Disclaimer: I still don't own this slowly dying brand!

Chapter Eleven;
Libey

"How was the family from hell?" Stuart asked as Max and Millie returned, Millie silently sulking as she remembered being forced to apologize. She'd spent the rest of the ride home staring at the dashboard and pretending she hadn't relented. She knew she was right and that something was going on there and to be honest not knowing left her feeling utterly helpless. She hated that feeling.

"Unhelpful," Max responded, barely blinking. Millie glanced up at him but Max gave nothing away about Millie's one-girl campaign to take down Andrea Roxon. "Witness Protection didn't take too well to the idea they sold out their son. They want to relocate them again, keep Samuel, if they find him, away from them for now."

"That's a pretty good idea." Stuart glanced sideways at Millie but when she didn't meet his eye he continued. "Look, Stevie's quickly making new friends down at Kingmarsh and wants me and one lucky person to join her at Libey's Betting Shop on Holt." Stevie had left after Millie had blown up at Andrea, citing a call. Max hadn't even realised she'd gone, too caught in keeping Beth Green and Millie from killing one-another. "Apparently the bookie down there is a good friend of our young pal Mr. Goodwin. A father-like figure in fact."

Max raised an eyebrow at Stuart's typically cryptic response. "His father?"

"No, step-father, but good guess." Stuart grinned proudly. "Now, which one of you is joining me? Kezia's chasing CCTV and Hayleigh is caught up with, well, I don't know but the DI just told me to go find someone else so, any volunteers?"

"PC Brown, go with him." Max said, taking a seat at his desk quickly, not even looking up as he said it. Millie didn't make a face, knowing full well why she'd been ushered from the office, and just nodded.

Stuart glanced between them but said nothing. "Okay Millie, let's roll." He looked at Max as the pair left but the DS was enthralled by a piece of paper and didn't look up. Only problem with Max's acting was that his eyes weren't moving at all. With a brief shake of his head Stuart left.


Stevie had been sitting outside the bookies for twenty minutes before boredom got the better of her and she started talking to herself. It was then that she knew she needed to get out of the car, DS or no. So, flicking open the driver's side door of her little red CID hatch, she stepped out into the sunshine, thankful summer was approaching faster than usual.

Stepping round the car towards the sidewalk she was about to lean against the brick wall opposite and pretend to be making a phone call when a large man walked out of the bookies, stopped and motioned her over. Busted! Withdrawing her warrant card she crossed the road.

He wrinkled his nose as she got close enough to talk to. "Do I smell some bacon?"

She waved the warrant card. "No, Red Delicious." Stevie smiled, holding up a wrist for him to smell. He just frowned deeper. "Anyway, from the look of things you only smell pies." She gave him a hearty prod in the belly with every second word and adopted a child-like tone. "Lots and lots of pies." He slapped her hand away. "Now, I'm assuming you're this place's proprietor?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

Stevie flicked out her notepad to buy some time, even though she knew full well who he was. "Paul Libey, married to Genevieve Goodwin and step-father of Bryce Goodwin?" He grunted, the closest he seemed able to come to 'yes, that's me'. Stevie smiled. "Great, good to know I'm in the right place."

He seemed to have caught on to her stalling though. "Waiting for some back-up Detective Constable?" She shrugged nonchalantly. "You've nothing to fear from me."

Stevie laughed. "Oh I don't doubt that Mr. Libey, you look like you haven't run in months. It's your friends I worry more about."

"You're looking for Bolt?" Stevie's eyes snapped up from the pavement. "Yeah, I heard he went AWOL, right after I lent him £10,000 too the scummy bastard."

Stevie's eyes narrowed. "How do you know him?"

The question was quick but Libey had already predicted it and came with a watertight response, his lips just as watertight as he smiled through his lie. "He's a client Constable. I can show you the books if you'd like."

"Client? That what you call them?"

"Patrons, customers, whichever you'd prefer." Stevie noticed from the corner of her eye the deep blue car belonging to Sun Hill CID. Stuart and Millie stepped out not long after. "Whatever you call them, they pay the rent, unless they're Bolt of course."

"So, you often lend £10,000 to your 'client's then?"

Libey gave a toothy smile. "Just the pretty ones."

"DS Turner, PC Brown, Sun Hill." Stuart stepped up behind Stevie and the pair flicked out their warrant cards. "Mr. Libey?"

Libey nodded. "A PC, DC and DS? It's like a collection! All I need now is an Inspector."

"Keep being unhelpful Mr. Libey and I'm sure we can organize that." Stevie grinned somewhat coldly.

He laughed. "Oh you're growing on me small one." He turned his attention to Stuart as Stevie scowled. "Look, as I told DC Midget here, I know Craig Bolt, he's one of my customers and I recently lent him £10,000."

"Out of the kindness of his heart." Stevie added spitefully.

Libey glanced sideways at her. "You know, my wife had a Maltese Terrier like you once." Stevie stayed still, just glaring. Libey looked back at Stuart. "I've lent Bolt small amounts before and he'd always repaid them. I trusted he'd repay this. But the first repayment was due three days ago and there's been nothing." He shrugged. "Probably used it to skip the country."

"Airports and docks are being watched." Millie piped up.

"Oh good," Libey muttered facetiously, "there's no way through now."

"You know Mr. Libey, I wouldn't be quite so cocky if I were facing charges for funding illegal activities." Stuart responded without even batting an eyelid at Libey's arrogance.

And Libey didn't care what Stuart said either. "Prove I know what's it's being used for." He leant forward a little and lowered his voice. "Just prove it DS Turner."

Stuart smiled. "I plan to."