Author's note: all the usual disclaimers apply.
I am experimenting and this is meant only a as bit of fun. This is written entirely via email correspondence between our two detectives because I did not think either of them would use FB Messenger or What's App?! I hope it reveals the story satisfactorily. And yes, I have had to make Tommy and Barbara a little bolder than normal.
Also FF forbids the use of email addresses so I have had to settle for just the sent name
From: "DCI Lynley"
Date: 26 August 2015 11:37:33 ET
To: ''Barbara Havers''
Subject: Greetings from Quebec!
DI Havers (that sounds wonderful, I am still delighted they gave you my job),
As you can see I arrived safely. Air Canada is very comfortable and it was a smooth flight. Yes, I did fly First Class and I still see no issue despite your protestations at it being a waste.
My new partner, DI Micele Masson, met me and took me straight to my apartment which is surprisingly large with two huge bedrooms. My living room and bedroom overlook the Battlefields Park which adds a lovely touch of green. The weather is sunny and around 23C so very pleasant. I am tired but not too jet-lagged.
The locals seem welcoming but my French is being tested to its limits. They speak so fast and with a decided Canadian accent. My partner seems very competent and fortunately speaks faultless English. The rest of the team are from across Canada plus a South African, a New Zealander and an officer from the NYPD who arrives tomorrow.
I have a briefing on the investigation soon and then for the next two days I have an induction and weapons training. The whole RCMP Organised Crime Unit is huge and efficient. I think I will learn a lot here. I feel privileged to have been chosen although I miss not working with you already.
How are you settling into my chair? Don't get too comfortable, I'll be back in six months ready to form up the old team. Actually as DI I suppose you will keep that office and I will be down the hall where DCI Jones sits now. Please don't argue with Hillier too much and endanger that. By the way, the third drawer sticks but if you lift it a little before pulling it slides out easily.
Must run. Take care Barbara,
Tommy
From: "Barbara Havers''
Date: 27 August 2015 09:15:47 GMT
To: "DCI Lynley"
Subject: RE: Greetings from Quebec!
Sir,
Thank you for your note. I'm glad you arrived okay. Your flat sounds nice. I hope DI Masson keeps you on your toes. At least if he curses you in French you will understand him. Did they give you a Mountie uniform with those tight breeches and pointy hats?
Your chair is squeaky but I oiled it along with the desk drawer. I will try hard to behave. Being DI is a bit daunting. No new cases yet but our team will get the next one. I have mostly been doing paperwork that a certain ex-DI left! Enjoy your time there.
Yours sincerely,
DI Barbara Havers
615243
Metropolitan Police
New Scotland Yard
From: "Tommy the Earl"
Date: 29 August 2015 09:13:12 ET
To: "'Barbara Havers'"
Subject: Good Morning
Hello Barbara,
After the briefing I decided we should use our personal emails for correspondence. I may need your counsel and I do not think it should be over the police system.
I look forward to telling you more. Write back soon from your email. I have so much to tell you.
No, they did not give me a pointy hat or a bright red coat. I am in a standard issue Oxford Street suit. Oh, by the way, Micele is another female officer. She is very competent but I still miss you.
Tommy
P.S. Your email signature was very formal!
From: "'Barbara Havers'"
Date: 30 August 2015 08:47:19 GMT
To: "Tommy Lynley"
Subject: RE: Good Morning
Sir,
Thanks for your email "Tommy the Earl" but I do not have a personal email. I have no need as I don't have any friends to email and I don't have a PC at home. Perhaps you can just be careful.
The signature block is my standard one. I didn't think to change it.
Glad you have someone there to keep an eye on you.
Regards,
Barbara
From: "'Barbara Havers'"
Date: 30 August 2015 18:12:22 GMT
To: "Tommy Lynley"
Subject: RE: Good Morning
Sir,
I don't know how you organised it so fast but I can't accept an iPad from you! I have no idea how to work it or set it up and it seems silly to have one just to email you. Perhaps you can ring me instead occasionally.
