Morningstar Manor

It had been a normal morning. They'd gotten up, had breakfast, Charlie had gone to the gallery and Deacon was working on his laptop in the living room while Nia played with her toys and watched cartoons on the Disney Channel. A very normal morning indeed - until he got the email.

He'd know that whenever it came it would likely be like this. A short 'meet me here at this time' message. He'd sent a quick reply back then grabbed his phone and called Seth, begging for a sitter. Seth had been happy to help and it was only about fifteen minutes later that Deacon was headed out the door and Seth was sitting down with Nia to help dress her dolls.

He'd tried to call Charlie too but the line had been busy so it was without a heads up that Deacon came into the gallery. He didn't even really have time to greet Leena properly, just gave her a quick wave and jogged back to Charlie's office, giving a quick knock and poking his head in.

"Need you for a bit, Charlie, we gotta go run an errand."

They had arrived in the early evening and had dropped their bags off at their hotel - the Hilton Garden Inn was only a few doors away - and Charlie rode up in the lift looking about him with interest.

"It's a lot more modern than the Manor," he said.

On his favourite couch with coffee, muffins and a good book, Charlie was set for a while. Of course he was paying attention to none of the former because he also had his daughter with him and she was complaining loudly that she wanted to be let out of her stroller and allowed to crawl round the floor - and probably put all manner of disgusting things in her mouth.

Charlie wagged a finger and rocked the stroller and grinned in response to her annoyed grumbling. Sam was out somewhere with Parker and Rosie so he was baby sitting and, on the whole, happy with life.

Though if Nia stopped grizzling and settled down to nap life would be even peachier.

Samantha had been making herself ... scarce ... as only she (and perhaps Jazz, but she didn't know that) could do. There was nothing she could do - if she told Parker about her 'doctor's appointments,' she'd leave Sam, she knew it. If she tried stopping them ... there was something in his eye that made her not want to. She wasn't ready to kill again. Not so near to her home and not a target who was known to associate with her.

Certain friends of hers would recognize her mannerisms, she knew ... because the face to the world wasn't Samantha. it was sammie posing as her. Just like she'd done years ago right after That Night.

Today, the back way in had been blocked by a trash truck, so she'd had no choice but to come in through the front door.