By now their town was all over the news. CNN, FOX, E! , MTV, you name it. There were reporters from everywhere between New York and California, tying to interview random people. School administrators, family members, store employees, police officers and even just random people.

The only person who even felt remotely comfortable with all this media attention was Rachel, but even she seemed a bit put-off. Everyone was grieving, tired, or looking over their shoulder at every little sound.

You wouldn't see anyone going out alone ever, and all the pleasant noises and warm light from the festivals and events that might be held in the town square ceased, and it was just eerie and quiet, like a ghost town.

Dinner tables were usually silent…it was a small town; people knew that the killer could be anyone, even their own friends and family. At the Luft household, it was especially tense. Emmeline had heard the fights her parents had at night since the killings.

They were blaming each other, talking about how much they each hated her great aunt Erin and comparing their levels of hate…talking about money and inheritance and things.

Well what are you always doing in that damn garage Mickey? When's the last time you spent time with Kevin? When's the last time you even TALKED to your son? Her mother said.

The boy's a freak! What am I supposed to do?! Can't play sports with him, he won't do that! Maybe if you wouldn't have made him such a sissy he'd be normal. You get that from your mom you know...spoiling kids. Her father spat back. After that she drowned out the bickering by putting in her ear buds and listening to Nero's "promises" on a loop.

After she left the store (it was quite a challenge with all the nosy neighbors crowded at the exit, until the Puck told them they were a fire hazard and to move out of the way) she was numb. She looked straight ahead with blank, lifeless eyes. She was in the shower for 3 hours before Sam had to convince her to come out. Instead of trying to wash her bloody blouse, she just threw it in the trash can and moved on.

The next morning, she was in the class room playing a drama game with the children. Ok…you're an angry cowboy!" she said. The kids acted like they were angry cowboys. "Now you've just won the lottery!" she said. They began to jump up and down and shout happily, like they had seen people do on television. They acted out various other scenarios, and then she heard 3 knocks at the door.

She looked through the window to see 3 cops she recognized from the station. She opened the door and stepped outside, leaving her class helper Francie to take charge.

"May I help you?"

"Um, yes Mrs. Evans, we need to ask you a few questions…could you come down to the station with us?"

Mercedes peeked into her classroom. "Um…now?"

"Yes." But can't it just wait 15 minutes? She thought. She knew the answer would be no. "We've already spoken with your principal and we got you a substitute." At this point she was too darn tired to even try to fight, so she just left.

Down at the station, they asked her the basic questions, like her whereabouts on the night of whatever event. Then she was let go. School had been out for an hour and a half already, so she only went back to retrieve her belongings.

The lobby lights were off. She climbed the 20 stairs to the 1st grade wing. Most of the lights on the hall were dimmed, some were off. She unlocked her classroom and flicked on the light. She was kind of spooked so she looked behind doors and curtains and around desks, just to be safe. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary…except for her desk.

When she left it was messy…papers, paper clips and pens strewn all over the place. But now…now it was nice and neat.

Every paper was in a stack, grades in one stack, paperwork in the other. Her pencils and pens were in a decorated tin can and her paperclips were in their blue butterfly box. But that wasn't the strangest thing. On her desk was a single red rose. Attached to the stem with scotch tape was a little pink heart made from construction paper. No writing or symbols or anything…just a pink heart.

She could hear her heart beating. She looked around quickly, grabbed her things and she bolted. She almost succumbed to gravity on the stairs twice. She threw her stuff into the back seat of her car unceremoniously and drove home.

She smelled the smell of spaghetti and garlic bread. She walked in to see Sam in the living room. He seemed to be taking all of this really well now…either that or he was in denial. He started to greet her until he saw the deer in headlights look on her face.

"What's wrong?" he asked. She sat down on the couch and sighed. It took her a moment to collect herself and find the words to explain. She gave him a quick brief of the interview with the cops.

"And when I came back, my desk was perfect and there was a rose with a pink heart taped to it on it."

"Well…maybe your students or the sub organized your desk and left you a little gift." He reasoned.

"No Sam…this was perfect…my kids have trouble organizing their own cubbies, why and HOW could they take the time – fifteen minutes – to organize my desk? It looked like a storm had ripped through it before and now it looks like it did on the first day of school." She was right. It was strange, and it couldn't have been her students or the sub.

"Ok well maybe it was a one-time thing and we should just relax and forget it."

"I can't forget it Sam my door was locked…how did they even get in? who know how or when they might get in next time if there is a next time."

"I bet I can make you forget…" he said. He pulled a pink and green box from behind his back. No way. He got it?

He lifted the lid to reveal a cherry rainbow cupcake from CLB (Cute Little Bakery). It was a rainbow cupcake with pink strawberry frosting and a maraschino cherry on top. And it was about as big as a person's head. This thing probably had a jillion calories but Mercedes didn't even care. This brightened her day and made her forget all about the evening's occurrences.

Until she went to bed that is…