One morning while making the walk to get the paper and the mail my mother saw a letter addressed; Mr. and Mrs. Steele, from Jack Hyde. My mother being curios opened it before she'd even gotten inside. An invitation to a Christmas party on the twentieth. My mom walked straight into Jeff's office and handed him the invitation.

After reading it he looked up and said, "Well I don't know if it should be strange or friendly. Has he ever had anyone at his house?"

"No. Not that I've ever seen. As far as I know he doesn't even know anyone around here. Should we go?"

"I think so. I mean he's trying to make an attempt so we should too."

And it was decided they were going to go. My mother called the next day to RSVP and to find out what to bring. Mac and cheese. My mom always made the best mac and cheese out of everyone's I ate. She used a lot of cheese. Really makes a difference. Jack said he was very excited for them to be attending. My mother called my grandma to find out if she could watch Julia that day, she could, and said that it was great for them to be getting out.

School seemed to drag on for everyone. Julia felt like school was never going to go on break. Katie was beyond ready for a break and Christian really just wanted sleep. Ethan was now almost finished with police academy and would be a rookie police officer.

While they're life carried on and moved forward I never changed. My hair stayed the exact same, my clothes, my makeup, everything. I would forever be stuck in the nineties while others moved on and progressed I stayed. Stuck. Everyone I met seemed stuck. I've met women in flapper dresses, huge ball gowns, and poodle skirts. Men that look like a romance movie based on the twenties, from the mob, dressed ready for war. Never changing. Forever stuck in their clothes with their hair and makeup or whatever permanently.

Finally school was out. Christian came home and so did Katie. Julia was able to stay home from school and sleep in. While mom worked hard every morning to produce a good breakfast and make her Christmas break as good as possible. Julia didn't care about the food, decorations, or any of that. She just wanted to spend time with my mother. And she finally got that.

Then the twentieth was there. Jeff took Julia to my grandmother's house earlier in the morning to leave my mother time to get ready. My grandmother gave him a nod but she hadn't spoken to him since the affair came out. She took Julia inside and made her a cup of hot chocolate and asked what she wanted to do. She wanted to buy mom a gift that she'd love. And ask questions. So they sat for three hours talking about me. Julia got to ask all the questions she wanted and my grandmother never stopped her once. Never treated her like a child she just told her in the best way the truth.

While back at our house my mother rushed around picking out clothes for her, a suit for Jeff, and trying to decide what to do with her hair. We can't look like we're falling apart she said to Jeff when he asked why she was freaking out so badly. Men really just don't get it. She got in the shower while Jeff got dress and arranged the gifts they'd gotten Mr. Hyde. When mom got hot she blow dried and rolled her hair in those giant rollers she'd had since I was little. She'd walk around the house with them all day long and I'd just laugh. Julia developed that too and then we'd both laugh. While her hair set she got dressed and did her makeup. When her hair cooled she pulled out the rollers and sprayed it. An hour left.

"Are you almost ready?" Jeff asked from down stairs in the living room.

My mother rolled her eyes, "Yes."

Most of their interactions were similar to this or for show. The idea of divorce began to creep into my moms' head. She'd swore to herself that it would never come to that. That word. But it sat in the back of her mind every second. Just looking at him she saw the papers in front of her. Then Julia flashed through her mind and she'd snap out of it again. That is what happen then in the bathroom. Just his voice had done it.

Thirty minutes later she came down the stairs holding a thick winter jacket for the walk over. They gathered their things and began the journey down the sidewalk. Suddenly she was remembering things she hadn't before. Me helping to teach Julia to ride a bike in this very spot. Some friends of mine and Ethan's playing football and chasing each other around. She wished so badly that life could be normal again. To go back to the day I was born and change so many things. And I wished the same. I watched as they walked and little snow flurries fell down. I watched them land on my mothers' hair and wish desperately to feel something again. Even if it was the freezing cold. I could see the wind blowing, pushing my moms' hair, flushing her face, but felt nothing. An ache in my chest began to grow, similar to when you need to puke because you received horrible news. I would never really touch anything again. Nothing would ever touch me. I could stand right in front of my own mom and her walk right through me. And it felt like dying all over again.

