"No sir, still nothing to connect the murders to each other, except for the brutal nature of them."
Sitting in the driver's seat of their car while Holmes spoke into her phone, Watson could only hear one-half of the conversation Holmes was having with their boss, but she had a pretty good idea on what was being said on the other end.
"We're still treating the cases as separate investigations," Holmes said. "But we're also keeping in mind they could have been committed by the same person."
She rolled her eyes at Watson as she listened in. "Actually no, as things are at the moment, we do have two separate suspects that look good for each murder, but both those suspects also have potential motives to have committed the other murder and that needs further investigation."
She stayed silent while he spoke. "That's right, we have charged Const. Rosetta for assaulting Det. Watson and he's firmed as our main suspect in Jack Holden's murder. Unfortunately, all we have on him at the moment though, is a couple of calls he made to Jack the night he was murdered and we've already confirmed with officers on duty that night, that Angelo did indeed call Jack about a file, so that's his first call accounted for, but we have no real way to confirm whether Angelo was lying about what the second call was about or not."
Holmes tapped her fingers on the dashboard, before answering his next question. "Based on the evidence at hand, Joey Collins is still our main suspect for Charlie Buckton's murder." She held the phone away from her ear a little distance while he ranted.
"We haven't arrested her yet, because I don't believe we have a strong enough case against her and I want to make sure that when the time does come to make an arrest in this investigation, that we have enough evidence to get a conviction." She held the phone away again.
"Yes sir, I know the media and the Brass are on your back and demanding results, but unless you want a half done case and for us to risk arresting the wrong person, then we can't rush this or we run the risk of screwing up both investigations."
Holmes didn't speak for the next minute, before she replied. "Yes sir, we'll get all the paperwork we have together on both cases and fax it through to you as soon as we get back to the station." She flipped her phone shut.
"That went well," Watson murmured amusedly.
"He seems to expect us to pull arrests out of our arses just so he can look good," Holmes complained. "And he's given us two weeks to start showing results."
Watson took that to mean that they had two weeks to make an arrest. "And after two weeks?" she asked.
"He's sending in the reinforcements."
Watson suppressed her annoyance at that news. "Did he say who?"
"Robertson and his pet Doogie."
Watson quite liked Det. Const. Amy Graves. She was nice, unassuming and even thought her very straight and slightly boring colleague was kind of cute, but her partner was another matter. Few within the Force liked Det. Sgt Robert Robertson; he was arrogant, abrasive and just plain annoying and what made it worse, he could also be incredibly charming and because he was damn good at his job, a lot of his insufferable behaviour was overlooked and would continue to be as long as the results kept coming.
"Two weeks might not be enough time," Watson said.
"I know and it's probably a good thing I didn't mention our doubts about Angelo."
They'd spent their coffee break earlier discussing Angelo's recent behaviour, both of them reaching a similar conclusion about him; he had a temper and had proven to be easily provoked, which seemed at odds with their killer, who appeared calm and meticulous, leaving nothing to chance. It might not mean anything, but it was giving them cause to doubt.
Holmes glanced at her partner. "Have you ever seen Angelo like this?"
Watson shook her head. "He was pissed when he found out I was gay and did and said some stupid things, but nothing that had me scared or thinking he was losing the plot."
"If he is Jack's killer, then maybe the stress of what he's done is finally getting to him and that is why he's now coming apart," Holmes wondered aloud. "And the way he was talking about Martha still worries me. He seems to have slipped a bit from reality, convinced himself that Martha would have eventually chosen him over her husband, which only adds to the argument he was obsessed with her."
"Giving him the perfect motive," concluded Watson. "The problem is though, Jack's death was so extreme, would he really risk losing Martha by killing her husband in such a barbaric way and he'd have to have known he'd be a suspect once word got out about the affair?"
"Obsessed people don't always think rationally," Holmes said. "Though it doesn't prevent them from planning, plotting and implementing their little machinations to get what they want, especially if they've convinced themselves the feelings are reciprocated and in Martha's case, they were. Maybe not to the extent Angelo believes, but they were returned and for someone like Angelo, that might just be enough to convince him that getting rid of Jack was the right thing to do while at the same time telling himself that Martha would have chosen him anyway."
"How do we prove it though?"
"Tox screens still aren't back yet, but if they confirm the drugs the doctor suspects were used, then we have a connection between the theft of the drugs and our killer and we follow that trail."
"I thought we were looking at Joey for that?"
"We are, but if it turns out a third party stole those drugs or that Joey did steal the drugs, only she then sold them on, then we still have to follow the trail and with any luck, that might lead back to Angelo."
