Randall Red lost his head when he met Brenda Blue. The lack of curves on her body and the tightness of her wrapper drew him in. What made him fall deeply, madly in love, however, was her mind.

Brenda joined Randall’s task force in the middle of one of their biggest cases to date. A Purple cracked in half in the center of Yellow territory. The kicker? Yellows were strict pacifists. There’d never been a violent crime in their part of the Cray. Things were changing, though. Just the week before, a Pink went missing. A baby too. Randall rubbed his eyes just thinking about the pain that family was feeling.

“Step back, Red.”

Randall lifted his head to see Brenda Blue, hand on hip. His jaw was slacked being called by his color so rudely. Brenda pointed to his wrapper. Right. The only name she could have known.

“Randall.” he corrected her, stepping back. He tried his best to hide his instinctual attraction.

“Alright, Randall. Do me a favor and keep that foot up.”

“My foot?” Randall looked down, holding his ankle.

“You stepped in some evidence.” she pointed. Purple flecks colored the sole of his foot.

“Good catch.”

“Good thing they brought me in. Might have tampered with more than the remains if I were a second later.”

Chief Rainbow stepped in. “Hey hey. Randall’s one of our best, Brenda. Lay off.”

Randall nodded a thank you to the chief. Brenda eased up and paced the scene. The Purple was clearly emaciated. The full body you’d expect behind a wrapper was shriveled, as if slightly used without ever having been peeled.

“Something got under his wrapper.”

“Was just thinking that.”

“Keep thinking.” Brenda smirked.

The wording on the wrapper was a little smudged as well. Unusual. Despite some criminals going to great lengths to disguise themselves, wrappers were notoriously difficult to alter. Was this done against their will?

“Someone was trying to change their color.”

“Or they were trying to change their own.”

Brenda’s head snapped to Randall. “But why?”

Randall had no theory, but couldn’t let her know. “They were trying to hide. Whoever was coming… that poor Purple knew.”

“Right.” Brenda kicked herself.

“Let’s take the investigation to the box the victim came from. Could be something there if your theory is right.” Chief Rainbow suggested.

The box was a mess. Colors everywhere. The bottom was a soup of every color of the rainbow. For that reason, the Chief had to step outside. Said it reminded him of when his pops passed away.

“Water.” Brenda and Randall said simultaneously.

“It explains the erosion under the wrapper.” she added.

“Look.” Randall said. Gray dust on the edge of the box. His finger was covered in it.

“The only color absent from that soup.” Brenda said.

Randall’s eyes lit up as she caught the flow of the crime in time with him. “Let’s catch a gray.”

As they climbed out of the box, they spotted a sign. As if a sign from the universe. It read: “Box for rent. 1300 monthly. Space for 32 occupants.” Written entirely in Gray.

Brenda dialed the number on the back. “Hi! I saw your ad. I’ve been looking for a new box if it’s still available.”

She played ditsy so well. Randall’s heart was racing watching her work. She was incredible.

“Let’s go. He wants to meet at the Blank Canvas.”

The hottest club in the Cray. Surely packed with every color under the rainbow. Brenda made her way to the private room in back to meet the suspect. The rest of the task force waited outside for a signal to enter, listening on a hidden microphone.

“Empty boxes are so rare! How did you afford one!?” Brenda asked.

“Mother was green. Made coming by money easy.” the Gray lied.

“Lucky lucky.” Brenda said. “I went by it to see if it was my speed, and there was some color still in there. Any idea what happened?”

She needed a confession. Was it too on the nose?

“I took care of the colors. Just gotta clean up.”

BAM.

“Wowza.”

The signal. “MOVE MOVE MOVE.” the task force charged into the club, shoving past dancing sticks of all different thicknesses and heights.

By the time they reached the back room, Brenda stood on top of a hog-tied Gray and a case so closed, you’d need the jaws of life to open it.

She stepped off the Gray’s back and smiled at Randall. He had to have her.

“Would you ever take a man… a crayon, like me?”

“I’m a Blue, baby. We can’t be.”

Randall spun her and tilted her by the waist. “I can’t see color.” With that, she closed her eyes and Randall planted one on her that had the whole task force applauding.

Before the wedding, there was a discussion about names. Who would take the last name of the other? Randall was proud to be a Red, but it was just a name. His love for Brenda meant much more.

“I now pronounce you Mr and Mrs Blue!” the officiant announced. The crowd sitting inside a rented out Blank Canvass roared in support of the new couple.

After a beautiful night together in their hotel room, Brenda went to work early. Randall awoke to notice some dust on her side of the bed. He placed it in an evidence bag, worried that something was wrong with her, hoping the forensics lab would be able to tell him.

“This isn’t Brenda’s.” said Gary Green, the lab tech.

“But you haven’t tested it yet.”

“It’s Pink.” Gary stated.

Randall left the precinct, utterly confused. Pink? They keep to themselves across the Cray.

The missing baby. Randall’s heart sank. The world was spinning. What was Brenda involved in?

Chief Rainbow stepped outside the precinct and put a hand on Randall’s back as he was hunched over, hyperventilating. “Something wrong, Agent Blue?”