I awoke the next morning to a bright and sunny day. I had forgotten to close my curtains last night and the sun was glaring at me through my bedroom window. I tried to roll over to get away from the offending brightness and was stopped by a large furry mass. I scratched Cerberus behind his ear and sighed. It was time to get out of bed anyways.

I stood up and stretched and tried to work out the stiffness from the night before. My alarm went off and I hit the off switch without even thinking about it. I stripped off my sleep clothes and got a quick shower, then dressed for work. Cerberus followed me around all morning, even when I ate breakfast and when I had called the police to report the assault. I gave the officer all of the details I could remember and then my contact information.

It wasn't until I moved to go out the front door that Cerberus stopped me and I saw his pleading expression. I told him that I was fine and that I had handled myself well against the assailant last night. He put his paw on my leg in a begging gesture and I said that I already filed a police report and there wasn't anything else for either of us to do. He dropped the paw and barked almost sadly, so I gave him a hug and told him I would see him tonight.

There were no new court cases for the rest of the month on my agenda, so today's work was all just catching up with paperwork that I had been ignoring. I was also supposed to set up some possible new clients, so I got in my car and went to work.

I arrived to a flurry of activity in front of the McGruber Building. Backed up traffic and police were everywhere. I hoped they would sort this mess out soon or the whole city would be gridlocked in less than fifteen minutes. You would be surprised at how quickly things like a traffic jam can get out of hand. I slipped by a double parked police car and squeezed into the parking garage entrance.

I never would have made it through in my old car. In this new one I could tell that I would fit through the small gap quite easily and did so. I parked in my normal spot and went up to my office. Alice was already there like she usually was and I asked her what was going on downstairs. She said that she didn't know what I was talking about and we both went to the window to see what we could see. It looked like a car had been rear-ended by a packing truck.

Both of the drivers were arguing over who's fault it was because we could clearly see them pointing and shouting. The police were trying to stop them before the situation became a full blown fight. I debated on how long it would take for the fight to be over if it came to using their fists and each other's heads as punching bags, when there was a knock on my office's door frame. Alice whirled around to see what was going on, while I calmly turned to stare at the man who stood there.

“C-can I help you?” Alice stuttered at the obviously handsome man.

“I'm looking for a Jessica Scott. Is that you?” He said.

Alice blushed at him and then she glanced at me.

“That would be me.” I said into Alice's awkward pause. “What can I do for you?”

“Ah, yes. I see the resemblance now. I believe this is yours.” He said as he held up my clutch purse and waved it back and forth.

“My purse!” I exclaimed before I could get a hold of myself. I had forgotten that I didn't have it with me last night when I got home.

“I found this on the sidewalk this morning as I was walking by and thought I would return it to you.” He smiled and held my purse out for me to take.

I hesitated for a moment and didn't reach out to take it from him. His face changed, and he frowned at me for an instant, then he adjusted his face back as if he had been smiling the whole time.I had seen the frown, though.

“Thank you for returning it, Mr...?”

“Robert.”

“Thank you Mr. Robert. Just leave it there.” I said as I pointed to the edge of my desk.

“No mister, just Robert.” He continued to smile and it looked forced. He didn't like that I wasn't being as receptive to him as I should have been. I started to get a headache right between my eyes; but, it wasn't anything major and I ignored it. Alice wasn't that much better off than I was at dealing with this guy and she looked like she was rooted to the spot where she stood. He walked across the small office and placed my purse on the desk.

“I'm glad that I could return this to you.” Robert nodded to me and the pain in my head intensified. I nodded back and didn't let the pain show. He turned away and walked back to the door and then stopped.

“Have a good day.” I said through gritted teeth. He turned and smiled at me, then left.

“That was really creepy.” Alice said when she thought he was out of earshot.

“And the Understatement of the Year Award goes to...” I snickered.

Alice laughed and the weird moment passed, just as the pain in my head stopped.

We left the office to head down to the deli on the corner for lunch. I told Alice all about my night out celebrating with the client and she soaked it all up like a sponge. She said that that it must have been nice to get out like that. I hedged a bit and said that it was alright and that I wouldn't want to do that all the time, because having so much fun was too exhausting. Alice laughed at my obvious joke.

We finished our meals and went back to the office. When I shut my door, I called the police to check on if they had made any progress on the assault that I reported. The woman on the phone told me that there was a detective there for another case and that he would be right up to see me. I hung up the phone and told Alice that a detective would be in to visit.

