Instead of replying right away, Araceli pushed her wooden guest’s chair back from the desk, stood and lifted the right hand sleeve on her merino suit jacket. The raw edges of the fabric bloomed and split like the air holes on freshly baked bread. A telltale trickle of fresh blood, frozen in its path down her well-toned arm, cracked and split as she turned to show her boss what a well-placed switchblade could do.

Kara’s manicured hand and graceful piano player’s fingers immediately flew to her mouth. “Araceli, who did this to you?”

“Tall…skinny… skull tattoo… accent…tried to cut my purse off of me, take files… ” Araceli fainted, a hot air balloon suddenly losing altitude.

Kara took her hand away from her mouth, and hurried around the side of her desk. A quick run of the ABC ’s revealed her friend and colleague was definitely out cold. Kara took a deep breath and dialed.