Jamie MacDowell sat at the breakfast table that morning with a deep and level frown, a look mimicked by he eighteen year old son Collin at his twin sister Shannon, who gazed back unrepentant at both of them as she nonchalantly ate her scrabbled eggs. Jamie had become prone to frowning at her daughter, a consistency she wasn’t fond of, but a mother was allowed to worry, especially when their daughter was as seemingly reckless as Shannon MacDowell.

“I think you should be at least a little worried by this Shannon, there’s a killer on the loose for god’s sake! This is serious!” Jamie said, frustration dripping from her voice.

“I never said it wasn't.” Shannon bit back, defensively. “That girl obviously wasn’t being very smart. Alone in a dark alley, really? Screams walking victim to me.” Shannon replied rolling her eyes as she popped a healthy forkful of scrambled eggs into her mouth.

“Yeah, like you’ve never gone sneaking around in dark allies at night.” Collin snapped at her, earning a glare from his twin. “She’s trying to tell you to be careful, and you’re acting like you didn’t just read about some murdered girl at the breakfast table!”

“I’m sorry Collin, would you like it better if I sat here and professed that I’m a scared and helpless little girl and ‘oh gee wilikers I hope they catch that scary man soon’?” Shannon said almost snidely to her brother.

“No,” Jamie said with a stern look at both her children, cutting off their ritual morning bickering there. “But I would like you to promise me that you’ll be more careful. Just, be sure you’re always with someone, not because you’re afraid, but because it’ll make me feel better. Can you do that?” Jamie wasn’t about to be a hypocrite, not with her children. She’d been like her daughter a that age, running around and having fun, though perhaps a bit more secretive about it. Her daughter was also a lot more headstrong than she’d ever been, and was going to do what she liked whether Jamie through a fit about it or not. The only real thing she could do was try to give advice and try to make her see the wisdom in taking it. Or maybe ask Jenny to have some of her men keep an eye on her, though knowing Shannon, she was liable to resent that more than a lecture.

“Fine.” Shannon replied after a few moments of silence. Jamie gave a silent sigh of relief. Shannon MacDowell was many things, or at least pretended to be, but she wasn’t a liar.

“Good.” Jamie said, good mood returning as she’d never been a woman to keep negative thoughts at the forefront of her mind for long. Perhaps that was what had allowed her to stay looking so young, even at the ripe old age of thirty seven, she's managed to maintain an almost youthful glow. Shannon had playfully remarked on several occasions that Jamie was the best looking mom at Jefferson High, though that wasn’t saying much. Shannon enjoyed getting her digs in on the mothers of her classmates as much as the girls themselves. “Then you two better get ready for school, and no cutting class.” Jamie said this to Shannon, not Collin, as it was her daughter who had that bad habit, not her son.

Tommy slowly slid out from beneath the car, his hands covered in oil. He was dressed in the blue overalls that all the mechanics in Doug's garage wore; they were well-worn and grease-stained with a spanner sticking out of one pocket. The unruly curls at his forelock were even more unruly than usual and he looked drawn.

"You heard about Mary?" he said grimly, standing up and taking a rag from the bonnet to roughly wipe his hands with. "I read it in the paper this morning." He gestured to a newspaper on the workbench, the page detailing his cousin's demise conspicuously face down. "Then Ben and Jo phoned reception..."

Up until now, Tommy's movements had been relatively measured but suddenly he advanced on the workbench and violently put his spanner down onto the wood with a bang that echoed through the garage. A few of the other mechanics turned around then, seeing who had caused the noise, turned quickly back again. There were plenty of newspapers lying on the concrete floor or spread open on workbenches- it seemed most of the garage had known of Tommy's connection to the murdered girl.

"Who the hell would do a thing like this?" he demanded passionately. "Jesus, she was no older than me! What are Jules and- How are they both gonna be feeling?" Apparently Tommy, who'd never been close to Mary either, had had the same instinctive pity for her parents as Alex had but none of the associated guilt in expressing it.

