Author's Note:

Thanks for the previous reviews. I'm a bit concerned about the fact that I only got two reviews for chapter 5 since for all my previous chapters I got an average of five to six. I promise I'm not one to threaten to stop writing if I don't get adequate reviews…in fact as long as I know at least someone is reading my story I will continue with it…but it will be nice to know that my story doesn't suck or something.

I can only hope that the reason for the lack of reviews is due to the fact that it is currently the holiday season or at least something in that line.

Anyway herewith Chapter 6, hope you'll enjoy it and please feel free to offer me any criticism as you may see fit.

xxx

Chapter 6

He did not want to do it…but he knew there was no other option available to him.

After all he was a pretender, a genius, and this was what he did best. He knew that from his years as her childhood friend and the past couple of years of observing her, sometimes with her knowledge and sometimes without, he was uniquely qualified for the task at hand.

Glancing one last time around him, to make sure that he was not being observed, Jarod ducked underneath the yellow police tape stating, 'No Entry,' to enter the remains of what used to be Ms Parker's home.

Closing his eyes he remained standing inside the flimsy burned-out doorframe in order to allow himself a bit of time to take a couple of deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself. If somebody told him a year ago that he would ever need to re-enact her last few moments on earth in what used to be her only sanctuary he would have surely laughed and told that person she was more likely to meet her end at the Centre. But it had happened here…at her house and he would forever feel at least partially responsible for the fact that he had been unable to prevent it.

Swallowing to clear the emotions that threatened to overwhelm him he shook his head and whispered to himself, "Or maybe if I knew what the future would bring I would have managed the courage to tell her how I feel."

Taking one last breath he opened his eyes and went through a couple of well-practice exercises to clear his mind of any unnecessary thoughts and to start with the reason why he had come out here in the first place.

After a while of staring at the destruction around him he suddenly realized with surprise and a bit of shock that he was still struggling to discipline his mind to focus on the task at hand. For a moment he was unsure as to how to proceed but after a little while he decided to try and give expression to his thoughts as he went along with the pretend, hopefully that would enable him to concentrate better. It was not something that he usually did when he was by himself but desperate times called for desperate actions.

Turning slightly around he gently stroke with his fingertips across the black remnant of what used to be the entrance to her house.

"She came home late…" he whispered, "before opening the door she would have turned around to stare at the darkness around her to make sure that no Centre operative was spying on her from the bushes or trees."

Taking a few steps forward he bent down to look at a small rectangular box against a partially standing wall. The box was barely noticeable due to the recent fire that caused its almost complete destruction. Deep in thought he murmured to himself, "Sydney said that she phoned to tell him that she had arrived safely. She would have consumed either Brandy or Vodka afterwards to try and relax and calm her nerves after another senseless day at that place, most probably felt her ulcer complaint in the process. As a sort of an afterthought she might have checked her answering machine for any messages."

Straightening himself Jarod walked over to where her sitting room used to be. The only thing that remained of what he knew was her favorite sofa, something that came from the days that the house used to be her parents summer home, was a unrecognizable twisted monster of material, wood and something that resembled plastic.

Here he sat down on his haunches and closed his eyes before continuing his pretend, "Was very tired. While listening to her messages she curled up on the sofa, allowed her normal mask of indifference to fall away in the privacy of her own home, maybe she even felt sleep creeping up on her."

He remained on the same spot for a while, hoping that something more would come to him but after a while of no such luck he stood and in an almost trance-like state walked over to the bathroom. He had no idea why he felt the need to investigate the bathroom next but years of encouragement from Sydney and even real-life experience at pretending have taught him to trust his instinct, even if it did not always made sense.

Entering the bathroom he stopped and closed his eyes again for a couple of seconds. "Could someone have been waiting for her to come home? Someone with an ulterior motive…this place would have been the perfect spot to hide from view. It was near enough to watch her every move without being noticed and -," Jarod swallowed once before completing the sentence, "close enough to overwhelm her when needed, to prevent her from reaching safety in time."

Opening his eyes he stared around the room for a very long time. "Talk to me Parker. What had happened to you here? Were you murdered or was it really just a senseless accident?"

