Hello, Nightmare at My Window.

It all seemed like an old film running through my head; her laughter creating harmony with my heartbeat.

Some nights, I wouldn't sleep at all and just watched her dance across the computer screen, trying my hardest to understand why something so horrible happened to someone so beautiful.

Four days ago, Annette Winslet was reported as missing.

My attention shot back to the computer screen as I watched one of her older videos she had created that year. She was singing along with a friend to “Mr.Brightside” by the Killers. I ran my fingertips across her face trying to get a glimpse of touch from her image – afterwards feeling slightly silly for such a presumption.

Several months prior to her disappearance, she posted a video blog each day speaking of the highlights of that day and answering viewers’ questions; in a video segment she called “Ask Annie.” Most of the videos consisted of her simply speaking about a crush, drama, a new book, or her every-now-and-then announcement of posting new pictures onto a personal account.

But, the last video she posted drew in my attention the most.

A shocking image of the young girl sent shivers down most of the viewer’s spines. A couple days after the release of the video, a woman reported it to the youtube administrators, stating that Annette “looked beat up; bruised badly on her arms and seemed frightened.” The video was immediately taken off the site and placed into the hands of the FBI – which is where I come into all of this. The video was said by youtube to be “a sign of domestic violence.”

They found out four days later, that it was much more than that when the head of the FBI called the Winslet household, hoping for any form of explanation. Instead, we were told she lived away from home – currently residing in East Lansing, Michigan and attending college there, at the Michigan State University. The single mother was devastated to know that not only was she was no longer there, but couldn’t be traced anywhere. Her cell phone was left inside of the house, and she left no clues as to where she might be.

It is my presumption that she didn’t know where she was going.

I sighed inwardly as I clicked the link to the last video she posted before her disappearance, turning up the volume slightly.

“Um, hi.” She nearly whispered to her audience.

I didn’t cringe this time as I took in her appearance. The first time seeing the video, I couldn’t help but wonder why someone didn’t report it till the second day. Had they thought that this was just a joke? Certainly, not. Her eyes told a different story, as they shook slightly from side-to-side. She was trembling. Her long platinum blonde hair laid in a tangled mess along her bruised shoulders. Her face was pale and caked with left-over mascara stains along her cheek bones. Though, what should’ve told her thousands of viewers in the youtube community that something was up, was her slit lip covered in dry blood.
Aside from that, there was a clear difference in this video and the rest. Her eyes nearly always were averted away from the camera and she did not smile once like she had in her various other videos. Instead, she seemed to have an uneasy presence as if she were being watched by someone.

She rubbed her battered arms in attempt to relieve her nerves in the situation.

I watched closely as her eyes fluttered side-to-side as she thought of the right words to say in the situation. Could it have been that she was trying to bring everyone’s attention to something? Why would she post this video if she didn’t want to? This seems to be a clear cry for help.

“I met a guy, today.”

The words echoed in my head, haunting me, even though I had seen the video countless times.

“I don’t know his name.” She said, averting her eyes back to the camera. “Or, really anything about him but..” She paused as she started to shake slightly – bringing her hands up to her eyes to wipe away any tears that may have escaped. “He…”She began – but cut herself off, yet again.

Then, she sat up, and stiffened her jaw, stating in an almost robotic tone, “I’ll be going away for awhile. So, don’t expect me to post videos for awhile.” With that said she quickly reached up to her webcam, turning it off.

I shook my head in confusion. Why didn’t she say anything else? I needed her to say something else. “A guy” was just not going to cut. There are a lot of “guys” in this world.

I rewound the video in frustration, letting the clip play again.

“I met a guy today.”

“Damnit!” I nearly screamed to myself, slamming a fist on the keyboard.

The video suddenly paused as she turned to look behind her. I stood up from my desk, grabbing the keys to my car.

I needed to get out of the room and think for awhile. Being in the same room for nearly three days was beginning to take its toll on me. I wanted to solve this case so bad. This was my big break. I couldn’t help but wonder if Annette was also staying in a room at this moment. Horrific tales of people being kidnapped ran through my mind. What if she was being starved at this very moment? What if she was already dead?

The grim thought made my stomach churn.

“I need some coffee. That’s what I need.” I said to myself, grabbing my coat off of the bed. I turned towards the dresser mirror in the hotel room. I looked restless. “Lots of coffee.”

Slowly, I walked back over to my laptop to shut it down before I left. I sighed in defeat as I hit the play button to let it run through just one more time.

She turned back around, facing the camera once again, looking away from it as if she were deep in thought.

“Wait.” I said more of to myself, pausing the video and moving the scrollbar back to where she said she met a man. “When did she turn around? I don’t remember that…” Without anymore hesitation, I hit play.

“I met a guy, today.” She said, and turned to look behind her. This time, I noticed something new. As she turned around, her head moved slightly to the side, revealing part of a mirror.

“She’s looking at a mirror...” I mused, to myself. “Why?” Her head turned back around, and I paused the video just in time to notice a blurry reflection of a man.

My eyes widened and a small smirk tugged at the sides of my mouth. There had been someone there all along. My hands moved shakily along the top of my desk as I picked up my phone and dialed a number I knew by heart.

“Hello.” Someone grunted on the other line, as I shuffled through papers. “Seth, are you there?” He asked.
“Yeah. Um, Matthew?” I said looking down at Annette’s file.
“Huh?” He answered, unmoved.
“I think I just found a lead for the case of Miss Winslet.”

He scoffed into the phone. “Seth, there are more important things to deal with than a missing girl at the moment. We have a chain of murders happening all over the U.S. at the moment.”

I frowned in dismay. “Who says they are chained together?”

“Oh, come on. It’s obvious.” He stated in annoyance.

“Well, then, if those events are chained together, who says the disappearance of Annette Winslet isn’t as well?

“I do.” He stated, bluntly. “But, if you have evidence then, forward it to headquarters. The rest is not in your hands. I swear you act like you know the girl.” I sighed as I fumbled with the sleeves of my jacket.

“Anyhow, Seth…I’ve gotta go. Promise me you’ll get some sleep, kid. First major case will do this to you.” I looked back towards the monitor to see the reflection once more, then, sighed.

“Alright…Bye.”
“Bye, kid.” He said, hanging up. I put my phone back on the desk and hit play on the video again.

“I met a guy, today.”

Matthew was right.
Why would it matter to me if I didn’t know the girl?
The answer was simple.

I did…I recognized the name since I first picked up her file. And upon seeing her appearance, I still can’t figure out how I know her. I’ve stared into her sapphire eyes now for three hours trying to piece together some long lost memory. But nothing came.

I sighed and looked down at her file once more.

“Case: 97226. Missing Persons File: 10134: Annete M. Winslet , 19 yr. old Caucasian female. Blonde hair, Blue eyes. Height: 5”5 Weight: 107 lbs.
Disappeared on Tuesday, January 13, 2009.”

“Where are you, Annette?”