Series 23, Episode 21: Killer on the Run

Date: Thursday 11th October 2007

Investigating Officers: DCI Jack Meadows, Sergeant Dale Smith, DC Mickey Webb, DC Hannah McKay


"Ready?" Mickey asked, glancing at Hannah as they waited to give the order to CO19 to check out Smithy's flat.

She nodded and he raised a hand, indicating that the armed officers should go in. They followed behind, waiting to hear the shouts that informed them that it was safe to proceed.

"Door's been forced; he's definitely been here." Mickey said, handing Hannah a pair of gloves before pulling his own on.

"D'you reckon he's trashed the place?" She asked curiously, peering inside. "Or d'you think he was hoping Smithy would be here?"

"We'll find out."

"Lounge clear!"

"Bedroom clear!"

"Kitchen clear!"

"All clear." The armed Sergeant told them as they left the flat.

They split up inside the flat, checking for any obvious signs of damage or theft. Hannah frowned as she entered the living room and saw that it was in exactly the same state as it had been when she'd left in the early hours of that morning. Clearly Jones hadn't caused any damage in this room.

Making her way into the kitchen to join DC Webb, she saw that it was similarly untouched and frowned in confusion. He had forced the door to gain access to the flat, but he hadn't damaged anything else. That worried her as she wondered why he had gone to the effort of finding the address and breaking in, if he wasn't going to trash it.

"Mickey, everything's fine in the living room too."

"This doesn't make any sense. He's knows Smithy's not gonna be here, because he knows he's gonna be on shift. He's not going be lying in wait for him, is he?"

"So why hasn't he trashed the place?" Hannah asked, leaning against the door frame and raising an eyebrow.

"Anything he could have taken?"

"Not that I can tell." Hannah shrugged, wandering through into the bedroom with Mickey just behind her. She froze as her eyes immediately fell on her scarf which was draped over the chair in the corner of the room.

Raising his eyebrows as he realised what she was looking at, Mickey pointed at the item. "Isn't that yours?"

"Huh?"

"It is. You were definitely wearing it yesterday." He remembered, turning to look at her with a smirk on his face. "DC McKay, what is your scarf doing in Sergeant Smith's bedroom. Well well well…"

"Drop it, Mickey." Hannah ordered, snatching it up and winding it around her neck. She pushed past him and went back into the living room.

"You and Smithy, eh?" He teased, following her.

"I said, drop it." She snapped back. "There is no me and Smithy. Can we just concentrate on the case, please?"

Mickey held his hands up, still smirking, before backing away and turning his attention to the scene. Hannah remained by the table, looking around that end of the room, while her colleague moved past the sofa to check that area. He crouched down, picking something off the carpet and turning it over.

"Hannah?" He called, glancing up. "Look at this."

"Smithy's mum?" She asked, glancing at the photo of the woman sitting on a large rock in the sun.

He shrugged and then nodded, pulling out his mobile and making a call. "Gina it's Mickey. Can you ask Smithy if the photo of an older woman sitting on a rock like she's on holiday is his mum? We've found it smashed on the floor." He said, waiting as Gina obviously checked with the Sergeant. "Yeah?" He walked towards the table where Smithy's laptop was, motioning for Hannah to follow. "Your mum's is the top one. No, OK. We'll check it out now."

Ending the call he pointed to the card. "Smithy's mum's address. That's obviously what Jones was looking for."

"2, Claydan Street…" She murmured. "I know where that is. Let's get over there now."

They sped down to the car and Mickey slammed it into drive, screeching away from the pavement. Hannah drummed her fingers impatiently on the door as they went, sighing agitatedly at the speed they were going.

"Come on, Mick! Put your foot down!" She ordered.

He glared at her. "I'm doing my best. There's a bin lorry in front, if you hadn't noticed."

She rolled her eyes. "Take a left here." She pointed towards a turning ahead. "And then right into Aykborne Street. Then another right into Hamilton Road."

He followed her instructions and found himself back on the original road, ahead of the bin lorry. They continued at the faster pace, finally screeching to a stop outside Mrs Smith's house. Hannah leapt out of the passenger side and sprinted up the pathway to the house, pausing when she reached the front door.

