Wednesday Night-

Ring-ring.

"I"LL GET IT!" yelled Dickie, to no one in particular. A few seconds later he shouted, "MAUREEN! PHONE!"

"DICKIE, I'M TRYING TO DO MY HOMEWORK!" Kathleen screamed from another room in the house. "BE QUIET!"

Maureen took the phone from Dickie. "Hello?"

"Maureen," said a familiar voice. "Did you get your next instructions?"

"Dean, I will not do something as awful as that!" Maureen whispered loudly into the phone.

"Who is it?" asked Dickie, dancing around his oldest sister. "Your boyfriend?"

"Dickie," hissed Maureen. "Go away! This is private." He ran off.

"Do you want your daddy to find out about what you did?" Dean asked.

"I will not play your little games anymore!" Maureen said, trying not to talk too loudly.

"Well I guess I better tell your dad then…"

"No!" she said quickly. "I didn't mean to do that to you, I swear! Is there something else I can do instead?"

But the phone went dead. Dean had hung up.

Maureen put the phone back in its cradle and stood for a moment trying to make sense of what had just happened.

"Maureen," someone said behind her. She turned around. It was Elliot.

"Who were you talking to?" he asked quietly.

"No one," she answered quickly. "I-I mean, uhh…just a friend."

"Sounded pretty tense," he said, and Maureen wondered how much he had heard.

"What did you not mean to do?" he asked her, walking a few steps closer.

"N-nothing, Dad, nothing," said Maureen. Oh God. What if he finds out right now that I punched someone? She thought. I can't let that happen!

"I have to go finish my homework," she said hastily, and made for the stairs.

"Wait a second," said Elliot, putting an arm out to stop her. "What are you hiding from me?"

"Nothing, Dad," Maureen tried to look confused. "Nothing's wrong at all."

"Who's this friend you were talking to?"

"Just…someone from school, that's all!"

"Okay," Elliot said softly. He gave her a warm, reassuring hug and let her go upstairs, an idea in his mind. Once she was gone, he pressed a few buttons on the kitchen phone and waited for someone to pick up.

"What," said a gruff voice. It was so strangely familiar to Elliot, so creepy that it made a chill go down his spine. But he couldn't place it.

"Who is this?" he asked.

"Who's this?" asked the person on the other end. Elliot didn't know it, but the voice belonged to Taylor Williamson, Dean's older brother, the one he arrested last year.

Elliot didn't know what to say. Taylor slammed down the phone.

Nothing added up. Nothing.