It was always this way for him. The smallest details suddenly hitting him the hardest. It was never the feelings of those waiting for a loved one to reappear. It was the items the person missing had held dear to them. The things and objects that they had kept closest to them, in the one room where they probably felt safest.

Not always, of course. He’d dealt with enough cases over the years to know that for some, it was the bedroom which became a prison. The abuse they would suffer, the pain and hurt that would occur.

He hoped that wasn’t the case for Emily. Mark thought of the burly Uncle Rich – the manner of him. The way he filled any space he occupied. He heard the words of his superior echoing around his mind. It’s usually someone close to them.

Charlie’s words rolled around there too.

The room was larger than he’d expected, but then he imagined until recently, both twins would have been sleeping there. That would have vastly reduced the space, but he knew Stephanie had moved out and away to university a year or so earlier. The room had a dark vibe to it, but elements of typical teenage girl life also. A few posters dotted the walls, some canvas art prints which depicted some film stars he recognised. A book cover he didn’t – a pale hand holding a green apple, the black background giving the image a sinister overtone. The words Life and Death emblazoned above it.

The bed was between single and double sized. A bookcase, filled with what he imagined was the past decade of Emily’s reading habits. He scanned the titles, recognising some of the more well-known names. He’d never really been a reader, so it impressed him somewhat that Emily seemed to be. The small flat-screen television perched atop a chest of drawers next to it looked dusty and unused. Compared to everything else in the room, it looked as if it were the only thing that wasn’t kept to a certain… standard.

There was a desk-slash-dressing table underneath the window, a few nick-nacks left behind on the surface. A mirror on a pedestal towards the back of the desk had been swivelled around so its back faced into the room.

He looked around more, noticing the absence of anything beauty-related. No hair straighteners or dryer. No make-up or nail varnish bottles. Mark pursed his lips and shook his head slightly. What on the surface looked normal began to strike him as odd.

He moved to the bedside cabinet and opened the drawers slowly. Inside, a few things had been left behind by the uniforms who had initially investigated her disappearance. Mark knew some items would be waiting for his further inspection now, the uniforms handing over evidence to the Major Crimes Unit. For now, it would be his job to piece it all together.