Nice speedy update for you! Thank you Hollie you lovely lady! Enjoy!
Paramedics skidded into the toilets, hastily getting out all the equipment they needed to try and save Joe's life. As they began their assessment and treatment Will filled them in on the history and what they knew so far. The paramedics thanked them and took over.
"Nate, who's in there? Is the weapon in there?" Callum asked, getting to his feet, not seeing the hesitant look on Nate's face.
"Yeah the weapon's in there. But...it's Andy sarge. Andy is in there. He doesn't look too good either." Nate said. Callum's face dropped, disbelief settling in his stomach. Nate jumped off of the toilet, coming to stand beside Callum.
"Is he out of the way of the door?" Callum asked. Nate nodded. Callum strode forward, kicking the cubicle door open. At the sound of the big bang Andy jolted awake, mumbling incoherently. "Andy?"
Andy turned at the sound of his name, looking up at Callum through narrowed eyes, "Callum, is that you? I don't feel so good." he groaned, his voice sounding like sandpaper scratching on wood. It was then that Andy looked down, spying the knife and the blood on his hands. His eyes widened, his jaw going slack. "What the hell? Have I been stabbed? Oh Jesus."
Callum, Nate and Will all looked at each other, "No Andy, you haven't been stabbed, we don't think. Just sit there a minute alright? Some of our officers are on the way and they'll take you to the station to sort you out and ask you some questions." Will explained.
"But who's blood is that? Why am I going to the station? Callum?" Andy babbled, looking at his sisters fiancée in fear.
"Just calm down, it won't be long now." Nate assured him.
"Nate, ring the station again, check where that squad car is. Will stay here, I need to ring Jess." Callum said stonily.
Callum walked outside the club, slumping down onto the pavement and pulling his phone out. He dialled Jess' mobile number, waiting for her to pick up.
"Callum? Hello?" she mumbled sleepily down the phone.
"Alright darlin'? Had any more of those pains?" he asked.
"No, none. It's midnight Callum, why're you calling? You're not drunk are you?" she asked with a light laugh.
"No, I'm not. Listen to me, something's happened. Don't panic, and don't say anything until I'm finished talking ok?" Callum said.
There was a pause on the end of the line before Jess finally answered, her heart tightening, "What's happened? Is it Andy?"
"Shh, listen. Some girl at the bar found a guy stabbed in the toilets. We went in, called the paramedics, and tried to stop the bleeding. Nate was checking the toilets for the weapon and he found a knife. But the knife was on the floor of the cubicle, next to Andy. And his hands were covered in blood. A patrol car's been sent out to come and get him and we'll get him down the station to question him. It might have to wait a while thought because he's slaughtered. So I just want to let you know what's happening ok?" Callum informed her.
There was a heavy silence on the end of the line before Jess choked out, "Is he ok? The guy who was stabbed?"
"The paramedics say it's not looking good." Callum said truthfully. Jess let out a sob.
"Jesus Callum. Right, I'm leaving the house now, I'll be at the station in about half an hour." she said, a determined note coming into her voice.
"No, stay at home. It could be hours until anything is done." Callum insisted, getting to his feet as he saw the squad car approach.
"Callum I am not staying at home while my little brother is potentially becoming a suspect for a crime he may not have committed. Look after him until I get there." she said sadly, hanging up. Callum shook his head, putting his phone back in his pocket as he walked to where the squad car was pulling up. Kirsty and Millie got out, meeting him at the entrance to the bar.
"Hi Andy, I'm Kirsty and this is Millie. We're gonna take you down the station, clean you up and ask you a few questions ok?" Kirsty said gently, squatting in front of Andy who was huddled in the corner of the cubicle.
"Am I under arrest?" he asked fearfully.
Kirsty looked back to Callum who nodded grimly. Kirsty sighed as Andy broke down into loud sobs. "Andrew Hunter you're under arrest for the stabbing of Joe Gardiner. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention, when questioned, something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence. Do you understand?" He nodded mutely as Millie cuffed him, leading him out to the car while Kirsty bagged the knife.
"Get him checked in and checked out by FME just in case ok?" Callum instructed. Kirsty nodded before following Millie out.
"Did you tell Jess?" Nate asked.
