The dedicated detective was hunched over his neatly organised desk. Carefully filling in the case files from the arrest he had carried out that day. This young man was married to his job, he was hard-working, meticulous and pro-active. Underneath his fresh-face, smart hair, suit, shirt and tie was a shy romantic who lost himself in his work so that he could willfully ignore the emptiness in his heart. This hopeless romantic longed to share his life with someone.

The detective signed off the final page and glanced around his office. It was big, obviously because he was the lead detective in the area, due to his innate need for everything to have a place the entire office was as spotless as the man himself.

Earlier that day a mugging took place, an 80 year old lady was jumped by a lad in his mid twenties, he had stolen her handbag. In the process of mugging the poor woman he had knocked her over, she had hit her head on a lamp post. Thankfully an off-duty paramedic was close at the time and took her to hospital. The lad didn't even look back he just carried on running, the detective decided to ignore protocol and chased after the perpetrator. Eventually pinning him to the ground, performing an arrest and retrieving the stolen items.

The phone started ringing, the detective looked at it dubiously he knew at some point he was going to have to face his superiors, he hadn't called for back up when he should have. He picked up the phone 'Detective Hardy' he stated waiting for the caller to identify themselves. 'Hi Ethan, it's Cal, just wanted to let you know I can't make it tonight somethings come up' his brother reeled off, canceling yet again. 'Don't worry about it, I'll talk to you tomorrow' Ethan replied shortly before hanging up, he should've known this would happen but he always hoped Cal would actually sort himself out.

Shaking his head, Ethan checked his emails wondering if the lady was okay. He had visited her earlier during his lunch break and gave her some flowers to cheer her up but he was still worried. Finally he decided to call the hospital to double check everything was fine 'Hello I would like to speak to Dr Keogh, he has been treating a patient named Paula Smith...yes it's Detective Hardy just following up on a case...is she okay?' Ethan spoke to the young nurse on the phone, then waited for Doctor Keogh to answer 'Hello, Detective Hardy. Paula is fine. Just a few cuts and bruises. I discharged her an hour ago and told her to rest for a couple of days.' The Doctor explained 'Ahh thank you' Ethan responded in relief. 'If that's all I have patients to treat' Doctor Keogh responded bluntly. 'Right yes, that is all, thank you for your time' Ethan finished and hung up.

Glancing down at his watch; an old rolex, it did look out of place on him due to it's size and style but held a lot of sentimental value, the detective called it a day. He picked up his beige trench coat, locked up his office and made his goodbyes to his colleagues.

Ethan begun his walk home, he had a car but enjoyed the journey, it helped him to process the day and clear his mind. He took the same route, the familar houses and signs put him at ease. Ethan stopped outside the bakery, like he always did and knocked on the door. The bakery was shut and had been for a few hours but the owner made an exception for him. Detective Hardy was well known throughout the town, many citizens were indebted to him for all he had done. The short blonde opened the door and greeted him with a smile 'evening Detective, how was your day?' Ethan tipped his hat slightly 'Good evening, yes there's been a few new cases today but all in all everything has been sorted.'

The little blonde bustled about making Ethan his usual coffee 'have you had any updates on the dognappers?' Ethan shook his head looking at his feet 'I'm afraid not, we had one suspect but his alibi came through and it was concrete.' 'Never mind. I'm sure you'll find something soon. I know you won't give up.' The blonde smiled reassuringly handing over his coffee '...flat white as usual. Would you like anything else?'

Ethan took some loose change from his coat pocket and looked at the cake display 'Yes...I think I'll have a double chocolate chip cookie, please.' 'Of course' she replied wrapping up the cookie in a pastel green paper. Ethan passed over the money.

'The cookie is on me, have a nice evening Detective Hardy.'

Ethan beamed in gratitude, blushing slightly 'thank you very much, you have a lovely evening too Miss Freeman' the detective left as the kind lady sat back down and resumed the work she was completing on her laptop.

After another 10 minutes Ethan was home. He hooked his coat on the stand, placed his shoes near the door and warmed up a frozen meal.

In his line of work you needed to be able to take a step back from the drama, the thrill and the despair. One of the things that helped the detective unwind was watching old cartoons that made him laugh and brought on nostalgia from his childhood. Sitting in front of the TV with his piping hot Shepard's Pie Ethan played an episode of Scooby Doo, he loved how ridiculous the storylines were and was frequently laughing at the clumsiness of Shaggy and Scooby.

Ethan's house was cosy, it was a small two bedroom terrace. He could easily afford something more fancy but he liked the feel of it. Each room was a reflection of the man, immaculate yet somewhat reserved. Everything was familiar. It was home.

After finishing his dinner and another episode, he had a shower and boiled the kettle. Another aspect of his routine was to sit in his library and read a book with a cup of decaffeinated tea before he went to sleep. The library was filled with book shelves holding thousands of books, all in alphabetical order by the surname of the author. Right at the back near a small window was a single arm chair, it was well passed it's time but Ethan couldn't bare to part with it. Next to the chair was a night stand topped with a lamp, a book and a coaster ready for his evening beverage. The library took the place of a guest room, he had no use for one, who would he invite? It seemed silly to have 2 bedrooms but a library was perfect for this introverted intellectual.

Ethan sighed as he relaxed into his beloved armchair, it was still as comfortable as ever, sipped his drink, ate his double chocolate chip cookie and picked up the book that had been waiting for him. Removing his leather bookmark he started to read, he had already read this particular novel 5 times but felt that every time he read it he noticed something, a specific detail that he hadn't picked up on the previous time. The book was 'A Study in Scarlet'. It didn't take very long for the detective to become immersed in the story. Many times he drifted off in this armchair, whilst he read, but tonight he decided to go to bed early.

Slipping under his fresh duvet, taking off his glasses placing them on his bed side table. Ethan glanced over to the empty side of the bed before drifting off into a dreamless sleep.