Note: This is set just before the frame story.

Coveting a Neighbour's Goods

DS James Hathaway walked out of the break room, a steaming mug of coffee in his hand. He was about to re-enter the office he shared with Lewis when a voice from behind the door stopped him.

"I still don't see why she didn't pick Hathaway for the promotion," Robbie said. "He's clearly the most-qualified man for the position and has the best work ethic."

"I should think the answer's obvious."

There was a long silence. It seemed that the answer was not nearly as obvious as Laura had suspected. Finally, the pathologist spoke again. "Jean's trying to discourage the rumour that she favours James."

"But she doesn't favour him." Lewis insisted.

"I may know that, but it's still difficult to prove that she isn't partial to him. You've seen for yourself how close the two of them are."

"Yeah, I s'pose I have."

'No, you haven't,' James thought to himself as he walked away from the door. 'Neither of you has any bloody idea of just how close Jean and I have been.'

It was that closeness—that very intimate closeness—that had cost Hathaway this offer of a promotion. Film and television tended to suggest that having slept with one's boss encouraged promotion offers, but that was the farthest thing from the truth in Hathaway's case. James strongly suspected that Jean—like him—still felt guilt for what the two of them had done years ago when they'd each been slightly drunk and extremely lonely. He knew that Innocent must feel that she'd corrupted herself that night. In her eyes, promoting Hathaway now would only further compromise her integrity. He understood why she acted as she did, but that didn't make him any less bitter towards her.

The irony was that he hadn't even wanted the promotion—at least, not initially. In fact, had the chief superintendent offered it to him in the first place, he'd likely have refused. He was perfectly happy to continue working with Lewis. The two of them had an effective partnership and a close friendship.

But now, simply because Innocent was denying it to him, he wanted the promotion. What was more; he felt that he deserved it.

True, he and Lewis occasionally disregarded proper procedure in their investigations, but they were hardly the only pair guilty of that. Besides, their successes clearly overshadowed their failures.

If the chief super could merely ignore her memories of a certain stormy night, she'd see that James was clearly the best choice for the job. He was easily the most intelligent officer of his rank—not to mention one of the most experienced! He also worked harder than nearly all of the other sergeants and a good number of the inspectors.

But none of that mattered to Innocent. She was going to discount Hathaway's many moments of strength, because the two of them had shared a single moment of weakness.

And the worst of it was that she was correct in doing so; she'd taken the proper course of action, and he hated for it.

James knew that he had no right to expect anything after desecrating a marriage, prompting a suicide, and sabotaging a career. He knew that he really deserved punishment—maybe even eternal damnation. But in spite of it all, he still wanted that damned promotion!

DS James Hathaway noticed the other man come out of the confessional and return to his pew. It was finally time for Hathaway to reveal his sins.

The sergeant rose to his feet and walked over to the confessional. He entered, shutting the door firmly behind him. It would not do for anyone to overhear his confession.

Hathaway knelt down, blessed himself, and took a deep breath before saying the fateful words.

"Bless me, Father, for I have sinned…"

The End

Another story finished! Poor James, I really tortured him—didn't I? I guess I'll have to write some sort of fluff piece to make up for it. Thanks to anyone who has read/favorited/reviewed