I don't own Inspector Lewis
Author note: This is my first Inspector Lewis fan fiction.
Chapter One
Detective Sergeant James Hathaway rushed through the back gate, through the back yard and into the kitchen and down the hallway when he heard the first shot. His boss Detective Inspector Robert (Robbie) Lewis went into the house and before James could follow he heard the gunshot. He found Lewis in a heap on the floor and their murder suspect Carl Brown standing over him with a gun. James did not have any concern for his own safety. His only concern was for his Inspector who lay in a pool of blood. With an angry cry James tore the gun out of Carl Brown's hand. Two PC`s who had followed the sergeant into the house grabbed Carl and started to drag the man who began to swear at them out of the house. James handed the gun to a third PC before he went over to his boss. Lewis seemed not to be breathing. James pulled out his cell phone and called for an ambulance. He held Lewis while waiting for the ambulance and thought back to when the whole mess started.
Two weeks earlier:
Mat Brown drove through the rain to his father's house. He did not know why his father wanted to see him. The two had not spoken for twenty years. Mat had not approved of his father marrying Victoria. He had thought she was after his father's money. His father had gotten angry because he did not believe his new wife was a fortune hunter. Mat pulled up to the house and sat in the car and took a deep breath. This was a meeting her did not really look forward to. However his father had wanted to see him because his wife was dying of cancer and wanted to make peace in the family. Mat got out of the car and walked up the driveway of his childhood home. His father answered the door and Mat was surprised how old his father looked. There were rings around his eyes and wrinkles around his mouth. His father was only sixty but he looked like he was eighty. His hair had gone almost completely white. Mat suspected it was because of the stress of worrying about his stepmother. Carl Brown gave his son a glare as Mat entered the front hall.
"I am surprised you even bothered to come" Carl snapped.
"You are my Dad" Mat said going down the hall to the living room "Despite how I feel about Victoria I want to be here for you"
Carl followed his son down the hall.
"You have not called or visited in twenty years" Carl said taking a seat "How do I know you do not have another reason for coming here"
"Dad I really want to be here to support you"
Carl just snorted disbelief coming to his brown eyes.
Just then Victoria came into the room. She was a thin woman with dark hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a pink bathrobe over her nightgown. She walked slowly to the chair next to her husband. Victoria nearly lost her footing. Carl jumped up and grabbed his wife by the arm.
"Darling" he said, "You should be resting"
"I came downstairs to say hello to Mat" Victoria said giving her stepson a small smile.
"Hello Victoria" Mat said looking his stepmother up and down. What Mat saw broke his heart. Victoria was so thin you could almost see her ribs. The hair was really a wig. Her face was deadly pale and she could barley walk. She let her husband help into a nearby chair.
"It is good to see you again Mat" Victoria said softly.
"I am so sorry about the cancer" Mat said "Is there nothing the doctors can do?"
"I have been given a year to live Mat. That is why I decided to throw a little dinner party so I can enjoy being with my closest friends before I die"
"I am so sorry Victoria. If you need anything let me know"
"Just you being here is all I need"
Carl rolled his eyes.
"Now that my wife is seriously ill and dying you decide to be here for her," he snapped "You were never here for her before"
"Carl!" Victoria cried shocked by her husband's attitude.
"Come on darling. Mat is just trying to get into your good graces because he had another reason for being here. Am I right son?"
Mat stood up and glared at his father his dark eyes flashing with anger.
"I can see when I am not welcome" he said and walked out of the house.
Victoria frowned at her husband.
"Happy now" she said.
Chapter Two
Detective Sergeant James Hathaway did not know what to make of it when he came into the office he shared with Detective Inspector Robert (Robbie) Lewis and found his boss on his hands and knees looking under his desk.
"Sir" he said, "What are you doing?"
Lewis bumped his head on the corner of his desk startled by his sergeant's voice.
"I am trying to catch a mouse," Lewis groaned rubbing his head "I nearly caught him but was interrupted by my sergeant"
"A mouse. How in the world did a mouse get in here sir?"
"Must have made a home in the walls. It has been rather cold"
James just shook his head. His blue eyes were filled with amusement.
"What we need to do is to get a cat," James suggested.
"I don't think our boss would like that," Lewis said getting to his feet.