"Jeff! Carla! I'm so glad you could make it. Let me take your jackets. It's so cold out." Jack greeted them perfectly. Had he been studying? Preparing what to say and how to act? Maybe there was a book somewhere in the house. I'd never been in his house alive but dead? I'd visited quite a bit.

Jack tucked my mom and Jeff's jackets into a small room and come back. He fixed them a drink and everyone began talking among themselves. My mom watched Jack, his movements and the way he spoke. She found herself thinking if he weren't so strange he would be fairly attractive. I'd realized this too a few times watching him.

"Mr. Hyde, can I speak with you for a moment alone?"

"Sure and please call me Jack really."

"Jack, I just, was wondering how well you knew my daughter?"

"We spoke a few times here and there. She reminded me so much of my daughter that I thought I was going crazy."

"Really? Ana never mentioned talking to you much."

"I think it's normal for children to hide things from their parents. Like I said we only spoke a few times but I could tell your daughter was a good one. You know so many kids now a days are so crazy. Partying all the time, drinking, smoking, god knows what else. But I could tell Ana had a good soul."

My mother swallowed hard, "Yes, yes she was. Do you have any photos of your daughter?"

"Yes I do. I'll have to grab one from upstairs in a few minutes if that's okay. I tend to keep them up there to prevent a lot of questions I'm sure you understand."

"Completely."

Jack excused himself to go great another incoming guest and my mother walked over to Jeff talking to a few of the other neighbors. Things felt normal again. My parents had attended every neighborhood meeting, party, charity, you know it. My mom loved to socialize before. She taught me everything I know about how to carry on conversations with people. How to flow naturally from one conversation to another and how to politely end one. I'd watch her as a child float around a room like a butterfly, speaking to everyone, shinning. And the way she lit the room up with just a few words. Yes my mother was always one to love a good party. The chance to communicate with other people whether it was someone they'd known for years or for ten minutes. Then the truth set in when she realized that everyone now looked at her for another reason than a beautiful smile or nice hair. No, now they looked at her thinking you poor woman. Which almost made her feel sick.

An hour into the party and my mom was ready to leave. But she kept hoping that Jack would bring down a photo of his daughter and the longer it went the less she felt that was going to happen. Jeff brought her a glass of wine and she drank it was quickly as possible. I'm going to go use the restroom she said to Jeff while he carried on a very businesslike discussion. She walked to the bathroom door and knocked. Someone's in here was the response she both received and hoped for. She found Jack and explained the situation to him who then directed her to the upstairs bathroom.

My mother walked cautiously up the stairs. She felt like she was doing something she shouldn't have been. But she knew she needed to go up there. She could feel it. She got up the stairs and walked past the hall bathroom where she was directed to go. She stopped right after the bathroom and looked into the room about ten feet away. She could tell it was the master bed room. She could see the connected bathroom. She looked over her shoulder toward the stairs, no one was watching. Not even paying attention. She paused then decided that she was going to go in. She tried to quietly walk, watching every step in her heels. As she walked into the room she looked around. Everything was very organized, perfect even. Sets of clothes, all in fours, and all stacked according to color. A black and white photo of a beautiful young woman sat in the corner. A very old photo, probably mid-fifties. She kept walking and went into the bathroom.

Sitting on the bathroom counter was a bracelet. A little gold bracelet with a single letter attached; 'A'. My mother had seen that bracelet for eighteen years, my grandmother had gotten it for me for my first birthday, and it had been made to fit me throughout the years. My moms' heart dropped straight into her stomach. A nauseous feeling coming over her suddenly and she had to hold onto the counter. She knew not to touch it. Knew not to grab it and leave. She stood there just staring at it for a moment. A million things going through her mind like a thought tornado. She snapped back into mom mode and walked out of the bathroom quickly. Into the hall bathroom and flushed the toilet, walked back out, and down the stairs.

"Jeff, sweetie, I hate to leave early but I feel very ill all of a sudden. I think I'm going to head home."

Jeff looked surprised, "Yeah Carla, we'll head on home."

They told everyone good-bye and grabbed their coats. As they walked across to our house Jeff asked what was wrong. She kept telling him to hold on just one minute. She would tell him when they got inside. When they did get inside he continued to ask but she walked up the stairs and into their office digging.

