Far from Home.

Just six days after being called down to the police station, Brian was still on the hunt for his daughters killer. He'd been able to cross out seventeen people, so far. Brian had done the exact same thing every time he questioned someone.

He'd knock on the door, and wait patiently. When they answered, he would politely ask to be invited in. The man - Or the man's wife/girlfriend - Would ask him if he wanted anything to drink or eat, to which he'd reply 'Just a cup of water, thank you'. Brian would then introduce himself to the man, shake his hand, and sit down.

Upon receiving his glass of water, he'd thank the woman and ask if he could have a word alone with her significant other. Of course, she'd smile and leave the room just as quick as she had came in.

Then, Brian would turn entirely cold. He'd numb out his emotions and focus on finding out the truth. He'd always bring up how close he was to his daughter and how much he loved her. Some of the suspects had a daughter, or children of their own, so they'd say that they could relate greatly.

With a lump in his throat, Brian would begin to describe the scene and then when he was finished, he'd slap the list of suspects down onto the table and point to the face of whoever he was talking to at the moment.

He'd learn to look straight into their eyes. Guilty people always had that sudden twinge of being caught, or their eyes would do a certain flicker.

So far, the seventeen men he had interviewed either threw up, passed out, or began to sob - Always catching Brian by surprise. He'd apologize (though he never truly meant it) and leave before the man's wife/girlfriend came back.

Today's suspect was Milton Harvey.

He was a thirty seven year old man, who was recently let go from his job back a few months before Lucy's disappearance.

Brian pulled into the driveway of the man's house and stared at his picture for a while - Something he never normally did. There was just something about Milton that, physically, struck an ugly chord with Brian. It took him a few minutes before he snapped out of the unusual trance. He got out of his SUV, slamming the door.

As he approached the door, he could see Milton had already opened it and was waiting for him. "Can I help you?" He asked; Brian got the hint that Milton must've saw him idling in his driveway for a while and got very suspicious.

"Yeah, good evening, Mr. Harvey. I'm Brian Elwin, and I just have some questions to ask you." For some reason, he'd decided last minute to leave off his last name, replacing it with his middle name. The feeling in his gut told him to do so, and that feeling had never been wrong.

"About what?"

Defensive. That wasn't a good sign. Brian had to come up with a quick, white lie.

"I'm a volunteer for the local police station, and they just need to renew their files on everyone in the city."

Milton stood still before stepping aside. "Come in. Have a seat."

Brian nodded softly and walked in, taking in the calm scenery of Milton's house. He sat down and waited for Milton's spouse to come out, but she never did.

Peculiar.

Milton sat across from Brian, staring at the television. "You said you had questions, right? Ask 'em."

"Right," Brian looked down at the suspect list, trying to think of something that wouldn't give Milton any reason to throw him out; This visit wasn't turning out to be like any of the others,"Are you the only person living at this residence?"

"Yep. Divorced my wife seven years ago. Next question."

"Do you have any kids?"

"No."

"Have you ever been convicted of a felon-"

"No."

"Do you know a Lucy Allison Haner?"

Brian decided to just throw it out there, see what his reaction would be, because he obviously wasn't getting anywhere with his lowkey questions - Which had nothing to do with why he was here. Milton tore his gaze from the television and looked at Brian.

"What's it to you?"

"It's nothing to me," Brian lied straight through his teeth,"But it something to the police station. Are you gonna answer it, or will I have to get an officer down here?"

Milton was quiet for a few seconds. "Yeah, I do know a Lucy Haner."

Right then and there, Brian almost jumped up and attacked Milton. His hands ached to beat the living shit out of him. This was the guy. It had to be. No one else knew Lucy - He'd never gotten this far with questions, before the guy started to break down or something of the sort. Milton Harvey was the sick bastard.

But Brian had to compose himself. Maybe Emily knew Milton, and that's how he knew Lucy.

"And how do you know her?"

Once again, another few seconds of silence.

"I'm good friends with her dad; He's bought her over here with him a few times," Milton stood up and walked to the kitchen, going through his fridge,"You want a beer?"

"Can't drink on the job."

"I won't tell."

"I'd rather not."

Milton gave an unbothered shrug and grabbed himself a beer. He stood in the middle of his kitchen, gazing around. Brian decided it was time to dig just a bit deeper. "Hey, Mr. Harvey, mind if I use your restroom?"

The man swallowed his beer, before walking back into the living room. "Down the hall, last door on the right."

Brian nodded, taking his papers with him, and walked down the hall. But, of course, he didn't need to use the restroom. He opened the first door, hoping to find the master bedroom, so he could snoop around and find something that would depict him as a cruel man, who could commit such a ruthless act. However, the first door was a spare closet with a vacuum tucked inside of it.

The second door revealed a spare bedroom that had a few scattered boxes.

One of the boxes caught Brian's complete and undivided attention. The brown cardboard cube had dark, dark handprints on it and the words THROW AWAY written in black marker. Brian grabbed his phone, immediately taking numerous pictures of the box from all sides and angles. The window, however, stuck out greatly to Brian.