"It would solve our mouse problem sir"
Just then a little creature with round ears and a long tail ran across the floor and into a corner of the office. Lewis hurried across the office to grab the mouse but it ran under James's desk.
"Come on James" Lewis said "Help me catch him before Innocent sees it"
Rolling his eyes James joined the Inspector. The mouse was under the desk shivering with fight. Lewis went to one side of the desk while James went to the other side hoping to trap the little animal.
"There it goes!" Lewis cried as the mouse ran from under the desk and out into the hall "After it James!"
The two detectives ran after the mouse trying to grab it but the little animal was just too fast for them. They nearly fell over one another trying to catch it. Just as the two detectives cornered the mouse their boss Detective Chief Superintendent Jean Innocent came out of her office and stood in the hall with hands on her hips watching her two detectives.
"What are you two doing?" she demanded.
"We are trying to catch a mouse ma`m" Lewis said.
"Don't you two have anything better to do?"
"No ma`m"
"Good because I want to see you Lewis in my office now"
Lewis groaned for a second time that morning. His day was about to get a whole lot worse.
Lewis wanted to sink into the chair he was sitting in. He just stared at his boss.
"Let me get this straight ma`m" he said "You want me to be your date for a dinner party because your husband is out of town?"
"Oh come on Lewis" Innocent said, "It will not kill you"
"I am not so sure"
"It is just a dinner party. You will have a good time. Besides you have been house bound for the last several weeks. It would for you to get out and have some fun"
"I would not call a dinner party fun ma`m"
"Lewis"
"Okay I will go with you"
"Thank you"
Lewis left the office and noticed James looking at him with a big grin on his face. It was obvious the sergeant had been listening.
"Don't you start" Lewis snapped.
James could not resist.
"So" he said, "Our boss wants you to play the role of her absent husband"
"The Chief Super just needs an escort to a dinner party" Lewis said "That is all"
"I see"
"James you should be glad she did not ask you to do it. It is going to be a boring dinner party"
"I don't know about that. You might meet some interesting people"
"I dought it. Nothing happens at dinner parties"
However Lewis had no idea how wrong he was.
Chapter Three
Victoria got up and went downstairs while her husband was sleeping. She went to the study and closed the door. She picked up the phone and called a number. She looked towards the study door to make sure her husband had not followed her and started to talk in a whisper when a young man answered.
"Brain" she said softly "Carl is asleep. You can come over"
"Are you sure this is a good idea Victoria?" Brain said just as softly "Violet already suspects something. I would not be surprised if she had not told Carl already"
"Don't be stupid. My sister has her head so far into the clouds she could not see the floor"
"I am not so sure. I ran into Carl the other day and he really gave me a good scolding. He told me that Violet had told him she suspected I was having an affair"
"That does not mean she knows it is me. Please I need to see you"
"Victoria I think it is best that we do not see each other anymore. It is just too risky"
Victoria gripped the phone so tight her knuckles turned white.
"You can't do this to me Brain" she snapped "Not now when I am going to die"
"I am so sorry but it is for the best" Brain said
"You selfish bastard. How is it going to look when I tell your so-called friends that you were cheating on your wife? It would not look good would it?"
"Don't you threaten me Victoria"
"You have no idea who you are dealing with pal"
"I know who I am dealing with. The question is do you know who you are dealing with?"
With that Brain hung up. What they did not realize was that Carl had been listening on the other line.
Carl was shaking with anger when he hung up the phone. Victoria had been cheating on him. He waited until his wife came upstairs and confronted her when she came into the bedroom.
"How could you?" Carl cried grabbing his wife on the shoulders "I loved you"
"Let go of me Carl" Victoria said getting back into bed.
"Why Brain of all people?"
"Not now Carl"
"Answer me!"
"Okay. I was growing tired of you"
Carl looked at his wife as though he just hit him over the head with a baseball bat.
"Victoria!" he cried.
"You are such a bore" Victoria sneered, "It took me awhile to see it but when I did I had to get away from you"
"I thought you loved me!"
"Love you. Why would I love a man who sits around reading boring books all day and not excite me in bed"
Carl stared at his wife as though he was seeing her for the first time.
"How long have you felt this way?" he asked.
"For a long time Carl" Victoria said; "Now I would love to go back to bed"
Carl was shaking with anger. He grabbed a blanket off a near by chair and headed to the bedroom door.
