CHAPTER ONE
It was just into his nightshift when Danny answered his cell phone. He raised his eyes to Jackie, his partner, who was driving the car and gestured it was his sister. "Hey Erin what's up?" Danny was puzzled as to why she was ringing late when she knew he was on a nightshift.
Jackie noticed his face begin to frown and could tell by his tone something wasn't right "When was this?" Danny said. "But she is ok isn't she?" he asked his sister, in a voice becoming a little desperate. "Ok sis leave it with me," he replied down the phone. "I don't know Erin, I'll phone you as soon as I get home, I got to go bye." Danny cut of his cell abruptly and turned to Jackie who had already guessed something was wrong. "Everything ok?" she asked Danny. "No not really, I'm gonna have to cut short my tour and head home. Linda isn't too good."
Jackie had already swung the car around and was heading back to the station, as Danny rang his Sergeant to let him know he would have to go home and arrange cover for the remainder of his tour. "Did Erin say what was wrong with Linda?" Jackie enquired. Danny looked a little agitated as he shifted in his seat and mumbled. "No, she said I should head home as Linda isn't good."
Danny was already out of the car and running to his own vehicle before Jackie had even brought the squad car to a halt. "Thanks Jac" he shouted, as he unlocked his own car. I'll call you when I sort this out." Jackie raised her arm to acknowledge Danny and shouted after him to be careful driving but her words were lost in the sound of his engine as he screeched out of the car park and onto the street.
Danny reached home in record time and raced to the front door. He had gone from concern to blind panic on the journey home as Linda wasn't answering her cell phone. As he burst through the door his heart was pounding as to what he was going to face.
But to his surprise he found Linda sitting at the dinning table looking at the laptop. Relieved at this sight he approached Linda and asked "Hey Babe what's going on?" Linda quickly shut the lid on the laptop and jumped to her feet. Danny studied her face and again asked "Linda, what the hell is going on. Have you been crying?"
Linda rubbed her face with her hand and asked Danny in a puzzled tone, "what do you mean, what are you doing back home?"
Danny now was losing patience with the bizarreness of the situation and, not being known for his diplomacy, slammed his hand on the table and asked again in a louder voice "Linda what the hell is wrong? I get a call from my sister mid tour telling me the kids have text Nicky saying you are sitting at the computer drinking wine talking to some picture of a woman crying and cursing me. Now what is going on, why are you crying? Jesus you're the woman who didn't cry at Ghost and now I'm being dragged out of work cause your hysterical looking at some image on a laptop. Now for Christ sake Linda, tell me what the hell is it."
Linda was furious at Danny's accusations and mad at herself that her boys had saw her crying and now everybody would know what for weeks she had tried to keep a lid on, to try and protect her family. But now she was going to have to confront this head on. She flipped the laptop up and spun it around. Danny was even more confused now to see an image of Sabrina Gilk, a witness in his case on the screen in front of him.
"Why don't you ask your new girlfriend"", Linda spat at him, as she pushed past him, nearly knocking him to the ground. As she fled into the garden, she felt like her heart was going to pound right out of her chest.