"I did. She's not happy at all and of course she's coming down to the station." Callum said, rubbing his temples. "Right, I'm getting a cab to the station. Thanks for coming out tonight, I was enjoying myself up until an hour ago."
The whole cab ride to the station was spent with Callum trying to figure out what Andy's role in the stabbing had been. He didn't think that Andy would be capable of such a thing, but all the evidence so far was pointing towards him. Callum paid the cabbie and made his way through to the custody office. As the outside door allowed him entrance, the first thing he saw was Jess sat on a bench, her face drawn, her expression grave. He had never seen her looking so angry and desolate. Jess' heard turned, as if she knew he was coming, and as soon as her eyes met his, her lip trembled and she started to cry. Callum hurried to her, sitting next to her and pulling her close, smoothing her hair down and kissing her temple.
"Come on darlin', it's alright." he whispered.
Jess' tears finally stopped and she swiped them away angrily, "Did he do it?"
"Jess we don't know. Everything is pointing at him so far, but I just can't see him doing something like that. And he's absolutely slaughtered, I'd be amazed if he had the co-ordination to do it!" Callum said honestly.
"Maybe he was trying to help and got stitched up?" Jess suggested hopefully.
"Did you tell your mum and dad?" he asked.
"Yeah. Mum's in pieces and dad is really angry. I said I'd ring them when I knew something. They don't believe he did it, neither do I. He wouldn't do something like that!" Jess said vehemently, taking deep breaths, "I want to see him."
"Jess I don't think that's a good idea. Not after what happened earlier. I don't want that happening again." Callum said, holding her hands lightly.
"Callum I need to see him, to see if he's ok. I need to ask him if he did it." Jess said, her face despairing.
Callum sighed, knowing that Jess wouldn't take no for an answer, "Ok, but ten minutes." They walked up to the desk where Smithy was talking to the night custody sergeant.
"I want to see Andy." Jess stated.
"Jess that's not advisable." Smithy said apologetically.
"Smithy just get the damn keys and take me to my brother." she said, her voice rising. Smithy looked at Callum who just nodded. The night sergeant gave Smithy the keys, who then led Jess to the cell with Andy's name on it.
"I'll wait here ok Jess? Call me if you need me." Callum said, sitting back down on the bench.
"I'll wait outside. Ten minutes." Smithy said with a nod. Jess nodded, waiting for Smithy to unlock the door so she could go in.
Jess gasped as she saw him, and tears filled her eyes again. Andy was dressed in a prison issue grey tracksuit and his face was pale and drawn. He was shaking, huddles up in the corner of the cot, his face pressed to his knees. There were dark marks under his eyes, and a bruise was starting develop on his cheek.
"Andy?" she said tentatively. He looked up at her, tears falling down his cheek, his lip trembling like it used to when he was little.
"I didn't do it Jess. I didn't." he cried. Jess went to him immediately, pulling him tight to her, holding him as his body shook with tears.
"Do you promise me that it wasn't you?" she asked him, stroking down his hair.
"I promise Jess, you know me! I wouldn't ever do anything like that. You do believe me don't you?" he asked, looking up at her.
She hesitated before nodding, "If it wasn't you then who did it Andy?"
"I don't know Jess! All I remember was going into the toilets and see him on the floor and there was so much blood I didn't know what to do. I tried to help him, to stop the bleeding, but I felt sick, really sick. This woman came in and I told her to get help. And that's all I remember before Callum came in. I didn't even see the knife in there until they brought me here. I swear Jess. I swear it wasn't me." Andy said.
"Have you been questioned yet? You need to tell them everything you just told me, because so far it's not looking good for you." she said to him.
"Do you think I did it? Jess I didn't! How many times do I have to say it! I'm your brother Jess!" Andy said, begging her to believe him.
"If this was the other way round you'd be doubting me!" Jess argued, anger building.
"What? No I wouldn't! Come on, you're a cop, help me out! Tell them I didn't do it!" Andy pleaded.
"I can't Andy! That's not the way this works." Jess said, shaking her head at him.
"Well what use are you then?" Andy shouted at her suddenly. Jess stood up, moving back away from him.
"Andy..." Jess began.
"Just GO!" Andy shouted again.
