The room was small and dark, he'd never seen it like this before, he never woke from his sleep. Looking around his eyes fell first on the bright red numbers of the alarm clock. 2:1f am. His eyes quickly drifted past the clock to bed next to it. Empty. That's strange he thought, where's Pete? From the mattress on the floor where he lay, he could see the night's sky through the open window above him. The night was so clear, the air so fresh and peaceful, he felt so safe. With a silent groan he pulled himself to his feet. His chubby tummy sticking over the sides of his boxer shorts as he steadied himself on the window sill. Sliding his slippers on as he made his way to the door deciding not to turn the light on because Mrs and Mr Carlson's bedroom was right across the hall. He methodically made his way to the kitchen taking in the still of the night as he went, moving slowly yet surely through the dark yet familiar house. The kitchen was bare when he got there, but that didn't stop him from sneaking a piece of the apple pie he knew was in the fridge. After taking a bit he re-arranged the plate so it wasn't quite so obvious he had helped himself. Mrs Carlson didn't approve of ate night snaking as he had found out many times before. Glancing around that end of the house he saw nothing, no trace of movement, everything the same as it had been left the night before. Where the hell are you Pete, he asked himself. Then he heard it, below him a faint but definite rhythm, a pounding like the beat of a heart. He walked over the den door and gently turned the handle, and then silently made his was down the stairs, the dark no obstacle as he had made this trip many times before. When he reached the bottom, he paused as a gust of wind from the open window blow he long sandy hair into his crumb covered face. Pushing it back bend his ear he simultaneously swung his head around the corner to see the whole room. The small figure was lying in the bed as he expected. The larger figure, ever so familiar with it's muscled arms and lean body, so different to his own was stretched out on top of her. The bed gently bumping into the pale pink wall behind creating the pounding noise he had heard from above. He swallowed deep not knowing what to do, he eyes fixed, not blinking on the little girl. Her head full of uncontrollable curls turned, her eyes falling on his. Those usual happy, smiling eyes now empty and lifeless. He stared at her, she stared at him. Then he turned and went upstairs. Past the kitchen, down the hall, stopping briefly to look at the Carlson's bedroom before he quietly slipped back into the room he came from. As he pulled himself down to the mattress his eyes scanned the picture next to the alarm clock, him and Pete. Best friends since they were three. He turned the picture over and lay down. Looking out at the sky, this time not so kind, not so peaceful he closed his eyes and feel asleep, those eyes still straing out at him.

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Detective Woodrow Hoyt awoke drowsily from his restless sleep. He felt worse then he had when he'd collapsed into bed only four hours earlier. The week at been long, stressful and draining and the last thing he felt like doing was getting up and starting another all over again. But, he was Woody Hoyt and that's what he did, he got on with it regardless and so he got up and got ready for work.

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Jordan strolled into the precinct with a cup of coffee in each hand and a bag of goodies stashed under her arm. She knew that last time she'd done this Woody had brought up the ever looming topic that she herself didn't want to think about but she knew that he'd need coffee this morning. As she turned the corner she could see into his office, the blinds open as they always were. He was sitting at his desk not doing anything, just sitting and staring into nothing.

"Hiya Woody. Coffee's on"

"Thanks", he said in an unusual far away voice.

"Come on it's not that bad. I know you've been working hard but it's not like you to pass up coffee".

"Sorry Jordan I was just away with my own thoughts. Thanks for the coffee, I really needed a good cup".

"No prob, that's what friends are for", said added quickly as an after thought.

Woody stood up and walked over to Jordan accidentally brushing his fingers against hers as he took it from her hand. With a start she moved over to the small television on top of the filing cabinet, dropping the paper bag on his desk as she went.

"Lets see if we made the news", she said switching the television on and stepping back to look at the screen. Woody moving closer too but not close enough to Jordan to cause any trouble, he had sensed her escape jut moments before and was too tired to bother with it today.

.................................

In a large ominous house on the other side of town the television was also on. Three boys aged between six and ten were chasing each other round and round the sofa that two girls sat on. The younger one was playing with a Barbie doll, painstakingly plaiting the doll's hair into tiny braids just the ones she had in her own hair. The other girl, a young woman really, was reading a heavy textbook that she had propped on her bony knees. The regular bags under her eyes were dark, her small frame smaller then it had looked in a long while, the prestigious looking uniform she wore hanging slightly looser than usual. She was frustrated by what was going on around her. The boys kept brushing past her as they ran by and her long curly hair had just painfully got caught in Jack's jacket zip. Millie, the little girl kept needing "her assistant" in the hair salon. The older girl needed to finish the chapter she was reading, she had a Chemistry pop quiz that afternoon and the last few weeks the information that usually filled her mind effortlessly just wouldn't stick. Sighing she gave up and picked up the remote to change the channel. What's going on in the world she thought to herself flicking onto the early morning news station.

"Hey", yelled James the eldest of the three boys, "We were watching that".

"No you weren't", she retorted, "and go and get ready for .." she broke off as she saw a silver car door open on the television and a young man in a smart suit and a hideous tie step out. The man was met by a tall dark haired woman who seemed to be explaining something to him and he staring at her taking it all in.

"Hey I said change the channel back Prinnie", James yelled again.

Prinnie moved closer to the television and gently touched the picture of the man on the screen, then it was gone and horrific scenes of a murdered man were being beamed onto the box. She quickly switched the thing off and turned around to face the other children.

"Whose that Prinnie?", asked Millie in he sweet little vioce.

"Oh just someone I used to know", said Princess Carlson as she rounded the younger children up, yelling t some others upstairs and they made there way into the kitchen fro breakfast.