A/N: Wow, sorry for the slow update people, but I just got bombarded with a ton of stuff, for example:

I'm entering a writing contest! :D

I fractured my thumb in a…. let's just say in an "embarrassing" way… :(

I had a horrible case of writers block. Even though I have the storyline for this fic planned out, I have to think of each chapter ahead of time, and this one was a bit hard to come up with…

But now it's written, so I hope whoever reads this enjoys! :)

March 13, 1962 3:02 A.M.

The Professor stood there, unmoving. Hard as he tried, he couldn't lift a single finger, couldn't throw away the paper in his hand as if it where burning him, couldn't even stagger backwards. All he could move where his eyes, letting them glide across the letter, drinking in every word until it was memorized.

This letter…was from L.I.V.E: the killer he was to investigate…

His first reaction was to worry, not for himself, but for Luke and Flora. They were only children, and although they had both been on their share of adventures, this was by far the most dangerous. For one, they didn't even know who the killer was, only her name. Not her identity, location, nothing! At least in the past they had gotten some sort of idea from various sources on what they where getting themselves into. In this case, he, Remi and the children had next to no leads.

Also, how on earth did L.I.V.E know where he lived? Now able to move, he set the letter down on the coffee table and went around, looking in the living room and kitchen windows, searching for some sort of hidden camera or a pair of binoculars. When he found nothing, he returned to the table and picked up the letter once more. You cannot under any circumstances show this to Luke or Flora, a small voice said to him; it would be dreadful seeing them fret over this.

But what if you're simply overreacting, another voice contradicted, there's a possibility this is some practical joke being pulled by one of Luke or Flora's friends.

Layton doubted that any of the children's friends would pull a prank this extreme, but nevertheless he agreed he might be overreacting just a bit. Still, he didn't want to scare the children or Remi, so he silently walked back to his room, opened his nightstand door and slipped the letter inside. He glanced at the clocked, and was shocked to see it was already 3:00 in the morning. In less than four and a half hours, he would have to leave to go to Lance and his wife's house, and from what he remembered, Lance had mentioned the fact that Chelsea hated when guests where even a moment late.

He had to get some sleep, but try as he might, he couldn't seem to settle down. All throughout the night, the letters words rang through his mind, and something about them, Layton realized, was vaguely familiar…

March 13, 1962 7:18 A.M.

"Professor? Professor!"

"Flora, what in the world are you doing?"

"He isn't getting up, and we have to leave in less than twenty minutes!"

"Hm? This isn't like him at all, should I get Remi?"

"Maybe—oh, look! He's finally waking up."

The Professor felt as if he had just drifted off, and for all he remembered, he had. He tried to remember what had kept him up so late, and suddenly, he remembered: the Letter.

His eyes snapped open, and he saw Flora standing over his bed, and Luke at his door, both with concerned looks on their faces.

"Professor, you had me worried sick!" Flora said with a small sigh of relief, "I never imagined you of all people would sleep in, Remi's already here!"

"Is everything alright in there?" Remi called from the hallway, confirming what Flora had just said.

Layton sat up, rubbed the sleep from his eyes and managed to smile at Flora. "I'm sorry, my dear, I," he chose his next words carefully, "I…was reading some articles involving our case last night, and I stayed up a bit late." It wasn't a complete lie.

Luke and Flora exchanged a doubting glance, but nevertheless Luke relied, "its ok, Professor, but you might want to hurry: we don't want to risk arriving late at Lance and Chelsea's house!"

March 13, 1962 7:30 A.M.

After the Professor's mad-dash to get dressed and out of the door, the whole group arrived at Lance and Chelsea's flat without a moment to spare. Luke knocked, and a few seconds later, the door slowly opened.

On the other side was a beautiful woman around the same age as Lance, not as tall and a more delicate build, with light brown hair, slightly pale skin and emerald green eyes. When she saw who had knocked, her face broke into a lovely smile that lit her whole face.

"Lance!" she called, "Your investigation crew's here!"

"They're not my crew, Chelsea," Lance called from the living room, "They're my team."

"Well, either way, they're here!" She called back, and turning back, she said to Layton, Luke, Remi and Flora, "Please, come in!"

As they all filed through the door and into the living room, Lance stood up to greet them. "Great to see you all," he said, giving Layton a firm handshake and Remi a friendly peck on the cheek.

"Yes, it's always nice to have guests that are on time!" Chelsea said, smiling at them before sitting next to her husband.

"We wouldn't dream of being late!" Luke assured her, exchanging a knowing look with Lance.

Chelsea, however, caught it and stood up, hands on hips. "Have you been listening to Mr. Policeman over here?" she rolled her eyes and turned to Luke, "Listen here, young man. Whatever this one," she pointed over her shoulder at Lance, "has said to you, I'm nowhere near as uptight as he makes me out to be!"

Lance grabbed Chelsea's hand, "I just like to tease you. Have i ever told you how beautiful you are when you become annoyed, my little Fo-sci?"

