She had just finished loading the dishwasher and wondered whether she should go and find Chief as the weather was getting worse every second when her phone started buzzing on the countertop. Closing the hatch, Yuriko looked at the display and saw a picture of Vian asleep in their bed which she had taken some time ago.

Smiling lovingly, Yuriko took her phone and tapped on the screen twice, once for answering the call and once for turning on the speakerphone.

“Hey honey, there you are. We already thought you’d forgotten all about us. You’re on speakerphone, we were also planning to call you tonight.”

Phone in hand, she walked over to the living room where the children were lying on the couch, watching a cartoon. Both of them sat up as soon as they heard Vian’s voice.

“I’m so sorry, I wanted to call sooner but it was always so late already and I didn’t wanna wake you. I hope you weren’t too worried.”

Yuriko could tell how exhausted he was from the sound of his voice but continued smiling for the kids’ sake.

“Of course we were worried but we also know that you have a lot on your mind,” she answered as she sat down between her children. 

Joié stood up right away, holding onto her mother’s shoulder and looked down at the phone: “Daddy, the monster is back!” She was quite excited and loud. “But Chief chased it off. Can you come home soon, please? I wanna go to the beach just like Luka and her family!”

Vian laughed at the other end of the line and waited for Joié to finish before answering: “Hey angel, can you slow down just a bit? You lost me there. Where do you wanna go? I guess it’ll still take some time until I come back. But your holidays will start in three days. Did you persuade mum to visit uncle Noah in Rim?”

Aiden pulled on his mother’s wrist to get the phone closer to him now. “Not yet but we’re trying every day. I don’t know why but she doesn’t want to go there…”

Looking at his mother, he asked: “Mum, why don’t you wanna visit uncle Noah?”

Yuriko started laughing now, looking at him as well. “I didn’t even say that I don’t wanna visit him. I just said we should wait until it’s the holidays. I cannot decide not to go to work anymore and we also have to call Noah and ask if he has time.”

Even though the kids continued talking at the same time, Yuriko was able to hear Vian’s small sigh through the speakerphone and closed her eyes for just a moment to imagine the expression on his face.

She wished she could ask him how his mission was going and if he knew whether he’d come home soon. Of course she watched the news every day but there were barely any information on secret operations like the one Vian was at right now. But she also knew that Vian himself was not allowed to tell her everything, even less as long as the kids were listening and she did not want to steal their time with their father.

So Yuriko just sat there, listening while Joié and Aiden told Vian about their adventures of the past days. It stood out to her that Aiden didn’t mention his fight with John but she stayed silent just as well.

When the doorbell rang, Yuriko looked up and gave the phone to Aiden. “I’ll open the door real quick. No fighting, please, okay?”

The kids nodded so she got up and walked to the front door.

Through the window she saw Sophia’s husband Merick and frowned. It was raining cats and dogs and she wondered why Merick was out and about at this time of day and in this weather.

Opening the door, she wrapped her cardigan around herself a little tighter. “Merick, what’s up?” Instantly, she saw Chief at the older man’s heels and started smiling. “Did you two meet?”

Merick looked at her for a second before turning around to the harsh weather behind him. “Yes, I found him in the forest and thought he’d gone missing, better bring him back before he’s hit by a branch. It’s a nasty storm out there tonight, not long before it’ll really start now. Just came back from fishin’, only reason I was out at all. Didn’t think it’d be like this today.”

Turning back to Yuriko, Merick lifted his fishing pod a little and really looked at her for the first time. “You okay, pumpkin? You’re white as a sheet. Hopefully no bad news from Vian?”

Yuriko took a step back and reached for a towel to dry Chief’s fur and paws. “No, the kids are actually talking to him right now, it’s just…”

She hesitated, not sure how much she should tell Merick. Then she sighed. “Joié saw someone running around in our garden earlier and it worries me a little.”

Smiling at Merick, she bent down to dry off Chief’s paw that the dog raised towards her already.