He stared at the spanner on the workbench then looked back at Alex, dark eyes furious, voice low. "I'll ask Charlie to help. I know he doesn't do that stuff much any more but... He could recommend someone. I'll go through the phonebook if I have to- we need to do something to catch this bastard."

Lucianne Seccarinni had left the house early that morning, arriving at the garage her cousin worked at with about a hour before she had to be at school. Her brother Nikolai had been inherently suspicious, as while it was entirely within his norm to arrive at school over an hour early to have extra time discussing school work with his teachers, the only thing that could drag Luci up so early in the morning without a groan, was when she was scheming. Her mother however, hadn’t commented about Luci’s sudden concern in her school work, so her brother’s sense of indignation was of little consequence.

“Tony!” Luci cried after abandoning her bike at the door and bounding inside. Her cousin was currently rather grumpily changing the oil of an equally grumpy car. She could hear him muttering curses under his breath as he fought with the uncooperative banged up old car. “Luci?” Tony said incredulously rolling out just enough to see his little cousin standing next to the car.

“Jesus Christ kid, don’t you have school or something? You that bored you havta come bother me at work?” Tony’s grumpy tone might have put most people off, but Luci was rather immune to it by now, and simply smiled.

“You’re not glad to see me?” Luci asked grinning, her accent positively bouncing with the excitement she was suppressing. “Not when I’m trying to fix up this piece of junk.” Toni replied, sending an aggrieved look up at the inside of the old mussel car. “The things people do to cars; it should be illegal.” Tony took a quick look at his cousin’s pouting face and rolled his eyes.

“So I assume you didn’t get your sorry behind out of bed for an early morning chat?” Tony asked reluctantly, asking what would inevitably be told to him regardless.

“I got a hot tip about a band playing at a place called the ‘Gin Blossom’, and their vocalist supposedly personally knows Patti Page!” Luci said, barely containing her squeals of delight. She had become rather obsessed with the woman as of late, committing all her songs to memory. “I have to go see them tonight; it’s the opportunity of a lifetime!” Luci said throwing her hands up for emphases.

“So get your brother to take you.” Tony said dully, focus returning to the car. “Niki?” Luci asked incredulously. “You know he would never do anything father might disapprove of!”

“Oh, but it’s alright if I get chewed out by your old man? No thank you. God knows I get an earful from that man enough as it is.” Tony grouched.

“Fine.” Luci frowned, stubborn expression knitting her brow. “If you won’t go with me, I’ll go myself.” And she would too. Neither of them had any delusions about that. Tony stilled, completely pushing out from under the car, his look hard. “Oh no you won’t. You’re a smart girl Luci, you read the paper. You are not going running around out there by yourself.”

“It’s not my decision it’s your’s. You can come with me or not, your choice.” Luci replied stubbornly, her tone clear she wouldn’t budge on the subject. “Fine, but only because I don’t want to see you end up on the front page.” Tony bit out. Luci’s mood sobered for the first time that morning, she hadn’t read the paper.

“There was another one?” She asked tentatively. Tony’s eyes unconsciously shifted a little ways over in the garage to where Tommy Goldberg worked. Word had spread around the garage pretty quick his cousin had been the latest in a long and frighteningly speedy string of murders by the apparently resurfaced Strangler. “Yeah, but keep your voice down.” Tony figured the Goldberg kid didn’t need to hear people talking about his recently murdered relatives. He’s hated when people would talk about his old man like that, and her wasn’t about to do that to someone else.

“Royal Flush…” Shannon declared with an impish grin as she placed her cards down on the table. A chorus of groans erupted from the men at the table she’d hustled into playing poker. Anyone who knew Shannon well was aware of the fact she had the damnedest luck with card games and dice; it was why she had a hard time finding anyone willing to play with her at the joints her mother ran. The regulars had wised up a while ago. Which was partly why she found herself gambling at the Gin Blossom that night. It was bad enough she had to bring her brother, who wasn’t exactly a fan of the seedier scenes (college bound football boy he was) , but she wasn’t about to head out to a place she knew she’d be spied on by her mother or one of aunt Jen’s people. The Gin Blossom was also a joint rich with history, known as a place were excitement could always be had; at least it used to. Shannon was beginning to believe the glory days on that front were over.