"What's wrong Carla?"

"He has Ana's bracelet Jeff! It was in his bathroom, sitting on the counter."

"You're sure that it's Ana's?"

"I saw that bracelet from the time she was a child. We had to have that damn thing resized so many times I lost count. I would know that bracelet anywhere."

She finally found the card with the detective's number on it.

"Detective I know it's late but it's Carla Steele and I need to talk to you."

"What's the problem Carla?"

"There is a man down the street from us that has a bracelet of Ana's. A bracelet she wore every day and I know she had it on the day she disappeared."

"Meet me at the station."

My mom and Jeff got in their car and drove to the police station where they walked to the detective's desk and sat down.

"Carla I need you to explain everything to me."

"Sure."

"Okay let's start with where the bracelet was?"

"On his bathroom counter."

"Just sitting out? You didn't have to go through anything?"

"No, just sitting on the bathroom counter."

"Why were you in there? Was he aware?"

"The down stairs bathroom was in use so he sent me upstairs to use that one. I went to the wrong one I think but yes he did know."

"And you're sure it's Ana's? We have physical proof? Photos or something?"

"Yes, almost every photo of Ana she's wearing it. She wore it every day and I'm one hundred percent sure she had it the day she disappeared."

"Okay. And what is his name again?"

"Jack Hyde."

The detective typed into his computer then asked mom what street he lived on to make sure.

"Now is there anything else makes you think it's odd he had it?"

"My daughter didn't really like him. He made her nervous and I didn't believe her. I should have. On her birthday just a few weeks before this happen he came to our house while she was having a birthday party and when he was living told her to be careful. On the anniversary he came to the house and gave me roses which seemed nice but then he said that Ana was a strong girl, a real fighter. It just seemed odd. I know he didn't know her well enough to know that or to have her bracelet."

He pulled up some information about Jack Hyde. No criminal record, no arrests, just a few tickets scattered through the years.

"He's divorced, no children, mother died years ago, no known family."

My moms' eyebrows went up, "He said he and his ex-wife had a daughter, Ana's age who went missing."

He did a little bit of digging, "It says here that she had a daughter from a previous relationship. She did go missing, a few months after their divorce was final. In the divorce papers it says they divorced out of mutual agreement so we can't be sure why they did. But it does say her that she felt he had something do with it. There was no signs of any struggle or a body found so they assumed she ran away because of the change in the household."

"That's odd. He said that the divorce was caused because the girl went missing."

"No it happen before. Divorce was filled months before the missing person report was. So maybe there is more to that."

"What was the girls' name?"

"Casey Hyde. She had taken his name when her mom married him."

"How old was she?"

"Nineteen. Has a birthday not to long before she disappeared."

"Really."

"We'll probably contact her mother to find out more information. Now we need to get a warrant to search his home. Hopefully before tonight is over."

The detective rushed to get in touch with the judge to get a search warrant. After explaining everything to him he gladly gave one over and they gathered together enough men. Leaving my mom and Jeff at the station they went to Jack Hyde's house and waited for an answer. He opened the door, and controlling his shock, asked what the problem was. It was explained to him that they had a search warrant and it was best everyone, him included, be removed out of the house. He was forced to agree and told everyone goodbye. While police dug through everything in his home he stood with another officer being babysat. They found my bracelet right where my mother described it. Photos were taken of everything. And while going through his closet found a box full of different things that didn't make since for him to have. All bagged and labeled ready to be taken to the station.

The detective walked out of the house feeling proud sure they had caught the man, "Jack Hyde, you are under arrest for evidence involved in a murder case. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you? With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak to me?" He didn't speak as he was moved to the back of the detectives' car and was on the way to the station where he was then finger printed and booked. In the meantime he explained to my mother what this meant and got in touch with Casey's mother. Have you put two and two together yet?

Jack got a lawyer and the next day Lisa Stroman, Jacks ex-wife, was flown in.

"Ms. Stroman I'm detective Bowman. I'm investigating a murder that happen here and I was wanting to talk to you about Jack Hyde your ex-husband."