Jess looked at him sadly, "You haven't even asked if the man is ok. Do you even care? Do you care that mum and dad are in pieces over this. All you care about is saving your own skin, like normal. But this time I can't help you." Jess shouted back. Andy glared at her sullenly. Jess clutched her stomach, the pain she had experienced in the evening returning. "Shit that hurts."
"Hey, help me! Jess is in pain or something!" Andy shouted through the door, banging on it with his fists. The door was unlocked, Smithy hurrying in and helping Jess to sit down on the cot, next to Andy. She had her eyes shut and was taking deep breaths, the crease above her eyes deepening as another pain hit.
"Jess are you ok? Do you want me to get Callum?" Smithy asked, crouching in front of her.
"No I'm fine, it's easing now. Just get me out of her." she asked, taking the hand he offered her.
"Jess I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you mad." Andy cried as Jess left the cell. She could hear him crying as Smithy relocked the cell, and it broke her heart, but she knew she couldn't do anything for him now. He had to do it.
Callum stood as he saw her come out of the cell, saw how she was cradling her stomach and how her face bore a look of pain. He strode over, taking her arm and leading her back to the bench, wiping a stray tear from her face.
"Ok?" he asked her.
"No. I don't know what to think. He says he's innocent, and I do believe him, but all the evidence says otherwise. And then he got mad at me and I got mad at him and I had a Braxton Hicks again." she said with a grim smile, leaning back against the wall.
"This has happened before?" Smithy asked after he'd handed the cell keys back to the custody sergeant.
"Yeah last night before I left the house. Jess maybe you should go to hospital, get checked out." Callum suggested.
"No I don't need to. I'm fine. It was just because I was stressed and angry, thats all. Stop worrying." Jess said tiredly.
"Jess go home, go to bed. They'll call you when things start progressing." Smithy said.
"I'm not leaving him here! He's scared and doesn't know what's happening. I can't abandon him." Jess snapped at Smithy. Callum and Smithy looked taken a back, as did the Inspector and Terry who had just entered. "I'm sorry Smithy, I didn't mean to snap."
"It's ok. You can stay, but as soon as you start getting the hint of a pain again, you go home. Understand?" Smithy ordered.
Jess nodded and smiled gratefully at him, feeling bad about her earlier outbursts.
"What's happening then?" Jess asked Gold and Terry, "Please just be honest."
"All the evidence points to Andy except for one thing." Terry began.
"And that is?" Callum probed.
"The knife. It's covered in the victim's blood but the prints on it aren't Andy's. We're running it through the database now seeing if whoever's prints they are are known to us. Stevie and Jo are going through CCTV now and there are a few potential suspects that we're trying to tie in, so once the prints have come back we can get a concrete suspect." Terry explained.
"So it's likely that Andy didn't do it?" Jess asked, feeling bad for the flicker of doubt that she had.
"Obviously we can't rule him out, and we still need to interview him, but from where I'm standing it's unlikely that he's our suspect." Terry said carefully.
"Oh God, and I've just been doubting him and I got mad at him." Jess said, rubbing her forehead where she could feel a headache building.
"He understands Jess, honestly. Now come on, we'll go in the observation room while they interview him." Callum said, leading Jess down the short corridor to the room.
Andy entered the room with his solicitor Karen Marshall. They sat down at the desk and waited for the officers to enter. Jess went up to the glass, pressing her palm against it. Terry and Sam entered the room, sitting opposite Andy and Karen and commencing the interview. Terry turned on the tape recorder and began to speak.
"Interview commencing at two thirty three am. Present are DC Terry Perkins, DI Nixon, suspect Andrew Hunter and his solicitor Ms Karen Marshall. Right Andy, can you tell us where you were last night at eleven pm?"
Andy took a deep breath and nodded, "I was at a club in town. It was called something funny, like X-R, but it had stars and stuff. I'm not entirely sure, sorry."
"That's ok. Can you tell us why you were there?" Sam asked as Terry and Karen jotted notes.
"I was celebrating my sisters fiancee's birthday and stag do." Andy answered, turning towards the glass as if he knew Jess was behind it.
"And how did you meet the victim, Joe Gardiner?" Terry asked.
