Three's a crowd
Gene Hunt looked up at the sound of gentle tapping on his office door. A smile rose, unbidden, as he stood and opened the door, waving the pretty brunette inside.
"Annie, love," he smiled, taking her hand in both of his. "You look well. Come in, have a seat."
DS Annie Tyler unwound a scarf from her neck and shrugged out of her trench coat. Dropping her belongings in a pile in the corner of Gene's desk, she rooted through her bag and retrieved a slim green cardboard file.
"Thanks for seeing me," she replied, perching on the front of his desk.
"Don't be daft. It's been too long. Shame it's taken the job to get you down here. What's this case you want help with, anyway?"
Leafing through the folder, Annie produced a black and white photograph. "James Whedon. On remand for GBH on his landlady, Mrs Mavis Hughes. Broke her wrist, jaw, arm in two places and three ribs. Nasty piece of work."
Gene looked at the photo and sniffed. "Bet he makes his mother very proud."
"I need to question one of your previous collars. One Alfie Baines. Remember him? You put him away last year for fraud. He'd been cashing false cheques."
Nodding, Gene walked round to his filing cabinet and, after opening and closing two drawers, found the file he'd been looking for. "Got him. Slippery little so and so. White collar stuff, though – not violent. What's he got to do with your Whedon?"
"Baines got out early – good behaviour – and relocated to Manchester. Got friendly with Whedon. We think he might have been conspiring with Whedon to defraud the landlady – she came to the police to report it and that's when Whedon attacked her. Baines got scared and hightailed it back down here after we brought Whedon in. Uniform picked him up this afternoon, they're holding him over in Albermarle Street. I'll go and question him in the morning but I wanted to get your take on him first."
"Glad you still think you can learn from your elders and betters."
Annie swatted him on the arm with the file. "I learnt plenty from you, Guv, and some of it was even useful."
"I'll have a bit less of your cheek, young lady. And you don't have to call me Guv any more."
"Well, what am I supposed to call you?"
Gene paused for a moment, thinking. "Guv'll do."
"Where is everyone, anyway?"
"It's five past six. Where do you think they are?"
Annie grinned. Some things never changed. She took the file from Gene and began looking through it, throwing out the occasional question, making notes as she went. Gene pulled up a chair and watched her work, helping where he could, hiding his pride. Eventually Annie closed her notebook, stowing it carefully alongside the file in her bag. Gene asked, "Got everything you wanted?"
Annie nodded. "Thanks, Guv, this'll help a lot. Baines is the key to Whedon's motive – we need him."
"And I'm sure you'll get him." He watched as she packed her bits and pieces away, as efficient and meticulous as always. "How's Jenny?" he asked.
Annie's face split into a wide grin. "She's terrific, Guv. Bright and funny and never gives me a minute's peace." Her face fell slightly. "Misses her dad, though. She doesn't really understand."
"Must be hard," Gene muttered. Hard enough for him; must be devastating for Annie and the girl.
Annie knew just how hard Sam's death had hit Gene. She also knew not to try and talk to him about it. "Sometimes," she said. "But my Mam helps out when I'm working. She's been so understanding – she knows how important my job is to me. It kept me sane, you know, just after. And in a funny way, it's a link back to Sam."
Clearing his throat, Gene nodded. "Well, Sam'd be proud," he said awkwardly, eyes flitting uncomfortably around the room.
Annie's smile was tinged with sadness. "He'd certainly be surprised to see you down here, Guv," she replied, changing the subject. "Settled in now, are you?"
Gene sniffed. "Suppose so. Scum is scum whatever side of the Watford Gap you're on."
"People keep asking me why you moved. I tell them you needed the challenge. New city and all that. But to tell the truth, I still don't really know."
Gene leaned forward in his chair, staring at the floor. Flicking absently at a speck of fluff on his knee, he sighed tapped his foot. "Wasn't really the same, you know, after Sam."
"Yeah. I know."
"I'm still angry with him for being such an idiot." Gene paused and look up at Annie. "Sorry, love. Didn't mean…"
"No, it's all right, Guv. I was livid with him for ages, for leaving us alone. Got over that now, though. Now I'm just sad."
