Chapter 28
For the logged in reviewers, I am not ignoring you. FF is messed up and won't let me respond to them. So here is your thank you. Hopefully, FF will fix its issues and I will be able to respond again soon. Hopefully, fingers crossed.
To the guest reviewers, these are not the same characters we know and love from the show. This is an alternate universe where their relationship didn't develop at the snail's pace we saw over the course of 7 series. Laura didn't welcome him back with open arms then patiently move him along. She had a child to protect. I am very sorry that you don't like my characterization of them but this isn't the Lewis we know. This is a dark, twisty version where things went slightly askew. I opted to explore something a bit different because it intrigued me. All of my stories have angst in them and they almost always go M.
The series never explored the darker emotional aspects of the characters. Across 7 (now 8 series), we rarely saw an exploration of any of the characters. I like to fill in those gaps. Sometimes it is fun and fluffy and sometimes, it is a hot mess of emotions of flawed characters who, let's be honest, are crappy communicators on the best of days. Imagine how horrible they would be with the addition of a child to the mix.
Laura was boxing the last of the things from her office. Technically, she had two more days but she wanted all of her items to be able to go with the movers the next day.
A soft tap at her door, made her turn around, "I guess this makes it real."
She smiled, "It was always real, James."
He shrugged, "Perhaps, but I thought…you might change your mind."
"No, James. There's nothing left for me here."
"Have you heard from him?"
She shook her head, "Have you?"
"No, Innocent says he has a stomach virus."
She raised her eyebrow, "Do you think he's OK?"
"I don't know, he's not answering his phone. I tried going by, he didn't answer the door."
"Maybe he went to visit Lyn."
Another shrug, "Maybe. Anyone around here throwing you a leaving party?"
She laughed, "Why, are you volunteering for the job?"
"I'll have you know I throw a good party."
"I've been to your flat, James. A bottle of whisky and a package of crisps does not a party make."
"Perhaps just the three of us then. A quiet dinner and a walk in the park."
She nodded, "Sounds more like it."
He motioned to the door, "I better get on with it. Rumor has it the Inspector is returning today."
"I'm short staffed this week. If you can manage not to have any murders; that would be great."
Waving over his shoulder he laughed, "I'll work on that."
Robbie was sitting at his desk when James returned. "Good morning, sir. Welcome back."
"Hmmm."
"Have you fully recovered from your virus?"
Robbie looked up, momentarily confused, "Yeah."
"Did you visit Lyn during your time off?"
"I'm not really sure how that's your business Sergeant."
James took a step back, "Sorry, just making conversation. Can I get you anything?"
Going back to his computer screen, he muttered, "No, I don't need anything from you."
James settled behind his desk, curious as to what was wrong with Robbie. He knew he'd promised to try to keep murder at bay but at this moment he desperately wanted a nice, dead body to contend with.
It had been a long, slow day. James had cleared away a mountain of paperwork in absolute silence. Any attempts at conversation had been promptly shut down. An offer for lunch had gone unanswered. At this point, he was merely counting the minutes until he could call it a day.
He was returning from a cigarette break when Jean pulled him into her office. "How has the Inspector been today?"
"Taciturn."
"Well that must be quite upheaving for you as that is generally your demeanor. Is there trouble in paradise?"
James simply stared at her, "Why don't you tell me? I sense this isn't a social call."
Taking off her glasses, she fixed him with a steely glare. "He's asked to be assigned a new sergeant. Any thoughts on why that might be?"
"I have no bloody idea. I haven't seen nor heard from the man since Laura and Matty were taken. He hasn't bothered to respond to her or me in over two weeks. So you tell me, why does he want a new sergeant?"
She watched his mini rant and realized he really was clueless, "All he said was he didn't feel there was the trust required for a partnership such as yours."
James gaped at her. His mouth opening and closing, unable to put words in any semblance of an order. Finally, he gave up and walked out. "James, I've denied the request for now." He stopped at the door, "I need you to keep an eye on him. Report back to me if you sense anything amiss."
"Where did he go?"
Sensing this was not a time to be coy, she sighed, "Bottom of a whisky bottle."
"There's no need to deny the request. We'll work out the rest of this week and then you can reassign me."
"No, James. I don't know what's caused this but I won't sweep it under the rug. Someone needs to keep an eye on him and with Dr. Hobson leaving I'm afraid that falls to you."
"And if I choose to leave?"