Regards,
Barbara
From: "'Barbara Havers'"
Date: 30 August 2015 20:53:27 GMT
To: "Tommy the Earl"
Subject: Test
Sir,
I still object but seeing you sent Winston around and he said he was not allowed to leave until it was set up, I am now online. Apparently it has plenty of data allowance, whatever that means. So, I now have email - just for an overbearing boss who is 10,000 miles away.
Ever your obedient Sergeant,
Havers
From: "Tommy the Earl"
Date: 31 August 2015 07:16:12 ET
To: "'Barbara Havers'"
Subject: Re: Test
Barbara,
You? Obedient? Don't disappoint me and change now 'Sergeant'!
Thank you for accepting my gift. I value our friendship and really want to stay in touch but I didn't know you were still stuck in the 1990s ;) Winston couldn't believe it either. Please add apps and use the iPad for anything you wish. It was a gift to my favourite Luddite but if it makes you feel better you can return when I get back to London if you really must.
I have a few email accounts but Mother has access to ones related to the estate and my charity work. So I set up this one as a bit of a joke. I only use it for close friends.
So where do I start? Micele is nearly sixty and runs ultra-marathons. She is a little intimidating if truth be told. She has short-cropped silver hair and constantly wears sunglasses. She reminds me of a female Man in Black. No drinks at the pub or quick meals for her. She drinks these green concoctions that she blends in a vitamiser and only eats fibre-rich salads for lunch. She even took me to a vegetarian restaurant the other day!
Fortunately I mainly dine with Dave (DI Williams from New Zealand) but he is obsessed with lamb, which he keeps calling 'baa-baa'. I never thought I would say this but I yearn for steak and chips at an English pub accompanied by your arguments with me about...anything!
The rest of the team are eclectic to say the least. All of the non-Quebecois live in the same apartment block but on different floors. Ruan Reinich is a South African Inspector who is as wide as he is tall and has cauliflower ears from his rugby days. He is quiet, perhaps even sullen, but oddly untouched by the things we have witnessed. His shaved head only adds to his menace. Marlin Hope is from NYPD. Another odd character who is completely socially unaware. His behaviour is inappropriate at times and he annoys people but continues in blissful ignorance. He carries three silver balls in his pocket that he pulls out and juggles in a clownesque parody of Captain Quigg. Dave is affable and relaxed. He grew up on a sheep station in the far south of New Zealand and has interesting stories about grisly murders and bizarre sexual crimes. He blames the isolation for unhinging people. Pierre Rousseau is from Toronto. He is a mad ice hockey fan and talks constantly about the Maple Leafs. (Please note the spelling is correct. They were named for a First World War regiment.) I see decided similarities between combat and ice hockey.
The investigation is horrific in many ways. As you know we are looking into an international organised crime syndicate shipping East European, African and South East Asian women for the sex trade. Only it is far worse Barbara. I shouldn't share too much but many are sold as sex slaves into the worst of the BDSM scene where they are essentially tortured and many are killed. The videos go viral via some the dark web and very deep net sites. We have seen a sample and it was indescribable watching someone humiliated then beaten to death for someone else's sexual gratification.
We visited a mainstream BDSM club here yesterday. Did you know they have private viewing rooms where people go to watch other members acting out a 'scene'? We saw a few women flogging men but most of it was male dominance. Women were tethered in cages or restrained to all manner of frames and beds. Some were made to wear dog collars; others wore leather or rubber clothes that exposed only their 'playthings' as the owner odiously explained. I felt nauseated watching and so angry at his justification that some women get pleasure from completely surrendering to a man and being beaten. I suppose some might but I cannot imagine how a man could take gratification from it. Sex then becomes about power instead of love. I understand lust and urgency but I could never subjugate a woman to my will in that way.
We believe that the women being smuggled into Canada are largely Europeans and Mexicans. I have elected to head up the smuggling investigation but it brings back nasty memories of finding that man in the meat truck. Man's inhumanity to man never ceases to shock me.
