"No, Mary!" Leo grabbed Andy about her waist before she could launch herself into the house. He turned her around and held her tight, whispering soothing words in hair.

"Andy, you can't go in there. We need to wait for the sheriff to arrive. You know that, don't you, darling?"

"Sh-Sheriff? Is that necessary?" She was obviously shaken up. With her face turned up towards him, he could see the tears glistening in her eyes. "No, no, we need to check inside first. She may be hurt."

"You stay here, I'll take a look, ok?"

"No, please. I need to see!" She grabbed the lapels of Leo's jacket. He sighed but agreed.

"Be sure to not disturb anything, ok? I need to make a call to the Sheriff first and then we'll take a quick look, ok?"

Andy nodded and he placed a quick call to the sheriff. He knew the sheriff, Fred Huff, but he had to have a conversation with his wife Brenda first, who was cantankerous, to put it mildly. Finally, he got through to Huff, who promised to get there with the squad soon.

Andy had been staring at him trance-like for the whole time. He held out his hand and she slipped hers into it.

"A real quick look, ok?" Gingerly, they stepped into the house. Andy pointed to the light switch and he turned it on.

"Holy hell!" The entire living room was a complete mess. The couch pillows were strewn about, the lone table and chair in the living room were overturned and chaos reigned. Andy stifled a sob, then yelled out Mary's name. For good measure, she also screamed out Washington, the dog's, name, but was met with silence.

Leo turned to Andy. She had gone deathly pale, her eyes appearing huge on her face. "Did you turn on the alarm that I had installed?"

She looked at him blankly and then shook her head. "Mary was home, there wasn't any need..."

She sobered at his grim expression. She saw what he had been staring at. The carpet was marred with a single, dark-red stain. Drops of the same stain were seen leading up to the door. Andy suddenly went green and Leo held her and dragged her back outside, forcing her to breathe and making her put her head between her legs.

"Oh God! What must have happened to Mary! Oh God, why did I leave her alone? Her husband got to her, didn't he?"

"Shh, sweetheart, I need you to focus on taking deep breaths, ok? Just breathe in and out, it's gonna be alright, you hear? If you pass out, I will be all alone here, and you don't want that, do you?"

He held her against him and rocked her like a small child. She was crying now, and he felt an odd constriction in his chest. Had she stayed home, she would've been harmed too. 

And she was too distraught to even realize that.

***************************

"So, you let a stranger inside your house? And her dog? Didn't your parents warn you about strangers, lady?"

Fred Huff, the sheriff, was a man of short stature and an imposing girth. His thinning hair was dyed black and he was due to retire in five years. He sported a handlebar mustache and he wore his khaki uniform proudly, with his gleaming star and black, shiny shoes.

Unfortunately, his meticulousness only extended to his dressing. He had taken forever to arrive on the scene and then it was almost dawn before he managed to cordon off the area. Half the population of Prescott had arrived before him and Leo had a hard time convincing the curious folks from tramping around the house and disturbing the crime scene.

Andy was better composed now, though she still bore a wide-eyed look. Her mascara had run across her cheeks and she blew her nose, reminding Leo of a lost little girl.

"I knew her from the halfway home I used to work at. She tracked me down here and was staying for a bit."

She answered all of Fred's rather impenitent questions calmly. Fred's look turned from disbelief that something major had finally happened in Prescott to befuddlement as he had obviously no idea how to handle the situation when there was finally a situation to manage. He asked routine questions but had no idea of how to follow-up on them.

"So, are there any suspects?"

Andy huffed and straightened up. "Sheriff, I .."

Andy took a deep breath and looked over pleadingly to Leo. Leo stepped in, "We believe that the lady was on the run from her abusive husband. We are very afraid that he may have tracked her down and her life may be in danger at this very moment. Fred, can I speak to you privately, please? We should let Andy rest for some time as she's still in shock."

Thankfully, Felicity arrived at the time and ferreted Andy away though she wasn't happy with being left out of the conversation.

Fred tugged on his mustache self-importantly and shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I'll have to call it in."

Leo bit back an oath. The man was, quoting his dear departed ma, slower than molasses in January.

"Yes Sheriff, and time is of the essence. We also need forensics called here stat and handle this as a criminal investigation. We need to put in all resources to find the missing person as we believe her life would be in danger."

Fred puffed up self-importantly. "It's not a missing person case unless twenty-four hours have passed. Miss Andy Diaz left here at nine and we cannot be sure that the lady, Mary, whose last name we still don't know, is missing until-"

"For God's sake Fred, stop being so thick! There's blood on the carpet and the door. What do you think happened here? She cut herself when playing with knives?"

Too late, Leo realized that he'd raised his voice and conversation around him had come to a halt. Andy and Felicity were staring at him and so were the other Prescott folks including the handful of deputies that Fred had called in.

Fred stiffened and looked even more uptight, if that were possible. "Don't tell me how to do my job, slick. Hang tight for a few more hours and we'll dial it in. Anyhows it would take some time for the forensics to arrive. We don't exactly have a CSI:Prescott."

