. "And why is that?" Franziska asked.

"It's the date she met that woman. Shontelle, I think."

"We found that date engraved on a ring she was wearing," Adrian said. "Were they engaged?"

Sun-mi screwed her lips to the side. "Yes. Just before Hae-won contacted me again."

Adrian shifted back in her seat, readjusting her glasses. There was a stiffness in her movements, her face carefully blank.

An unusual anger was building in Franziska's chest. "You didn't approve?" She grit out.

"It wasn't the easiest thing to accept." Sun-mi glanced between the pair. "What? I though you said you wouldn't judge."

"We're not," Adrian assured with a thin smile.

Speak for yourself.

"And just where is this Shontelle?"

"She had leukaemia," Sun-mi replied with a sigh. "I believe she passed away about a month ago." Fresh tears began to well in her eyes and she dabbed at them with a tissue. "I… I may have been rash to judge Hae-won, but I wanted her to be happy, truly. Shontelle's death was devastating to her."

In her peripheral vision Franziska saw Adrian hunch ever so slightly in her chair. She closed her eyes for a moment, steeling herself for the direction the interview was about to take. Opening her eyes, she flicked to another page in the case file. "The coroner has ruled Hae-won's death as a suicide. Do you think the loss of her fiancé was the cause?"

Sun-mi didn't seem surprised at Dr Saadeh's finding. "I can't say for certain. But…" She shrugged with one shoulder. "Hae-won had known Shontelle's illness was terminal for a long time. It wouldn't have been a shock to her."

Sun-mi was holding something back. "So what was Hae-won's reason then?" The pained expression on Sun-mi's face told Franziska all she needed to know. "It was your father, wasn't it?"

"Yes," Sun-mi croaked. "He found out where she was. I must have let something slip." She covered her face with her hands. "He flew over here last week. I have no idea what he said to her, but it wasn't good."

Adrian's back straightened up and Franziska could picture a light bulb switching on above her head. "Is your father still in the country?"

Sun-mi peeked through her fingers and shook her head. "He only stayed one day. He was back the next morning."

"Ah." Adrian deflated, the bulb above her head dying out.

Sun-mi wiped a tear off her cheek with a tissue before dropping her hands in her lap. "Is there anything more?"

"Just one last question: did Gourd Lake hold any significance to your sister?"

Sun-mi stared down at the mangled tissue in her hands. "It was where she and Shontelle first met."

Sun-mi's strength was beginning to waver and so Franziska ended the interview there. Detective Gumshoe escorted the grieving woman to her car as Adrian and Franziska headed to their own car. There were still a few loose ends that needed tying up. Like why Hae-won had been dressed so formally that night and the significance of the footprint heading towards the lake. That latter could be explained by the intoxicating combination of morphine and alcohol. Dr Saadeh noted in her report that Hae-won may have wandered for some time in a state of confused delirium before she died. As for the dress, there could be any number of reasons. Franziska surmised the most likely as being Hae-won wanting to look her best when she left the earthly realm.

The silence during the car trip home was oppressive, like one of those humid days where the air pinned you to the ground. Adrian had a white-knuckle grip on the wheel, both women caught up in their own thoughts. Franziska felt like she'd run an ultra marathon, her thoughts coming sluggish and slow. Unwanted memories of her father played over in her mind. Hae-won had run from hers, but he'd managed to catch up. In a similar way, Franziska was trying to outrun Manfred even though he was rotting 6 feet under. There was no time for resting, she had to keep moving forward. One day, she would need to turn round and face her demons head on, just like Miles Edgeworth had done. But today was not that day.

She kept her eyes on the silhouetted landscape to her right until they arrived home.

There was a moment of déjà vu as Franziska entered the house, Adrian sinking into the couch in front of her.

"I think I will retire for the night," Franziska said. She cast a rueful glance at the cold coffee sitting atop the table. Her heels click-clacked along the floorboards as she made her way to her bedroom.

"Franziska," Adrian called after her. She repeated her name more insistently when the prosecutor didn't stop.

Franziska titled her body towards the living room, but didn't turn her head around. Adrian pushed herself off the couch with a huff and met Franziska in the hallway.

