Sorry, this chapter is ALL procedure, but quite necessary to the story!

"So, Miss Reynolds, let me get this straight..." said Rachel after she'd gone through the endless procedure of listing the woman's rights and explaining about the tape and the details of her arrest. This time Gabby Reynolds had a solicitor present. He wasn't looking to happy. This almost made Rachel smile. Solicitors were never happy when their client so freely confessed to murder. "...You are admitting to the murders of both Holly Wainwright, and Ricky Brent" Gabby looked up, for a moment a look of shock crossed her face and Rachel thought she saw her lips move, as if she were mouthing his name. Then, she seemed to compose herself.

She nodded. "Yes"

"Something's not right about this." Gill had just walked into the video room with Janet, where Mitch and Lee were watching the screen intently. "What's her motive?"

"She just keeps saying that she did it, every time Rachel tried to talk" said Mitch sighing "Rach keeps asking her why? She doesn't seem to be able to give her an answer.

"If she didn't do it then why is she confessing?" Gill was shaking her head. She didn't understand some people. If they had gone to arrest Gabby and she'd resisted then Gill would have believed that she was the killer. But it was the way she had so willingly given herself up. Why? And why now? She turned back to the screen where she could see the black and white image of Gabby looking rather desperate.

"It was an accident, she fell, banged her head!" Gabby said, she didn't sound very convincing.

"Why was she in the yard?"

"I don't know...maybe she was meeting someone" Gabby was shaking her head. "I called out to her about trespassing and she turned to run, she slipped and banged her head. I panicked! I thought I'd be sued. I didn't know what to do?"

"So she thought the headline 'Suspicious death in local scrap yard' was better for business than 'accidental death of trespasser at local yard'?" Gill was shaking her head, completely baffled. "What was she thinking?"

"Boss, she didn't bang her head on the ground. She was hit with something!" Janet reminded her.

"I know" said Gill staring hard at the screen, where Rachel was looking just as bewildered. "It just isn't making sense." She watched Gabby's solicitor leaning in towards her, evidently advising her to stop talking until she'd worked out a story with him.

"Right, get Rachel and Pete out of there" said Gill, waving her hand in the direction of the screen. "I want my whole team on this. Let her stew for a while, she's confessed to murder, she isn't going anywhere!"

XxXxX

"They've got something on CCTV" said Janet swinging her head round the office door- Gill couldn't help thinking that this was exactly what Andy used to do-, she hadn't bothered to knock, but this didn't seem necessary as Gill's door had been wide open.

"What?" asked Gill, taking her glasses off of her nose. The Chief con had personally replied to her email but had put off a meeting, simply adding quite patronisingly that 'he was sure Gill was taking all the necessary and appropriate action to track DC Lumb down'

"It was actually Rachel who spotted it"

"Yes Janet, thank you, brownie points will be awarded, when you tell me what?" Gill didn't like being horribly sarcastic to Janet, but she disliked being kept waiting.

"On the CCTV from the day Holly was killed, a lorry backs into one of the metal posts which holds up the barrier to the scrap yard. It knocked the metal post out of the ground and knocked a part of the surrounding fence down with it."

"So?" said Gill shaking her head. "Why is this odd?"

"It's not, in itself" said Janet; her head was bobbing from side to side as she went from point to point. "But for a few days there wasn't a post there so the barrier couldn't be closed properly. Then, on Sunday night before we got there, the metal post was replaced, and the fencing repaired, because nobody works there on a Sunday!"

"And?" Gill wished Janet would get to the point.

"And" said Janet, putting a great deal of stress on the word to show Gill that she was definitely going somewhere with this. "When the stolen car comes into shot it doesn't look like it was expecting there to be a barrier! It looks like it was expecting to swing into the yard, but the barrier takes the driver by surprise, which is why the car seemed to be out of control."

"So..." Gill was nodding her head, she saw what Janet was trying to say.

"So" continued Janet "this suggests that the driver was somebody who had been to the yard since the barrier was also explains why the killer could now slip out without being caught on CCTV as the broken fence meant they could stay out of the way of the CCTV, IF they knew it was there!"

"Which points to someone who works at the yard"

"But, it surely wasn't Gabby as she must've given the order for it to be fixed. If she was planning on driving a car through it then she wouldn't have bothered. And..."