"Sure. What would you like to know?"

"Why did you divorce Mr. Hyde?"

"I found some things out about him."

"What do you mean?"

"Jack and I had a good marriage, or so I thought. Then he started staying out late, sometimes not even coming home. Then one night he came in and I was waiting which I normally didn't do. And I saw he had blood all over him. Of course I was worried, I thought he had been in a wreck or attacked but when I asked him what was wrong he wouldn't answer. He just said don't worry, took his shirt off, and got in the shower. I was worried. When he got out of the shower I questioned more. I wanted answers. Instead I got silence and while ignoring me he turned over and fell asleep. He washed the shirt first thing in the morning multiple times. All the blood was gone. He never spoke of what happen, just acted like nothing had happen. Two days later on the news was a girl that had been found dead, not too far from us. I asked him about it and even though he didn't admit to it I could tell. The way he acted changed. And I knew I had to leave him, whatever he was doing I wanted no part of. And he told me that if I left him something bad would happen and I didn't believe him. Just a few weeks after the divorce was final Casey disappeared. No one had any idea what happen, where she went, or where she was. They thought he had something to do with it but they couldn't prove it and he moved away. I kept up with him for a while but I lost track of him about five years ago. If there is a girl dead and he's a suspect he's involved."

"Do you know anywhere he might do this?"

"His mother's family lived over here when she was little. Her father had a giant warehouse that her father left for her, that when she passed Jack got. That's the only place around here I could think of. "

"Can you write the address down for me?"

"Yes sir." He slid her a piece of paper and she wrote down an address.

Before leaving the police station she stopped in front of my mother, "I heard about your daughter and I'm sorry. Sometimes I think it would be easier if we found her too, but even that slight hope that maybe he didn't hurt her gets me through a day. I wish I could say it gets easier but it doesn't. And I'm sorry if he is who did this that I wasn't able to stop him so long ago."

My mother said thank you and said she would pray for her. My mother was close to giving up on God, religion as a whole even. What God would allow this to happen? She couldn't answer and neither could anyone else. Which leads people to doubt. Which leads people to find other ways.

Two days later after Jack Hyde's lawyer advised him to confess and hope for the best plea deal possible he confessed to at least sixty-six murders. The first in nineteen sixty-seven, a girl from school he had liked but had turned him down. At that point Jack got his first taste, that first kill under his belt, and the monster in him needed more. Needed to taste it over and over. For the thirty-one years he killed time and time again. Each time getting better and every time he got away it only continue to feed that monster that grew so large there was no Jack Hyde. He wrote down every name of every victim, and the files were pulled. He matched detail for detail. The detective noted that he seem 'immensely proud of his work, able to describe even the smallest of details, as far back as Carol Smith in sixty-seven without a pause once'. Yes Jack Hyde was proud, felt he was he was the best in his field.

He went before a judge in March and plead guilty to all the murders. The total time? Eight hundred years, back-to-back, no chance of parole. Jack Hyde would spend the rest of his days in a small cell tucked away in a maximum security prison with thirty minutes of day light in a small court yard to keep him from other prisoners. Before this the detectives visited his mother's warehouse where they could tell I had died. The concrete floor stained with a large pool of blood he hadn't bothered to clean up. Several of his tools he'd used on me, and a few pieces of my hair. In the back of the warehouse in a little room was a large freezer where the remains of Casey laid. She had decomposed some but was easily recognizable. Her mother buried her and in her own way found piece.

"That's it Ana." Casey said to me a few days before Hyde went to prison.

"What?"

"We can leave. We don't have to stay here anymore. We can move on and go to whatever is after this. I've heard people talk about it before and I've heard it's great."

"You're just going to leave?"

"There's nothing here Ana. Nothing. I've heard that over there you finally get peace. A place that's like nowhere else."

"And you're leaving."

"You're not?"

"I don't think so. I don't think I should yet."

"Well I want to thank you Ana, if it wasn't for you I would've been long forgotten about. On some shelf in the back of a police department with my last name and initial. Just like lots of other people but because of you none of the others he killed will be forgotten."

She rested a hand on my shoulder and then she was gone. Just like that with a second my only real friend was gone. And I was left alone again.