Watson took her eyes momentarily off the road to look at Holmes. "You're not suggesting that Joey stole the drugs, then passed them onto Angelo, who then used them in Jack's murder?" Watson said. "Next you'll be suggesting that they did each other a favour; Angelo killed Charlie for Joey while she got rid of Jack for him."
Holmes chuckled. "Ok, maybe my imagination is running away with me a bit there, but we have two murders, so we either have one killer or two, we have stolen drugs and evidence that a scalpel was used in one of the murders, which suggests someone connected to the hospital, ie. Joey, yet despite his apparent unhinged state, Angelo is by far our strongest suspect for Jack's murder, but if so, then how did he get access to the drugs and equipment?"
"Medical equipment like scalpels can easily be obtained from a medical supply place, but it does look like the drugs came from the hospital, not that it has to have been Joey on the inside," Watson pointed out.
"No it doesn't," Holmes agreed. "Like I said, there could be someone else involved in the theft of the drugs, because there is a huge black market for those types of drugs, but if that was the case, then it's a hell of a coincidence that those drugs were stolen just before the first murder and were then most likely used for the second. Of course, if the killer wasn't the one who personally stole the drugs, then there's still the chance the person who did it, is an accomplice to our killer and so stole the drugs for that specific purpose and that person could very well prove to be our best chance of catching the killer."
"First we'd have to identify him or her, if there was such a person."
"If Angelo is our killer and had an accomplice, who would you suspect that of being?"
"Honestly, I have no idea," admitted Watson. "Jack and Martha were the two people he was closest too and I don't think either of them would have stolen the drugs."
"What if Martha is only playing at being the distraught widow and has been in on this with Angelo from the beginning?"
"Then she's a lot better actress than he is an actor," Watson replied. "Because she certainly seems completely devastated by Jack's death and her animosity toward Angelo seems very real. Besides, I don't think she'd have that easy of access to the drugs, which you'd think any accomplice would most likely need." Though she had heard from general gossip, that Martha had been visiting the hospital quite regularly in the past month, but she'd still need to get the access code to the cabinet.
"That's all true, still, it's a theory we can't completely dismiss."
"At this rate, the whole town will be a suspect," muttered Watson.
"They already are," Holmes said bemusedly. "It's just that we're only concentrating on the obvious ones right now."
"Sally, there really is no need for you to stay," Joey told her sister. "Morag will be here with me."
"I'm just here for the moral support," Sally said. "And you owe me."
Joey narrowed her eyes at her sister. "We're not kids anymore," she said to her. "Sisterly blackmail doesn't work now."
"Fine, then you won't have a problem with me going ahead and telling Morag what that cop did." She folded her arms and stared smugly at her sister.
"The Detective didn't do anything."
"She spoke to you without your lawyer present and we both know how Morag will feel about that should I tell her, so it's your choice Joey; I tell Morag or you let me stay."
"Ooh, I hate when you do this," muttered Joey.
"That's what being a big sister is about."
"Yeah, a right pain in my arse."
"I could say the same about you little sister." She put her arm across Joey's shoulders. "I know you think you can handle this on your own, but there is no need for you to. Both Pippa and I are here for you and while I do understand why you're worried about involving us, I really do wish you'd lean on us more."
"It's not my way."
"I know and your independence and strength is one of the things we love about you, but this is an extremely serious situation you're in Joey and with you also having to deal with Charlie's death, I just don't think you're coping as well as you want us to believe you are."
Joey didn't want to admit it out loud, but her sister was right. "Fine, you can stay but you're still not moving in."
"Yet," Sally said with a grin.
"Oh no, this particular blackmail only works once," Joey warned her.
Parking at the curb in front of Joey's house, Watson winced slightly as she got out of the car.
"Are you ok Watson?" asked Holmes.
She nodded. "My arm has just stiffened up a bit from sitting around for too long this morning."
"After we speak to Joey, you should take the rest of the day off."
"I prefer to work."
"Work is most likely going to involve wading through a forest of paperwork to get ready for the boss this afternoon, so if anything, that means you're going to be sitting around for a lot longer."
Watson scrunched her nose up at the idea of paperwork.
"Seriously Watson, you were hurt yesterday, so you're entitled to take some time off."
"I'll think about it."
"I heard you made an arrest in relation to the investigation," Morag said the moment the two Detectives were through the door.
"If you're referring to Angelo Rosetta, then he was arrested and charged with assaulting a police officer and not in relation to the investigation into Jack Holden's death." It pleased Holmes to know that Morag Bellingham's contacts weren't always 100% reliable and she could see a flicker of annoyance in Morag's eyes as she realised the same thing.