She held her breath. She'd been afraid it would come to this, "Then the Met will be lucky to have you. I know a few people, I'll be happy to make some calls." She could see his hand tighten on the doorframe, "James, don't fall in love with her."
He turned to her, anger flaring deep within him. "I already love her. But I am not in love with her. She and Matty and her brother are all of the family I have. It's bad enough that miserable sod has driven her away. Now he has the nerve to say he can't trust me."
She nodded, "Family comes in the oddest of places."
"I was never looking for it."
"But it found you." He nodded, fighting tears. "Perhaps the Inspector is jealous."
"Of what?"
"I've seen you with them. It's quite the familial bond. Someone who's not quite sure of his place in the world might misinterpret your closeness."
James had been sitting at his desk since his conversation with Jean. He'd returned to find Robbie gone, no note. He couldn't believe Robbie had asked to have him reassigned.
"Sergeant, are you still on duty?"
He looked up from his desk, "Might as well be, why?"
"There's a body, Lady Matilda's."
Pushing himself up, "Call Inspector Lewis."
"I tried sir, his mobile has been disconnected."
"I'll go round and get him. Can you call Dr. Hobson?"
The PC nodded, "Crappy way for her to end her tenure here."
Grabbing his jacket and shrugging into it, "You have no idea."
Robbie walked around the store adding a few things to his basket. None of the items were what he really wanted but he knew how serious Innocent was. He'd have to stay on the straight and narrow for a few weeks, make her think he was heeding her caution.
As he turned the corner for the checkout, he saw the last person he'd wanted to see. "Something tells me you are not here for the two for one dandelion and burdock."
James trying to control his anger took the basket and relayed the facts, "Suspicious death, Lady Matilda's college." He put the basket with the others as he headed for the door.
"Lady Matilda's?"
"Last all female college in Oxford, just voted to go mixed."
Annoyed at James in general and now his smug tone, "I know what it is. So…"
"Holding a Gaudy. The information's a bit sketchy, but one of the guests has been found dead." At his car, James opened the door, "You can follow me." Without further interaction, he sat, closed the door and started his car.
Robbie stared at him for a moment. Innocent must have given James the news. It was what he wanted but a small part of him couldn't help but mourn the closeness he'd once had with James.
Arriving at the college, he was swept back in time. This place would always be irrevocably tied to when he lost Val. He struggled, trying to push the thoughts away. Saw James walk toward the scene, asking for details. He tried to focus on the sound of James' voice, anything that would keep his demons at bay.
"Sir?"
James' voice broke through his reverie and he moved towards it. "Do we know who she was?"
"Poppy Toynton, 32, alumna. Worked here as a development officer. Parents from Whitby. Oh, she shared a house with one of the dons from here, a Diana Ellerby, in Bicester. The accommodations been given over to the guests for the weekend."
They rounded the corner to the stairwell. Laura looked up. It was the first time she'd seen Robbie in almost three weeks. He'd never responded to her texts. She didn't even know if he knew she was leaving. "Boys."
Robbie climbed the stairs. He could do this, keep things strictly professional. She'd made her choice and it wasn't him. "Doctor, what've we got?"
She looked askance at him, trying to remember the last time he'd called her doctor at a scene. Annoyance clouded her voice, "I can't speak for you, obviously, but what I've got is indigestion after another spoilt supper." She looked down at the body, trying to keep the hurt and anger from her voice, "What she's got, at first glance anyway, appears to be a broken neck."
"From the fall?"
She walked past him, needing to put some distance between them, "Too early to say if it was a fall. According to uniform, there are signs of a break-in upstairs. Scene of the crime are taking a look now."
Kneeling next to the body, he looked around, "What time was she found?"
James, standing next to Laura on the lower level, answered, "Senior Porter called it in about an hour and a half ago."
Removing her gloves, Laura nodded in confirmation, "That'd agree with time of death between 9:00 and 10:00."
He looked down at them, side by side, a united front. "But it was the porter that found her, was it?"
Looking up at him, James continued, "No, it was one of the first year students, doubling up as a waitress tonight for a bit of pin money." He pulled his notebook from his pocket, "Samantha Coyle."
Robbie looked around one last time then went in search of the witness.
"Sir, did you want me to come with you?"
"No, I've no need of you Sergeant."
Author's note: This will be the last episode I tie to a chapter. At the conclusion of Old, Unhappy Far Off Things, we will leave Lewis land and delve into the darker recesses of my mind. That should be scary.
