She spent the better part of two hours combing through the house as Jessie's team completed their work. The scene was about to be taped off and locked up once she and the body exited. The rest of the forensics team had already headed back to the station to begin the lengthy process of processing the evidence.  Jessie remained, placing the body onto a wheeled trolley had proved to be difficult as the body was so rigid. They did their best to cover her with a sheet so the victim was wheeled outside, but honestly, it did little good.

Removing her gloves and booties she addressed the officer helping Jessie outside. "Seal the scene once the body is removed, then once I'm finished with questioning please escort Miss Kenard to a safe location."

He nodded to her as she walked away and headed outside. In her hands, she had Miss Kenard's handbag which had been left inside by the door. She approached the distressed woman slowly with a saddened smile. 

"Miss Kenard, may I have a few moments of your time?" Shannara's voice was soft as she spoke. This poor woman had seen something horrible. She handed the woman her bag, it had already been searched having been in the house. "Only if you feel up to it."

"Please, call me Danni." The woman nodded, though it was clear that she was shaken up. Her hands were trembling as she took her handbag with a small smile as thanks.

"Walk me through what happened. Every detail matters." Shannara gentle and slow with her words, this woman had clearly been through a lot.

"So, umm... I was on holiday overseas for the past three weeks. I was headed home, my flight landed at around 12.20 am, I had expected Kayla to be there to pick me up, she always did, no matter the time, rain, hail or shine." Her bottom lip trembled as she pressed on. "I had been receiving texts from her right up until I got on the plane in Paris."

Shannara frowned but she didn't say anything as she watched tears stream down Danni's face. She handed the women a tissue from her supply bag, she found they always came in handy at times like these.

"Oh god," Danni muttered as she realized what the detective already had. "She was already... gone... wasn't she?" She whispered the last word.

Shannara tried to comfort in that moment, placing a hand on her back and nodding gently to confirm the worst. Danni lost her composure as she realized she had been talking to the person who had likely killed her best friend. Shannara patiently waited for Danni to stop sobbing so she could continue speaking. She didn't push the girl, instead allowing her to take her time and express her emotions as she needed.

"We didn't find a cell phone inside, this could be a good lead." She reassured her.

"I swear it seemed so much like her. I didn't ever think something like this could actually happen, least of all here." Danni was shaking her head, her trembling setting in again. "You see this stuff in books and movies and you don't think it's real... until it happens."

Oh, it's real. Shannara bitterly thought. It's why she did what she did, someone had to stop the hurt, pain and suffering of others. Someone had to find and catch these villains.

"So you were at the airport waiting?" Shannara encouraged.

"Yeah, I messaged her and waited, but after around an hour with no answer, I stormed off angry. I went to the taxi rank and got a ride home instead." A tear slid down her cheek as she visibly swallowed. "It's about a 45-minute drive from the airport to here, so I think I got home a little after 2 a.m. or thereabouts."

Shannara nodded, the timeline panned out. This allowed for the police to be called out to the scene and in turn, she had been notified soon after. But she would also call the taxi company for the exact time of the transaction, it was important to cover all bases. Even if the woman was a sobbing mess, some people could be really good actors. Nobody was innocent or guilty for that matter until all avenues were chased down and alibi's established.

"I unlocked the door. you know, now it seems really silly... I was so pissed at her." She sobbed heavily as she continued through gasped breaths.

Shannara retrieved a small notepad from her pocket and noted down that the door had been locked. From her time in the house early she also knew all other entrances and windows were also locked from the inside. How had the killer gotten in and out of the house? "Does anyone else have keys?"

Danni shook her head. "No..." 

Shannara jotted down some more notes. killer knew victim, victim's keys used, are they missing? 

Danni continued after a short pause. "I remember calling out, I called her some many, all the names under the sun. Slamming my bags down beside the door, I just screamed at her, I was so mad."

"You were tired and thought your friend had stood you up, it's understandable." She sympathized with the girl. "Take your time."

Danni was fidgeting with the strap on her bag as she recalled what came next. "I-I stormed over to the side table and threw my keys in the bowl. I looked up and that's when I saw her in the mirror." Her face scrunched up as she forced herself not to break down again. "Just hanging there... I screamed and when I stepped back I snagged my bag and fell backwards. I thought it was a prank at first. I was so shocked, I didn't think it was real. I started laughing..."

"What did you do after you fell?" Sharrana gently pushed.