He took off his jacket and wrapped it under the box. He picked it up, feeling that it was very lightweight, and opened the window, gently tossing the box onto the bushes below.

As quickly and as quietly as he could, Brian put his jacket back on and ran to the restroom, flushing the toilet. He walked back into the living room at the same time his phone rang.

Emily.

"Excuse me for a second, Mr. Harvey."

"The missus callin'?"

Brian nodded and stepped outside. He quickly ran to the side of the house and took off his jacket, picking the box up with the material and placing it in his trunk.

"Em, baby, what are you still doing up?" Brian asked when he answered the phone. It was nearly nine. She was usually asleep by now.

"Waiting for you, Brian," She sighed heavily,"Where the hell are you?"

"I'm out with Ro-"

"No, you aren't. I called Ron's wife and she said he was at home, resting up for work tomorrow. In fact, she says Ron's came home immediately after work every day this week, Brian. You've been lying to me."

In that second, Brian froze. Shit.

"I'm... I'm sorry-"

"Don't even," She hissed,"If you aren't home in the next twenty minutes, Brian, I swear to god..." She hung up, leaving Brian to sulk internally.

He walked back inside, telling Milton that he would be back tomorrow and walked back out to his car. Suddenly, he didn't feel angry with Milton anymore. At least not too much. He felt a little more angry with himself. Whether it was because his lie wasn't good enough to fool Emily, or the fact that he lied to her... He wasn't sure.

And that ate up at him.



"Emil-"

"No, Brian! You don't fucking understand! Our daughter is dead. I'm heartbroken. And then you're always fucking gone! I don't have anyone to wake up to, anymore; I don't have anyone to cuddle up to at night - I feel like I don't have anyone to tell me that they love me!"

"You know I love you, Em, I proposed to you!"

"You loved me - You haven't been showing me your love lately! You're always gone, and to top it off, you fucking lied to me about being out with Ron! Where are you really going, huh?! Are you fucking cheating on me?! Am I not good enough, anymore?! Is it because I fucking cry almost everyday?! Well, I'm sorry!," Her voice cracked as she slammed her hand against the counter,"I'm sorry I'm reacting the way a mother normally would if her daughter was fucking beaten, raped, and then killed at the age of four! I'm sorry I can't bottle up my emotions and seem happy!"

Brian stayed quiet. He knew that if he told Emily where he was really going, she'd be much more angry with him, and probably tell him that he should just let the police handle this. But he really couldn't help it, especially since he was hot on the trail of someone who could be their daughters killer.

"I'm sorry..." He whispered.

Emily shook her head, wiping at her tears. "That's not going to work, Brian. Are you going to tell me where you've been going?"

The longer Brian stared at her, the worse he felt. He kept his lips closed tightly together, his gaze falling to the floor. Emily's hand slammed into the kitchen counter again, demanding an answer. "I'm sorry." He repeated, not meeting her eyes.

"That's it..." Emily spoke up,"This... I can't do this, anymore. I knew you wouldn't tell me the truth, no man ever fesses up." Brian watched as she walked down the hall, into their bedroom. She came back a few minutes later, with a bag.

Realization hit Brian harder than a ton of bricks. "Em... No..."

She shook her head. "Goodbye, Brian. If you can't tell me the truth about where you're going, I'm sure you're lying about loving me, too. And God knows what else you could be lying about, right?" Emily stared at him before looking down, as her tears fell. She walked out and Brian ran after her.

"Baby, Emily, please. Stay. Things are going to change really soon, I swear." He begged her, as she started up her car.

"No, they aren't Brian-"

"Yes they fucking are!," Brian exploded,"You just have to wait and see!"

"Wait? You mean how I've waited until midnight or later for you this past week, just about? I'm sick of waiting for you hand and foot, Brian. I love you with all of my heart, but there's only so much the human heart can take." She shook her head and sighed, starting up her car. Her window rolled up before Brian could get another word out.

And she was gone before he could blink.

Just like that, the last thing that kept Brian sane - The woman he loved to bits, the last girl he had in his life, the reason that his life had began to look so perfect... Was ripped away from him. He was right back at square one, except this time in Montana instead of California.



Brian sat on the couch, staring at the box infront of him that he'd practically stolen from Milton's house. He'd spent the last few hours crying in the shower, even after the water had ran cold. The loss of Emily was just as painful as the loss of Lucy.

He sipped his gatorade bottle before tossing it onto the couch, deciding it was time to open the thing. Brian grabbed his phone and went to his camera app, getting ready.

Surprisingly, the box wasn't taped or anything. Brian quirked his brow as he undid the flaps and shined his phone's bright screen on the inside, seeing the four things that would tie everything together, and give Brian some peace of mind.

Lucy's bloodied and tattered pants, her torn up shoes, her muddied and bloodied socks, and last but certainly not least...

The severed head of beloved Jangles.