"Sad," Gene nodded, wondering how such a small word could encompass such a depth of emotion.
Annie scuffed her toe on the floor. "I always got the impression that it wasn't just Sam that prompted the move, though, Guv."
"Yeah, well." Getting up to pour them each a glass of whiskey, Gene thought back to the last few months in Manchester, the desperation that led him to seek his escape in the big smoke. Sam had been a part of it – a large part – but there was other stuff mixed up in there as well. "The missus clearing off didn't help, I suppose."
Annie smiled gently. "You didn't seem to see it coming, Guv."
Laughing mirthlessly, Gene shook his head. "Didn't understand it. Still don't, if I'm honest. Thought she had everything she wanted. Always made sure she had enough housekeeping money. Even slipped her a bit extra every now and then so she could treat herself. Never stopped her from going on her girls' nights out. Never laid a hand on her either. Don't know what she had to complain about."
"Guv," Annie chided softly. "You weren't always ideal husband material though, were you? I mean, there were the other women…"
Eyebrows raised, Gene shot her a sharp look. "You knew about that?"
Annie rolled her eyes. "Everyone knew about that."
Gene's gaze shifted to the ceiling. "Old news," he sighed. "That's me all over. There was the odd tart here and there. Nothing serious. And I never, ever let the missus find out. Never rubbed it in her face."
"Well, that's all right then."
"Come on, Annie. I tried to make a decent life for us. That's what marriage is all about. Was good enough for me."
"Yes, well, perhaps it wasn't good enough for her." She paused, wondering how much more she could get away with. Oh well. In for a penny. "What about the rest of it?"
Gene sniffed. "Rest of what?"
"The rest of your relationship. The friendship, the support. Sharing, laughing, respecting each other." She thought briefly of Sam. "Loving each other."
Stifling a snort, Gene shook his head. "She never wanted any of that," he announced with certainty. "She just wanted a man with a steady income, a respectable situation, a better life than her Mam had. Three-bed semi, indoor loo, central heating, decent set of wheels. She never complained."
"No. Right until the day she moved out, eh?"
"Jesus, Annie. I'd been happy to see you."
"Sorry, Guv."
"No, you're all right, love. Nothing I don't know, really." He straightened his shoulders, trying to put the uncomfortable conversation behind him. "How about you, anyway?" he asked. "Is there anyone else for you?"
"God, no. No," Annie replied. "Couldn't. Too soon."
"It's been a couple of years," Gene said with unexpected gentleness. "I don't think Sam'd want you to hide away for ever."
"No, you're right. He'd want me to be happy. But he'd understand that I haven't quite finished grieving yet."
Resisting the urge to raise his eyebrows sceptically, Gene simply nodded and said, "Fair enough."
Silence pulsed round the office for a moment as each was caught up in their own thoughts. Giving herself a mental shake, Annie gave in to her curiosity and risked a final question. "What about you, then, Guv? Any Cockney ladies take your fancy?"
"Cockney? Not likely. It's all jellied eels and pie and mash with that lot. Wouldn't know a decent fish supper if they fell over one."
"Come on," she smiled. "There must be someone. You've always had a way with the ladies."
"Annie." He held up a warning hand. "There's no one."
Gene's gaze shifted from corner to corner of the room, evasive and uncomfortable. Annie didn't need to draw on her experience in CID to know he was hiding something from her. She just wasn't sure what.
xxx
Alex Drake shrugged into her jacket and headed up Luigi's basement stairs. Reaching the top, she paused. Either continue up, to her own flat, or back over the road to the station. A slight frown between her brows, she turned her back on Luigi's and made her way across the road.
Loathe as she was to admit it, Luigi's never held as much appeal when Gene wasn't there to share a bottle of chianti with. She'd stuck it out as long as she could but now she was in need of the comforting smell of cigar smoke and whiskey. Pushing quietly through the double doors, she looked across the darkened squad room, pausing when she made out two figures illuminated in Gene's office.