"I think I will sleep on the couch," he said.
Victoria ignored her husband as he walked out of the bedroom.
Chapter Four
Two days later Carl arranged an appointment with his lawyer Paul White. This was the third time the two men met. Carl refused Paul's offer of coffee as he sat down across from the lawyer.
"It is what I feared Paul" Carl said, "Victoria is having an affair"
"Are you sure Carl?" Paul asked.
"I heard her talking to someone on the phone and they were not talking about the weather or her illness"
"Do you have any idea who the other man is?"
"Yes I do. Brain the husband of Victoria's sister Violet"
Paul stared at his friend in shock.
"She was having an affair with her own sister's husband?" he gasped, "I do not believe it"
"It is true Paul" Carl said "God how could I have been so blind?"
"What are you going to do?"
Carl just sighed.
"I have no idea," Carl said sadly.
The lawyer thought for a few minutes.
"Carl if Victoria has been unfaithful then you have reason to divorce her," Paul said.
"No Paul" Carl exclaimed, "I do not want to loose my wife. No I have to get rid of the man who has come between us"
"Carl do not do anything stupid"
"Brain is the real problem. You need to help me come up with a plan on how to get rid of him. I know where to do it. We can get rid of Brain at my wife's farewell dinner party"
Paul just stared at his friend. He was surprised that Carl was planning a murder.
Violet was curious as to why Victoria wanted to see her. Her sister sounded really upset on the phone. Violet rang the doorbell and gasped when Victoria answered the door her face wet with tears. It was obvious she had been crying.
"My god Victoria" Violet said, "What had happened?"
"Carl" Victoria said letting her sister in the front hallway.
"What about Carl?"
"He lost control the other night. I was on the phone with my doctor when he came downstairs demanding whom I was talking to. I told him I was just talking to my MD but he looked like he did not believe me. He accused me of having an affair"
"Why would he suspect it?"
"I do not know Violet. He has gotten rather strange ever since I got sick with cancer"
"Did Carl hurt you?"
Victoria looked away from her sister to hide a sly smile.
"He threw into a rage and demanded that I tell him who the other man was. When I refused to answer he hit me and stormed out of the house. I have not seen him since" Victoria said.
"Oh Victoria" Violet said.
"I do not know what to do Violet"
Violet thought for a few seconds and then said:
"I think you should go to the police"
"The police? Why?"
"It is obvious you are scared of your husband"
Victoria thought for a few minutes of what her sister suggested.
"Okay I will" she said, "I know someone on the police force who might be able to help"
Chapter Five
Victoria sat down across from Chief Superintendent Innocent and took the tissue that was offered to her. Victoria looked at her friend trying to decide where to begin. Would Jean believe her? After a few minutes Innocent spoke:
"Okay Vicky" she said, "You came here in tears for a reason. Now what is it?"
Taking a deep breath Victoria tried to calm herself down.
"It is Carl" Victoria said, "He has gotten rather strange"
"In what way?"
"He convinced himself I was having an affair"
"Why would he think that?"
"He must have heard me talking to my MD on the phone"
"That is no reason to suspect you were having an affair"
"As I said Carl has gotten a little strange"
Innocent was silent for a minute trying to decide if she believed her friend's story.
"Where is Carl" she asked, "Maybe I can talk to him and get his side of the story"?
"I don't know where he is Jean" Victoria said, "He took off. He was so angry I thought he was going to kill me and he still might"
"I am sure there is a logical explanation for all of this Victoria. You may have read the situation wrong"
Victoria's eyes grew hard.
"He is going to kill me!" she cried, "You have to believe me"
"Oh Victoria" Innocent sighed.
"You got to do something!"
"Alright. I will introduce you to two of my detectives"
DI Lewis waited for the mouse to come out from under his desk. The small animal stared at him twitching his nose like it was mocking him. The little black eyes where round with fear.
"Okay Mr Mouse" Lewis said "This means war!"
Lewis crawled under the desk towards the mouse. The mouse looked at him frozen in fear.
"Now I got you!"
"Lewis!" a voice said.
The mouse seeing its chance ran out from under the desk and out into the hallway.
"Dam" Lewis swore.
"Lewis would you please stop trying to catch that mouse" Innocent said giving the DI one of her stern looks.
"I almost had him ma`m" Lewis snapped.
