Despite months of careful rehearsal, the night of the concert did not go as planned. First, Malcolm Finniston had suddenly announced that he would be leaving and that Arnold Raeburn would be conducting in his stead. (Hobson would later learn from Lewis that the SMS had been a failed blackmail attempt by her nemesis the porter Roger Temple to extort money from Finniston when he learned that Finniston and Lady Raeburn had had an affair… But all of that was just one more red herring on the path to catching the real killer of Andrew Crompton and Ella Ransome.)
The musicians wore black de rigueur to the concert, but Hobson wasn't the sort to go for a modest blouse and trouser combination. She donned a dress with halter straps and what would be a square neckline if it weren't for a little divot that accentuated her bosom. As the musicians took their places under the tent, she scanned the audience for Lewis, Hathaway, and their potential dates like an adolescent scanning the crowd for her parents at a school recital. She couldn't help but feel disappointed when she didn't see them.
It wasn't until after the concert started- very nearly intermission- that the pair of detectives arrived on the scene late and alone. This doesn't bode well, she thought as she struggled to focus on the music. From the corner of her eye, she could make out Lewis and Hathaway trying to corral an inebriated Malcolm Finniston. Then, Lewis and Hathaway departed again, seeming to chase the bassoon player's ex-boyfriend. She would have cringed in dismay for she should have known it was too much to ask for Lewis and Hathaway to sit down and enjoy a concert- but she didn't dare loosen her embouchure around her mouthpiece.
At intermission, however, as musicians mingled, she capped her mouthpiece, laid down the clarinet and decided to go investigate with them. Things must have taken a serious turn because she saw Chief Superintendent Innocent herself lurking across the quad near a cleaner's cart and calling for back up. As Innocent left to go meet a squad car, Hobson made her way to the cart and wondered why it was of interest. On the outside was written BABS and as she winnowed through its contents, Laura discovered a rifle. It dawned on her that there was a shooting club in the lower level.
She kicked off her heels so as not to make a sound as she slipped down the stairs, with the borrowed rifle aimed straight ahead of her. Meanwhile, Robbie Lewis was eliciting the confession of Babs the scout for the double murder; as it happened, she was the wife of the porter Roger Temple. Lewis had solved the case, but things are never that simple; Babs held another rifle and was waving it between Lewis and Hathaway. "Time to go, eh?" Lewis said as he made a move towards Babs to coax her into handing over the rifle, but she made a move of her own.
"I've had enough." Babs Temple was stronger than she looked and was tired of people underestimating her. No one would believe that the homely cleaner had been having an affair with the polished Master Andrew Crompton who was leaving her- no one but Ella Ransome, who had discovered their secret! Furthermore, no one would expect that Babs could so swiftly ensnare a man as solid as Robbie Lewis. But suddenly, there she was, and the seemingly simple Babs had Lewis with her gun to his neck.
"Sir!" Hathaway cried out as he lurched forward. Babs went for the trigger.
A gunshot rang out. Hobson saw each moment unfold in slow motion. Lewis and Babs both fell to the ground. The pathologist's eyes were immediately drawn to Lewis' chest- heaving up and down with life. It was only then that she herself drew a tentative breath and turned her gaze to Babs, who was not so lucky. If it hadn't been for the kickback she felt from discharging the weapon, Hobson would have been immobilized. In truth, she hadn't even known if the rifle was loaded before she shot. Though Hobson had to steady herself, she stood stunned with her rifle still poised as Hathaway ran over to Lewis.
"Sir, are you…"
"All right? Yeah."
Hathaway turned his attention to Babs and rang for help on his mobile. Just as he was pronouncing that there was no sign of life, Lewis- still on the ground- realized what was happening. "James, where's the gun? The gun that shot Babs? Not the one she was holding to me head."
Both detectives looked frantically into the shadows and beheld the silhouette of a petite woman in a black dress, rifle still in hand.
"Dr Hobson?" Hathaway went to her and held out his arms. She placed the gun into his care. "You did this?"
"She was going to hurt Robbie." Hobson uttered simply, but definitively.
"Laura?" Lewis knew her voice, though Hobson was still ensconced in the shadows.
"Innocent is on her way down; you'll have to make a full statement." Hathaway said to Hobson, but she seemed not to hear him. She went over to Lewis and knelt beside him; Lewis couldn't believe she was there, bending towards him, the black dress hinting at parts of her he dared not consider.
"I didn't hurt you, did I?" She asked, still dazed. She instinctively put two fingers on his neck to take his pulse, though all evidence indicated that he had not been touched. Hobson's fingers tingled with relief to feel the frantic beat of his veins.
"I'm all right, love." He sat up, and the two stared at one another, not knowing what to say or do.
Finally, Lewis spoke. "This is all me fault."
Oh Robbie the Responsible one, how many things do you blame yourself for? "No, Robbie. During intermission, I followed you- saw you across the quad looking at the scout's cart. Inside was another rifle. She was going to hurt you, and I wasn't going to let that happen."
"I never should have asked you to get involved, spying on Finniston like that. You could have been killed." Robbie said.
Hobson snorted in response. "You're a fine one to talk with that gun pointed to your head." She then muttered under her breath, "besides, better me than you."
"Don't say that."
"You have kids, Robbie. A family who loves you."
"And you have…" he trailed off realizing that there was a reason that Hobson was all business.
"…corpses?" She supplied, somewhat awkwardly. He cringed in response. "Don't look at me like that, Robbie. I have no regrets."
Jean Innocent came down into the basement with back up at that moment and surveyed the situation: Babs bleeding out, Lewis and Hobson sitting awkwardly on the ground. She turned to Hathaway who was the only one on his feet. "Well?"
"Mrs. Temple's dead, ma'am." He answered.
"And that is the smoking gun, I presume?" She asked, nodding towards the weapon that Hathaway was holding barrel down.
"Hobson…" Hathaway's voice shook, and Innocent raised her eyebrows in surprise. He cleared his throat. "Dr. Hobson discharged the weapon when Mrs. Temple had threatened Inspector Lewis at gunpoint."
"It's true." Hobson said flatly.
"Ma'am," Lewis began, "can I take Dr Hobson up for some fresh air before we do all this? Then you can get a full statement."
Innocent looked perplexed for a moment and glanced at Hathaway. "Robbie will get her sorted." Hathaway offered quietly.
"That's what I'm afraid of. Leave her to me, Lewis." She offered Hobson her hand to pull her to her feet. With a final long gaze at Lewis, Hobson rose quietly and followed Innocent. Likewise, Hathaway tendered his hand to Lewis.
Internal Affairs had their hands full with the three- Lewis, Hathaway, and Hobson- but when interrogated separately, their statements all matched. Nevertheless, Hobson was placed on leave indefinitely, pending the results of an official inquiry and the psych evaluation she was forced to undergo.
One of the many questions she was forced to answer was, "what are your feelings for DI Lewis?"
It's complicated, she thought. "He's a loyal friend."
"Nothing more?"
Hobson put on her poker face, inscrutable to the psychiatrist. "Nothing more. He will never be able to move on from his wife's death, and I would never do anything to jeopardize our friendship."
She had repeated that line to herself so many times that she almost believed it. Be that as it may, she'd proven that there is nothing she wouldn't do for Robbie Lewis. Even take another life.
Author Note: One more chapter to go, as we need know how the erstwhile Undercover Cricket Player will respond to the daring deeds of Undercover Clarinet.