Something was wrong. David could tell instantly when he arrived home.

Not alarmingly wrong, no. Although the case still had him on his toes - and this day had not improved his outlook in it in any way - he came home to his peaceful, beautiful house lying there in the afternoon sun, and not one cloud could be seen in the sky. But when he approached the front door, he sniffed. That smell... that could only mean...

He opened the front door. Angela did not jump into his arms this time. Carefully he made his way further into the house and approached the kitchen door. It was open. Cautiously he looked around the corner...

"That bad, huh?"

Lauren was fully occupied. On the stove there was some sort of stew or soup simmering, the kitchen table was full of flour and other ingredients, and the smell David had noticed came from the large pie baking in the oven. And still Lauren was running around, preparing more things, as much as her kitchen appliances allowed her to. As he spoke, she turned around to look at him briefly. She tried to smile, but it came across as painful and forced. David had known her for a long time now. He knew this look. His wife was really upset.

David took another sniff. The aroma of apples and cinnamon covered the entire house in a sweet and autumnly atmosphere. He frowned. The last time Lauren had made her apple pie - when it hadn't been for a holiday or celebration - had been when her application for the professorship at the university had been rejected. He also could tell that from the swift and almost aggressive way his wife moved through the kitchen, doing the chores. Other people in her place would probably just have smashed things.

"I see," he then stated. "That bad then."

She granted him another look, one that was full of sarcasm. But then she proceeded to roam the kitchen like a whirlwind. On bad days her hobby of preparing food really helped her keep it together, but all the things she was doing almost simultaneously showed him that this must have been one hell of a day for her. He decided to retreat from this place. Under normal circumstances he would have offered his help, but he knew what kind of reaction he would get right now. Lauren needed this. She needed her space. He went to the living room.

"Daddy!" Angela finally had noticed that her father had come home. She rushed into his arms in her usual way, hugging him for a short moment. But this moment was over quicker than David anticipated. The girl let go of him pretty fast. "Can you help me get my suitcase down?"

"Your suitcase?" David raised an eyebrow. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Dad..." Angela moaned impatiently. "Have you forgotten? I'm staying at Gina's tonight. You allowed it."

"Oh, yeah, right!" David hurried to assure her. He took her by the hand and led her to the stairwell leading up. Only after a few steps he realized that it was the other way round, that in fact she was leading him. "But why did you pack a suitcase? You are just going for the night, and Gina's practically living next door."

"But I still need my things," Angela insisted. "I mean: my nightgown, my toothbrush, my hair brush, my..."

David knew exactly what his daughter was bringing. He had gone through this already last year when they had taken a holiday, and for the first time in her life Angela had taken care of her own suitcase for it. Lauren wanted to give her the chance to show how grown-up and responsible she already was. She had regretted that decision the instant Angela had opened the suitcase and pulled out an entire zoo of stuffed animals, who of course were also happy to go on this trip like she was.

So he gave her a knowing smile. "Your friends? Are they comfortable in there? Must be very tight and stuffy in the suitcase for them."

Angela giggled. "How did you know that?" she then asked. In a few years from now, David was sure that he would miss the adorable childlike nature that Angela still had now.

"I am a cop," he answered. He even lowered his voice to sound more sincere and professional. "It is my job to know such things." Angela giggled again. He was glad about that. At times he was still afraid that this cop thing could somehow frighten her. It frightened a lot of other people. But Angela grew up with that, it was a part of her life she was used to. With his normal voice he then asked: "Are you sure you need to bring all of them, Angela? Wouldn't it be enough if you just took Snuggles?"

"But the others would miss him," Angela replied.

"Yes, but it is just for one night. And Snuggles would be happy to see them all tomorrow and tell of all those big adventures you had with him when you were away. I am sure, they will enjoy to hear his stories, and then they won't mind that he was gone for the night."

For a moment his daughter considered his words. And then her face brightened up. "Oh. OK then..." After she gave another nod of approval, David picked up the suitcase and carried it back to Angela's room. Right when he out it down on the floor again, his phone rang. Angela didn't mind - she opened the suitcase and proved David right with his assumption. The heads of a dozen different cuddly companions raised up from the open suitcase. But then his focus went elsewhere when he answered the phone. It was Stella Ortega, the coroner.

"I went through the cases of you, Hartman and Sanders, comparing the backgrounds of the victims. Nada. No connection whatsoever. I mean, the only thing they really had in common was that they died in the same city. That is all. We can't even be sure if it was the same killer, since the murder weapon and method are different every time."

"But they all have those symbols on them," David reminded her. "Hasn't anyone found out anything about it."

"Not yet," Stella answered. She seemed to be as peeved about it as David himself. "They ran the symbols through the databases. One of them had a 40% match to a symbol connected to the Hindu religion, the other two are completely unknown. I put the report on that on your desk, boss."

David sighed. That wasn't much. "Did Lt. Wilks say anything about it?"

For a moment there was silence. David even wondered if the connection had died down until he heard Stella again. "That's the other thing, boss: Wilks has disappeared."

"What?" This couldn't be true. He had seen his lieutenant at work when... when... He paused. Had he seen Wilks at all today? "When did this happen?"

"He didn't report for duty this morning, and the station has tried to contact him all day. He hasn't reported sick or anything. He just seems to... have vanished."

Oh damn! David swallowed, looking at his daughter. Was this about to turn so serious so fast? Was the killer aware that they were onto him? Or her, as the case might be? Were they getting too close? Or was there some other, more plausible explanation for that. "Keep me posted when you hear something, will you?" he then asked Stella. "I see you tomorrow."

"Right. Good night, boss!" The connection was cut.

By the time David had finished the call, Angela had managed to put her stuffed animals back where they belonged. Only Snuggles, the brown teddy bear, was still lying in the suitcase on top of a very small heap of Angela's personal night things. "You only need your backpack for this, dear. Leave the suitcase here!"

"Alright, dad!" Angela started packing again. As David was about to leave her to it, she called out for him again. "Dad?"

He turned around. "Yes, pumpkin?"

She looked at him with big eyes and a coy expression on her face. Whatever it was, she hesitated to say it. "Could you... I mean... could you please not do the same thing you did when I stayed at Gina's the last time?"

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

She hesitated once more. "This... this thing. When you just came over and... kicked down the door..."

Now he remembered what she was referring to. Yeah, it had been an awkward situation for all people involved. One that Gina's parents never really had forgotten or forgiven. Let alone Gina's big sister who probably still was scared of him to this day.

He sighed. Then he kneeled before his daughter, looking her in the eyes. "I will do my best," he promised. "But you do understand? I was worried about you and I tried to protect you."

"I know." At times Angela seemed to be astonishingly mature for an eight-year old who stuffed her suitcase with toys. "But it was really embarrassing when you did that."

"OK, I promise I will not embarrass you like this again," David said. "If you promise me that the next time you play Cops & Robbers, you will just be the cop." He winked at her.

The way Angela rolled her eyes at that reminded him of her mother. "OK. I promise."

"I'm glad to hear that." He placed a small kiss on her forehead and then grabbed her backpack which was fully loaded by now. "Come on then! Gina's waiting for you."