"I needed to go to the toilet, I was feeling really rough. So I said to one of the guys that I was going and I went off. As I went into the toilet he was just lying on the floor, and I just remember blood everywhere. I tried to help him, I tried to put pressure on his leg, but I felt so sick. I shouted at a woman who was walking past to get help, and then I had to throw up. So I made him push on the wound and the next thing I remember is Callum kicking the cubicle door open. And I had blood on my hands and there was a knife next to me." Andy said, his face taking on a haunted look.
"Callum who?" Sam asked, knowing very well who he meant.
"Sorry, Callum Stone, he's my future brother-in-law." Andy qualified.
"Do you remember seeing anyone else in the toilets as you went in? Or did anyone leave as you went in?" Sam questioned.
Andy frowned, thinking hard, "Now that you say it, there was some guy who was walking out as I got to the toilets. "
"Did you recognise the man?" Terry pushed.
"I'm not sure, although I think I saw him outside the club just before I went in. He was quiet well built, with short light hair, and he had a light coloured top on. Oh God, when he came out the toilets, his top, it had a dark stain on it. Jesus, blood!" Andy exclaimed.
"Ok Andy, can you tell us if this is the man you've just described." Terry said, pushing a photo of a man forward for Andy to look at.
Andy nodded, slowly at first, "Yeah yeah that's him!"
"Are you sure?" Sam checked.
"Yeah, definitely. That's him, that's the guy." Andy said. "Oh, I remembered something else. When your officers were taking me out, I saw him again, but he didn't have that top on. He had a darker one on, and it was long sleeved, not short like before.
"Was he still in the club at that point?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, he was stood next to the bar, by the back by an office I think." Andy answered.
"Ok Andy, that's it. You're free to go." Terry said with a smile. Jess let out a sigh of relief behind the glass.
"You mean I'm not going to jail?" Andy asked in disbelief.
"No, not today. What you've told us corroborates with our evidence so far. So you're free to go." Sam said, gathering all her papers and finishing the interview on the tape. "Jess and Callum can take you home. I think Jess wanted to say something to you."
"I think she said enough to me earlier." Andy said sadly.
"Andy just hear her out ok? She's a good person, you know that, but she's a cop, she's trained to look at the evidence and fit it together. All the evidence pointed at you, that's why she was being cautious with you." Terry explained.
Andy left the room and sat on the bench outside of it, waiting for Sam and Terry to sort out his release. Jess exited the observation room, smiling shyly at Andy. She sat next to him on the bench, both silent for a minute. She slowly took his hand, holding it tightly.
"I'm sorry Andy. I honestly didn't think it was you. I know you. You wouldn't do something like that. It was just, the evidence was confusing, it was pointing at you, don't you see?" Jess said, trying hard to make him see her side, "You're my little brother and I'll love you no matter what."
Andy's anger faded and he turned to his sister, grasping her and hugging her tight, "I'm sorry I yelled at you. I was just upset and so scared Jess. And I'm sorry I made you have that pain thing. Hey, wow, what was that? Was that the baby?"
Jess grinned, putting Andy's hand over the spot where baby was kicking hard, "Yep, that's your little niece or nephew."
Callum walked over to the siblings and smiled at Andy, "Right come on, your release has been done. Let's get you home."
The following day Jess received a call from Terry saying that they had pulled in the bouncer, Tommy Jones, for murder. His prints were on the knife, he was on CCTV leaving the toilets at the time Joe was stabbed and his bloodied shirt had been found stuffed behind a filing cabinet in the main office. He also told Jess that Joe had died not long after his arrival at hospital due to a shock induced heart attack bought on from rapid blood loss. Jess thanked him and hung up the phone.
"Who was that?" Callum asked.
"Terry. They've arrested the guy and he told me that the victim died in hospital not long after arrival." she said sadly.
"Oh no. I did think it was looking bad as soon as we got in there though. At least they got the right guy though, and Andy is safe." Callum said, handing her a cup of tea.
"I guess so. I just feel terrible Callum, I doubted my own brother." she said, voicing what had been plaguing her that whole day.
"Jess you're a cop, like you said the evidence was pointing to him. I thought exactly the same as you, as did everyone else. Now come on, stop beating yourself up. The main thing is you stayed with him and refused to leave, even when you did doubt him. That is what counts, ok?" Callum
Jess nodded and smiled at him, relief that her brother was ok washing over her.