Medical Examiner's Office

Locking her cruiser, Fiona went inside the small stand alone brick building that housed the medical examiner's office and Storybrooke's crime lab (which included only Kevin and Molly who also worked at the hospital part-time as lab technician). The sheriff had sent her down to kindly encourage Kevin to speed up his work so the two officers would have something concrete to go on. Any and all leads were to be explored as per the mayor's orders.

Graham was at Storybrooke General, trying to get a statement or something useful from Mr. Grant. He was heavily sedated, but he was conscious for small windows of time. Dr. Whale said he'd allow the Sheriff a brief visit this afternoon if he promised not to push the patient.

Fiona found the doctor glued to the computer screen. Not wanting to scare him, she announced her presence with a greeting. "Good afternoon Dr. Marshall."

The affable man swiveled in his chair to see her. "Afternoon deputy, though I wouldn't call it good."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because I have nothing new to report. I'm working through Mr. Grant's clothes and so far all the blood I've sampled has come from him."

"How about fingerprints? Did you find any matches?"

"No, I haven't." He shook his head in frustration. "The bottom line is I have nothing that will help you. We still have to process the soil samples from his boots - found a couple of different types, but that will take some time."

"Can you give me a general clue as to where the soil is from? Even a ballpark estimate is better than nothing."

He laughed. "Doubt that. From what I can tell from the sand and the dirt, he had been by docks and hiking in the woods." He glanced over at the town map that was plastered on the wall. "That only covers like 80% of Storybrooke."

Fiona sighed, this really wasn't any help. "Thank you for your help, please update us-"

"As soon as I know anything deputy, I promise I will call the sheriff."

Mayor's Office

Regina was reviewing one last proposal before she started preparing for the town hall meeting later tonight. Usually the meetings were sparsely attended, with most citizens simply reading about what was discussed and voted on in the paper the next morning. Tonight, though, the mayor expected it to be packed.

Too many people had heard about the attack and would use the meeting as a way to vent their fears and only would she have to take care of the mundane matters of the town, she would have to make them feel safe. Part of that involved getting an update from Sheriff Humbert and part of that meant selling Deputy Kyle as a competent officer.

She would take care of the former by calling Graham once she finished with the zoning proposal. How she would carry out the latter part of her goal was still up in the air.

Without invitation or an appointment, Sidney Glass came into her office. "I need to talk to you Madam Mayor."

Looking at the clock on the wall Regina rolled her eyes. The resourceful reporter must have noted that her assistant took a cigarette break for about ten minutes. "Unless you have information on the Grant case, now is not a good time Sidney."

"That's precisely why I'm here. You know I would do whatever I could to help you mayor, but my hands are tied - courtesy of that childish and disrespectful deputy Graham hired."

Regina exhaled, Sidney was obviously here to vent. "What did she do?" She got up to pour herself a glass of water.

"I came with the intention to help with my professional skills and she still refused to answer my questions about the case. When I told her that Sheriff Humbert cooperated with me in previous cases, do you know what she said?"

After she sipped on her water, she asked, "No, what did Deputy Kyle say to you Mr. Glass?"

"She called me a hack! Mayor Mills this girl needs to be fired. She is completely unqualified for the job! Graham made a huge mistake with her."

She held back the fact that she had personally approved the hiring; no need to prolong the conversation. "Mr. Glass,if you have qualms about the new deputy then please address it through the proper channels. File a complaint with the Sheriff."

"He won't do anything!" For some reason the sheriff didn't really seem to like him. "That's why I'm coming to you Regina..er..Mayor Mills. You get things done, especially after all I've done."

For a second, Regina was about to snap at him for the presumptuous tone, but an idea formed in her mind, one that allowed her to kill two birds with one stone. "I'm not going to fire her just because she snapped at you. However, we are having a town hall meeting tonight and if you want to publicly air your grievances about the new hire, you are free to do so."

The egotistical reporter smiled, happy to have a chance to tell others how he felt. "Thank you Mayor Mills. I'll prepare my statement right away."

The moment the door closed behind Sidney, Regina allowed herself to smile. This would be a perfect opportunity to see if the new deputy could handle some heat.

Town Hall

This was a mistake.

As she entered the large room, the inexperienced deputy felt the knot in her stomach growing ever tighter. She saw a few pair of eyes look at her as she passed by, most she did not recognize - prior to taking the job, she had worked hard to maintain a low profile. She was afraid that her secret would get out. Oddly enough, she had noticed that the mental fog that kept every in that creepy rut was a plus for her.