Shaking his head, feeling his emotions suddenly forcing themselves to the foreground and all attempts at pretending vanishing from his mind, he leant with his back against the remainder of a wall and slowly sunk down until he was able to sat down on the soot-covered floor.

"I…I just can't believe that you are dead," he addressed the air around him, "Not you. Not you off all people…and that dream I had…it is difficult to just forget that you were calling out to me for help." Feeling a tear forming at the corner of his eyes he wiped at it with his one hand before continuing, "Damn you Parker, you were supposed to be able to look after yourself and look now…"

Shaking his head again, feeling like the world was becoming too much for him to bear, he hugged his knees against his chest and with his head supported on his arms he allowed his emotions free run.

After a very long time of not moving at all except for the very slight shaking of his shoulders he lifted his head and wiped away at his face. His red-trimmed eyes first appeared to be dark and dull but slowly a light started shining in them again as a thought came to mind. Reluctantly he stood and without glancing one last time at the room he exited and went back to where the sitting room used to be…something was definitely tugging at the back of his head but he struggled to form the correct words to give expression to it.

"What…" he bit on his bottom lip and narrowed his eyes, "What if you aren't dead? What if you had curled up on the sofa and-" he stared back at the former entrance to the bathroom before adding, "what if someone had been observing you from the dark?"

Feeling a small glimmer of home forming in his heart he wiped a tired hand over his face, "That person or even persons could have been waiting for you to relax, maybe even fell asleep. Slowly they…no…it was most probably just one person and a man…makes more sense…he would have approached you carefully, quite aware of your reputation. He could have had something in his hand to subdue you…chloroform…even something stronger."

A very faint, but sad, smile formed across Jarod's lips. He had no idea as to whether he was actually pretending or merely daydreaming. It was something that had never happened to him before, or at least not since he was a very small boy. He realized that he was just too close to the whole situation to think rationally, despite what he had tried to convince himself before coming over to her place, and also there was the fact that he was more tired than he had been in a very long time. He was also quite aware of the fact that maybe he was merely trying to offer his heart the hope that there was still a chance for her to be alive but he just could not stop himself from carrying on with this line of thought. He wanted, needed, to continue with it until the end, even if it proved to be fruitless.

"He overpowered you…but just for you a little while since you fought back with all your power. There was an intense struggle…he even might have gotten hurt in the process."

Scrunching up his forehead Jarod appeared to be deep in thought before carrying on, "Something happened. There was someone at the front door or the phone might have rung. It startled him…he didn't expect someone to try and reach you so late at night. He knew that the only people that might try to reach you were Sydney and Broots and he had made sure about where they would be that night before beginning his plan of action."

Walking past the remains of the sofa and back to the where her telephone used to be Jarod continued talking, "It might have given you hope that rescue was on the way. You felt some of your strength returning, maybe another struggle followed but…he overpowered you and…could you maybe have seen the identity of your attacker before…before your death…no…not death…maybe before you were taken to wherever?"

For a while Jarod stood still, hoping that something more, anything, would come to his mind but nothing happened. All that kept on flashing through his mind is the terror that she must have felt during her last few moments in that place.

After a few seconds he sighed and turned around a couple of times to make sure he had not miss out on something that might provide him with a little bit of more evidence. Not that he had much hope since everything was either burned to a crisp or beyond any visible recognition. If it had not been for the many times he had broke into her house for whatever reason he would not even have been able to distinguish between the remains of the different rooms and some of the furniture.

"Right…what facts do I have," he spoke as his eyes kept on scanning the surrounding area, "From the police reports and what I've seen so far it is clear that some sort of explosion happened here. Also everything was destroyed in either the explosion or in the resulting fire. The emergency services responded quickly but at that stage there was no hope of salvaging anything. They also gave an inconclusive report as to what might have caused the explosion. They found some evidence of petrol but stated that it could be a sign of sabotage or might just have been some residue from her car that had been parked in the garage right next to the house."

"So what do I have…nothing. Absolutely nothing to give me any idea as to who might be behind this all." Shaking his head in disgust at the incompetence of the emergency services and even himself for not doing much better he decided to leave the place before someone noticed him and to rather come back another day if need be. Glancing one last time around him he exited the remains of her house and briskly walked to where he had parked his car a couple of blocks away.