Leo muttered under his breath. "In the meantime, miss," Fred turned to Andy. "We suggest you stay with a friend and not in your house. To ensure no folks tamper the "evidence"."

The air-quotes around the last word conveyed the Sheriff's disbelief.

"Andy, you can stay with me." Felicity piped in immediately.

"No!" Leo countered vehemently. Felicity gave him a thoughtful look. Emily, Leo's sister-in-law, thankfully took charge of the situation. She came forward and held Andy's hand.

"Andy, please stay with us till this is resolved. I'm sure as the first two eyewitnesses at the scene, you and Leo have a lot to discuss. And I would love having you over. Most days, I'm starved for female company."

Andy looked at him, no doubt reliving the shouting match that they had had just before they saw the bloodstains. Leo released his breath only after she thanked Emily and agreed to stay with them.

Felicity exchanged a knowing look with Leo and suppressed a smile. Leo heaved a sigh of relief. Apparently, things between him and Felicity weren't going to be awkward, which was good, as she was one of his oldest friends.

***********

"Please pass on the potatoes, Cheryl."

"Paps, that's not Cheryl. That's Andy, Leo's friend. She's staying with us for awhile." Emily patiently explained as Andy passed on the potatoes to Paps.

Leo turned to Andy to see how she would take in the scene before her. When Emily had invited Andy over, he had forgotten for a moment that his father was also spending the weekend away from the nursing home and staying with them. As his disease sunk its claws more and more into his father, there were instances when he wasn't very lucid. Remembering people's names, faces or even the date and time were sometimes too hard for him.

It had been a few hours since they had arrived at Emily's place. Andy had calmed down somewhat and rested for a bit and she seemed to not mind his father's memory lapse. Emily had loaned her her pre-pregnancy dress and she looked like a small girl in the frock which demurely came up to her knees and had full sleeves and high collar.

Andy bit her lip and exchanged a glance with Leo and Leo noticed that the color was high in her cheeks. Was she embarrassed for him? Did his father's dementia make her wish to be away from here?

Emily cleared her throat and changed the conversation smoothly to mundane topics. Mark, his brother, was away on business, so not counting his nephew, Zack, who was napping in his bouncer, they were just the four of them at the dinner table.

"What's wrong with this spoon?" His father grumbled as he moved the fork through his soup. Leo winced internally a teeny, tiny bit. Maybe Andy was right to be embarrassed.

"Let me help you with that." Andy briskly got up from her chair and handed Pops the correct spoon. Then she helped him hold it correctly and slurp the soup as she readjusted the napkin around his neck.

"Ah, thanks Anastasia. You're too kind." His father helpfully stuck out his chin so Andy could clean up the soup dribble.

Emily and Leo exchanged glances. Andy's handling of his father was efficient, friendly yet firm. She had mentioned that she had worked in the halfway home for quite some years.

When the dinner was cleared up, Leo got up to help Emily in the kitchen. Andy was still attending to his father and was chatting him up, not the least embarrassed that he never got her name right or acted like he was a guest and it was Andy's home.

Emily gave him a thoughtful look. "The Lord is my witness, I never thought the day would come that you'd get a girl home to meet your folks, let alone a gem like her."

Leo grinned. "You like her, huh?"

"Yeah, she doesn't chatter on like a monkey and doesn't put on any airs. I gave her my hand-me-downs to wear and she accepted them graciously. I think this one's a keeper."

"What do you mean, this one? I haven't exactly gotten a string of girls home."

"Hmm," Emily appeared thoughtful. "You're definitely less debauched than at least seventy percent people living in LA."

"I'm glad you think so. But I think Andy was initially embarrassed by Paps, she seemed to go all red when I looked at her."

"Oh Lord, you're thick. She was embarrassed because she was at a new place among new folks and you were making her uncomfortable by staring at her. Now get out of the kitchen and take the girl to your place. And make sure she returns in the house by midnight, I've got a room prepared for her, so I'll know if you guys have been up to no good."

******

"What do you mean that Fred has no updates? It's been seven hours since Mary has gone missing. How can a person disappear without any trace?"

When Emily had suggested Leo take Andy to his apartment above the garage, Leo had definitely some other things in mind. But Andy had taken one look at his bachelor lodgings, then crossed her arms and begun interrogating him.

Leo sighed. "I called him half hour ago, we can call him back in an hour."

Andy cursed and paced his tiny living room. "I don't believe this, what have they done to look for her?"

"The cops and local folk have combed the woods, but they haven't found any signs of a struggle outside the house. Which is a good sign, you know?"

Andy huffed and glared at him. "Do you really trust the Sheriff? He looks like a total douche."

"Well, do you have any better ideas?"

Andy glared and stormed out of his place. He watched her stomp back to the house, sighed and turned to get dressed, he knew that Andy wasn't going to rest at home, she would be back at the house trying to get answers. 

But when he turned to get the keys to the jeep from the bowl on his center table, he swore loudly. 

The sneaky pixie had made off with his keys!