That was all a memory now, although still fresh in her mind. When she closed her eyes she could still hear the terrifying shrill of the phone ringing at three in the morning. The sound of her Aunts worn old flip flops rushing down the short flight of stairs to answer the call that would change her life forever. When that phone rang, she already knew, somehow, deep down inside that it was bad news. She remembered the feeling of lying there, cold, staring across at the bed that her big brother Mark would usually be cuddled up in, but that night his bed was empty. She felt disturbed looking at the way it lay there, blankets neatly made up and pillow fluffed, constantly reminding her that her brother had not come home that night.

Every night since their parents were brutally murdered, her only comfort was knowing that her older brother was always there, sleeping just across the room from her. He'd never let anything happen to her, thats what he said the night they were told they were going to have to live with their aunt and uncle whom they barely new.

All those years ago she decided that it was enough, first her parents and then Mark. For a while she lived on tender hooks, wondering when her time was going to come. She felt prepared for it, everyone else that mattered to her was gone anyway. Sometimes the darkness took over completely and she would sit on the edge of the bathtub, one of her uncles old razors in hand and wonder why she shouldn't just end it all. What would it matter anyway? If this was the way life was going to be then she didn't want anything to do with it. The temptation was always there, but her parents raised her better than that. She would remember the warmth of their embrace and the love that surrounded their home and she would be reminded that there was something more to life. A reason that she is alive...

Fifteen years later and here she is, she worked so hard to get here and she made it. She felt such a sense of accomplishment thanking God almighty for looking after her all these years. She also remembered her parents and her brother Mark, up above. She knew they would be proud of her, they were the reason she was here after all. Sondra Keller, or rather Captain Sondra Keller as her colleagues knew her. Head of the Cold Case Unit.

~~~~

"Jimmy, don't try and talk me out of it" they all knew she was too close to this case to work it but what Sondra Keller wanted, she inevitably got. The cold case team had come a long way and they were more like a family rather than a team. They knew what each member in the team could handle, and more importantly, what they couldn't. Jimmy was the smooth talker, he could talk his way out of anything. It was a gift, when it came to dealing with criminal suspects he could convince them of almost anything, providing they gave him the time to talk!
Sondra knew him too well though, she did take his advice but when her mind was set on something it was hard to dissuade her. Jimmy knew that.
"Sondra, at least let someone take point on this case, just in case... incase... you know, things could turn ugly. You know how this job gets" it was rare to find Jimmy stuck for words. She glared at him long and hard before she slowly started to speak, his words barely passing through her thoughts. "You know how long I've needed this Jimmy, I've worked my fingers to the bone to get here and I've finally made it. I have to put Mark to rest, once and for all".
They've had this conversation many times before and even though Jimmy was trying to convince her otherwise, even he didn't really believe what he was saying. He knew there was no way to talk her out of it, "It's your call Keller but whatever you decide, just know that I'm behind you all the way, we're all behind you".

She slowly spun round in her chair, turning away from Jimmy so he wouldn't see her fingers shaking, even though she was trying not to let it show. The file she held in her hand was marked with large letters, though slightly faded with age you could still clearly make out the name written across the middle, "MARK KELLER" it said. Blazoned across that lettering though was a red stamp written "CASE SUSPENDED", below that someone had carelessly scribbled in pen "Case Inconclusive - unsolved".

She already knew what was inside that file, she had seen hundreds before just like it. It's dull brown cover, coated with a thin layer of dust. The edges slightly tattered from months of handling, but the cover stiff from years of sitting packed in a box, back to back with many others that had gone unsolved just like it over the years. Jimmy watched her as she gazed at the file, his heart sore for what he knew resided within her. The pain of watching her family slowly disappear, the pain of being left behind. The loneliness...

"Sondra, let me read the file..." he barely began to speak before she stood up sharply "No!" she cut him off mid sentence somewhat agitated, "This is something that I have to do Jimmy, something that I need to do alone! Please, just... just leave me for a while..." Jimmy gave her one last look, a look that questioned her, a look that asked her if she was sure. He reluctantly nodded his head and turned towards the door. "You know where to find me if you need me, cap" he said as he hesitantly walked out the door. Sondra didn't respond, she dropped into her chair trying to summon the strength, the will, to open the file. As she pulled the covers apart she realised that she wasn't ready for what she was about to see, the truth is she would never have been anyway, not now, not ever.

The photo's lay there, right in the front of the file. Photos of Mark, but not as she remembered him. Tears began to run down her face, tears that she didn't realise she was crying. She couldn't take her eyes off that first picture in the file of Mark lying there with a horrid red stain across his face, stretching from his left temple all the way across his face to the right corner of his mouth. His eyes gazing off into another world, dull and gray, like dolls eyes.
The worst thing though was the pool of blood he was lying in, the very same blood that ran through her veins, the same blood that ran through her parents veins. The sense of sadness and torment turned into one of anger and rage. Who gave anyone the right to spill their blood, she was going to make this right, even if she died trying.

She closed the file and marched towards the door, it was time to get the team together but as she got to the door, she hesitated...