there was a smile lingering on her lips . the potential of its’ proportions was tremendous . harleen kopski was just doing her best to stay in character while standing in that parking lot . there she was ; THE GOOD DOCTOR ! so professional , so proper ! oh , so hard to perform these days .   “   well , i’ve got some bad news for you , detective .   ”   harley looked at jim and saw herself only a few months back , dying to fit in , dying to be perceived as someone to be taken SERIOUSLY . she pursed her lips together , trying to hold back the sudden urge to laugh in detective james’ face . the poor man had done nothing wrong . just another fella trying to keep things balanced , trying to do what he thought was right . there was something noble in that , surely ! if only harleen could SHOW HIM how futile that all was   (   the suit , the badge , the gun , the morality   )   ! how could he think he would even the score if he didn’t realize he wasn’t PLAYING THE GAME ? 

                    ━━━     rust had arrived early . there were a few detectives slouched over their desks already , but they all seemed sluggish , distant . all hoping for the the fumes of their coffee cups to deliver them COURAGE . he examined the room with an arched eyebrow . cohle was supposed to be meeting another detective there . one that would guide him through the folders of a particular case . both of their jurisdictions had became linked ; a series of grizzly murders had stained both states in blood . same scenarios , same profiles on all the victims ... the monster rust was looking for could be more FEROCIOUS than he had initially thought . he checked his watch . his colleague ought to show up thirty minutes from now . JIM JAMES JR . the name had rang a bell in the depths of cohle’s subconscious , but he couldn’t quite remember why .

                                      he slowly walked through the desks sprinkled across the room , letting his heavily-lidded blue eyes drag themselves over phones and piles of unread documents . sometimes they’d catch a wedding picture , other times a family one . either way , rust always had to pull his gaze away from them .      ━━━     that job only became dangerous when you had something to lose . all those pictures CELEBRATED WHAT WAS AT STAKE ; all of them reminded the men and women working in that department of just how many victims a single slip up could create . something bitter and metallic latched onto the roof of rust’s mouth . he needed to STEP OUT of that familiar mind space . find a way to distance himself from all the gazes in those family portraits . they were too similar to his own daughter’s and to the gaze of countless other kids , hidden in the depths of the louisiana state police’s headquarters , laying in piles of crime scene photos , lifeless , still , quiet . rustin felt his jaw tighten .