First off a huge thanks to my editor Cheer_Smartie526 for helping me with this. It got a lot longer than I expected it to, and my grammar skills still suck. I'm sure I have messed some of the editing up with my last minute changes. This is a multi part story, and it's going to skip around category wise. This is part 1.
The store was a well-engineered compromise of efficiency and attractiveness. It was just inviting enough to bring people in, but not somewhere they wanted to loiter too long. Pete scanned the shelf for the item he was looking for. He was still perplexed by the way his toothpaste vanished. The hotel had provided a replacement tube, but it had an aftertaste that stayed with him the entire day. Even though he was leaving soon it was worth the detour to get something a bit more pleasant. He located a brand he liked and walked to the checkout line. He noticed one of the cashiers reaching up to turn off the light at her station. She was average height with shoulder length brunette hair. She was a woman with curves, large breasts, a bit of a belly and a round ass. As he approached her stand, she turned to face him and smiled. The name Carolyn was printed on her name badge.
"Are you ready to check out?" she asked. She was about to close, but the next register was at the opposite end of the store and the guy was cute.
"I'm closed but I can do you... I mean check you out... I mean I don't mind," Carolyn stammered, trying not to sound like she was propositioning him.
Carolyn had noticed this customer when he walked in. The way his jeans hugged his ass had caught her attention. He was a bit taller than average with close cropped jet black hair. His features were well proportioned and had an all American look to him. She was about to close, but hesitated when she saw him walking toward her register. He only had one item, so she thought he was still shopping. She was pleasantly surprised when he turned towards her.
"Is this it?" she asked, running the item over the bar code scanner.
"That's it. Apparently the underpants gnomes have branched out into toothpaste, mine vanished," Pete replied, noting that she smiled at his reference to South Park.
"Do you need any ice or stamps?"
"No," Pete paused. The shirt the woman was wearing showed an ample amount of cleavage. He forced himself to look up. "However, do you know if there are any good places to eat around here?"
"There are quite a few, what do you like?"
"For some reason I'm craving a milkshake, so a burger place sounds good, but not something from a chain."
Pete pulled out his wallet and realized he didn't have any cash. Sheepishly he pulled out his credit card and swiped it through the machine. He felt silly using plastic for such minor purchase.
"I know this sounds strange, but I need to see your ID. There's been a lot of identity theft lately, so we confirm every credit purchase," Carolyn said. He opened his wallet and displayed his driver's license. She noticed it was from another state, then she noticed another ID on the opposite side of his wallet, it said FBI.
"I'm not a field agent," Pete said after she had been staring at his credentials for almost a minute.
"Oh, what?" she said, as if he had snapped her out of a trance.
"I'm not a field agent," he repeated, "I don't get in shoot out with drug dealers or chase bad guys. I'm a forensic specialist. I look at evidence very, very closely and try to figure out how it was used. You probably do the same thing."
"Not really, I just run stuff over the scanner."
"You don't ever try to guess what they are going to do with their purchases?" he inquired.
"Well, sometimes, if it an odd combination. You know, like condoms and duct tape," she said, blushing slightly.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you. How about we stick with places to eat?"
"There is a really good local place, it's a bit out of the way," she said, placing his item in a bag and handing him his receipt. She reached up to turn off the light above her register, and then paused when he asked her a question.
"What's it called?" he asked.
"Beef Squared," she said, making a number two in the air, "as in exponential, and the patties are square. Are you familiar with this area of town?"
"No, just visiting," Pete paused for a moment, "if I offer to buy you dinner will you show me where the place is?"
The offer was tempting, even though he was almost a complete stranger. Her shift was over and she had nowhere to go.
"Sure, let me turn in my cash drawer, meet me out front." She said, turning off her light and pulling the drawer out of her register.
Pete watched her disappear down a corridor in the front of the store. He wondered where the evening would lead as he walked out of the store. His mind was already considering the evidence he had collected on her and a profile was forming.
Carolyn pressed the buzzer to the door of the stores office. She heard the door unlocked and she entered the room.
"It balances," she said, setting her drawer on the table.
"Are you in a hurry to leave?" Sue asked.
"Yea, this guy is taking me to dinner," Carolyn confessed.
"Anyone I know?"
"No."
Sue quickly counted the money, "You were right, it balances. Have fun on your date."
After making a quick stop by her locker to drop off her name badge and grab her purse, she walked out of the store. Pete was waiting for her, casually leaning against one of the columns in front of the store. Part of her worried about leaving with a stranger and not telling anyone where she was going. She looked up at the security camera and smiled, hoping that would not be a picture they put on a milk carton.
"We can take my car or yours," Pete said.
"Yours might as well get something out of my taxes," she replied.
She followed him through the parking lot to a hulking SUV with tinted windows with government plates.
"On second thought, let's take my car. If anyone sees me in that they will think I've been arrested," she said.
"Have you done anything wrong?"
"No," she quipped, and then whispered under her breath, "but I wouldn't mind if you handcuffed me."
Her car was only a few rows over, a late model sedan that looked very much like a girl's car. They both sat down and she started the vehicle.
Their conversation drifted as they drove to the restaurant. Before long they were pulling into the parking lot. Once inside he ordered the same thing she had and they found a table.
"So you are like CSI for the FBI?" she asked.
"That's close, my specialty is physical evidence. I do profiles, but about bodies, not much of the psychological stuff. I mostly look at stuff and try to figure out what someone looks like," he explained.
"So why are you here? Is there a crime spree I have not heard of? Serial killer on the loose?" she asked.
"Nothing that exciting. I'm training the local forensics lab techs on some new stuff. We do this every year. This is my first time to do it here."
"How do you like it here?" she asked.