"And anyway" Gill pointed out, she'd never thought of this before "Gabby knew we were going to be there. Why would she dump a body there if she knew we were going to come sniffing around?"

"Unless" said Janet, thoughtfully. "Unless she panicked? If she didn't have time to move the body then she would've tried to dispose of it the only way she could think of. But also..."

"Are we assuming that the person who drove the car into the yard was the same one operating the machinery?" Gill cut in.

"It looks that way" said Janet. "Pete and Lee checked out the yard and there is a direct pathway behind all of the cars, from where the driver must have got out of the stolen car, directly to the control room entrance. But boss..."

"Which again suggests that it's someone who knows the yard well!" said Gill, her eyes were now shining. "And is there no indication about the driver from the CCTV on the outside of the yard?"

"Completely pitch black in the driving seat, however you enhance it. The lighting was dreadful. But..."

"Why do people never..."

"Boss!" Janet hadn't intended to say it so loudly, but she was desperate to continue.

Gill was quite taken aback, and she couldn't help being slightly amused. Andy had never usually dared to interrupt her. She hoped Janet wouldn't make a habit of it however. "Sorry, what?"

"Holly was hit over the head with a blunt object."

"Yes?"

"Well, it's just a thought" she paused "Actually, it's a one of Rach's again" Gill smiled to herself, typical Sherlock! "We never found a murder weapon, and we also never found the metal post that the lorry knocked out."

"You think that's the murder weapon?" Gill raised her eyebrows, considering it. "Is it not still in shot from the CCTV?"

Janet shook her head" The lorry knocked it out of the ground and out of the range of the camera. Lee just had a word with a couple of the lads from the yard- the ones with alibis" she added quickly. "and one of them said that they were sure they'd noticed it when they went home on Thursday evening, because apparently he was going to take it to prop up something in his garage" Gill frowned and Janet shook her head with a sympathetically confused expression "I know, I haven't got a clue what he meant. I mean, the thing is hollow! Anyway, when he got there on Friday morning it was gone and he assumed Gabby had moved it."

"Maybe she did"

"Well that's something Rachel can ask her. She's gone back in with her now. But the thing is, if we're not sure that Gabby did do it; and so far she can't give us means or motive, then I don't want to suggest a possible murder weapon or she'll lap it up"

"True" said Gill sighing. "Ok, well I want that metal post searched for in all the surrounding places it could've been dumped. And..." Gill smiled "keep up the good work cock!"

"Yes Ma'am" said Janet smiling back at Gill before turning around and walking out of the office.

Gill leaned back on her chair, watching Janet pass the window of her office opposite as she so often did. I wonder if we'll ever find it, Gill thought to herself. The chances are minute, and even then it could take days. We haven't really got enough time. We need something now, right now.

"Ma'am" Janet had returned and was knocking on the door.

"Yes?" Gill turned to face her, a little surprised.

"A metal post was found dumped on the River just off of Deansgate by an environmentalist who was doing some study on wildlife by the river." Janet shook her head, she didn't really understand some people. Clearly Gill felt the same. "Anyway, apparently she noticed some dried blood on the end of it and took it in to the local police station at around 2 O' Clock this morning." Gill looked bemused. "Maybe the environment is more appropriate for analysis at that time?" Janet said, shrugging. Gill scoffed. "Anyway" Janet continued "It looks like it was only dumped there recently as the mud by the river hasn't dissolved the dried blood at all. God knows how this person knew it was blood, but thank heavens they did. It's been tested and a match for Holly Wainwright has been made, which is why we've just been informed." Gill was staring at Janet in disbelief. When was it ever that easy?

"So, I was about to send every uniform in the district out looking for a murder weapon...and it was found by a tree hugger feeding their bizarre hobby at stupid o'clock this morning?"

"In a nutshell"

Gill shook her head. Life continued to baffle her. "Is Rachel still in with Gabby?"

"They've taken a break. She's getting nowhere with questioning."

"So, have we got any prints off the post?"

"Two sets" said Janet, her eyes blue were gleaming. Gill was going to like this! "One was from Miss Environment, obviously."

Gill rolled her eyes. Life would be a lot easier without members of the public stroking her evidence. "And the other?" Why did Janet insist on keeping her in suspense.

"Ah well, this is where it gets interesting"

Gill was shaking her head, she'd been a police officer for nearly 28 years. "try me?"

"Well" said Janet. "The other DNA trace isn't on file. But..."

To be continued...