People somehow couldn't make the connection between her aging with their biological stasis. That was a fear of her the first few years - how she seemed to be getting older (albeit slowly)while they remained the same.

As Fiona moved towards the front of the room, she spied Mary Margaret and Ruby out of the corner of her eye. The waitress and teacher both gave their silent signs of approval (okay almost silent - Ruby squealed with delight). At the very front the deputy noticed Mayor Mills already seated at her table, facing the audience. She had her usual determined and combative look. Fiona wondered if Regina view every public meeting as combative.

Regina appraised her as she approached. "I'm glad that you actually paid attention to our little chat."

"Yeah." Fiona noticed that there was no extra seat at Regina's table. She forgot to check with Graham about what she was supposed to do.

"I suggest you take your seat."

"Next to you?"

Regina glared at her and Fiona felt like a small child being reprimanded by her mother. "No. You sit over there." She used her pen as a guide and pointed toward a semi isolated spot in the first row.

"Oh. Okay." Fiona sheepishly took her seat, hoping no one caught that exchange. Her eyes went to the soft chuckles she heard and Fiona saw Sidney and District Attorney Spencer having a laugh at her expense.

So much for first impressions.

Mayor Mills started the meeting by tapping her gavel. The murmurs continued, but at a much lower level. "This session of the Storybrooke city council will come to order."

Sheriff's Office

Having the deputy at the town hall meeting meant Graham could have an extra hour or so to dig a little more into the case, not that there was much to go on.

Mayor Mills wasn't happy when he called her with an update. He knew that Regina wanted to have something to pacify the town as fear was quietly building up. First a little girl was abducted and now a man was savagely attacked.

Now though, he had some scrap to go on - Kevin found pollen on Grant's boots that narrowed the search area to the woods near the main road just outside of the town. It was still a rather large space, but it was more doable than scouring the town bit by bit.

The more proactive citizens were dispatched to help out with the along with the two part-time deputies he had on payroll - Baxter and Tyler. He instructed everyone ot call him if they found anything suspicious.

So far he had gotten a couple of false leads, but he was still hopeful.

The phone rang once and Graham snatched up the receiver. "Sheriff's Office, how can I help you?"

The familiar hacking cough the preceded the response immediately alerted Graham that Ken Baxter, a part-time deputy, was on the line. He was a heavy smoker and though he tried many times, he couldn't seem to quit the habit. "Sheriff, you have to come down to the toll bridge. I found a body."

Town Hall

It was now time for citizens to voice their questions directly to her, provided they did not go over their allotted 5 minutes. Regina was seriously considering doing away with the practice, but she knew that it served a purpose, like tonight.

"I know many of you have concerns about the recent attack on one of own-"

A voice shot out "We have the right to feel protected in our own town!"

"Quiet!" The crowd immediately hushed so she continued her prepared introduction. "I understand your concern and I've already taken steps to address them. Sheriff Graham has hired a full time deputy to help him. Deputy Kyle, so you mind standing up?"

On cue, Fiona got on her feet.

Her discomfort was clear; the deputy's posture was ramrod straight and her cheeks were flushed.

Several hands went up. The Mayor pointed to Sidney in the front row.

Standing up, the attention seeking reporter introduced himself. "Sidney Glass, for the Daily Mirror."

"We know who you are Mr. Glass." Regina shook her head. "What is your concern?"

"I don't believe that Deputy Kyle is the best choice for the job. The public deserves someone with the ability to handle their duties and make them feel safe." He turned to face the crowd, lapping up all the focus on him. "I found the deputy to be uncooperative when I tried to get information for a story about Mr. Grant's attack."

A few people murmured, mostly in agreement with him.

All eyes were now on Fiona, watching her intently for a response. She looked at the Mayor, hoping for a reprieve, but Regina kept her expression neutral. Seeing that she was alone, Fiona started, "I wasn't being uncooperative. I was trying to preserve the integrity of the investigation."

"The public has a right to know what is going on in their own town, especially when a dangerous person is lurking about."

Unwilling to let him make it seem like he was a noble hero while she was the villain, Fiona pushed back. "The public has a right to be safe and that means catching the attacker. That's my priority." She folded her arms across her chest. "Besides at that time we had nothing of significance to share."

Sidney pounced on her words. "So you have something now?" He was going to pin her to the wall.