"Well, I got up convinced it was fake. I went straight over to it...her... I thought it was a doll, like one of her Halloween decorations. She loved Halloween, the house would be decorated every year with sloppy stuff like that. So I grabbed hold of her arm and when looking up and saw her face... At that moment, I knew it wasn't a prank."

"You touched her?" The detective asked.

She nodded. "I gave my fingerprints to the people already, they also took a swap."

Noting down the details in her pad as she watched Danni carefully. Her actions, her reactions, her speech, she was taking everything in. "Then?"

"I was hysterical, I ran for my phone and called the police. I've never seen anything like that before." Danni wrapped her arms around herself shaking her head. "Why would someone do such a thing?"

"Did Kayla have any enemies, or a boyfriend, or even possible ex's?" Shannara moved the line of questioning forward.

Danni shook her head. "She was a bookworm, don't think I'd ever seen her with a man... Not a real one anyway." She paused thinking about it for a moment. "She did mention that she had been talking to someone recently, which was unlike her. I didn't think it was anything serious, but now... This has happened and I don't know what to think."

"Any information would be of great help," Shannara reassured her. "No matter how insignificant"

"You're welcome to my phone records, you can copy all the messages." Danni fumbled around in her bag trying to find her phone.

"That would be a great help, thank you." Shannara smiled gently as she nodded her head.

"Yeah, she seemed pretty excited about it, though I don't know just how serious it was, it just sounded like someone she had met someone at a cafe." Danni was fighting back tears as she searched the seemingly bottomless bag. "I really hope it helps." She managed.

"It d-" Shannara was cut off by a light jingle coming from Danni's bag, likely the girl's phone. Danni managed to quickly find it using the sound and pulled it out. The air grew tense and her face drained of all colour and turned pale white. Fearful, Danni handed over her phone, panic evident on her features. 

Shannara took the device and flipped it over in her palm. Looking at the screen there was one new notification. She had one new message... from Kayla.

"That's not..." Danni was visibly scared.

Shannara tapped the message, two photos had been sent. Her body grew rigid and stiff, anger boiled to the surface as she realized she was being toyed with. One of the photos was taken outside this very house, Kayla in clear view hanging in the window of her living room, suspended elegantly as though frozen in time. The second was of Shannara's arrival, she was getting out of her rental, which had only been a short time ago. Whoever it was, they had been watching this the whole time. This was seeming more and more different from the other murders. The killer she had come to know wasn't this cocky, but the crime scene still felt connected in some weird artist way.

"Can I hang onto this?" Shannara asked.

"I'd rather you keep it, probably better in your hands than mine." Danni was shaking her eyes lingering on the small device in the detective's hands. "I don't want it anymore."

"Do you know if Kayla was hiring a storage lot?" She asked. She wanted to try to calm Danni down and thought it best not to mention what the message and photos had been of.

Danni shook her head. "No, though it wouldn't surprise me if she had something like that. She was always coming home with quite a bit of cash from her job."

That might explain the large amounts of cash she found stashed in the victim's room. "Her job?"

"She worked for an antique dealer on main." Danni was trying to answer the questions as best as she could. "She learnt a lot there about old stuff and how to price it. If she had a storage lot my guess is she would be using it for her work."

Shannara continued to take down notes. "What were the places she would frequented most?"

"She liked cafes, antiques, books and the museum. So, any store or place with those things in mind. I'd often call her and she'd be at the library researching some new antiques that had come in."

"Anything else you can think of that might be relevant?"

Danni frowned shaking her head again. "Sorry, I don't think so."

"Please let the officer who is to escort you to a family or friend's house know your new contact details, I may need to contact you again."

"Of course." Danni nodded, a sorrow-filled expression on her face as she watched her friend, now covered in a white sheet being wheeled out of her house and into the back of a van. "Make sure you get him."

"That's why we're here." Shannara also left her with her card, telling her she was available to talk at any time. She saw that Danni was placed in the vehicle with the police officer and quickly filled him in as to what had just happened with the girl's phone.

As the police vehicle left the street she surveyed the area. It may be early but the neighbours were already up, time to disturb the peace.

She walked across the street to an older woman who smiled sadly at her. "I'm guessing it's not good news."

"I'm afraid not ma'am, I'd like to ask if you saw anything or anyone on the street." It was indeed going to be a long day. Her notebook was to get one hell of a workout in the next few hours.