Collin rolled his eyes, quite used to this kind of scene where his darling sister was concerned. She needed to be more careful, because one of these days she was going to piss off the wrong people playing these kind of games, people with guns and no reservations with using them. Not to mention he didn’t trust men around his sister as a rule of thumb. Shannon might think she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself because she had a nice right hook, but men that ran in the kind of circles she gambled with didn’t fight fair or care. It wouldn’t take much to provoke them into trying something with a good looking girl like his sister, and it usually set his teeth to grind. It was damned inconvenient trying to protect someone who did their best to undermined your efforts at every turn.

Usually, Shannon milked these games for all they were worth, but tonight, she was the first to walk away from the table with a tidy profit. Perhaps she’d sensed he brother’s agitation and was attempting to salvage some conversation time. They grabbed a table near the band. And Shannon asked her brother if he wanted anything to drink. He took a pass for the moment, never having been a heavy drinker, especially with the anti spirits bit that got pounded into his head by the athletic coaches. Guess that kind of thing happens when your football coach is Baptist. It was almost comical seeing coach Harding work at a school were at least half the students were catholic. So Shannon swaggered up to the bar alone in her tight black pants and green blouse, an elbow’s length away from three hulking red heads.

“Shot a whisky.” Shannon ordered from the rather ancient looking bartender. She liked those fruity martinis as much as the next girl, but tonight she felt in the mood for something a bit stronger, and with Collin around she didn’t have to worry about being too drunk to get herself home. Whisky was probably her favorite of the hard liquors as well. She loved the burning sensation it gave as it slide down her throat, and the warming sensation it sent through her belly.

“Are you sure a little lady like you” the oldest son of Guns, “Can handle strong drink?”

Shannon raised an eyebrow at the red haired man who’d asked, no, challenged her ability to hold her liquored. She picked up the shot, and knocked it back with the ease of the most hardened backwoodsman, savoring the burn before licking her lips with a sensual slowness that had gotten more than one mans undivided attention before placing the glass back on the bar to be refilled. She watched one of the men go, the older one. She might not have paid him much mind except for his eyes, one amber one blue. They gave her a sense of foreboding, so she quickly dismissed the man from her mind. Traits the resembled the description of their father didn’t bother Shannon like they did Collin (perhaps because she didn’t supposedly looks so much like him) but they could still be uncomfortable.

“As I neither little, nor much of a lady, I think your concern’s just a little misplaced.” Shannon replied, returning her attention to the younger red heads at the bar, flashing a saucy grin that conveyed confidence and need to be impressed.

“Well how can I say no to a free round of drink?” Shannon said taking the offered seat and glass of whisky. “So, you boys native or from outta town?” She asked, always finding it a good philosophy to at least know something about the people you’re drinking with. “Name’s Shannon, and you two fine gents would be?”

“Poker.” Replied one of the men at the table Donald has just sat down at, the more disgruntled looking one. “Maybe now, one of us had a chance at winning a hand with that minx gone.”

“Well that’s what happens when you play a MacDowell, at least the younger one that is.” Another replied with a jovial expression. “You know you’ll loose money, but it’s worth it to sneak a peak down that blouse.” His expression was one of an unrepentant young boy with a hand caught in the cookie jar.

“Well next time inform me of that little detail. Some of us mind loosing fifty dollars in one hand. I would have never bet so high if I knew I was bettering against that one.” The disgruntled one griped again.

“Want me to deal you in?” The younger more jovial one asked Donald.

From a table not too far off, Collin was staring at the man who had just sat down with a kind of fierce intensity. Bowler hat with an ace of hearts sticking out, blue and amber eyes, and red hair. What the hell kind of odds were there that another shared a similar likeness? As waitress walked by, and he stopped her quickly.

“I’ll take that drink now, bourbon, bring the whole damn bottle.” Collin’s blazing eyes didn’t leave the man for one moment.