"What about your promise earlier?" Adrian asked, trying to lighten the mood. Her playful smile dropped when she saw Franziska clench her jaw. "Franziska," she said more softly. "Come on. Look at me." She turned Franziska by the shoulder until the pair were facing each other. "Do you need to talk about it?"

"That won't be necessary," Franziska replied, turning to take another step towards her bedroom.

Adrian grabbed her arm to prevent her exit. "I know you came here to help me, but that doesn't mean I can't help you." She paused. "You don't have some sort of emotional immunity."

Franziska's breath hitched, but she couldn't bring herself to look Adrian in the eye. She'd already shown so much weakness to the woman in one day.

"Come." Adrian guided her into her room and they sat down on the bed side by side. "I know this kind of thing is hard for you… If you don't want to do the talking then let me."

Franziska drew back, bemused.

Adrian was still holding onto Franziska's arm; she placed her free hand over Franziska's gloved one.

"I think Hae-won's story hit a little too close to home. It reminded you of you and your father." Franziska gave a curt nod. "The Romano trial fits in there somewhere, but I don't know how."

Franziska just sat there, studying Adrian's hand on hers.

Adrian leant against her and gave her arm a light shake. "Come ooon," she drawled. "You can't always deal with problems on your own, Fran. Talk to me."

Fran?

"You picked my brain about Celeste twice today and you know what? It felt good. It felt good to finally get all of that off my chest. You'll feel the same way too, trust me."

Fran?

Adrian nudged her again. "Are you even listening to me?" she asked with a soft laugh.

"'Fran'?"

Adrian blinked. "What?"

"'Fran'?" Franziska asked again, fixated on the point.

"Ok, you've lost me."

"Just before," Franziska explained, eyes wide. "You said it. You called me 'Fran'".

Adrian loosened her grip on Franziska's arm. "Oh, sorry." She began pulling away. "No nicknames — got it."

"No, no, no," Franziska insisted, clutching on to Adrian's hand. There was a funny feeling in her stomach: fluttery. "I… I liked it."

Comprehension dawned on Adrian's face and her lips spread into a smile. "Ok, Fran." She bumped their shoulders together. "Help me out here: how does the Romano trial and Alejandra Flores fit in to this?"

Franziska carefully considered her next words. The answer was there — blurry, amorphous. If she turned her mind to it, it just might come into focus. "My father, he… All my life, I've wanted to be like him, to be the perfect heir to his legacy." Adrian squeezed her hand a little tighter. "I still inherit his legacy, regardless of my personal feelings towards him and what he did. But, I don't want to be an imitator." Franziska frowned. Where was this all coming from?

"Well," Adrian prompted, "what do you want to be?"

Franziska tilted her head to the side. "Better."

Adrian's smile widened. "I can say with confidence that you already are."

Franziska scoffed. "Don't be foolish."

"I'm not! Let me see. Would your father have flown to the other side of the world to help a friend in need? No. Would he have taken that friend as his own personal secretary to do that? No. Would he have used the valuable time of the court to prove he wasn't dirty?" Adrian shook her head. "No. But, most importantly of all: would he have been there for someone, like you were there for me this afternoon?"

"…You make a very convincing argument," Franziska had to admit.

"Well, of course. As you've said before, I'm one of the strongest, most capable women you've ever met."

Franziska let out an amused laugh. All this time she'd been trying to convince Adrian of her strength and now was when she finally accepted it?

The two shared a long, quiet look. Adrian breathed out a contented sigh.

"Thank you," Franziska whispered, not daring to speak any louder. A strange, though not unpleasant, mood had settled on them. She didn't wish to break it.

Her body moving of its own accord, Franziska drew closer to Adrian. Their noses brushed. Breath ghosted over lips. And then they met. Chastely, at first. Fingers twined in hair. Lips moved faster.

With a gentle push to her chest, Franziska fell back on the bed, breath rushing out of her. Adrian kissed her again, and again, and again until she lost count. And in that moment, Franziska had never felt more at home.

After all the mistakes she had made and people she had hurt, maybe slowly, with Adrian's help, she could start to seek absolution.