"That's not what I said. You're twisting my words."

He had done background work on her and saw that she avoided any limelight. He took it as a sign that she was a horrible public speaker. "Then what are you trying to say? Deputy?"

Fiona knew that the questions wasn't genuine, he was simply mocking her. She hated feeling so helpless. Her temper flared up as she realized no one was going to come to rescue her. This whole thing was ridiculous. She knew she did the right thing, but she was coming across as grossly incompetent. Before she could think it through her mouth started moving. "I'm trying to protect instead of putting people in danger."

"And how is your silence accomplishing that?"

"Like you said Mr. Glass, a dangerous person is at large, so why in the world would we tip him off? If we gave you some quote hinting at a lead, then couldn't he go into hiding, making it that much harder to catch him?"

Sidney was caught off guard. "You don't know for sure that would happen."

"I'm not willing to risk people's lives to test that theory out, are you?"

Now it was his turn to have his back against the wall. He hadn't expected this from her. Trying to maintain his façade of seeking truth, he countered against her argument. "And we're just supposed to trust you? We need information so we can protect ourselves."

"That's right - accurate information, not speculation. I don't say anything unless it has some substance. Getting to the truth of the matter takes effort and time. I know that's something you're not familiar with Mr. Glass." The audience ate the jab up and started murmuring and snickering. " But it's a part of the investigation. Let us do our jobs and we'll protect the town as best we can."

Fiona looked around, worried about how she came across - it was a bit more assertive than what she was accustomed to, but it appeared that many in the room agreed with her point. She could've swore even the mayor smiled.

Toll Bridge

Graham's cruiser smoothly pulled off the road and into the grassy shoulder right before the bridge. As he opened his door, Baxter came up to him. "I found him under the bridge."

"Him?"

"Dr. Townsend is already here."

"Good, lead the way." After a minute, Graham smelled a stench and practically gagged. "I take it the body is decomposing." The two men reached the grey headed medical examiner and the clearly dead man who was being respectfully transferred into a body bag.

The doctor spoke before Graham could ask his question. "Based on my preliminary observation and tests, I'm saying this man has been dead around 4-6 days. He was hastily buried; looks to be less than a foot and a half deep."

"Any clue on cause of death?"

"I would say that being shot repeatedly would do the trick." She answered, half jokingly. "Though if you don't mind, I'd like to get to a more thorough study before giving my official theory."

"Of course." Addressing both the doctor and the deputy around him, Graham asked, "Do you find anything else? Something to explain why this man was killed?"

"No." Both answered simultaneously.

"Okay, well let's get everyone here to scour the area and see if we can discover anything else."

Outside Town Hall

With the town meeting over the Mayor made her usual rounds, chatting with various citizens mostly to gauge how people took the evening's proceedings. It appeared as her plan worked out well - most were accepting the new deputy and felt sufficiently protected by the Sheriff's Office.

She noticed Sidney quickly excused himself, his ego no doubt bruised. He probably needed a few days to himself.

Now onto the other business - finding the deputy.

Regina silently noted the deputy's lapses in concentration while the meeting was happening. Every few minutes Fiona glanced behind her as if she were searching for a particular person. At first the Mayor assumed it was either the banal Mary Margaret or the trampy waitress Ruby, but the deputy made clear eye contact with them before continuing her visual sweep.

Her curiosity piqued, Regina made a mental note to find out who it was.

Scanning the pockets of groups gathered outside, Regina spotted the deputy talking to Ms. Boyd, Blanchard, and Lucas by the bulletin board, smiling and laughing. From the looks of it, they were congratulating Fiona on a job well done.

As she walked up, Mary Margaret saw her first and quickly mumbled something to the deputy. The three companions scurried away, like frightened animals hiding from a predator.

Regina smirked - it gave her a small satisfaction to see her former stepdaughter subdued and intimidated by her mere presence.

But that wasn't why she was there.

"Deputy, I wanted to tell you that you handled yourself well. I believe Mr. Glass will think twice before questioning your authority in public again."

The young law officer gave a polite nod. "To be honest, I kind of feel bad. Did I seem rude?"

"No, you came across as assertive. Sidney thought you were an easy target, but you proved him wrong. He needed to be put in his place."

Fiona looked at her, disbelieving. "I thought you two were friends."

Regina suppressed the urge to laugh at the ridiculous assessment. "He's not a friend deputy. He's merely a source of information."