Merick, busily pulling his hood back to its rightful place, waved his hand now. “You know that happens more often out here. Those youngsters sneaking around in other people’s gardens because they think it’s funny to scare everyone a little bit. Just saw a couple outside in the forest half an hour ago.”

His roaring laughter sounded in Yuriko’s ears. “Scared them a little when I came out of the woods. They ran away immediately. I’m sure the boy wanted to impress his girl a lil by giving her some of your brambles.”

Merick winked at her while Yuriko got back up on her feet and smiled back at him. “Yeah, that’s a possibility. Anyways, thanks for bringing Chief back. If I had known that the weather turned this way, I wouldn’t have let him out in the first place.”

“It’s all right, pumpkin. You wanna come over tomorrow? Sophia misses you lot. Made a cake today, I bet she’d love to see you.”

Yuriko agreed to come over to their neighbours’ garden the next day and closed the door behind Merick after saying goodbye.

She let out a relieved sigh. It had been a silly prank after all and she did not have to worry about the person in the garden…

So, there were only the pictures left…

Pushing her worries aside, Yuriko returned to the living room to listen to Vian’s voice a little more before putting their children to bed.

An hour later, both kids were fast asleep in her bed, fully content after talking to Vian and Yuriko had tidied up a little and took some alone-time before joining them. She had a blanket wrapped around herself, a mug of tea in her hand and a book in her lap. She tried to read but her mind wandered here and there and she could not really concentrate.

Chief was sleeping peacefully next to her, his paws moving as if he was dreaming.

Yuriko thought about the feeling she had had while being in the supermarket and about the envelope on top of her dresser. 

In it, there were photographs of her. One of them showed her on the day she had spent on the forest lake with Aiden and Joié hours after Vian had left. However, the children had been cut out of the photograph.

There were other pictures of her, at the hospital, in her car or while she was talking to another mother in front of the kindergarten. 

Every time, there had been other people in the pictures as well. Every time, these people had been cut out of them. There were only fingertips or parts of their shoes visible.

The last photograph showed her, drying her hair after a shower, wrapped in one of the big burgundy towels they had in the bathroom upstairs. Someone must have taken it from up close and whoever had taken it, had probably watched her in the shower as well.

Chewing on her lip nervously, unsure how to react to these pictures. Yuriko knew, the right thing would be to call Noah or another agent so someone would start investigating. But she also knew that Vian would find out about this investigation inevitably and that was the one thing she did not want to happen. She wanted him to concentrate on his mission and all dangers surrounding him without being distracted by anything else.

Still, these photographs scared Yuriko. They scared her so much that she actually was ready to leave her home and get her children away from it.

Even though Aiden and Joié had tried to persuade her into visiting Noah and his girlfriend, she had hesitated to agree. Until now. She did not want make a fuss or cause her friends any kinds of trouble. But the envelope and the pictures changed everything and she did not know what else to do.

A look at her watch showed her that it was quite late already. Yuriko still decided to dial Noah’s number, held her phone to her ear and waited.

She was just about to hang up, when she heard the young man’s voicemail: “Hey, this is Noah. Sorry, I have a mission right now or have other things to do. Leave a message and I’ll call back as soon as I can. Bye.”

There was a short beep and Yuriko let out a small sigh: “Hey Noah, it’s me. I thought I’d just call. I wanted to ask whether you’ve got time for us in the near future. I’m sure you know that Vian is off on a mission right now and the three of us could use some distraction…”

She laughed a little to make the situation seem a little less urgent, but she heard how fake it sounded. Surely, Noah would be able to hear it just like her the moment he listened to her message. Still, Yuriko hurried to finish: “But since you’re not there, that’s probably not going to happen.”

She thought about filling Noah in for just a second but quickly decided against it, shaking her head.

“I hope you’re fine. Call me back when you can, okay? Bye!”

Hanging up, Yuriko lowered the phone again, still chewing on her lip. Visiting Noah was not an option.