At number one all was silent. Jamie Donovan had successfully claimed his first innocent and unsuspecting victim. Unconscious on the floor Deirdre lay in pool of her own blood. It surrounded her creating a perfect outline around her torso. With glazed eyes she stared upwards, the expression of shock etched into her face. At her side, just beside her blood covered hand lay the knife. To anyone arriving at the scene it looked like a nasty accident more than a vicious murder. There was no evidence, all of the doors were locked, and none of the windows open it had only been her and the baby at home.
Blood continued to spill from her wounds, a continuous flow as it added to that already on the floor. There was no saving Deirdre Barlow after this tragedy. Ken came whistling down the street, Eccles tugging on his lead as he hurried to get back to home. The little dog was excitable as they reached the front door but as Ken fumbled with his keys he started to bark loudly as if possessed himself.
"Shush Eccles" demanded Ken, hating that the little thing was making such an atrocious racket for no particular reason. "Shush" he repeated as he bundled through the front door to the smell of now burning meet.
"Deirdre?" he called out as he removed his coat and let Eccles off of the lead.
He huffed when she didn't reply and could hear Eccles who had run off into the dining room yapping away. Entering the dining room he peered down at little Jamie lying in his pram and as he did so Jamie's eyes slammed shut. Just like one of those dolls with the eyes that opened and closed when you held it one way or another. The action made Ken shiver it was a strange one and gave him the creeps.
Rolling his eyes he could see the smoke collecting in the kitchen as the meat in the oven began to burn. Huffing he wandered into the Kitchen, coughing as the smoke caught in his throat and reached down to pull the oven door open. A cloud of smoke escaped and stung his eyes as it made contact. Stepping back he batted it away from his face and stood up straight. The place needed airing before the smoke alarm started ringing out.
Heading in the direction of the back door Ken's foot knocked against something he wasn't expecting to find in his path. He frowned but scooted round it desperate to get the collected smoke out of the kitchen but vowed to return to investigate when he could see more clearly. Reaching the door he yanked it open and stuck his head out to get some fresh air for himself before delving back inside.
The discovery he was about to make unknown to him as he turned around and moved carefully around the floor would be terrifying. He hadn't yet located Deirdre in the house but he was about to. As he coughed and fought his way back into the heart of the kitchen the tips of his toes again caught on the obstruction. Crouching down slowly he waved the smoke away from his face and saw Deirdre; eyes wide open staring at him and enlarged by her glasses from her position on the floor. The smoke was slowly clearing as he moved round to be by her side and tried to get some sort of reaction from her.
Taking her shoulders firmly in his hands and looking worried he shook her gently and repeated her name over and over. He started to panic when she didn't respond and gently lay her back down to investigate further. Racing his fingers down her arm he searched for her wrists as he frantically tried to find her pulse but it wasn't there. Sweating now in the heat that was still pumping out of the oven and into the room as it cooled down, Ken started to panic. Deirdre needed medical assistance and fast but little did Ken realise it was too late for her. Her loss of blood and lack of pulse were all the evidence required to pronounce her dead.
Getting up and rushing to the phone Ken waited impatiently for the operator to answer. He had not a second to waste. In his pram little Jamie took pleasure in knowing he had caused the havoc and that he had his granddad stressed. It was time to add to the drama by adding some more of his own. Having been silent for hours he began to whimper, just loud enough to see if he could demand more of Ken's attention than he was currently getting. His intention to distract him from helping Deirdre further. Listening little Jamie waited for the opportune moment to start howling.
The second Ken got through to an operator and began to start speaking Jamie let out an ear piercing scream that made it impossible to hear a thing on the telephone. Venturing forward Ken tried to ask for and ambulance by repeating his request over and few times and then trying to give his address to the girl speaking in his ear but she was struggling to hear him. As he came within reaching distance of Jamie's pram and gently rocked it hoping to motion would sooth the infant the phone mysteriously cut dead and had no dial tone when again Ken desperately tried to get the call back connected.
Jamie was howling at a deafening pitch and Ken knew he couldn't ignore the baby. Reaching into the pram he scooped him up and cradled him gently hoping that the infant would soon be contented but his noise only seemed to worsen.
"Please" he begged in a distressed tone as he glanced over into the kitchen which now was practically clear of smoke and only filled with a light haze. He was desperate to get his attention back to Deirdre but Jamie was having none of it, he continued to scream and protest in his granddads arms.
Tracy was just approaching the house with Amy tightly holding her hand. She felt pampered and relaxed and was certain she had managed to restore her self to the beauty she was when she wasn't busy running around after her baby boy. She was smiling widely until she heard her baby still screaming inside. She felt smug, even her mother couldn't keep the child quiet and content after having been so proud when the second she'd picked him up earlier he had stopped screaming and turned into a completely different child.
Knocking on the door she stood in a pose with one hand on her hip, oozing confidence as she waited for it to be answered. No one came. Tracy reached up and knocked on the door, calling to her mum to make sure she knew they had arrived in an annoyed tone.
Ken offered silent thanks at hearing his daughter's voice, finally some help. Dashing to the door he let it off the latch and handed to her straight away her wailing son.
"Dad" whined Tracy as she reluctantly took the child and forced Amy to go inside.
"Will you shut up" she shrieked down at Jamie, feeling all the repressed stress rushing back to the surface. She was beginning to resent her annoying child with every day that passed. She wandered in after her dad who had tried to rush to Deirdre and aide her. Frozen to the spot he looked down at her, all the blood he stood in and it so obvious now that she was dead.
"Dad" whined Tracy as she came into the room. "He is driving me crazy!" She protested as she placed Jamie back in his pram and went to stand at his side. Her first reaction was to scream. Her next reaction was that she felt sick, her stomach suddenly much weaker than normal. Turning she grabbed Amy by the wrist and the pram and hurried into the hall, she didn't want them to witness that horrific scene.
Ken couldn't believe his eyes. He dropped to his knees as he began to cry, kneeling in the blood as he stroked her cheek gently. She was cold and so very lifeless, it explained why he had been unable to find a pulse. Tracy had fled the room, out in the hall with the children and called Rob but Ken was unable to stop staring at his dead wife. He needed answers and the reason behind this tragedy. He looked at her body, examining closely to see if any evidence could provide him with a clue. There was nothing.