Gene was sitting in a chair in front of his desk, his elbows resting on his thighs and a cigarette dangling from his fingers. Sitting nearby, perched on the front of his desk, sat a small, attractive brunette, swirling a tumbler in her hand, kicking a foot slowly, revealing shapely calves beneath a stylish green wrap dress.
Alex blinked, rubbing a hand against her throat, trying to ease the sudden tightness. She felt heat prickle across her body, a flush rising from her collarbone to her cheeks. Quashing the emotion, she reminded herself that she had no claims on her DCI. She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and pushed through the office door without knocking.
Gene looked up in surprise, not expecting to see her again this evening. Caught off-guard for a moment, he couldn't stop his feeling from reflecting in his eyes: passion, longing, regret, resignation. He blinked and they were gone. Alex was too busy staring at Annie to notice. Annie, though, was watching Gene, waiting for him to explode about someone barging into his office without knocking. She knew him well, could read him better than he realised. When the expected ear-bashing didn't materialise, pieces began falling into place.
"Yes?" Gene sniffed at Alex, brisk but not angry. "Did you want something? Only we're a bit busy here…"
Alex paused before thrusting her hand out towards Annie. "Detective Inspector Alex Drake. I don't think we've met."
Smiling, Annie clasped Alex's hand, shaking it gently. "Detective Sergeant Annie Tyler. I used to work with the Guv in Manchester. It's nice to meet you."
A wide grin split Alex's face. "Annie! I've heard so much about you. Lovely to meet you. What on earth brings you down to our neck of the woods?"
"Had to get some intelligence from the Guv on a case we're working on back home."
Alex rolled her eyes. "Intelligence from Gene? Hope you weren't too disappointed."
Annie's laughter rang through the room. "Actually, he's been very helpful."
"Yes, well," Gene grumbled, brushing Alex's arm unnecessarily as he reached around her to pick up his tumbler. "If you've finished your Mothers' Meeting, Drake, we were just about to make a move."
Disappointment briefly dimmed Alex's eyes. "I just came back to pick something up. I'll let you get on."
Looking from one to the other, Annie put together a few more pieces of the puzzle. "No," she said to Alex, sliding off the desk and pulling on her coat. "Don't go yet. I'd love to pick your brains a bit. I don't think I've heard of any other female DIs – it'd be great to get your tips on how you managed it."
Alex could sense Gene bristling beside her. "I don't want to intrude," she mumbled uncertainly.
Gene pulled on his own coat and picked up his keys. "Quite right. Anyway, I'm sure you've got plans. Seeing Evan, are you?"
Annie looked at Alex quizzically. "Who's Evan? Boyfriend?"
"What?" Alex shook her head absently; Annie watched Gene pretending not to be interested in her answer. "No, he's just a friend. And I'm not seeing him tonight."
"Right, that's settled then," smiled Annie, heading towards the door. She looked back at Alex conspiratorially. "Guv says there's somewhere to eat over the road, but since it's my only night in London I think it'd be nice to go somewhere special. A bit of a treat." Her eyes turned pleading. "You will come, won't you? Show me how you have fun in London?"
Alex allowed herself to be ushered out by Annie, Gene grumbling in their wake, and after picking up a few belongings from her desk she found herself sitting alongside Gene in the Quattro, issuing directions to a small bistro in Mayfair that she'd been to once with Evan.
When Alex and Evan had visited the little restaurant, it had been during a bright and busy lunchtime service. The evening atmosphere was very different – quiet conversations, starched linen, sparkling crystal, lit candles on every table, soft music in the background. A haven of intimacy, it made Alex immediately regret her suggestion, wishing she'd stuck to the bustle and blare of Luigi's instead. Too late to back down as Gene asked for a table for three, looking almost as uncomfortable as she felt.
The waiter led them to a table in the corner, distributing menus and handing the wine list to Gene. Alex was no longer surprised by the casual sexism of the 1980s but she still found it irritating on occasion. Gene surprised her, though, by seeking her advice on which wine to choose. Who knew? Perhaps she'd had some sort of civilising influence on him after all.