On a brighter note, how are your cases? How is Acting Sergeant Nkata? How are you getting on with Hillier? I am keen to hear news of home.
Tommy x
From: "'Barbara Havers'"
Date: 1 September 2015 19:27:45 GMT
To: "Tommy the Earl"
Subject: Hi
Sir,
Your case sounds horrible but I know you will be able to sort it out quickly and put an end to this awful trade. In a way I am pleased you are upset by it because once police become immune to suffering we stop being good at our jobs. Sadly many men view sex as power. It is a fact of life. We live in a world dominated by men. I could never imagine you doing that either Sir. You are a kind, decent man.
Your team sounds different. I am not sure I would like Micele. She sounds too intense for me and Marlin sounds positively creepy! Crack the case soon and you'll be home early.
We have a murder of an elderly man in a nursing home. I suspect the daughter but it might also be a disgruntled staff member. The daughter seems genuinely distraught. Winston is still good at chasing up leads but has very few ideas or theories of his own. I liked working with you because we could toss around things that bothered us about the facts. Now everyone looks to me and no one wants to debate me or make suggestions. How did you manage to encourage ideas and debate?
Hillier is on two weeks leave so life is relatively peaceful. No one wants to come to the pub with me though so I am grateful for your iPad to keep me company. I am sitting in the Bull's Head now at our favourite table eating a pie and chips. I wish you were here to discuss our cases in person.
Thinking of you,
Barbara
P.S. What does ;) mean?
From: "Tommy the Earl"
Date: 1 September 2015 15:09:12 ET
To: "'Barbara Havers'"
Subject: Re: Hi
B,
;) is a friendly wink. Hold the screen sideways and you'll see what I mean. :) is a smile, :D a big grin etc.
I'm glad you understand. I think I just needed to tell someone how it was affecting me. If you are still there have a beer for me!
Perhaps look at the staff first and make it very public. That way the family feel secure and if it was one they might slip up while you are watching carefully. Sadly it is normally about money in families. Who stands to benefit? Then look at who might want that person to benefit? It might not be the most obvious person.
I never had a choice! You offered opinions and arguments without prompting! Every single case! It was good though, I agree. Between us we came up with solid logic and solved the cases. If you have any thought on people smuggling let me know.
Sleep well Barbara,
T, oo
From: "'Barbara Havers'"
Date: 1 September 2015 20:17:32 GMT
To: "Tommy the Earl"
Subject: Re: Hi
Sir,
I know nothing about human trafficking but I will keep my ears open.
I'm glad we used to debate things because it meant you listened to me, even if you often choose to ignore me. How did that work out for you?
You might be right about looking beyond the obvious I will get onto that tomorrow.
I am drinking your pint now!
Cheers,
B
P.S. What does the oo mean? Two big eyes?
From: "Tommy the Earl"
Date: 1 September 2015 15:35:16 ET
To: "'Barbara Havers'"
Subject: Re: Hi
B,
An o is a friendly shortcut for an affectionate hug. Think of it as the written equivalent of shoulder hugs I give you. Goodnight Barbara.
T ooo
From: "'Barbara Havers'"
Date: 1 September 2015 20:38:39 GMT
To: "Tommy the Earl"
Subject: Re: Hi
T,
Okay. Good night Sir.
B r
From: "Tommy the Earl"
Date: 1 September 2015 15:40:56 ET
To: "'Barbara Havers'"
Subject: Re: Hi
B,
Okay, r?
T x
From: "'Barbara Havers'"
Date: 1 September 2015 20:42:31 GMT
To: "Tommy the Earl"
Subject: Re: Hi
T,
r is my arm around your waist when you do that shoulder hug ;)
x?
B rr
From: "Tommy the Earl"
Date: 1 September 2015 15:45:04 ET
To: "'Barbara Havers'"
Subject: Re: Hi
B,
x is an affectionate kiss.
T xo
From: "'Barbara Havers'"
Date: 1 September 2015 20:48:45 GMT
To: "Tommy the Earl"
Subject: Re: Hi
Sir,
Good night!
Barbara