"I have someone here you should meet"
"Who?"
Lewis got to his feet and turned and noticed a young woman standing in the doorway to his office unsure if she should come into the office or not. She was staring at the detective as though he were nuts.
"If this is a bad time I could come back," she said.
"No Victoria" Innocent said "Now is not a bad time. DI Lewis has no cases right now"
Lewis looked between his boss and the young woman.
"What is going on?" he asked.
"I should let Victoria explain it to you" Innocent said "Now if you would excuse me I have some things to do"
The Chief Superintendent left the office with Lewis glaring at her back.
James walked to his and Lewis's office and noticed his boss talking to a young woman. The DS was puzzled. The woman was too young to be a girlfriend of the DI`s. Lewis spotted his sergeant.
"James" he said, "This is Victoria and she just finished telling me that her husband has threatened her"
James gave Victoria a suspicious look.
"You are a friend of Innocent's" he said "Am I right?"
Victoria looked at the DS nervously biting her lip. She saw that James was suspious of her.
"Yes I am," she said.
"Why would your husband threaten you?"
"He has convinced himself that I am having in affair"
"Are you?"
"What?"
"Are you having an affair?"
"No"
James looked at Victoria like he did not quite believe her. There was something not right about her story. From what the Chief Superintendent had said Carl and Victoria were having problems lately. Also Innocent had said that Carl was the gentlest man on the planet.
"She is scared James" Lewis said "It looks like you will be joining me at the dinner party Friday night"
James gave his boss a worried look. James did not really like dinner parties.
Chapter Six
Victoria sat at the desk in her husband's study busy writing a letter. The letter was a farewell letter. Victoria was planning on killing herself at the dinner party. That was the reason she had invited all her closest friends and family. No one knew about her plan. Not even her husband. She planned on going to the study, take out her husband's gun and shoot herself in the head. It would be better then the pain she would suffer during her last days. Victoria felt tears come to her eyes as she wrote the letter. She knew what she planned to do was selfish but she saw no other way.
Carl paced up and down as he waited for Paul. The lawyer should have arrived two hours ago. However Carl was not surprised that Paul was late. Just then the front doorbell rang and Paul came in and gave Carl a smile.
"Sorry Carl" he said.
"Come into the study" Carl said leading the way "We need to talk"
"You are not going to give up your idea of killing your wife's lover are you"?
"No. I have a plan"
Paul sighed.
"Carl divorce would be easier you know. What if you are caught?" Paul said giving his friend a pleading look.
"I will not be caught" Carl said, "I will not be the one who kills Brain" Carl said.
"What do you mean?"
"You are going to be the one who kills Brain Paul"
"Me?"
"Yes you?"
"Why me Carl?"
"It is perfect Paul. If you kill Brain then I would not be suspected"
Paul stared at Carl as though he had gone insane.
"You are mad!" he cried.
"Maybe I am" Carl said, "It will work Paul. Trust me"
"What if I am caught?"
"You will not be caught. Not if you are careful"
"Carl"
"Once Brain is dead I can repair the relationship with my wife. It is a good plan Paul and you know it"
Paul sighed. He knew he could not talk his friend out of his insane plan.
"What do you have in mind?" he asked.
"You will tell Brain at the dinner party that you would like to talk to him and you will take him to an isolated location and then shoot him using my gun. Wipe your fingerprints off the gun and get rid of it. You will then tell everyone that Brain had to leave suddenly"
"What if people start asking questions to where Brain went"?
"Just tell them he had to take care of important business"
Chapter Seven
On the day of the dinner party Lewis picked up his sergeant. He was not really looking forward to it. The DI was only attending out of a favour to Innocent. James looked like he wanted to kill Lewis when he got into the car.
"I can't believe you talked me into this" James said.
"Come on James" Lewis said smiling and ignoring his sergeant's glare "I need someone to talk to"
"You did not have to pick me you know. You could have asked Dr Hobson"
Lewis sighed. James had been trying for years to get Lewis and the doc together. The sergeant seemed to think there was more to their relationship then friendship. Lewis wished his sergeant would mind his own business.
"Laura has another engagement. Besides we have to protect Victoria from her husband" Lewis said.
"I think there is something wrong with her story" James said continuing to glare at his boss.