They placed their orders, Gene grumbling quietly about being forced to eat poncey French muck, Annie bemoaning Manchester's lack of high quality restaurants.
"I'm sure it will be better eventually," sympathised Alex. "In a few years, cities like Manchester and Leeds will be seen as the place to be."
Gene looked at her sceptically while making good progress with his starter. She was always making pronouncements about the future, usually about things that seemed completely improbable, and it used to drive him up the wall. Not lately, though. Now he just accepted it as part of what made her Alex.
She looked beautiful this evening, even though she hadn't made any special effort. The candlelight made her skin glow, her eyes sparkled brightly as she chatted to Annie about making her way in the male-dominated police force, her lips curving in a smile in response to Annie's good humour. He wished she'd smile more often, smile at him the way she was smiling at Annie this evening, looking relaxed, happy even. She only seemed to smile at him with sarcasm.
Annie was enjoying herself more than she'd expected to. Alex was great company, the restaurant was terrific and it was lovely to catch up with the Guv again. Not that the Guv had been paying much attention to Annie since they'd got to the restaurant. He seemed to have eyes only for Alex; the way he looked at her across the table made Annie feel a bit like a spare part. It reminded her of how Sam used to look her sometimes, but she pushed the wistful thought aside, determined not to get caught up in memories this evening. Not when she had other, more important things to do tonight. Turning her attention back to Alex, she smiled in recognition as the other women talked about something she called the glass ceiling.
Across the table, Gene's lips curled in mock disgust. Glass ceiling? If there was anything stopping women reach the top it was their insistence on spending good drinking time shopping and nattering. He saw that Annie was listening attentively though, nodding her head, adding comments here and there. Oh, great. Now they'd both be banging on about women's bloody lib and sex discrimination.
A waitress cleared away their first courses, smiling at Gene as she did so. She seemed encouraged as Gene smiled back and Alex noticed how she angled herself strategically as she bent to collect their plates, giving Gene plenty of opportunity to peek down her blouse. An opportunity he obviously didn't think to waste, Alex thought sourly, pursing her lips before looking away quickly as she caught Annie watching her.
As the waitress sashayed away from the table, Gene excused himself for a moment, leaving the women alone. "He's always been popular with the ladies," Annie ventured, watching as Gene made his way to the gents'.
"Mmm," murmured Alex, irritated at having to quash pangs of jealousy for the second time this evening. "He certainly talks a good talk," she agreed, "I'll give him that. Not a lot of evidence of follow through, though."
"Maybe not. Although," Annie replied with a sly smile, "perhaps he's not sure whether you want him to follow through."
"I don't know what you mean. What's it got to do with me?"
Annie looked at her with eyebrows raised. "I'd have thought that was obvious."
Leaning closer, Alex was about to question Annie further when Gene returned, drawing back his chair with a growl. "What's obvious?"
"Nothing, Guv," Annie said quickly, smiling up at him. Suddenly she glanced at her watch, widening her eyes and giving a small gasp. "Well, would you look at the time. I'd no idea it was so late. I'd best be off, busy day tomorrow." Quickly gathering her belongs, she made to rise from the table.
"No, wait," Alex began, trying to stop her with a hand on her arm. "I thought you wanted to enjoy your night in London."
"I did," she replied hurriedly. "I have. But I've got to go. You two enjoy yourselves, though. No need to leave on my account."
Annie was heading away from the table when Gene stood and caught her wrist, his back to Alex, staring at Annie through curious eyes. "If I didn't know better I'd think you were up to something," he muttered.
"I'm up to nothing, Guv," she smiled innocently. "Just need a good night's sleep before questioning Alfie Baines."
"You don't have to leave yet," Gene hissed.
"Oh, I think I do." Looking over Gene's shoulder, she waved a goodbye to Alex. Putting her hand on Gene's lapel she reached up to brush his a kiss against his cheek. "Enjoy this evening, Guv," she whispered deliberately. "Take your chances. You never know; you might be surprised." And with that she was gone, leaving an awkward silence behind her.