Chapter 2

I never dealt with Mel's death very well because for weeks afterwards I ploughed through my investigations like my life depended on it, I had it in my mind I had let Mel down and, had to prove that I wasn't a failure at work. I just kept taking more and more work, than I could handle, I even took over the case investigating Mel's death and caught the person responsible, he got 15 years, but as far as I was concerned that wasn't enough, I then went into a deep depression, I started drinking, which I never did, I was a nightmare to work with, although my colleagues were very supportive and, did their best to help. My boss told me or rather ordered me to take leave, which made me drink more.

Then out of the blue I had a visit from Blanche, Mel's mother, I was in a state when she saw me, but she knew I was hurting at the loss of Mel even if I did not want to admit it, to myself. Blanche decided to help me although I had no idea why because I always thought she didn't approve of me being with Mel.

Blanche made me seek help, telling me Mel would be so disappointed if she could see me now. I was actually quite surprised by her kindness and, asked her one day after she had come with me to many counselling sessions I attended, to deal with Mel's death.

We talked for hours and I found out that Blanche didn't approve of me at first because she thought I would end up hurting Mel, but then realised I wasn't and grew to like me, although never said anything because she wanted to keep me on my toes, just to make sure, she said, she saw me as a second daughter, she said she thought I was a stuck up snob when she first met me, which I laughed at, because I have never been a snob, at least not that I know of anyway, but then she realised I was just a bit shy and, actually a nice person to be around, that I made Mel happy, happier than she's ever seen her, before she met me apparently she was lost and appeared to be looking for something but then I came along and Mel was a different person and looked like she had finally found what she had been looking for.

Blanche and I became friends in fact it was more than that Blanche acted like a surrogate mother , we would talk, laugh and cry together it was like a mother daughter relationship, something I had always longed for with my real mother, but never got.

I even got back on a even track at work because of Blanche it was almost like Mel had been reincarnated but nothing more than just friends. I even went for promotion to Detective Inspector, which I never thought in a million years would happen, but as always Blanche was there to offer encouragement to think positive and believe in myself and I passed the exam.

I dealt with lots of complex cases in my career, some good to investigate and some not so good, especially the drugs bust which resulted in Mel being killed, although the culprit who shot her was caught and sent to prison, the rest of the gang got away, because they were tipped off just before my colleagues got there except the one who shot Mel, he too managed to flee the scene until I caught with him that is.

A couple of weeks before we were due to do the drugs bust, I discovered one of my colleagues WPC Sam Marshall was having a fling with one of the gang members a Daryl Braxton known as "Brax", I warned her about it because my instinct told me he was playing her , but she told me to mind my own business , that Brax loved her and wasn't part of the drug dealing at all, I had no real proof he was involved, all I had was an old crime he committed as a youth in Australia, he was caught in possession of Cannabis, which he said at the time wasn't his and, he was cautioned for it, but as far as drug dealing, I had nothing on him.

The Australian authorities also had no connection with drugs either although they had been watching him and were convinced he was involved in drug dealing, they couldn't pin anything on him, or any evidence to connect him with any known dealers in their area. They told me he had disappeared off their radar and had no idea where he was until now.

I told Mel all about it, but she too, said I had no proof so even if I did tell our boss, I had to get proof first, before our boss would even consider it.

So for the next few weeks Mel and I found the evidence we needed to prove Brax was involved with the drug dealing, but not just involved he was the mastermind behind it all, we also gathered evidence Sam was involved so that when we went to see our boss we had proof that Sam had got involved with Brax, compromising the whole case.

We were ready to present the evidence when we had opportunity to bust the gang and blow the lid on everything, Mel advised me to wait until after the raid to present the evidence. If I hadn't been sick it would have been me who was shot and I felt guilty of that until Blanche helped me realise Mel wouldn't have wanted things any other way.

Anyway whilst I was investigating Mel's murder it was now regarded as I found out that Sam had in fact tipped Brax off before my colleagues got there, she had actually asked to join the raid which I only found out by chance when one of my other colleagues mentioned she was there.

Sam was brought in and questioned and admitted the whole thing, but too be honest she couldn't really deny it, because I had enough evidence against her, I had followed her and obtained pictures as well as getting hold of her mobile phone records, she asked for a deal, she would resign from the force and give everything we wanted to know, in return no action would be taken against her, it was agreed despite my protest it was a bad idea, but it wasn't really her we were interested in so I let it go.

Sure enough she told us everything we needed to know and, after careful surveillance by me we arrested Brax, he had some hot shot lawyer from Australia fight his corner, who argued that Sam had been tipping Brax off with information and, if we pursued the case against his client he was prepared to go public about the bent cop was how he put it, dropping Sam right in it, plus causing the us embarrassment if we proceeded with the case. So we had no choice, but to let him go, he then fled back to Australia leaving Sam behind and making her feel, humiliated.

Sam came to see me once to apologise for everything, I told her I would never forgive her for being responsible for Mel's death, because if you looked at it logically she was, if she hadn't tipped Brax off then Mel might have still been alive. I did feel guilty at what I said, but couldn't take it back because she needed to know stupid she was, I never saw her again.