"Any new cases or do we have to bother Mr Sanchez and his friends again, Sir?", Jones asked half jokingly, after he had brought a cup of tea to Barnabys desk in the morning of the next day.

"Both."

"Both?", Jones asked, somehow surprised.

"You heard me. Claudia Morston died this morning.", Barnaby answered sternly.

"Oh, no! Wh-"

"Hurry up! They called almost twenty minutes ago.", Barnaby said as he put his jacket on.

They quickly left the room, leaving the still warm tea behind on their desk.

~~~M~~~

"Sir, you have to admit, it does look a lot like an accident."

"I don't believe in accidents, Jones."

The DCI and his Sergeant stood on the pavement, close to a traffic light, that constantly changed from green to red and back again, although the streets were closed, now.

"I know, Sir. But she got hit by a bus, while writing text messages or something. It just seems to be an accident. A tragic one. She got brought to the hospital, but it already was too late. Things like that happen sometimes. Accidents happen, Sir."

"Don't you think, that it's strange, that Elyas and Audrey were with her, when she died?"

"Do you think they pushed her? Maybe he needs a story for his blog. Actually I can't really imagine anyone doing this... Unless ... On the other hand, maybe-"

"People have killed for much less, Jones."

"I remember."

"Where is the busdriver?", Barnaby asked.

"He is in the hospital as well. He's under shock and has to get medication. Also he claims, that he didn't even see her. It looks like he drove too fast.", Jones read his notes.

The detectives looked at the bus again. The red bloodstains on the red-coloured bus were almost unrecognizable, even from a short distance.

They talked to the people, who were close by, when the accident (or murder) had happened. No one had seen anything, most of them being occupied with their phones.

'This is, where technology had brought us. No one is seeing the world around him anymore.', Jones thought by himself.

~~~M~~~

The detectives drove to the hospital, where Elyas and Audrey still were, waiting, although there was nothing left to be waited for.

"Are you seriously writing on that blog- thingie already?", Jones exclaimed, when he saw Elyas with his phone in his hand, somehow disappointed, because it could mean, that they've been right.

"I'm writing to Claudias Mum! She doesn't know yet. Someone has to tell her.", Elyas cried.

"We are sorry for your loss.", Barnaby said with a sideglance to Jones.

"Thank you.", Audrey whispered.

She looked tired and honestly sad, which was underlined by the black shadows under her eyes, while Elyas looked furious, his black eyeliner smirred all over his face. He certainly had been crying.

'Maybe they are truly shocked.', Jones thought.

"You have to tell us exactly, what happened", Barnaby said calmly.

"We don't know, what happened."

"We thought, you were with her?", Jones asked.

"We were, but we weren't paying attention.", Audrey said with her voice raspy. "We only saw her ... And then she didn't move." She shook her head, eyes wide open, like she couldn't escape the image.

"We were writing or something on our phones, while waiting at the traffic lights. All three of us and suddenly she just started walking.", Elyas said and sobbed.

"What did she do with her phone?"

"She usually plays that game... The one with the cupcakes. What was its name again?"

Audrey shrugged and then focused on the floor again.

"You have to get cupcakes of the same colour in a row and-"

But Jones interrupted him: "Did you notice anything else? Were you standing there alone- only the three of you?"

"Yes, we were alone, I think.", Audrey said.

"You think?", Barnaby asked and crossed his arms.

"Like I said: we weren't paying attention."

"You think, that it wasn't an accident. Don't you?", Elyas asked, his voice sounding broken.

"It's our job to ask those questions. We are sorry, if we are hurting your feelings.", the DCI said. The Sergeant didn't look, like he was sorry.

Barnaby cleared his throat and said: "Ok, that was all. You shouldn't leave midsomer and please call us, if you remember anything of importance."

"Wait." Elyas stepped forward and grabbed Barnabys arm. "I swear, we didn't push her. Why in the world would we do that?"

Barnaby only smiled politely and said: "We will find out, what happened. We always do."

Then they left.

~~~M~~~

"Great. Just great.", Audrey said, as Elyas entered the room again, "Our friend died in front of us, we are freaking murder suspects and all you think about is hitting on the damn detective inspector."

Elyas rolled his eyes, but couldn't think of a witty comment fast enough.

"This was exactly, what we needed.", she then added sarcastically, as her brother didn't answer.

"I wonder, if they are observing us."

"Damn it, Ely."

"This is your fault."

"No, it is Walts fault."

"What about Claud?"

"Don't fight with me, honey. We should-."

"Oh, Shut up."

"You shut up."

And this went on for a while.

~~~M~~~

When they sat in their car, Jones asked: "So don't you think, that we can actually say, that it was an accident? It's quite obvious. Isn't it, Sir?"

"I don't believe in accidents, Jones."

"But, what if-"

"Didn't you know, that people can be manipulated into starting to walk, when they concentrating on something else?"

"No, I didn't. So that's what your degree in psychology is for. Right?"

"I've recently seen a documentary about manipulating teens. In easy words: it was shown that if you are waiting in a crowd at a station, in line or at a traffic light and the group of people around you, starts to move, it is most likely, that you start to move too."

"Very interesting. So you think, they both killed her. But how are you going to prove it?"

"Were there any cameras around? I could prove it with video footage.", Barnaby mused.

Grace watched her friends suspiciously.

Her face showed a mixture of expressions, as she left the house.

"Where are you going?", Elyas yelled after her, but she didn't answer.

She walked and walked and walked and soon she stood in a white and uncomfortably cold room, tears in her eyes. Her surroundings became blurred.

"Hey! You! You are not allowed to be here! ...How did you even get here?", the substitute for the usual pathologist, who suddenly appeared next to her, asked.

"I want to see my friend.", Grace cried. She shivered. It had been a mistake to go there in a light summer dress. But she wouldn't have known the exact dress code for a place like that any way.

"Shhh. You need to get out of here.", Dan Peterson said, and shoved her in the direction of the exit.

"I want to say goodbye to her. Please!"

Her voice echoed a bit.

"This is what funerals are for."

"Please! Where is she?"

"I'm going to call security."

"Please!" She grabbed his arm and he hesitated. The girl looked so miserable.

"Fine. What is her name?"

"Claud - Claudia Morstan.", she said with hope in her eyes.

"Oh, I'm sure you don't want to see *her*. I'm only half finished with her."

As he smiled, he showed his teeth.

Grace gasped. And he looked at her thoughtfully, before he added: "I still have her cut open. ...Have you ever seen a real human heart?"

She backed away.

"What about kidneys?", he yelled after her as she turned around and ran away. The door banged loudly.

"I sometimes start to feel a bit lonely down here.", he told the corpse closest to him.

The corpse didn't answer. So he took a scalpel and started to work.