"Maybe there is but we are under strict instructions from the Chief Super to keep an eye on Victoria"
"Sir I did not plan to spend my Friday night at some boring dinner party"
"What were you planning on doing?"
James did not answer. Lewis smiled and gave a little laugh.
"Just as I thought" he said.
James continued to give his boss looks and did not say another word.
Lewis looked around for his sergeant as he sipped his glass of red wine and tried to avoid talking to the lawyer who was trying to engage him in conversation. James seemed to have disappeared as soon as they arrived. Lewis wondered if James had found a way to escape. The DI wanted to escape. He was so bored. The people at the dinner party were so boring. Lewis tried to leave but got a glare from Innocent.
"So how long have you been a police officer?" the man said.
"What?" Lewis said.
"I asked how long have you been a police officer?"
"A long time"
Lewis tried to push passed the man whose name he had forgotten. The man blocked his path.
"Excuse me" Lewis said, "I need to find my sergeant"
The man seemed not to listen to Lewis.
"I said I have to find my sergeant!" Lewis repeated.
Lewis looked around the room and was relieved to see James making his way over. The sergeant must have seen how uncomfortable Lewis was and came over to rescue him.
"Are you okay sir?" James asked looking between the man and Lewis.
"Thank god you came over here James" Lewis said, "I was going to find you"
"I see that you need to talk" the man said walking over to the other side of the room.
"That man can't stop talking" Lewis said rolling his eyes.
"It seemed strange that he wanted to keep you engaged in the conversation sir" James said watching the man going down the hall and disappear into the study.
"You think he was distracting me for a reason?"
"It seemed that way sir"
"I forgot his name"
"He is the family lawyer Paul White"
Lewis frowned.
"I have heard of him" he said "I think we better keep an eye on him the rest of the evening"
Later that evening Victoria excused herself and went outside. She looked this way and that but could not find Brain anywhere. He suddenly left the dinner table and had not been seen for over an hour. Victoria sensed something was not right when her brother Paul wanted to talk to Brain alone. Could Paul know that she and Brian were having an affair?
"Brain?" she called "Brain?"
Suddenly she was nearly knocked over by Brain who stomped back towards the house. He seemed to be angry.
"Brian?" Victoria called again.
Just then there was rushing in the bushes and Victoria turned around and the last thing she heard was the sound of a gunshot.
Chapter Eight
No one could believe it when the shot rang out. Everyone thought it was from next door and that someone had the TV to loud. Once the shot was heard Lewis ran through the house followed by James. The two detectives hurried through the house to the yard and found Victoria in a pool of blood. Lewis looked up and noticed the rest of the dinner gests had followed. He stood up and said sternly.
"Everyone get inside now!" he yelled, "This is a crime scene"
Carl Brown pushed his way through and tried to get to his wife but was grabbed by the sergeant.
"Oh my god Victoria!" he cried trying to brake free of James's grasp. The Chief Superintendent made her way to Lewis's side. She did not look too pleased.
"How could this have happened Inspector?" she asked firmly.
"I have no idea ma`m" Lewis said, "She must have met someone out here"
"One of the other gests?"
"Or someone who was not supposed to be here"
"Any sign of a weapon?"
"Whoever it was took the weapon with them"
"We need to get Dr Hobson here"
Carl gave the detective a hard look.
"Find out who did this Inspector" he said, "She was the one who was not supposed to die"
Lewis raised a surprised eyebrow and was going to ask Carl what he meant by that but was stopped by his boss.
"I suggest you question Carl later" she said firmly "He had quit a shock"
Lewis glared at the man. I bet he did he thought he seemed more surprised then shocked.
"James" Lewis said, "We need to question everyone who was here tonight. Tell everyone I will talk to each one of them individually in the study"
"Yes sir" James said.
Lewis nervously bit his lip while he looked up at his boss's glare. This was not good. Not good at all.
Lewis was feeling frustrated. The interviews were getting nowhere. Mat Brown and his father, and Violet Smith had been in the dinning room when the shot rang out. Paul White said he was in the bathroom while Brain claimed he had gone out to his car to get something. It looked like someone had come onto the property but who. It looked like it unless someone was lying. Lewis did not trust that lawyer. He had been acting strange all evening. The DI noticed the lawyer was giving him glares. He walked out into the yard to where Dr Hobson was kneeling by the body.