Fiona nervously tapped her foot. "Oh." She didn't think the mayor would be so blunt about how she used people. Perhaps the Evil Queen wasn't as buried as she thought (or hoped).

Thankfully, Regina went back to her original point. "Do you know why I'm Mayor?"

Because you enacted a curse in which you retained all authority? Fiona wanted to answer, but pretended to be ignorant about that fact. "No, why?"

"Because people know that I can get the job done. They may not always like how I do things, but they respect me and trust me to get the job done."

"I want people to respect me, but I don't want to mean about it."

"'Mean' is a matter of opinion. You don't need to worry if people like you or not." Regina's eyes bore into the young woman to help her appreciate the seriousness of what she was saying. "In fact, that's the best way to fail. Once you understand how fickle people are, the better you'll be as deputy."

The young woman looked at annoyed at her comment, but kept her thoughts to herself. Smart girl. Maybe Regina was getting through to her.

Just then, both women felt their pagers simultaneously vibrate. Reading Graham's message, they headed to their vehicles to meet him at the Toll Bridge.

Toll Bridge

Even though Fiona was certain she had left at least minute before the mayor, Regina was already out of her car and meeting Graham when she parked.

The older woman immediately requested an assessment of the situation so she could know how to proceed next. "Sheriff what did you find?"

"A body."

"A dead person?" Fiona winced. She wasn't being dense, it was just that she was shocked that a murder occurred in Storybrooke. In all the time they had been in this town, there had been no violent crimes like this. Petty theft, sure, but she had assumed that the curse forced everyone to comply with Mayor Mills. She couldn't see how killing would be something that the Queen wished upon the town she created. It didn't make any sense.

The mayor shook her head at the deputy's comments and instead focused her attention back onto the sheriff. "Did you find anything else besides the body?"

"Actually we did." He held a clear plastic evidence bag by the lantern so they could get a good look. It was an identification badge, from the town cannery. The picture and the name on the badge belonged to Clifford Grant.

Fiona's brows furrowed. "Are you saying our victim is also a suspect?"

"I'm saying that there is more to this attack than we thought."

Regina did not like where this investigation was leading. "Where is the body now?"

"It's have been taken to the lab. They will come back to pick up this badge and whatever else we discover." He then instructed his subordinate. "Deputy Kyle, could you go help Baxter? I'm hoping there are still more clues around."

"Yes, sir."

—-

It wasn't until Regina saw Deputy Baxter come to the makeshift coffee station for the sixth time (she had carefully counted) that she noticed she hadn't seen Fiona since they had arrived and looking at her watch that was almost three hours ago. Assuming Baxter was still assigned to work, she asked, "Where's Deputy Kyle?"

"Still digging."

The mayor gave him a glare; she couldn't stand laziness. "And why aren't you?"

"I'm tired and cold." He was unapologetic, sitting down as if to emphasize his point. "I need a break before I get back to work."

"And yet a woman barely old enough to drink is outdoing you." Regina saw Baxter scowl at her before he muttered some words under his breath. "You have a choice - either get back to work right now or volunteer your time. This town will not pay for you to work at your leisure."

The man took the hint and got up again. However he stopped when he saw Sheriff Humbert approach and signal for him to stay put.

"Baxter, we're going to call it a night. We'll regroup tomorrow. One of us has to stay here and watch the area to make sure no one tampers with anything."

Regina wasn't about to let the sloth of a man get off easy. "I think Baxter is up to the task of watching the area for a few hours."

The part-time deputy immediately objected. "Deputy Kyle doesn't seem to have a problem working, why doesn't she stay?" Catching how terrible his own words sounded, he back-tracked. "I mean I rode with you Sheriff, I can't be here alone without a vehicle."

Graham nodded and looked as he was about to agree, but then Regina offered a solution. "He can use Deputy Kyle's cruiser and I'll drive her back."

Both men looked at her incredulously - Baxter because he was outmaneuvered and Graham because she wasn't known for giving lifts.

The Sheriff finally agreed to her plan. "That sounds reasonable Mayor Mills. Baxter, I'll help wrap up everything here before leaving you here with my cruiser. It has some camping gear in the trunk to help make spending the night more bearable." He glanced over at her. "Do you mind taking the deputy home now?"

"Of course."

Regina found the young woman further down the river bank. Fiona was working steadily, but the mayor could see that the movements were labored. The deputy was exhausted. "The sheriff is sending everyone home for the night."

