“Mom?” Jane yelled loudly, walking through into the dining room only to find that empty too.

“Daddy?” she called up the stairs. Still no reply, no sounds, no streamers but she definitely had a surprise.

As a last ditch attempt, Jane headed out into the garden, wondering if the party was out there. Pulling a flashlight from her belt, she guided its beam around the silent yard. The only thing out there was the neighbours’ overweight cat who hissed at her before waddling off towards the large shrubs at the back of the yard. Heading back into the house, Jane locked the back door and headed back towards her car. “Surprise!” she mumbled to herself as she started the engine and pointed the car back towards her apartment.

Pulling the car into the garage of her apartment building, Jane made a mental note to return the favour and prank her brother, possibly an emergency call in the sewer system. She’d stopped for Chinese and a bottle of red wine on her way and her stomach rumbled in anticipation. In her bag, her cell phone rang, the ringtone giving away the identity of the caller.

“Hi Ma.” She said wearily. Her mother’s voice exploded loudly from the earpiece and it was obvious that she’d had a couple of glasses of wine. Her disembodied voice filled the car and Jane sighed as she listened to a graphic description of some chicken dish she had eaten earlier in the evening. “No thanks ma, I’m just going home, I don’t want to meet you at the restaurant.” Her mother berated her about being alone on her birthday. “MOM!!” Jane snapped, silencing her mother almost instantly. “In a half hour, it won’t even be my birthday so it doesn’t matter. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” She turned the phone off and threw it back in her bag.

Something wasn’t right in the hallway of the building. Nothing looked out of place and yet Jane felt distinctly uneasy. Easing slowly down the corridor, she glanced quickly around the corner towards the door of her apartment. Once again, nothing was out of place. She sighed heavily; the case she’d been working on had gotten to her more than she thought. A woman had been stalked for months before her stalker had broken in to her home and raped, tortured and murdered her. Jane had been seeing shadows at every turn since she was detailed the case.