It had been a hectic month for DCI Arthur Kirkland The murderer of the case had finally been captured, after having been lead astray for days. The suspects were a fiery, impatient bunch, and one of them was friends with one of the higher ups. He was just doing his job as politely as possible, but the woman had threatened him with harassment. Thankfully, he had managed to find the culprit after a month. No more dealing with obnoxious suspects. Thank goodness.

      ''Hey Arthur! Want to celebrate with a drink? My treat!'' His subordinate asked, still finishing up the paperwork.

 He smiled wryly. ''Its alright John, not today.'' He rah his fingers through his hair, sighing wearily. ''I think I will go home early.''

 DS John smiled understandingly. ''Alright...see you tomorrow.''

  Arthur put up his hand. ''Ta.''

     So he trudged home. The summer night was cool, not too cold or too hot. Just nice. He thought of the empty house he had to return to. He considered going to the Red Lion. It would be noisy...but he wouldn't be lonely. And he didn't have to talk to anyone anyway. Alright then, Red Lion it was. He changed his path to the Red Lion. It was Thursday, 7 o'clock. He saw many groups of young people, probably students, talking excitedly about stuff. A wistful smile formed on his face. How nice to be a student! He thought back to his days at police academy. His class was made up of cheeky but kind lads, always looking out for each other. Now everyone was at different places...Newcastle, Liverpool, South Hampton....He sighed. He hadn't seen them in so long, they should organise a get together soon.

     He walked into the Red Lion. There were a lot of people as he thought, many youths enjoying the last of the summer break before going back to school or university. Good times. He ordered a beer and fish and chips, and looked around for a seat. He looked around, and he noticed you sitting alone.