Hi Guys!

Thank you so much to dinabar and who-vs-sw for reviewing - it means a lot to me! Thank you to charliecharlie and Catty for following my story, it's nice to see people actually have an interest in my work! Here's chapter 2. I've been thinking of the plot of the whole story all day and I'm excited to write it out for you all as I keep getting more and more ideas for this. I hope you enjoy this chapter and please leave a review - they make my day!

Sarah x

Chapter 2 - Another's Arms


When the pain just rips right through me. Another's arms, another's arms.

- 'Another's Arms' - Coldplay


"Harry." Leo greeted the pissed off looking pathologist approaching him in his scrubs. "DI Jones, this is Dr. Harry Cunningham. Harry, this is DI Jones." He said, gesturing to the DI.

"Good morning!" Welcomed DI Jones to Harry.

"Isn't it just?" Muttered Harry, receiving a silent telling off from Leo judging by his face. He really was like a dad sorting out his children sometimes. Internally flinching at the word 'dad', he shook his head and gave the DI a polite smile. 'Morning!" he responded, holding out his hand then shaking the DI's hand when he responded.

"Sorry to get you both out of bed at this hour, but the public interest in this case means we want and need answers as quick but accurately as we can get them." DI Jones said regretfully.

Puzzled, Harry questioned, "What do you mean 'this case'? How can you know already? It's only 4am."

"We can't be sure until you confirm it, of course, but from an initial investigation by my team we believe the body is that of Ashley Daniels."

Leo nodded with a sad glint in his eye. Perhaps it was the thought of Ashley's daughter, who too was reported missing. Leo had lost his daughter a few years back and he was probably feeling grief for the child now having to grow up without a mother, like a reversal role to his. That is if the child was ever found. "Right well, we'll get to work." Leo announced, walking off towards the commotion of forensics, photographers and police officers.

"Do you want a post mortem or your P45 to complete?" Leo murmured in Harry's direction as they walked towards the body. An outsider might have considered this a serious telling off from a boss if they had heard him, but Harry caught the mischievous glint in Leo's eyes. For the first time that morning (or middle of the night in Harry's mind), Harry cracked a genuine smile.


The body was discovered shortly after 3am by a track maintainer along the railway line in London after a train driver had called in about an object he had spotted on the opposite line. The area was flanked by tall forest trees on either side which permitted no light whatsoever onto the tracks, thus giving the killer the perfect protection to dump, or possibly kill, the woman. The area was characteristically deserted, as predicted in a murder case, and the leaves under the tracks were soaked a deep red. The pathologists worked in silence.

"What do you make of these?" Harry broke the tired silence and asked Leo, examining the rope around the body's wrists and ankles.

"Hmm..." Leo said, getting up from where he was looking at an injury to the abdomen. "They were most likely used as a restraint to keep the woman still."

"So she couldn't escape ... do you think she was tortured?" Harry said quietly, noticing more marks and scars as his first look over the body went on.

"It appears so." Leo said with a note of regret in his voice.

"Why are they burnt?" Questioned Harry, more to himself than to anyone else. Leo simply shrugged. It appeared that he ropes had at one point been attached to the railway track, meaning the body would have lay horizontal to the path of a train, but they were now detached as the top and bottom of the ropes were missing, with only some black remains left where they should be.


Nikki Alexander was sitting at her desk finishing up the remains of her paperwork. She liked the Lyell at this time of morning, which according to her computer screen was 7:15am, because it gave her the peace to get work complete without distractions and it was a vivid contrast to the ususal busy setting the team were accustomed to daily at the Lyell. The former a reference to distractions that fall under the name of Harry, although she had to admit his antics were her guilty pleasure. It was important they had 'banter' at work or whatever you wanted to call it, because she knew without it this job would completely pull her under just like it nearly had done with the Silverlake Case. She rarely thought about those days and when she did, she considered herself a coward for not wanting to revisit those memories. However, she was beginning to accept the conclusion that the mind only thinks about what it is capable of thinking about, and right now she was not strong enough yet to do so.

Her reflection time was short-lived as at 7:30am, a poorly slept looking Harry walked through the door. "Has your flat gone up in flames again?" She giggled, glancing at her computer clock.

Harry hadn't even noticed her sitting there until he heard her giggle. He loved her laugh. It was the best and his most favourite sound he had ever heard on earth, and after all these years working together it was still enough to ignite a fire of feelings in his tummy. "Why do you say that?" He asked slightly smiling, confused at the joke only she was a part of.

"Okay, firstly, it's a Monday morning and you're already awake and secondly, even more so because it is a Monday morning, I never thought I'd see you turn up to work on time, let alone early." She responded, obvious on her face she was trying not to laugh at her own joke. Hilarious, Harry thought.

"Some of us were awoke after 3am to attend a scene on our night off on behalf of someone else." He said jokingly, but with an added hint of annoyance in his voice.

"You did offer, you could've just said no-" Nikki said, immediately feeling guilty.

"Relax Niks, I'm joking!" Harry laughed, walking over to where she was sitting. "Did you have a good night?"

"It was fine thanks." Nikki said simply, with a smile appearing at the corners of her mouth, something Harry could see her trying to fight off.

"With one of your unsuitable men I presume?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What would make you say that?" She replied, a smirk on her face.

"You were, weren't you?" He laughed. Throughout his life, Harry had often used humour and laughter to hide his true feelings with. He noticed that every time Nikki went on a date with a man and told him, he felt a strange feeling in his body. He couldn't work out what it was, and it wasn't something he could even consider working out before 8am and a coffee on a Monday morning, so just laughed. Again.

Nikki giggled and shrugged. "Harry Cunningham, didn't your mother ever tell you to mind your own business?" She said playfully.

Harry mocked hurt. "I thought we were best friends." He pretended to sulk and wipe a tear from his eye, resulting in Nikki to giggle. Walking up to his desk, or should he say Nikki's adopted desk, he pushed the chair she had currently and so often taken up residence on back to her side of the desk. "Why don't we sit here at our own desks and you tell me all about your latest conquest?" He said.

"Or instead, why don't we do what we're paid to do and you tell me all about your late night adventures? Or case I should say." Nikki smiled, throwing her pen at his face when he got back to his side of the desk.

Defeated, Harry told her about the scene. He still hadn't worked out what was bothering him about this case, but the feelings he had felt last night when watching TV had returned the minute he took that phone call from Leo.


Slightly longer chapter for you all! I had meant for it to be longer but it's nearly 11:30pm and I'm getting tired, so I'll try make the next one longer. Hope you enjoy and please leave a review, even a simple hello is fine! :) Xo