Less than a second later, an area car pulled up and Smithy climbed out. He pushed past Hannah and unlocked the front door, leading the way into the living room where his mother was lying face down on the carpet. Gina and the two DCs separated to check the house for any sign of Jones, reappearing moments later and shaking their heads to indicate he wasn't there.

"Hannah, look after my mum, alright?" Smithy demanded, glancing at the young woman before moving away to talk to the Inspector.

She nodded and ushered Mrs Smith through to the kitchen, where she settled her in a chair and started making tea. Within half an hour the house was swarming with armed and unarmed officers and the DCI was pulling up outside in his car. Smithy signalled for DC McKay to escort his mother from the house.

"Hannah'll take you to the station, Mum."

"I want to stay here." His mother argued, shaking her head.

"Yeah, but it's not safe here." He reasoned with her. "They'll take care of you down the nick. Get you a cup of tea and something to eat. When you're feeling a bit better they're gonna ask you for a statement, alright?"

"I've assigned Hannah to take special care of you, alright?" Gina told her gently.

"I want Dale to come with me."

"I can't–" He started, but Gina cut across him.

"I couldn't agree with you more, Mrs Smith." The Inspector said bluntly. "I want him to go with you as well." When Smithy frowned at her, Gina raised an eyebrow. "A word please."

"Is he in trouble?" His mother asked as the pair moved away.

Hannah shook her head and gently propelled the older woman towards the car. "No. The Inspector's just worried about him, but Smithy's refusing to stay in the station while all this is going on. He thinks it's his fault."

"Is it?"

"No."

Hannah smiled at helped her into the car, waiting for Smithy to join them. She sent the Sergeant a weak smile as he paused by the car door, glancing along the road before getting in. Something caught his attention and his face dropped. A split second later, before Hannah could say or do anything, he took off at a sprint along the road.

"Smithy!" She screamed, drawing everyone's attention to him.

Gina was at her side in a second. "What's happened?"

"I don't know. He saw something or someone and then legged it."

The Inspector nodded. "Right, you get Mrs Smith to the station. We'll deal with this."

Reluctantly Hannah nodded, her eyes still fixed on the spot where Smithy had rounded a corner and disappeared from sight. "Ma'am."

She drove as quickly as she could back to the station, wanting to be available to help with whatever was happening. Leading Mrs Smith through the maze of corridors, she settled her at a table in the canteen and went to fetch them both a hot drink. Doing her best to keep the woman's mind off what was happening, Hannah engaged her in conversation, asking about Smithy and other things that allowed the woman to talk without thinking too much.

After about twenty minutes, a uniformed officer appeared beside them and told Hannah that he was there to sit with Mrs Smith because she was wanted. The red-head smiled reassuringly at the Sergeant's mother, before leaving the canteen and rushing down to the yard.

"Come on." Gina nodded towards the car and she and Hannah began walking towards it hurriedly. "CO19 are ready to go."

"What's happening?"

"Jones has pulled the gun on Smithy on the platform at the tube station. We've closed the station and evacuated all the passengers."

"Hannah… don't take any unnecessary risks." The DCI warned as they passed him.

"Guv…" She looked at him hard, a slight hint of warning in her tone.

"Right." He nodded and carried on to where the Superintendent was waiting for him.

Hannah decided it was lucky that Gina was so distracted by the current situation, or she'd have picked up on something in a second. Climbing into the passenger's side, the DC held on to the door handle as the Inspector sped out of the yard, hurtling towards the tube station at top speed.

Neither of them said much as they drove. When they arrived, Gina repeated the DCI's command that she didn't take any risks and motioned for her to move aside and wait until the armed CO19 officers had gone in first. They were joined by Jack, Heaton and Mickey moments later, watching CO19 rush in through the doors.

"How was he when he went in there?" The Superintendent asked.

Gina looked at him blankly. "Smithy was fine… absolutely fine, Sir."

Hannah stamped her feet agitatedly, more from impatience than cold, looking sideways at Mickey. "I hate waiting."