On hearing about Angelo, Joey looked toward Watson, realising she must have been the police officer he assaulted going by what they had spoken of the day before. How awful for her, she thought, to be hurt by someone she'd once been involved with. She also noticed how Watson seemed to be favouring her arm a little, so she was obviously still feeling the effects of the assault. The nurse in her wanted to help or offer some advice, but she kept her tongue; it might be a little hard to explain to Morag how she knew about the Detective's injury, let alone how pissed off her sister would be if she was nice to Watson.
"Now Joey, are you ready to talk to us?" asked Holmes and Joey nodded.
"Just remember to keep your questions to the theft of the drugs," Morag forcefully said.
"As if you'd let us forget," Holmes muttered loud enough for them all to hear.
Joey saw Watson roll her eyes at the pissing contest going on between the two formidable women and she smiled in agreement. She wasn't fond of Holmes, though in fairness, she barely knew the woman, but putting her and Morag in the same room at the same time really did make things interesting. It was just a shame she was the topic of the conversation.
"Would you like a tea or coffee?" Sally asked the Detectives, a little too sweetly. She had been raised to be polite and welcoming, but making anything for these two really was the last thing she wanted to do.
"That won't be necessary, Sally," Morag answered for them. "They won't be here long enough to finish it."
"Can we just get this over with?" Joey piped in. "Since this does concern me."
"Of course," Morag said and gestured toward the couch for the Detectives.
Watson sat and tried to get comfortable on the couch, which was hard to do, since it felt like a spring or something was digging into her side. She wiggled a bit and Joey smothered a laugh at her obvious discomfort. That couch really was the worst.
"Joey, when was the last time you accessed the drug cabinet at the hospital?" Holmes asked her straight away.
"It would have to have been the day before Charlie died," Joey said, realising that might sound bad for her, but wanting to be completely honest. "I had the day off the next day, then when I turned up to work the day after she died, Sid told me I had been suspended, so I never had a chance to go anywhere near the cabinet then."
"Did you notice anything out of place when you did last access it?"
Joey shook her head. "I followed the usual protocol, as I did every other time and it all looked fine, but then, it's not my job to keep track of how many drugs are in the cabinet at one time, so even if drugs were missing, I really wouldn't have known."
Watson made notes while Holmes asked Joey if she'd ever written down the access code to the drug cabinet or given it to someone else.
"Of course not," Joey said.
Watson looked up from her note taking and found Sally staring at her while her sister and Holmes spoke. She'd half expected Morag to have a go at her for speaking to Joey, but so far, Morag had barely acknowledged her existence, unlike Joey's sister. She felt like the other woman hadn't taken her eyes off from the moment she arrived and it was kind of unnerving.
"Have you ever seen it written down at the hospital, on a scrap of paper or in a desk drawer or anywhere someone else could have seen it?"
"I have seen a couple of people write it down, but they were swiftly dealt with and disciplined and the code was changed."
"Names?"
Joey looked uncomfortable. She hated the idea of being a dobber, but these were the police asking the questions and it was a serious matter if someone's carelessness had led to someone being hurt because of those drugs.
"Joey?" Holmes prodded and Joey said a couple of names which Watson duly noted down. Sid Walker had said much the same thing to them, so at least she knew Joey was being honest, at least about this. "Have you noticed anyone hanging around the room or suspected anyone of misappropriating drugs?"
"No one I work with would have taken them," Joey said confidently. "And there are always people walking by that room, since it's near the nurse's station and just about all hospital staff, patients and visitors have to walk past there, so really, anyone could go into the room without anyone noticing."
It was an answer Holmes expected to hear from everyone interviewed from the hospital, which was going to make their job hard, unless they managed to get lucky or the hospital investigator managed to turn up something.
"How are you with computers?" Watson asked the next question.
Joey's eyes darted to Morag, who nodded at her to answer. "I know what I'm doing with them."
"Does that include hacking?" Holmes took over again.
"That's a little out of my area of expertise," Joey replied. "I'm familiar with all the hospital software and databases, as in how to use them, but anything like programming or hacking is beyond me."
"Ever taken any computer courses?"
"Sure, I took a few in school," she answered. "But Hacking 101 wasn't on the curriculum."
Holmes' lip twitched amusedly at Joey's levity and she pushed on. "How did you feel when you heard Jack saying those things about you? That he was doubting your innocence and that he believed Charlie would have been better off with Brax than with you?"
"Detective Holmes, you were warned about stepping out of line."
"It's ok Morag," Joey said. "I want to answer."
