Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. You have all been really encouraging. I've been watching series 2 and getting excited about series 3, I hope you all are too! Enjoy the next chapter. Thanks again to XTimeGirlX who is lovely and has beta'd this chapter. Please please review, I'd love to hear your thoughts and theories, and give me any ideas you think of! xxx

Alex perched on her desk almost as soon as they entered CID. Although they had just been sitting in the Quattro, the long walk down the grey darkened corridor seemed to have weakened her. Shaz walked straight up to Gene and Alex, while Ray and Chris took seats at their desks and lit up cigarettes.

"Right, Peter Ellis. Nothing really interesting, Guv, I'm afraid. Works for a sales company and has done for many years; very successful actually. No criminal record, not even a parking ticket."

"He can't be that squeaky clean – no man is that boring." The Guv said putting his hands in his pockets and rocking on his cowboy boots. "Anything else?"

"Well Peter and Suzanne got married when they were really young, she was 18 and he was 19. But if you ask me I don't think their marriage was going well, he's a bit of a work-a-holic, stays at the office very late."

"Well I don't ask you. Thanks for the info love, now a cup of tea – five sugars." Retorted Gene before striding past Shaz and into his office. Shaz looked a bit hurt but walked off to the kitchen anyway.

Alex saw Gene in his office lifting his feet onto the table, lighting up a cigarette and leaning back as he so often did when he was thinking. Having gained some strength she followed Shaz into the kitchen to help with the teas.

"So you don't reckon Peter Ellis was very happy with his life at home?" Alex asked tentatively whilst passing the milk.

"I don't know, Ma'am. It's just a feeling I got from the guy on the phone who works where Peter did. I might be completely wrong." Shaz seemed a bit knocked down by Gene's remark.

"No I'm glad you told me, Shaz, this sort of information helps to tell us what sort of person he was, so we can narrow down why he was killed, it's called profiling and it is very important, no matter what the Guv thinks. And don't worry about him; he's just a bit touchy 'cos the Super's on his back." Shaz smiled as Alex left the room with Gene's cuppa.

Alex knocked on the Manc Lion's door and waited for his nod before entering. She placed the coffee in front of him on the desk before sitting at her usual spot beside his computer. Alex didn't know how to start so just jumped in. "I think we should go back to the Ellis's house and have a proper look around."

"And why is that Bollykecks?" Gene grumbled whilst taking a drag, "Did plod not do a good enough job for you earlier?"

"No it's not that, it's just I want to try and find out what sort of man Peter Ellis was and the 'plods' weren't looking for things like that."

"Psychiatry."

"Psychology!"

"I'm surprised you noticed what the plods were looking for, you were too busy fainting on me. And by the way Bolls, you're still not looking too great."

"Oh thanks for the compliment. Look I'm fine, will people just leave me be?!"

Gene took a sip of his cup of tea.

"Can we please go back, just to have a little look?" Gene looked at Alex as she made her best puppy-dog eyes. "Please?"

He put out his cigarette. "Fine."


Alex and Gene were in Peter and Suzanne's bedroom. Alex was looking through the wardrobe whilst Gene had found Mrs Ellis's underwear draw.

"So what exactly are we looking for 'ere, Lady Bolls?" Gene questioned as he lifted up a pair of lacy knickers.

"Anything that could tell us about Peter Ellis and his life at home." Replied Alex as she flicked through shirts and empty hangers. "And you could be a bit nicer to Shaz. She was only trying to help. She does a lot more than just make the tea y'know."

"Is that was this is about?" Gene grumbled "Shaz mentions Mr Ellis's home life and now I'm stuck going through knickers? Not that I'm complaining." Gene pulled a skimpy thong from the draw. "Trying to help your fellow woman in the Met are we?"

Alex was bent over looking through a low shelf in the closet. Watching her rear end Gene pictured Alex in the underwear he was holding. A sly grin crept across his face. She quickly turned around, feeling his eyes on her. She caught the grin on his face.

"Stop whatever it is you are thinking. And no we're not here just on what Shaz said, although she raised a good point and you refused to entertain the idea."

"So what? Peter and Suzanne got married young and probably regret it now. Plenty of people have done that, including me, doesn't mean it's relevant to a murder enquiry!"

"Everything is significant, Guv." Alex had a look of knowledge on her face and Gene hated it, like he had missed part of a joke. "There aren't many clothes for Peter in here. You'd think being so successful he'd have more than three shirts – and awful ones at that." Alex said picking out the middle shirt.

"Hey! I have that in grey!" grumbled Gene.

Alex shut the wardrobe door with a giggle then got on her knees to look under the bed. She stuck her bum in the air as she looked beneath the bed giving Gene a perfect view. He slammed Suzanne's underwear draw shut in an attempt to shut the thoughts of Alex in sexy lingerie from his mind. Alex lifted her head up and dragged a suitcase out from under the bed.

Gene watched as Alex unzipped the suitcase. Inside neatly packed was a variety of men's clothing; suits and shirts and posh ones at that. Lying on the very top was an ultrasound photo in a frame, a passport and plane tickets. Alex looked puzzled; however Gene took no notice of the top three items and simply lit a cigarette.

"We're taking these down to CID as evidence." Alex said as she zipped up the case again. She stood up too fast and immediately felt dizzy as she bent to try and pick up the case. She grabbed her head and took deep breaths. Again, Gene wanted to ask if she was alright but knew he'd get his head bitten off.

"Bolls, you couldn't even carry a feather." Gene said through a cigarette that was wiggling between his lips, and he picked up the case and left the room, with his Bolly hot on his tail.


Back at CID Alex had spread out through the office going through every inch of that suitcase, with Ray and Chris either side of her as she tried to teach them about how personal possessions help with profiling. So far they had come to the conclusion that Peter Ellis loved his unborn baby very much as they had also found baby-grows and a baby book along with the framed ultrasound photo. Sitting in evidence bags around them were shirts, ties, pants, aftershave, a new unworn set of ladies underwear, Peter Ellis's passport, and two tickets to Dublin – one for him and one for an 'Emily Richards'....