Steve felt himself clenching the steering wheel of the Galaxy a bit tighter as they turned east onto 29th street. They'd left San Francisco during rush hour, and traffic had slowly started to thin out as they got off on MacArthur freeway onto San Pablo Avenue.

Thanks to his college days, Steve was familiar enough with the area to know that Mavis' family lived in a predominately poverty-stricken neighborhood. Many of the houses lining 29th street showed signs of wear and tear. A few still had meticulously kept up entrance areas, reminders of better times.

"Their daughter goes missing a couple of months ago and they didn't even bother to contact the authorities.", Mike said, clearly disgusted, as his eyes scanned the rows of houses ahead. "Seems like an overstatement to call them parents."

Steve pulled the Galaxy into a parking spot in front of the address in question. Both detectives automatically scanned all cars nearby, as well as any escape routes and potential hazards. It was a habit that had proven to be lifesaving many times before.

"You know, I checked the records on both of her parents. There were no priors. Nothing that could explain Mavis' alcoholism or the beatings."

Mike nodded and pondered about an answer for a few long moments. When he finally looked over at Steve, there was a hint of sadness in his eyes.

"When I first walked the streets with Gus back in the day, he told me about his old partner Randy. That guy had an impeccable police record. Commendations, friends, a wife and two kids. One day he didn't show up for work, so Gus went to check on him. Found the door unlocked and the entire family shot to death. There was a suicide note by Randy's body."

Steve swallowed hard and looked down at the steering wheel deep in thought. When he didn't answer, Mike leaned back in the seat of the Galaxy before resting his hands in his lap.

"As it turned out, Randy was severely depressed. Every time he was around Gus, he seemed happy and joked. But when he got home, he'd argue with his wife, started to drink. They thought that seeing some of the things we see at our jobs may have driven him into this dark state of mind, but we'll never know. One thing is for sure, Buddy Boy…a police record only tells a small part of the real story. What happens behind many of these doors is often times a well-kept secret. An ugly, and dirty and vile one. For Mavis' sake, we need to find those demons of her past.", pointing at the concrete stairwell leading to the light blue Victorian era house, Mike sighed, "And this one time, I am actually worried about what we will find behind the door up there."