"Haha, more than a few times, Lotty," Chelsea replied fondly, and the couple exchanged a kiss. This caused Flora to sigh with longing, Luke to gawk in awe and Layton and Remi to casually look around the room as to not disturb the couple.

Chelsea and Lance, remembering they weren't alone, broke away and blushed violently. "Erm, uh, maybe we should explain our, um, pet names so you guys won't get confused," Chelsea stammered. "Well, I call Lance Lotty because, um…well you know the Knights of the Round Table? One of them was Lancelot, so…" she gave an awkward smile to finish up her sentence,

"And, erm…Chelsea here is a Forensic Scientist, so 'Fo-sci' is a, uh, sort of an abbreviation." They exchanged embarrassed glances and looked away.

"Now, you two, there's no shame in being in love," the Professor said reassuringly, and Remi nodded.

"I think all couples should have some sort of pet-names for each other, isn't that right, my dashing puzzleteer?" She said, nudging Layton. Now it was his turn to blush: was Remi implying that they were…a couple?

For a minute, both children and adults where quiet. Layton's mind was turning: he and Remi...where only friends! They'd been so for quite a long time, but sometimes, the Professor could indeed see him and Remi as a couple together. But still...

Just then, Lance clapped his hands, inturrupting Layton's thoughts."Well! No use wasting time, we have some suspects to discuss!"

Everyone nodded, and with that, they all headed downstairs.

March 13, 1962 7:53 A.M.

"Now, Chelsea," Remi said once they where downstairs. The couple's basement had been made into a makeshift detective's office, complete with rows of filing cabinets and a big map of London with dozens of red flags and such mounted on the wall. "Lance said you where a forensic scientist before?"

Chelsea nodded as she led them to a wall with about a dozen photos of different woman, "Yes, but I became tired of that whole field. Now I focus mainly on suspects and even do a bit of detective work if need be."

Flora gave Chelsea an admiring look, "Wow, that all seems so incredible!"

Chelsea shrugged, "Eh, it's got some thrills."

"Now," Lance said, bringing the groups attention to him, "Inspector Chelmey has taken up the task of finding suspects and giving them to us, but is also working on other things he calls 'classified.' These pictures here represent all the suspects he has found so far. Our job is basic, nothing insanely dangerous: track these people down, talk to their neighbors, follow them for a bit and see if they're activities are suspicious in anyway. If they are, we immediately take them in and Chelmey will interrogate them. I know, it sounds as if the Inspector has the best jobs, but our task is important too."

Layton nodded, looking at all of the faces on the wall, wondering which one, if any, had sent him the letter. Suddenly, a question came into his mind and he turned to Lance, "If we find any…evidence, should we give it to the Inspector or keep it?"

Lance looked at Chelsea, who answered, "You should keep it. When we do indeed find the suspect, we will use all evidence we have in their court trial."

Layton nodded again, relieved by this answer. He didn't feel comfortable showing anyone else the letter he had received quite yet.

They talked for awhile longer about each suspect (mostly basic information like name, age, job descriptions and location), then decided to meet near the Thames river in an hour to start the first investigations.

As Layton, Remi and the kids walked to the bus stop, something caught his eye: A girl. It didn't seem like a big deal, but something about this girl was…odd. For one, she seemed almost terrified of being seen in public, due to the fact the hood of her baggy sweatshirt was pulled well over her head and she was dashing through the crowd without bothering to check where she was going. To Layton, this indicated the girl was either running from someone, or rather, something, and to him that was quite suspicious.

Turning to his companions, he said, "You all can go to the bus stop without me. I think I'll walk home."

"Are you sure, Professor?" Flora asked.

"Yes, I'll be fine, my dear." He replied, giving her, Remi and Luke a reassuring smile. With that, they went their separate ways, promising to meet at Layton's flat in about ten minutes. Turning his back to them, Layton looked around, but was disappointed to find the girl nowhere in sight. He walked toward an alley and peered into it: nothing. Only trashcans and such.

He was about to dismiss the girl as a simple hallucination caused by lack of sleep, when a slip of paper on the ground caught his eye.

Curiously, he walked over and picked up the strange note. It was crumpled, with a faded name on the cover…so faded in fact, it was almost impossible to read:

Tr n y

When he opened it up, the contents of the note whre just as confusing as the faded name:

My dear, please make sure the task on this note is accomplished. I'm counting on you.

FSIWNEDALKANYETSOSN.

This jumble of letters were quite peculiar. Layton decided to pocket it for later. And as for the girl…he might just have to conduct his own investigation.

These thoughts in mind, he began to walk back to his flat, unaware of what he had truly just picked up…or who exactly he was planning to investigate.

A/N: I might have to revise this chapter later on, but I hope whoever reads this enjoys! Who was that strange girl Layton saw? And who can guess the hidden message in the note? If anyone guesses correctly, they get a special prize! :D

Remember, reviews and feedback help my will to write and are greatly appreciated!

See ya next chapter!

~rAwxdiNo3 (Lizz)