Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my own creations.
Author's Note: This is story leads on from my previous fic 'Mia'. (You don't need to read this fic first in order to follow this story, but it would help.) This means that Allie Kingston has a five year old daughter that the team has only just discovered exists, and she has known Nick for a long time. It is set in the current television series (ish) – for example, it will include Bernice Waverley's dislike of Kingston – but will also obviously feature some slight differences!
Enjoy!
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'Why do we always get the shitty interviews?' complained Allie as they stepped up onto the veranda.
'Must be your sparkling personality,' responded Nick drily as he pressed the doorbell.
'Well, aren't you just the charmer this morning,' retorted Allie as her partner shrugged.
'You should just be thankful that I volunteered to go with you,' said Nick as he raised his hand to the door and knocked when there was no response. 'I think Waverley was this close to sending you off with Simon.'
'Thank you my knight in shining armour,' she responded in an exaggerated tone as she tried to get a look into the house. 'You got anything?'
'Sarcasm really is just second nature to you isn't it,' said Nick mildly, looking into a window of his own. 'And no I don't.'
Neither was prepared for the front door to suddenly come flying open and for a heavily built man to fill the space. 'Whadya want?'
Thankful that neither of them had been standing in front of the door at the time, Nick flashed his badge as Allie stepped around the flyscreen. 'I'm Detective Buchanan and this is Detective Kingston. We'd like to talk to you about a murder that happened this morning.'
'What murder?' said the man, looking at them blearily.
'Your neighbours were killed this morning Mr...?' prompted Allie.
'Cash. Beau Cash.'
'Mr Cash,' confirmed Nick. 'Could we come in?'
Nick Buchanan stood back as Allie Kingston interviewed the drunkard who quite possibly was their best witness in this case. He could see that the man was getting fidgety and edgy, but he restrained himself from stepping forward and interfering.
If Allie wanted help, she'd ask for it.
He stood with his arms crossed as Allie continued to push Mr Cash for an answer – and hopefully a description of the man that had broken into the house next door the previous evening and murdered the elderly couple. Thankfully the young grandchild they had been looking after hadn't been touched.
Turning away from the futile exercise, he took in their surroundings. It wasn't much to look at. The walls were a very faded cream colour, with what he suspected were the remains of a long term use of cigarettes and other narcotics colouring the walls to a colour that only somewhat remotely resembled the white it used to be. Their 'witness' sat upon a faded, ripped couch that was up against one wall, with a television pushed back against another. A single photo was on the wall behind him and as he leaned in closer, he saw that it held an image of four men with their arms wrapped around each other.
Any interest in the photo was dismissed when Mr Cash leaped off the couch. His hand went instantly for his gun, but he lifted his hand as any plan that Mr Cash had fizzled as he promptly tripped over his own feet and fell to the floor. Bending down to check on the man, he found him muttering about the 'doggies' as he attempted to snuggle into the carpet as if it were a bed.
'What on earth did you say to him?' he asked Allie as he stood up once again. 'Why is it always something I said?'
'In my considerable experience, that's nearly always the case.'
He could see that she was reigning in her desire to poke her tongue out at him, and he had his suspicions that as he stepped out the front door she had given in to her desire and done so. Calling over a uniform from the house next door, he gave the orders for the officer to remain with Mr Cash until he awoke.
Parking the car in the station underground carpark forty minutes later, Nick turned off the car as Allie gave off a huge yawn in the seat next to him. 'Late night?' he questioned as they stepped out of the car. 'It's Book Week,' she responded as a means of an explanation.
'Ah,' said Nick knowingly. 'And so how is the little spider costume going?'
'Slowly, but surely,' groaned Allie as they stepped into the elevator. The doors began to close, but Nick stuck his hand out to halt them when Jennifer Mapplethorpe's voice called out. 'Hold the lift.'
A puffed Matthew Ryan and Jen stepped into the lift seconds later as Allie pressed the button again and the doors closed. 'How did you go with the baby's parents?' asked Nick as Matt nodded his head. 'Not too bad. You?'
'Meh,' responded Allie as they climbed to their level.
'That good eh?' laughed Jen as the doors opened on their level and Allie stepped out.
'That good,' agreed Nick as he followed Allie out and almost ran into the back of her. He grips her shoulders to steady himself as Matt and Jen step around him, an officer steps on and the elevator doors shut. But none of this registers on Allie who still hasn't moved from the spot until she flies around and shoots daggers at him. 'What do you know?'
Wondering what on earth it was that he was supposed to know, Nick raised his arms in surrender as he looked at Allie's furious face before looking beyond her to see what it was that had set her off, and seemingly put him into hot water.
'Hollyoake...'
He opened his mouth to explain himself, but the Superintendent beat him to it.
'Detective Kingston? A word,' said Bernice Waverley and he watched as Allie sent him a distressed look before she followed her boss and Peter Hollyoake into the office.
Crap.
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Coming Up: Just who is Peter Hollyoake, and what does it mean for Allie?
