Thanks to Gem, Sam, Ruth and Laura for reviewing the previous chapter! You are such loyal reviewers! Enjoy this one, and know that there are some very interesting chapters coming! ;)

Chapter Twenty Four – Truth

"Did they say where they were coming from?" Stuart asked Meredith as he tapped his foot impatiently on the side of the car door

"I assume the storage locker, he didn't say though. They could have been coming via the station" Meredith answered, glancing towards Stuart from the driver's seat. They were parked up outside the City Rest Hotel, awaiting the imminent arrival of Phil and Sam.

"Do you think we will find anything here?" Stuart asked

"Who knows" Meredith said with a shrug of her shoulders, "Perhaps we could just find her, sleeping off a hangover, full of explanations as to where she has been all this time, and why she has been pretending to be someone else"

"Somehow I doubt it" Stuart complained

"You are not one for optimism today then?" Meredith asked, "Am I boring you? Had enough of Specialist Crimes already?"

"No course not" Stuart answered with a smile, "I just think we should have arrested Steven when we had the chance"

"We'll get another" Meredith said with a smile

"You mean he'll get another, or you'll get another"

"We are a team Stuart, the four of us, at least that's what I've been thinking"

"Phil doesn't do teams, unless they are on a football field" Stuart said jokingly

Meredith laughed, as Sam and Phil pulled up behind them, "Here are our other players then"

Stuart laughed, and the two of them climbed out of the car.

"Hey" Phil called in Meredith and Stuart's direction as he and Sam wandered to meet the two of them on the pavement outside the hotel.

Sam glanced up towards the bright sign, she wondered what she would find here.

"So did you find anything at the hotel?" Stuart asked

"We certainly did" Phil announced proudly, "We found a letter from Jessica, written since she's been missing, you were called my brunette friend" he said turning and smiling towards Meredith.

"I was?" Meredith asked confused

"What Phil is trying to say, is that Jessica seems to have known that the two of you were there the whole time, but she writes that she is sure that Steven didn't realise" Sam said, filling in the gaps

"Oh" Meredith answered, "Do you think we should tell the Guv?" She asked towards Phil

"Umm no" Phil answered, "The later he knows the better"

"Come on then" Stuart said, as he headed up the path towards the entrance to the hotel.

"Hi" Sam said to the receptionist, as the four of them filed inside, "DI Nixon, DS Turner Sun Hill and DS Hunter and DS Baxter Specialist Crimes, we need to see the room that a Miss Jessica Davidson, or Miss Morag James has been staying in for the past few days"

"Umm sure" the receptionist replied, a little overwhelmed by the sight of four police officers flashing their warrant cards. "We have had a Morag James here, she checked out this morning"

"Has the room been cleaned?" Sam asked quickly

The receptionist looked towards the computer, and then to her wrist where her watch was, "Not sure, possibly, or possibly not. She was in room 34D, take the stairs to the left, and then it's the fourth floor, three rooms along from the stairwell, this pass key will open the door" She said, as she handed the small white card to Stuart, who took it with a smile.

"Thank you" Sam replied for the four of them, and they headed up towards the stairwell.

Stuart swiped the key along the lock, and then pushed the door open. He glanced around the room, and then called backwards "The bed is unmade"

"Right, we need to check everything then" Meredith said, as she followed Stuart into the room, reaching into her pocket and pulling out purple gloves.

Sam glanced at the back of Meredith's head, her brown hair sparkling under the small sunlight that was outside, she wanted to talk to Meredith alone, and perhaps this was her best chance. She followed Meredith into the room, and then looked around, apart from the unmade bed, nothing else looked touched.

"Stuart, Phil you two check out here. DS Baxter and I will check the bathroom"

"Guv" Stuart answered, and Phil nodded, as he threw the duvet onto the floor, and began to look under the sheets.

Sam smiled, and then headed into the bathroom, waiting as Meredith followed behind her. Sam then closed the door, and then leant against it, bending over to look underneath the faucet and into the bathtub, there was nothing there.

Meredith pulled open the mirrored cupboards of the bathroom cabinet, it was also empty, except for the standard hotel room products.

"Nothing here" Meredith said, as she went for the door handle.

"Wait" Sam said, she needed to know about her and Phil's relationship, she needed to know what had happened between Phil and Meredith, and there was only the two of them in this bathroom.

"What? Do you see something?" Meredith asked as she turned her head, trying to look where Sam was looking

"No, but I need to ask you something?" Sam said quietly

"This isn't work related is it?" Meredith asked, picking up on the change in Sam's behaviour

"No, it isn't. But it's something that I need to know, I don't care but I just need to know, have you slept with Phil?" she asked quietly, knowing that of course deep down she cared far too much.

Meredith blinked, and looked towards this small blonde woman, no wonder Meredith had stood no chance with Phil, he was in love with this woman, and from the question she had just been asked, then Sam was in love with him too.

Sam looked at Meredith expectantly, wondering what her answer would be, she knew that she could have come right out and asked Phil, she would have believed him, whatever he said, but this was less embarrassing, after all Sam had never slept with Meredith and then disappeared before she woke.

"No, I never did" Meredith said, "It's not like I didn't want too, he's a good looking man. I know that he dated someone when he first arrived, but as far as I know there has been no-one else, well not me that's for sure"

Sam released the breath that she didn't know she'd been holding, "Thank you" she said quietly, "You won't mention this to him, will you?"

"No I won't" Meredith said smiling at Sam, as Sam turned away from her, and began to open the door, "But Sam" Meredith continued, as she reached out for Sam's shoulder, "But perhaps you should?"

Sam smiled, but didn't say anything, she just pulled the door open and wandered out into the room once more, looking around at the mess that Stuart and Phil had made, "Find anything?" she asked

"Nope" Phil said with a grin, his head poking out from behind the end of the bed.

Sam looked down at her watch, the day was almost over, and there had been some good work today, they at least knew that Jessica was alive, and they knew where she had been, but she wasn't in this room, which didn't mean that the case was over, far from it in fact, but at least one of her questions had been answered. She turned to look at the three of them, "Come on then, back to the nick".

Please review x