Standing at the side of the grave site, Temple looked up. The day was cloudy, cold, and wet. The gray clouds had darkened the sky; rain was coming down in a mist at the moment, but earlier that day it had been pouring. There was not even a little opening in the clouds to let a sliver of sunshine shine through on them. Bagpipes played as the casket was brought to the grave site. The honor guard stood to the side, waiting to hear their order: "READY, AIM, FIRE READY, AIM, FIRE READY, AIM, FIRE " Then the bugler played "Taps." This was the day that he had to see his best buddy, Bert, get buried. For Temple Harrison, those words were the last thing he heard and the only thing that he kept on hearing. The rest of that day went by in a blur. He didn't remember getting back into the car after the service. He didn't remember going back to the house. He didn't even remember finding a chair in the corner and soaking up his sorrow by drinking, and he sure as hell didn't remember how he got home. Did anyone talk to him? He couldn't tell you. Did he answer them? This he couldn't tell you either. Did he eat anything? If so, he didn't remember what he ate. This went on like that for the next few weeks. "This is Detective Temple, how can I help you?" "Well, about time you got back to work, I was beginning to think that you were going to be grieving for your friend for the rest of your life. I think that is very touching." "Who is this?" "I would say I'm your worst nightmare, Detective." "You might be my worst nightmare, but that is nothing compared to what I am going to be for you." Laughter was heard over the phone. "Oh come on, Detective, just think about it. It was supposed to be you I was going kill, not your partner. But then at the last minute I thought better of it. I want to watch you suffer. Your partner was way too easy to get to and kill. You're always helping others out, but when it came right down to it, you made a bad choice that cost you your friend." "What do you want?" "I want to watch you suffer, as I had to suffer. I want you to watch your friends and family disappear, as I had to do. You will not know who or where, but there will be someone, and there will be a where. And being the nice person that I am, I will tell you where and when, but I will not tell you who the person is going to be. Have a good day, Detective." "Wait " "Oh come on, Detective. Please don't think that I'm that stupid; I know that you are trying to trace this call. I will talk to you again soon, Detective, you can count on it." Then there was a click, and the phone went dead.