Fiona nodded in acknowledgment. "Thanks, I'll leave in a bit." She stabbed the ground with her shovel and when it refused to get more than halfway in, she jumped on it, letting her weight sink it in further. She then turned up the ground and a pile of dirt flies behind her. It was certainly crude, but the method worked.

Not one to be ignored, Regina's tone took on more authority. "That includes you deputy. Graham needs you to be ready tomorrow."

"I'll just finish this up and then I'll leave."

"No, you won't. I'm your ride home." Reading the deputy's confusion, Regina explained, "Baxter will be staying here and needs one of the cruisers. Since I'd like to get home sooner rather than later, you need to stop now and come with me."

"I see." Picking up her shovel, Fiona followed Regina back to where her Mercedes was parked. "Baxter volunteered?"

"Not exactly."

Reaching the table, the deputy dropped off her shovel, said her good-byes to Graham and a few others before snatching a cup of coffee to go.

Regina couldn't help, but comment on it. "Are you sure about that deputy? Considering how late it is, I'd imagine you'd have a hard time sleeping if you had some more."

"I'll be fine." She started sipping. "I'm not much of a sleeper anyways."

The two women got inside the car and buckled. After putting her key in the ignition and starting the Mercedes, Regina pointed to the cup holders. "Please try not to make a mess. I just had it cleaned."

"Yes, ma'am."

Regina lifted her brow at the sarcastic tone, but said nothing. They were both tired from the extremely long day. "Are you still staying at Granny's?"

"Yes I am."

The mayor easily got back into the road and headed downtown. Regina usually liked listening to classical music on her drive home, but felt uncomfortable turning the radio on with a passenger in the car. It dawned on her that her mother Cora had taught her long ago it was rude to ride in a carriage in complete silence when there was a guest. Though decades had passed, her mother's lessons were too ingrained into her to ignore.

With her eyes firmly on the road, Regina started the conversation. "You seemed a bit distracted back at the town meeting, like you were looking for someone. Did they make it?" She tried to keep her tone light, she wasn't making a commentary, simply asking a question.

Fiona blinked, she had tried to be inconspicuous earlier, but she apparently failed miserably. "I was hoping my aunt or at least one of my cousins would show up. I left a message, but I guess they couldn't make it." She shrugged as if it didn't matter to it, but she was hurt by the cold shoulder from them. Her aunt was stubbornly refusing to accept Fiona's decision to work under Mayor Mills.

Almost instinctively Regina offered reassurance. "Maybe they will be able make it next time." It felt odd to say such empty words, after all from what little she knew they were callous enough to let Fiona recover at the hospital by herself.

However Regina pushed away such thoughts when the deputy gave her a grateful smile. "I hope so too. Thank you."

An easy silence fell in the cabin of the car, which was a wonderful reprieve from the constant talking Regina had endure today and this evening.

After a few minutes, Regina glanced at her passenger, thinking that the deputy had fallen asleep. Instead she read Fiona's face and saw that the young woman was debating whether or not to bring up something, opening her mouth before changing her mind. The deputy's indecisiveness was slightly irritating to the decisive older woman. She cleared her throat. "Is something on you mind?"

"Actually there is. I wanted to about what you said about Sidney earlier."

Regina sighed, this again. "I'm sure Mr. Glass will get over it soon enough-"

"That's not what I going to ask."

"Then what is it?" Though she wouldn't admit it, Regina was eagerly waiting to be home in her own bed so she could get some much deserved rest. She had no time to wait for the girl to open up nor did she want to spend the night guessing what the deputy's comment would be.

"You said Sidney was simply a source of information, nothing more. Is that how you see me?" Her hazel eyes carefully consider the mayor's face, trying to note her reaction. "Am I simply someone to use too?"

Regina stiffened, the sudden shift in topic made her feel off balance. One minute she was offering the girl comfort and now her intentions were being scrutinized. She had no answer to give so she back into an old habit- delaying by asking questions of her own. "What do you mean?"

Instead of replying to her query, the deputy shook her head and before she turned her face towards the passenger side window, Regina saw a flash of disappointment.

Unlike the earlier silence, the rest of their ride was painfully uncomfortable.

As soon as the Mercedes was in park, Fiona unbuckled herself and opened the door. "Thank you for the ride Madam Mayor." She slammed the door and walked away before giving Regina a chance to respond.