“Is it Daniels?”Ray Peterson asked softly as his gaze roamed over the debris that had once been Sloan’s living room.

Ed nodded,”Yes.”

Before Ray could ask any more questions the police arrived. They quickly secured the area with yellow crime scene tape and ushered Ed and Ray out of the apartment.

Sloan Parker slowly awoke. As she opened her eyes she thought for a minute that she was staring directly into a rainbow. Colors of all kinds danced before her,partnered with the darkness that threatened to overwhelm her.

Sloan closed her eyes,taking several deep breaths to steady herself. After a few minutes she opened her eyes again and discovered she was in a small dark hotel room.

Her head throbbed like a private Metalica concert. As Sloan raised her right hand to her forehead she realized her hands were bond behind her with a coarse rope.

The confinement of her hands brought the memories crashing back.
Lewis
Being forced on the run.
Tom.
The baby.

With a start Sloan’s gaze flew to her stomach. Forcing the panic back Sloan reached out with her mind. She hoped that if the baby had a little bit of its father’s genes she would be able to tell if it was alright. Relief washed over her as she leaned her head against the back of the chair.

The baby was fine.

Now all she had to do was get out of where ever she was and tell Tom. Sloan wasn’t fooling herself she knew the odds were against her. She could only pray that fate wouldn’t be so cruel that it would take her and the baby away from Tom before she even had a chance to tell him he was a father.

Detective Katherine Krieg was the lead investigator to arrive at Sloan Parker’s apartment. She was a tall thin woman with short cut red hair. Ray had always pegged her to be somewhere in her late thirties but being a typical woman Krieg would never confirm or deny his guess.

Katherine stepped aside allowing the forensics team into the room as she ushered Ray to the oppisite side of the hallway.

“What am I looking at here,Ray?”Krieg asked in a lowered voice,”You weren’t exactly forth coming on the phone.”

Ray glanced back at Tate who was pacing the corridor like a caged tiger,”This apartment belongs to a good friend of mine,Sloan Parker.”

Krieg’s eyes widened in recognization,”The anthropologist who discovered this new species?”

Ray nodded,”Yes,Dr. Ed Tate over there is her best friend. He was supposed to pick her up for work at seven this morning and found the place like this. There’s blood by the sofa that we think is hers.”

Katherine glanced back into the apartment at the destruction,”Whatever caused this has the strength of a small tornado. You want me to treat this as a simple robbery attempt?”

Ray shook his head sadly,”Treat it as a robbery leading to a possible homicide.”

Krieg’s eyes widened slightly but she didn’t question him. Instead she took out a small pad of paper and jestured to Ed,”I’m going to need to interview Dr. Tate before I can let ethier of you leave.”

Peterson nodded,”Just make it fast,Katie. He’s had a hell of a week and its not getting any better.”