"I know… but we just have to trust Smithy and CO19 until we can go in." He replied calmly. "Smithy will be fine."

She frowned. "I know that." What seemed like an eternity passed and then Hannah exhaled sharply. "Why is it taking so long?"

"Patience." Gina muttered to her, sending the younger woman a small nod of reassurance.

Shaking her head, Hannah turned and leant backwards against the railings, hating the feeling of not being able to do anything. Another long period of time passed, before they finally heard the sound of footsteps and DC McKay turned quickly to watch as CO19 officers led Ryan Jones out in cuffs. She felt like she could breathe again as Smithy appeared in the doorway, looking completely fine.

"Are you alright?" Hannah demanded, laying a hand on his arm as soon as he was close enough.

He nodded and smiled weakly, pulling her into a tight hug. She clung on, rubbing a hand reassuringly up and down his back, while the other stroked the back of his neck comfortingly. They broke apart when Gina approached, looking at him carefully.

"Don't tell me," Smithy said, "you never doubted me."

"I never doubted!" She agreed, resenting the sarcasm in his tone. "You alright?"

"Yeah… like you said; keep my head up and keep on walking."

She smiled warmly at him and then glanced at Hannah, before turning away. When she had walked off to speak to the DCI and Superintendent, Smithy turned to look at Hannah. He tilted his head to one side curiously.

"What?"

"You… you were worried, weren't you?"

She scoffed. "No. I knew you'd be OK."

"Yeah?"

"Fine, I was a little bit worried." She admitted, shaking her head. "I mean, the guy was off his head."

"I knew you cared."

Hannah rolled her eyes. "OK, I care. But…"

"You still don't want last night to go any further."

"No." Starting to walk slowly towards the cars, Hannah bit her lip. "It was amazing, but… I'm just not looking for a relationship. You deserve better than being strung along by me."

Smithy squeezed her hand. "It's OK. I'm not looking for anything serious either. Last night was great, fantastic, but it was a one-time thing." He grinned at her. "Mates?"

"Of course." She agreed, nudging him with her shoulder. Then she winced. "Mickey saw my scarf at your flat. He knows about last night."

Glancing over to where the DC was grinning broadly at them, Sergeant Smith shook his head. "I'll have a word." He promised. "Stop him winding you up all the time."

She pulled a face, fanning herself and pretending to be overly grateful. "My hero."

Smithy laughed and turned, walking backwards away from her. "I'd better get back to the station and pick up my mum. Thanks, Hannah."

"You too, Sarge. Catch you later."

The red-head climbed into the pool car beside Mickey when he called over to her, smiling too herself. The man beside her glanced across and grinned, making several comments about her and Smithy. Hannah smacked him lightly on the arm, telling him to watch himself, but she was in too good a mood to be bothered by him.

When they arrived back in Sun Hill, Hannah and Mickey made their way up the CID for the Superintendent's de-briefing. He congratulated the team for their hard work and getting a good result, before telling them to go home and get a good night's rest ready for work the next morning.

"Hannah?" The DCI motioned her over as they streamed out of the briefing room.

Telling Mickey she'd see him in the morning, the DC followed her superior along the corridor and into his office. Jack closed the door behind her and moved around behind his desk.

"Guv?"

"I've had a look at the rotas and swapped things around so you've got the next three days off."

"What? Why?" She demanded, immediately defensive.

"If your children are ill they'll need you at home, won't they?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

Hannah's mouth dropped open. "Thanks, Guv. I… thank you."

"I won't mention this to anyone else." He promised her. "As far as I'm concerned, as long as you do your job to your best potential, your private life is your own affair. As long as it doesn't affect things here, then it's none of my business."

"Thank you." The young woman repeated. She had the overpowering urge to hug him.

Jack stiffened at the contact, before relaxing and wrapping his arms around her, patting her several times on the back. When Hannah pulled away, he stepped backwards and rubbed the back of his neck slightly awkwardly.

"Right, well. See you on Monday. Well done for today, Hannah."

"Bye, Guv." She said, grinning to herself as she left his office.