"Oh god Joey," Sally muttered with a long suffering sigh as her sister started to talk.
"It was hard hearing Jack say those things, because he was Charlie's friend and for him to think that of me, it hurt, but he's not the only one I've heard talking about me like that lately or about Martha and Angelo for that matter. It's a small town, people tend to gossip, especially about the juicy stuff and unfortunately, there really is no way to get away from that," Joey said. "Like I said though, it hurt more than angered me and under the circumstances, I couldn't really blame Jack for having doubts, hell, even I had doubts about myself to begin with."
"You don't now?"
"I still can't remember that night, but I loved Charlie and I know in my heart that there is nothing that would make me hurt her."
"Detective," Morag said warningly, not at all happy at the direction she was taking things.
Holmes just smiled disarmingly at Morag as she asked, "Joey, where were you when Jack was killed?"
"Ok, you've pushed my patience Det. Holmes," Morag said, getting to her feet. "Joey's answered your questions in regards to the drugs, now you can go."
"For the moment," Holmes said softly. "Thank you for your cooperation, Joey." She nodded to Morag. "Always a pleasure."
"Likewise," Morag replied with an equal amount of sarcasm.
Watson made to follow after Holmes, but her path was blocked by Sally at the door.
"What is your game with my sister?" Sally hissed at her.
"There is no game," Watson replied. "I'm just here to do a job."
"Well if you think playing nice to her will get her to slip up on something, then you're wrong, because she has nothing to hide and you're just wasting your time."
"Yesterday was a lapse in judgment on my part," admitted Watson. "But there was nothing malicious or intentional about it, I just happened to see her sitting there and that she was clearly upset."
"And so out of the goodness of your heart, you went over to comfort her?"
"Honestly, I don't know why I went over to her instead of walking away like I should have, but I meant no harm by it and there were no ulterior motives on my part."
Sally studied her for a moment. "I think I might actually believe you, but don't ever let it happen again or."
"I know, I know, or you'll sick the big bad Morag Bellingham onto me."
Sally chuckled in reply. "She can be kind of scary when she wants to be."
"Yeah, she can be."
She sighed and glanced back at her sister who was in deep conversation with Morag. "I don't mean to come on heavy, but Joey's under a lot of strain and she's so vulnerable right now."
"And you just want to protect her, I get that," Watson said. "It's admirable on your part, but you need to understand that we're just doing our job and if Joey is innocent, then we can't help her if she isn't totally upfront with us and we're constantly butting heads with her lawyer."
"Morag is there to protect her rights, which considering how you guys have gone after Joey, is exactly where Morag needs to be," Sally said. "I know you're just doing your job and I can respect that, but so is Morag and right now, I'm on her side."
Watson nodded in understanding.
"And just so you know, I haven't said anything to Morag about your impromptu talk with Joey and only because my sister talked me out of it, so I'd advise you to not make me regret my silence."
Watson was surprised; both by Sally's silence and that Joey had been the one to request it. "Yesterday won't happen again," Watson assured her and this time, Sally let her pass.
"What did she want?" asked Holmes once they were both out the door.
"Just a friendly reminder about when I can and can't talk to her sister," Watson replied. "And what was that with those last couple of questions you asked Joey? Morag warned us beforehand she'd shut us down if we strayed off topic, it was the only reason she agreed to us talking to Joey," Watson said as they walked toward the car. "So what happened to playing ball the way she wanted?"
Holmes shrugged. "I know I said that, but hey, it didn't hurt to try and sneak a few in." She hadn't actually believed she'd get anything by Morag, but Joey might have let something slip before Morag could have stopped her and so she'd taken the chance. "Besides, after we were being so agreeable to her demands, I think Bellingham was just waiting for me to throw the odd curve ball in and so I did."
"You two really are as bad as each other."
Holmes beamed at her. "Considering her esteemed reputation, I'll take that as a compliment."
"Figured you would."
"How are you holding up?"
"I'm fine."
"Really?"
"I am, though I might take you up on that offer of taking the rest of the day off."
"I'll drop you off at the hotel on the way back to the Station. And Watson," she looked at her sternly. "Try to relax some."
"Relaxing will probably make my arm stiffen up even more."
"You know what I meant," Holmes said. "Just take it easy, go see your father or something."
"Dad has been bugging me to join him for drinks."
"Good, then go and get pissed and enjoy yourself."
"That's great advice for a cop to give," Watson said with a chuckle. "Especially this early in the day."
"Watson, just go and have fun, that's an order."
"Aye aye ma'am."
"Smartarse," Holmes murmured affectionately.