"Laura can you tell me anything?" he asked.
The doctor looked up and smiled grimly.
"It looks like she had been shot," she said.
"We have not found a gun anywhere"
"Sir" a voice called out.
James came towards them carrying a bag with what appeared to be a gun.
"Where did you find that?" Lewis asked.
"It was in the study sir and it looks like it had recently been fired" James said.
"I think we need to talk to Carl some more" Lewis said.
The two detectives went into the house and found Carl sitting at the kitchen table with Innocent looking like his world had ended.
"Carl we need to ask you some more questions" Lewis said sitting down at the table.
"Do you have to do this now?" Carl asked, "I just lost my wife"
"I am sorry sir but it can not wait. We found a gun in your study and it appears to have recently been fired. Did anyone who was here tonight know you kept a gun in your study?"
"Yes lots of people"
"Do you know of anyone who wanted to harm your wife?"
"No"
"Had she any enemies?"
"No Inspector. She was loved by everyone"
"She seemed rather pale this evening. Has she been ill?"
"Yes she is dying of cancer. That is why she wanted to have this dinner party"
"Could she have arranged for someone to kill her?"
Carl's eyes went wide.
"You mean she had someone help her kill herself?" Carl gasped "No. She was very religious. Suicide would have been out of the question"
"Not even when she would have died in pain"
"She would not have killed herself Inspector. Someone killed her and you get off your butt and find out who"
Lewis frowned. Something seemed off to him. He again got that feeling Carl knew more then he was letting on.
Chapter Nine
The next day Lewis and James were in their Chief Superintendent's office getting a huge lecture. Lewis did not want to hear it. He did not want to be at that dinner party in the first place. The DI only went to the party as a favour to his boss. The Chief Superintendent was angry which was obvious.
"Someone at the party killed Victoria Lewis and I want you to give one hundred percent on this" she said, "No make that two hundred percent. The victim was a friend of mine"
"Yes ma`m" Lewis said.
"Ma`m it is still possible that someone who was not invited to the dinner party might have killed her" James said, "Victoria did leave as though she was going to meet someone"
"I do not buy that Sergeant. Someone at that party is a murderer," Innocent said firmly.
"I think I would like to talk with Carl some more ma`m" Lewis announced, "I sensed he knew something but was not telling us"
"No Lewis" Innocent said "I do not want Carl harassed at this difficult time"
"But ma`m. Victoria did come to us scared of her husband. She might have had a reason to be scared"
"I said no Lewis!"
Lewis saw his sergeant give him a sympathetic look.
"How about that lawyer ma`m" James suggested, "He was acting strange last night"
"Alright James you and Lewis pay him a visit" Innocent said.
Lewis frowned as he glared at both his sergeant and boss. Carl Brown was holding something back he was sure of it and he could not interview him.
Chapter Ten
Carl was angry when he walked into Paul's office. He did not wait to be asked to sit down. He glared at the lawyer.
"What the hell did you do?" Carl demanded.
"I don't know what happened Carl" Paul said, "I tried to aim for Brain but your wife must have been in the way"
Carl placed his hands that were fits into his lap. He wanted so much to strike someone. Carl took deep breaths to control his temper.
"You realize how this looks don't you," he said.
"I am so sorry Carl" Paul said softly "I really screwed up"
"You can say that again. If our plan gets out it would look like I planned on killing my wife"
"We can claim it was just an accident"
"You really think the police are going to believe that?"
"Look Carl let me handle this. I really do not think we have anything to worry from the police. I talked with that DI at the party last night. He did not seem to be too swift"
Carl gave his friend a surprised look.
"If you are referring to Detective Inspector Robert Lewis then you are stupid!" he said.
"What are you talking about Carl?" Paul said raising an eyebrow.
"Did you know that Robert Lewis was the sergeant to Detective Chief Inspector Morse?"
"I heard of him"
"So you see that DI Lewis is not a stupid man. He might conclude that what happened to Victoria was no accident but murder"
"Carl how can he think that? I did not shoot my sister on purpose"
Carl gave the lawyer a questioning look.
"Are you sure about that Paul?" he asked "You better get your story straight when the police come and question you"
END OF PART ONE
I hope you enjoyed part one. Reviews are welcome. Please give me all the help I need. This is my first Inspector Lewis fan fiction.