(sorry about the varying length of chapters - it didn't make sense to chop this one up or to add others together)
She walked into the office the following day just as Ray was mid conversation with Chris about his date the previous evening.
"you shudda seen the way she was lookin' at me. Eye's all wide, knew she was gaggin' for it. Not 'alf bad either she weren't. Nice big knockers, long legs…"
"Ma'am!" Shaz yelled, clearly happy to see her back at work.
"Morning Shaz, Chris, Ray" she responded quietly.
"Morning Ma'am," Chris said cheerily "Glad to 'ave ya back."
"Thanks Chris, Ok, what are we working on?" she said enthusiastically.
"Well Ma'am. Some blokes been done in down the docks, some plod found 'im last night whilst 'e was out joggin'. Been whacked over the 'ed wi' summin', baseball bat the coroners reckon'"
"Right, have we got any ID on the victim?"
"yeah Ma'am" replied Chris, "A Mr...Chester. Regular bloke by the looks of it, mechanic, worked for 'imself. Family business"
"Thanks Chris, what do we know about his last movements?" Alex said, trying to piece together the puzzle of events that lead up to his untimely death.
"Not much at the moment Ma'am, , Ray an' me were gonna start door to door, y'know to see if anyone knows anythin'" Chris replied.
"Good, well…I'll leave you to it then. Have the family been told?"
"Yeah Ma'am" said Ray "Oh and Ma'am, there's summin' else"
"What's that?" she responded inquisitively
"Coroner found some sorta poison in 'is blood. Summit don' add up, why would you poison a bloke if you were plannin' on knockin' 'im over the 'ead wi' a weapon an' all?"
"I don't know, Ray, it's our job to find out I guess." She replied, stating the obvious.
"DI Drake?" it was a gruff voice, from a man walking through the office as if he owned the place. "I'm DCI Spencer, taking over from DCI Hunt. We'll need to ask you a few questions about the circumstances leading to your injury."
Injury? She thought, Who the hell did he think he was, she'd been shot for Christ sake. Not like she'd slipped over and grazed her knee! Still, the sooner she cleared things up the better, then maybe Gene would come back.
"Of course, sir." She replied, a little too eagerly, "I'm sure I can leave this in Ray's capable hands. I'm ready now if that's ok?"
"If you wish, Alex, follow me." He responded, a little taken aback by her willingness.
DCI Spencer led the way to the interview room, closely followed by Ray, who was intent in becoming involved in the investigation into her shooting and Gene's disappearance.
"Right Alex" DCI Spencer said calmly, "let's go through the events leading up to 20th November. Can you, in your own words, describe what happened on that day?"
Alex was a little taken aback, his words were calm enough but something didn't feel right, she felt like a suspect rather than a witness. It's fine she thought to herself, I'll just tell them the truth and then it'll all be over.
"Certainly, sir" Now, where to start? "Erm, well, I.." Alex started nervously. " I was following a suspect, a bent copper, you see I, erm, I saw what happened with the gold bullion truck you see and I,er, he was running, no walking, er, very fast away from the scene, so I just..erm..followed."
"Go on" urged DCI Spencer.
"Well, this man, you see, I knew he was involved somehow so I went to talk to him, to arrest him, I followed him to this place, this garden. Suddenly, he pointed the gun at me. Then, I heard DCI Hunt, he shouted something like, "Drop the weapon or I mean it, I'll shoot." The man let the safety catch off his gun, bringing it closer to my head, Gene, I mean DCI Hunt fired first and shot him. He just lay there, motionless, the Guv he ran out, held him where he fell. Then out of nowhere, one of the blagger's sister, Jeanette came running into the courtyard yelling "Where's my money" I didn't know what was going on but by the time I realised what was happening she had her arm round by neck and a gun to my head. DCI Hunt pointed his gun at her and shot, it all happened so fast, Jeanette pushed me and ran off, I felt the bullet, felt the blood. I heard him yell my name and people running towards me and then it all went blank."
Alex didn't know how it had happened but as she recalled that eventful day, tears started streaming down her face. "he didn't mean to shoot me, honestly he didn't. He was just trying to…I don't know."
"It's ok Alex. Now, how would you describe your relationship with DCI Hunt leading up to the day in question."
Oh boy, she thought, Now that was a question she had been dreading, what was her relationship with Gene, even she didn't know the answer to that.
"Well, we had had a little falling out but everything was fine really, just a misunderstanding." She said nonchalantly.
"What kind of misunderstanding, DI Drake" he persisted.
"He'd heard this tape, of me, he thought, well, I suppose he thought that I was trying to fight him, that I was in someway, not working with the team."
"Right, I see Alex, would it be fair to say that he was angry on that day?" God, he was good at this she thought, feeling ever more like she was in a courtroom rather than the comfort of her own station.
"No I don't think it would sir, I would say he was…disappointed, maybe, felt let down. He felt like he couldn't trust me but he knows that that was wrong"
"How does he know that was wrong, DI Drake, have you spoken to Mr Hunt, since the incident."
"No, I, er, I could just tell from the way he was, when I saw him in the garden." Alex lied, she had to, if he found out about the letter he'd know gene was still in London, he'd find him
"DI Drake, it's important that we get all the information surrounding this investigation so if there's anything you're keeping from me I'd like you to tell me please." Oh know, she panicked does he know about the letter? Does he suspect? Should I risk telling the truth, or is it more risky to keep it hidden and hope that no-one found out. Ok Alex, this is important, Gene didn't mean to shoot you, he's got nothing to hide, just tell him the truth.
"Ok, ok, Gene came to visit me, whilst I was in hospital. I didn't see him but he left me a note, a letter, apologising and letting me know that it was all an accident." She managed, almost biting her tongue as she let the information out.
"Oh, I see, so you're basing this idea of an 'accident' on a letter received from the suspect" he said cleverly.
"No, I,..I know he didn't mean to shoot me, look, I just know him ok. He wouldn't do that to me…to anyone" She could hear the plea in her voice; she sounded weak, pathetic, like she was scared.
"DI Drake, we have a witness who claims that, on the day before the shooting, DCI Hunt and yourself were arguing in this station and he said, and I quote, 'I'm doing this without you, and if you dare get in my way, I swear to God I will kill you.' And, incidentally, he makes an attempt on your life the very next day."
DCI Spencer was half smiling now, silly cow, he probably thought, bloody women too wrapped up in emotions to see what was in front of them.
"Look" Alex sobbed, the urgency resounding in her voice. "You don't understand, he didn't mean to do it, I swear to you, he didn't"
"Alex, this is clearly upsetting for you, but if you're feeling threatened by Mr Hunt, or anyone else, we can protect you. It is important that the incident is fully investigated, resolved, if you will. I understand if you feel scared, but we can't go around letting people off just because they're in the force. I think we should end there for now, if you want to add anything or remember anything else, then please, just come and see me, ok?"
"Ok" she said quietly.
"And, we will need to see this letter, as evidence. Do you have it with you?" he asked.
"No, I, er, I'll bring it in, in the morning," she said reluctantly, not wanting to give up that last shred of a connection with Gene.
Who is this man, Alex thought she was telling the truth, she knew Gene, and what the hell did he know about him.! He was just some guy wanting Gene's job. Ok, maybe he didn't believe her, maybe he was trying to help her but he wasn't listening, not really listening. She needed to get through to him, needed to make him understand; she pulled the neatly folded piece of paper from her pocket and resolved to hand it in the following day.
