He sat on a bench in the park eating the bread he had taken from the bistro. It was a little stale. A little hard. But to someone who hadn't eaten in a while it was like heaven. Pigeons gathered at his feet to peck at the crumbs that fell. He kicked at one nearby. It fluttered away a few feet.

He watched as a pair of police officers approached him. They stopped a few feet in front of him causing the pigeons to fly away. "Sir, can we talk to you?" Said the taller one. He was white with a thin build. The other one had tan skin and had a heavier build. He was possibly Hispanic.

He shrugged.

"What is your name?" The thin one asked.

He didn't say anything. He just ate his bread. The wind picked up a bit. Leaves blew by them. He watched as one fluttered around. It was like a dance.

"I asked you, your name?" The thin one was getting impatient.

He stood up. Looking right in the thin cop's eye. "You did. I have chosen not to share it." His voice was calm. His nearly black eyes stared at the thin cop dead on.

"Do you know anything about a fire at Frederico's earlier?" The Hispanic cop asked.

"Never heard of it."

"They say a man matching your description jumped the fence on the patio and tried taking some food."

He looked down at the basket of bread on the bench. He scoffed. "Oh. That's too bad." He picked up the basket and pulled out the last piece of bread. He dropped the basket on the ground and walked away.

"Sir!" The thin cop called after him. "Hey sir!"

He kept walking. Slowly chewing the bread. The thin cop stopped in front of him.

"We are going to have to take you in."

"I don't think so." He smiled at the thin cop. Again he stared at him dead on. He could feel the cop's fear build. He smiled at him. Then he felt the fire in his eyes. The cop's eyes widened. He backed up. His hand on his gun. His partner at his side.

"What are you?"

He slowly walked towards the two cops.

"Freeze." They both drew their guns.

But he kept advancing towards them. A shot rang out. But he didn't go down. He took a swing at the thin cop. He dropped to the ground. The shorter Hispanic cop kept his gun on him.

"Stop." He shouted. His eyes kept looking at his fallen partner. He pointed the gun at the man with the fire in his eyes. Red eyes

and fire were the last things he saw before the lights went out.

**Persephone*

I was riding the elevator down to the parking garage. I had Tristan in his car seat. He was sleeping. Ding. The elevator opened to the garage. I walked to my car. A blue Mercedes. It was an older model. Most didn't understand why I didn't have the newest model. I liked the car. It had a few dings in the paint. But it did its job.

I buckled the car seat in. I got behind the wheel and started the car. Sighing I headed onto the street. I noticed smoke coming from Frederico's. Then I saw the firetrucks. People were gathered on the street. It looked like the patio had caught fire. Traffic was backed up.

I took a different route around the backup. Soon I reached the precinct. I walked into the squad room with the baby in his carrier.

"Persi!" I heard my partner John Tucker say. "Oh look at you." We gave each other a quick hug. John a thin, tall man with white hair. His brown eyes looked at the baby. A smile on his older little bit wrinkled face.

"Hey John." I said to him as I set the carrier on my desk. "How is it going?"

"Good. Will you look at that little guy? I see he got your looks."

I laughed. "Thanks John"

"Hey honey." Bryan said from behind me. I turned to look at him. We kissed. We heard a collective AWWW from our co-workers. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh I was lonely at home. Thought I'd stop in and say hi." In truth I needed to talk to him. Sally was planning something with a pastor. I needed to figure out what. But I didn't want to turn Bryan against his mother. It concerned me.

"Lockhart." A deep voice said behind us. It was our Captain. "Oh well, hello Persephone." He said to me. "What are you doing here?"

"I was in the neighborhood. Thought I'd say hi."

He nodded and glanced at the baby. "Well hi." Captain Ronald Craig was a no nonsense kind of cop. He was the twin brother of my commanding officer in Iraq. Colonel Donald Craig had been the one to recommend me to become a detective. The captain was just like his brother. He was usually all business with a hidden softer side. "Cute kid." He turned to Bryan. "We just got a call about two officers getting attacked in the park. One is in surgery right not. Both are expected to survive. I need you and Tucker to go down to the hospital to talk to them."

Bryan nodded. "Alright boss." He picked up his jacket off of his chair. "Sorry Persi, I have to go."

I sighed. I hated to interrupt work. Really I did. "Bryan I need to talk to you."

"It will have to wait. I have to go." He kissed my cheek and he and John walked away.

Shaking my head, I sat at my desk. It felt right. "Hey Persephone, are you alright?" Captain Craig asked.

"Oh just dealing with in-laws."

He nodded. "Well, I have to get back to work. You can sit at your desk as long as you want. But no working. You are still on leave."

"I know, sir."

He walked back into his office. I looked around the bustling precinct. I wondered about the two officers that got attacked. I hoped they would be alright. Picking up the carrier I walked out of the precinct and back to my car.

For a while I drove in circles. My mind was all over the place. Finally, I decided to just head for home. I hoped I would be the only one there. As I rode the elevator up I listened to the light jazzy music coming from the speaker. I found myself humming to it. The elevator dinged as it stopped on my floor.

I walked through the front door. I could hear voice coming from the living room. Sally and my sister-in-law Carolyn sat talking. They stopped when I entered the room. Carolyn smiled at me. "Aww there he is." She referred to Tristan. "Can I hold him?"

"Sure." I said I set the carrier on the coffee table. I unbuckled him and she picked him up. She sat on the couch with him in her arms. Carolyn, the wife of Bryan's older brother Joshua. I got along with her alright. She was a homemaker like Sally. She and Joshua had four kids. To me she resembled a Stepford wife. Her blonde hair in an updo that resembled something from the 50's. She wore a flowery summer dress with white pearls around her neck.

"Oh he is just the most handsome little guy. He looks so much like Bryan."

Inside I just laughed. He already had signs of black hair growing on his head. I hoped it would be curly and resemble my father's. I sat on the couch and sighed. "So, did you guys have fun?" I said to them.

Sally shrugged. "We bought some food for dinner. I am making a roast. I hope you don't mind but I invited our Pastor and his wife over for dinner."

"Sure, that is fine." Oh it was going to be fun. A Lutheran Pastor having dinner with the Devil. I just really wanted to know what she was planning. Part of me thought about using my manipulation powers to draw out the truth. It was really tempting. But I thought against it.

Sally excused herself and went into the kitchen. Carolyn smiled and cooed at the baby. I smiled as I watched them. "So, what is this pastor like?" I asked her.

She looked up. "Oh, Pastor Gordon. He is great. He's been our pastor for as long as I remember. We grew up with his kids."

"Oh that's nice." Tristan started to fuss. "He is getting hungry."

"Oh of course." She frowned as I picked up my baby a took him to the nursery.

I sat in the rocking chair feeding him. My mind was going in circles. I had my phone in my other hand. I was trying to reach my husband. I got frustrated when it went to voice mail. Then I tried calling my father. No luck there. I tried not to get angry while holding the baby. Oh what was I going to do?