Jess paced the living room floor angrily. “What are they doing out there?” she asked, not for the first time, as the spotlight of a torch briskly leapt across the curtains from outside. It had been about twenty minutes since the officers had arrived.

“They need to be thorough,” Alice answered. She knew the words wouldn’t soothe her friend but ignoring her wouldn’t help either.

“All they’re doing is checking the gardens… like he’s a damned hedgehog or something. Are they expecting to lift up a plant pot and then Whoops! You got me coppers!” she ranted, pulling the curtain away from the window and glaring out into the dark. “They should be checking for CCTV or calling for backup or something. Knocking on neighbours’ doors to see if they saw anything.”

“I’m sure they know what they’re doing,” Alice replied, unable to keep the worry from her tone.

“Pfffft,” was Jess’s response as she waved a hand as though fanning away the noxious idea.

Alice rolled her eyes. “It’s not a TV show, Jess. They can’t just kick down Doris’s door just because you saw a face at the window,” she chided her friend.

“That’s what they’d like you to think. Everyone knows that they can just bust in shouting about probable cause,” Jess retorted.

Alice pulled herself up from the sofa and joined Jess at the window. The blanket was draped snuggly around her shoulders but the slithering feeling of the cold seemed to etch itself into her bones as she peered out into the night. She knew that Jess had always been distrustful of the police, but she couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that maybe her judgement was correct this time. They were taking a long time out there but didn’t seem to be doing very much. The frequent swings of the light across the curtains showed that they hadn’t strayed far from the garden. What criminal is going to stick around when they know they’ve been spotted? She thought. Worse still, what if he’s watching from a distance until they leave?

Alice winced as the light from the torch passed the window once more, the brightness stinging her eyes in the process.

“Amateurs,” hissed Jess. Her nose was wrinkled in distaste. Alice was inclined to agree by this point. The scene reminded her of ridiculous hunters on the search for Bigfoot, trampling their way haphazardly through the wilderness whilst scaring off anything that might be living in a three-mile radius.

“I bet they don’t even believe us,” Jess continued in a clipped tone, “probably don’t even give a shit.”

“Don’t be silly,” said Alice gently, “They wouldn’t be here if they didn’t believe us. Would they?”

“Then why are they just walking backwards and forwards. Stevie Wonder could do a better job of searching at this rate,” Jess muttered, waving a frustrated hand at the window. Alice couldn’t help but snicker at this suggestion.

“Or that other guy; Lionel Richie,” Jess continued.

Still snickering, Alice turned to her friend bemused. “Why Lionel Richie?”

“Because of that song he did,” Jess replied, looking to Alice with a confused frown.

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“What song?”

“The one where he was blind,” she explained further before singing a rough rendition. “Hellooo… Is it me you’re looking for?”

The absurdity of this made Alice laugh out loud. Unperturbed by this response, Jess continued, “I can see it in your eyes. I can see it in your smile. Something something something, and my arms are open wide!”

Still laughing, Alice raised her hands and motioned for her friend to stop. “Lionel Richie wasn’t blind!”

“Of course he was,” said Jess dismissively.

“No, he wasn’t!” laughed Alice. The situation outside was momentarily forgotten.

“There was the video and everything though?” questioned Jess with a confused look on her face.

“Yeah, it was the artist lady that was blind,” said Alice, smirking.

Jess snorted a laugh. “Don’t be a dick. You’re not seriously expecting me to believe that he sat and sang ‘is it me you’re looking for’ to a blind woman?” She crossed her arms with a determined look on her face.

“You can look it up if you want,” said Alice with an amused shrug.

Jess turned back to the window with a contemplative look on her face. Tiny splashes of rain were starting to hit the window, shimmering in the light like specks of glitter. The officers outside were no longer in sight, leaving only a dismal view of the darkened street in the oncoming rain.

“They won’t stick around now it’s raining,” Jess noted out loud.

A polite knock on the door seemed to prophesize that this statement would soon be true. The pair walked through to the front door, Jess in front and Alice following nervously behind. The opened door revealed both officers smiling cheerfully.

“Evening ladies,” started the female officer cheerily, “We’ve had a good look around, but we haven’t been able to spot any evidence of suspicious activity in the area. The house looks secure though. No tampering around any entrance points.”

“We’d like to ask you two to stay vigilant. Usually, in situations like these, it’s unlikely that people will return. What we’re going to do is we’ll return in the morning to have another look around the property, if that’s alright? A better look during daylight hours just to make sure everything is as it should be,” continued the male officer. He was the younger of the two, but still clearly older than both Jess and Alice. He gave them both a friendly reassuring smile.

Alice timidly nodded her acceptance of the offer. Jess, however, seemed unimpressed.

“And then what?” Jess asked curtly.

“We noticed that some of your neighbours seem to have CCTV cameras around their properties,” the female officer offered, “plus you mentioned that there was a witness at the club who offered to give a statement. If you’re able to provide his number, we can contact him, and we’ll also be able to speak to the club as they should have video footage we can review as well. Provided that they’re willing to share it of course.”

Jess grunted a non-committal response.

“What happens if he does come back tonight?” asked Alice nervously.

“There will be officers on stand-by all evening. All you need to do is make a call and we’ll be straight back here,” the male officer said with a reassuring smile.

“Keep the doors and windows locked. Don’t answer the door unless you know who’s on the other side and make sure you keep your mobile phones nearby all evening in case of an emergency,” the woman added.

Alice looked to Jess but her friend’s face was expressionless, carefully masking her feelings. Not that she needed to show them as Alice knew full well that her friend would be furious on the inside. It wouldn’t be the first time that either of them had felt let down by the authorities. Alice recognised that this was an unfair judgement, given the current situation. There would be little else that could be done at this late hour, but the lack of action still stung.

“Thank you both,” Alice said meekly with a wan smile.

The officers nodded an acknowledgement before turning to leave and Alice closed and made sure to lock, the door behind them. When she turned around, Jess started to pad off in the direction of the kitchen, shaking her head with a tight-lipped expression on her face.

“Don’t say it,” Alice implored.

“I didn’t say anything,” Jess replied over her shoulder.

“Don’t say it,” Alice repeated, slightly louder.

“Don’t need to say it,” Jess called back as she reached the doorway, “You already know I’m thinking it!”