A few minutes later, she let a man into my office and he seemed to be a bit short for a police detective. Alice shut the door and the detective asked me to tell him everything that had happened. I repeated everything I had told them on the phone and he wrote everything down in his little notebook while he slouched in my client chair. I even told him about my purse and its miraculous return.

The detective asked me to describe the guy and I did. He sat bolt upright in the chair and asked me if I knew the guy's name. I said that his name was Robert. No last name, just Robert. I asked why he was so interested in Robert, and he said that he fit the description of the guy who had walked in front of a car, in front of this very building in fact, that had caused the accident this morning. I nodded my head and said that I thought something seemed a little off with him.

The detective gave me his card and told me that if I remembered anything else, or if something else happens, that I should give him a call. I said that I would and he gave me a nod and left.

Interlude

“Awww, man. He's gonna kill us!” Colin said.

“Why would he do that?” Andrew responded.

“Because that was the fifth one we've tracked down and we still didn't find it!”

“Look, process of elimination, right? If there's six, and we just tracked the fifth one...”

“Then the last one must be the one we want!” Colin shouted.

“Shhh! Keep it down. That's right. Now lets get this last one out of the way.”

“Okay. Where are we headed?” Colin said with subdued enthusiasm.

“186 Yorkshire Lane. It's up in the hills.”

“Nice. Think we should scout a bit first?”

“Nope. We go in and we take it.” Andrew said.

“Sweet.”

Colin and Andrew arrived at the address and parked down the road. They quickly went to the right house on foot and went around to the back door. They tried to listen and didn't hear anything. They opened the door and crept inside to search the place, only to find nothing. They searched the garage and the shed out back and still find nothing.

They were about to give up when they heard a car approaching. They nodded to each other and hid themselves out of sight while the person who just arrived parked their car. Colin and Andrew positioned themselves to strike when the door opens, then they jumped the guy and knocked him out.

Colin looked at the guy and freaks out a little. “Oh, crap. It's not him!”

“No kidding?” Andrew sneered at him.

“What are we gonna do now?”

“What can we do? We have to tell him.” Andrew said. “Give me the phone.”

Colin reached into his pocket and took out the phone that was only to be used for emergencies. It was a special number that only a few people had. He speed dialed the number and handed the phone to Andrew.

“It's a no-go.” Andrew told the voice on the phone. “No, sir.” He listened for a moment. “Yes, sir. That was everyone.” He said. “You're kidding!” He protested and then waited. “Yes, sir. We'll get right on it.”

“What did he say?” Colin asked as Andrew hung up.

“He said that we didn't check everyone in the photo.”

“Sure we did! Every guy on this list!” Colin pointed to the paper.

“Nope, as I was just told, they was one more person in the picture.” Andrew explained and Colin's mouth hung open at that.

“Who?” He asked.

“There was a guy passing behind the booth the group was in. It was just a shadow, but they enhanced the photo and got the guy's mug shot. I got his address. Some guy named Paul Burge.”

End Interlude

Alice and I finished up for the day, and we rode the elevator down to the parking garage. I waved goodbye to her as she went one way and I went to my car. I put my briefcase in the backseat and hopped in the front. I drove out of there and headed home to have a nice relaxing bath. I definitely needed it after all the paperwork I had pushed today.

I got to my house and pulled into the driveway. Even though I was a bit tired, I got out of the car and opened the garage door to put the car inside. I just got the car and I didn't want anything happening to it. I was going to have to invest in a garage door opener if I wanted to keep doing this. I closed the garage door and went inside to enjoy the nice warm bath I had promised myself.

I was really looking forward to it and I barely had my shoes off when I heard a car pull up into my driveway. I sighed and turned around to face the door, then I reached out and opened the door just as I heard the doorbell. I wasn't at all surprised to see the scum on my welcome mat.

“Hi, Paul. Bye Paul.” I said as I pushed the door closed.

“Wait!” He said with what sounded like desperation in his voice. I hesitated and knew it was a mistake, because it gave him just enough time to come through my door and into my house.

“What do you want?” I said as I pushed the door closed again. Unfortunately, Paul was on the same side as me now and a shut door wasn't as comforting as it should have been.

“Some guys are following me.” Paul said.

I shook my head. “Some guys? Wait, why are you telling me?”

“You're a lawyer. You know about stuff like this.”

“That's right. I'm a lawyer, not a police officer. Talk to the cops. It's their job.” I said.

“You're not going to help me?”

“I don't mean to sound heartless, Paul. Oh, wait... yes I do. Get out.”

“Come on, Jess! I need your help here!” He pleaded.

“Look, I don't have time for your stupid little games anymore!” I nearly screamed at him.

That was when my world changed forever.