It was a hot sunny day as Sandra pulled up outside New Scotland Yard ready for another day with the boys. She pulled up the handbrake and put the roof up on her Audi convertible then got out the car and pressed the lock button on her key just as the familiar shape of Jacks Honda emerged.
"Morning Jack!" Sandra called to him as he turned off radio 4 and opened his car door.
"Hello Sandra, lovely morning!"
There was a creaking noise and the sound of spinning bicycle chains as Brian wheeled in coming to an abrupt halt after being nearly knocked off his bike by the green Stag that just charged into the car park blasting Gerry Rafferty.
"Bloody hell!" Brain exclaimed as he wobbled over to Jack and Sandra. "You wanna look out for cyclists, moron!" He shouted over to Gerry, who couldn't hear him over his booming stereo which was playing 'Baker Street'. Suddenly the music stopped and Gerry came out the car lighting a cigarette and walked over the his three colleagues humming the tune of 'Baker Street'.
"On time for once Gerry!" Sandra said surprised, Jack laughed at this and before Gerry could answer Brian exclaimed
"Only because he doesn't use his eyes. You could have killed me then! How would UCOS look then?!"
"You got in my way Brian! You should look at your surroundings and use that enormous brain of yours for something useful"
Brian gave a disbelieving gasp and looked at Sandra for backup.
"Leave it Brian, come on lets go in." Sandra said firmly which made Brian go quiet.
"No, no, no, no guv" Gerry called after her as she strode towards the door "We gotta go! That's why I came early!"
"Go where? Gerry you weren't early, you were still the last here! Come on!" Sandra rolled her eyes and carried on walking.
"Listen to me! I got a new case!" Gerry cried desperately for someone to listen. Jack, Brian and Sandra all tuned and looked at him as a sign for him to carry on. "Last night, I was round at Jayne's and we went out for a walk by the bridge and down by the docks there were all these youths, I told them to get lost of course, told them I was a cop and they all rushed off."
"Gerry. This is a lovely story but it isn't a case.." Sandra told him with a bored expression
"Wait!" Gerry told her and carried on. "One of them stopped and looked round, at the ground like he lost something then ran to catch up with the others. I thought it was odd, I didn't think they were doing anything dodgy, just didn't want them loitering around, you know, but when that happened I thought I'd take a look, and I found this." Gerry handed Sandra a screwed up piece of paper which she opened up and her eyes widened.
"£50,000 in the usual place tomorrow by 10pm or precious little Naomi Horton will be finished." Sandra read out loud. "Gerry, this is.."
"I know guv." Gerry interrupted solemnly.
"Someone want to fill us on or is this some secret code for you two?" Jack butted in, a slight humour to his voice.
"This isn't funny Jack, Naomi Horton went missing 17 years ago. She was only 3 but the media didn't really cover it so it wasn't a full public enquiry. Actually the whole thing was brushed under the carpet really, it was when Bill Burns, the serial murder was at large so all focus was on obtaining him, it was assumed that Naomi was dead but the case was never closed. She went missing in the summer of 1997, from a beach in Sussex where the family were on holiday."
"Naomi Horton" Brain interjected. "Born January 1994 to Fred and Georgina Horton, Fred was 33 and Georgina was 29 at the time of her birth. Lived in Islington and were popular with neighbours. Fred was a builder and Georgina worked in retail. They family were quite well off but were never made to give a ransom, which is why it was assumed she was dead. "
"Yes thank you Brian" Jack managed to say in a brief moment of Brian being silent. "But why is this got you and Gerry so wound up? There are loads of cases of missing children?"
"It's not really me Jack, but I read over the notes of this case at the time although I was on the squad trying to track down Bill Burns. But I thought that there was more to this case than met the eye. I tried to push for a case, for a couple of officers to investigate but there had just been anoter murder so it was out the question. I found out something, a new lead, Georgina, Naomi's mother was, well.." Sandra tailed off.
"Georgina was having an affair" Gerry said quietly, which was out of character for him, he was usually a loud bubbly man. "And, erm.." Gerry also tailed off.
"Oh my god!" Brian gasped
"Gerry, you weren't.." Jack started
"Yeah." Gerry said, looking at the ground ashamed. "Yeah, with me."