Series -, Episode -: Red Flag
Date: Thursday 20th August 2009
Investigating Officers: DC Jo Masters, DC Hannah McKay, DI Samantha Nixon
Sam walked into the briefing room and looked between the two DCs quickly. Hannah had her head in her hands and Jo was frowning at the pictures that had been pinned to the board with her hands on her hips. The DI wondered whether the tense atmosphere in the room was solely to do with the case, but decided against querying it.
"OK, so what's the problem?" She asked, leaning in the doorway and glancing between the two detectives who had snapped their heads around to look at her. "Callum tells me that you've booked the man we thought was Daniel Quentin into custody as Terry Archer. Why?"
"Ask Hannah." Jo suggested with a shrug, clearly not having any more idea of what had happened than her superior.
"Hannah?"
"His name is Terry Archer. He's a dealer."
"And you know this because…"
"My parents." Hannah finished the sentence in the way the other two women suspected she would. "My dad had a job – the only job he'd ever had – when I was twelve. He got clean and I was actually happy for a while. But then Terry turned up and started taking dad out to the pub… from there everything just spiralled downwards."
"You blame him for your dad getting back on the drugs."
"It was his fault."
Sam sucked her breath in through her teeth. "Jo, you and I will go and speak to him." Seeing Hannah open her mouth to argue, the DI shook her head resolutely. "No, Hannah, you can't be impartial in a situation like this; no one could."
"Ma'am, I–"
"No." Sam dismissed her firmly. "Stevie's got details about a break in on Helliker Way. I went you to go and assist her."
Exhaling sharply, seeing that her superior had a point, the younger woman nodded stiffly and strode out of the briefing room in search of her friend. Jo and Sam stayed quiet for a moment before exchanging a look and following her path out of the room and through CID. Hannah pointedly ignored them as they walked past Stevie's desk, where the redhead was perching on the surface listening to the DS outlining the case.
It took them a long time to convince Terry Archer, or Daniel Quentin as he finally admitted his real name was, to tell them the truth. It appeared that he had been living a double life for over twenty years, switching between identities as it suited him to do so. Apart from Archer and Quentin, a search of the man's flat had uncovered numerous other identities that the man regularly used. Almost all of them flagged up when Jo ran them through CRIMINT.
With no doubt that the CPS had more than enough to play with, Sam terminated the interview and they led him back to the cells. Jo grinned at Callum when he asked whether they had managed to get a confession out of him, informing the Sergeant that they didn't need to; there was more than enough evidence to charge him whether he confessed to having anything to do with the drugs they'd found at the Petting Zoo or not.
The two women were on their way back up to CID when they passed Stevie and Hannah heading down the stairs in the opposite direction. Sam was just about to inform the younger woman how the interview had gone, when Superintendent Heaton called her from the corridor that led to CID.
"Coming, Sir." Hannah called in response, shooting Stevie an exasperated look, before jogging back up the stairs and striding towards his office.
Since the evening where she had dodged going on a date with him, Heaton apparently hadn't got the message or given up. She had been called into his office on a regular basis to provide him with updates on what was going on in CID. Stevie had teased her about being the new press officer or the fact that she was, possibly, having a secret affair with the Superintendent.
"Sir?"
"Ahh, Hannah, sit down." Heaton commanded with a smile. She did as he said, crossing her legs and staring at him in mild confusion. "How is the Finderson case going?"
"We wrapped that one up earlier, Sir." She informed him quickly. "Callum and Sally brought Jackson Jarvis in this morning and we managed to find the stolen items when we searched his flat. His prints are all over them, so it was really a cut and dried case."
"Good, well done."
"It wasn't all me." She said quickly. "Uniform did most of the legwork."
"Don't be so modest." He said smiling. "What are you working on now?"
Slightly uncomfortably, Hannah shifted in her seat. "I was on my way to a crime scene with Stevie… I should probably…"
"Of course." Heaton stood as the DC moved hastily towards the door.
Not giving him a chance to say anything else, Hannah left the office. As soon as she was out in the corridor, she shuddered slightly, before heading off in search of her friend. Stevie had made her way back into CID and was waiting for her next to the water cooler. She smirked as the redhead entered the room, pushing away from the wall and striding over to meet her.
"What did Heaton want? You look flustered."
"Shut up." Hannah muttered, shaking her head at the smirk on her friend's face. "He just wanted an update on the Finderson case."
"Yeah, I bet that's not all he wanted."
"It's all he got."
"Come on, let's get down to Helliker Way and see what Eddie's got for us."
Nodding, Hannah followed Stevie out of CID and down the stairs. She grudgingly allowed the blonde to drive and within twenty minutes they were walking up the path that led to the house. Eddie and his team were on their way out when the detectives arrived, so the CSE did an abrupt turn and walked the two women through the crime scene.
He pointed out the entry points and several spots where he had managed to retrieve fingerprints that didn't belong to the occupants. Judging by the items that were stolen, Hannah and Stevie were fairly confident that it was a simple burglary and the perpetrators would show up as soon as they ran the fingerprints through the system.
Sure enough, they managed to get names as soon as they returned to the statement. The images the names brought up on CRIMINT matched with the descriptions uniform had managed to get from the neighbours of two suspicious males that had been hanging around Helliker Way over the past week. Within an hour they were writing up their reports for the CPS with the burglars in custody.
"Well done on today's result." Heaton congratulated Hannah, making her jump as he appeared behind her as if from nowhere.
"Err… thanks, Sir?" She replied, glancing sideways and catching Stevie giggling silently into her paperwork.
"Drinks in the Seven Bells tonight?" He suggested, looking directly at her.
Hannah's eyes widened slightly and she panicked. "Oh, no, I… I can't, I'm… I have plans with Stevie tonight."
"Yup, takeaway and a movie… girls' night in."
"Right… maybe another time."
"Mmm…" Hannah replied noncommittally, returning her gaze to her reports.
Getting the hint after a couple of moments, the Superintendent wandered away asking Sam whether she'd seen the DCI. As soon as she was sure he had gone, Hannah twisted round on her chair and scooted it across the room to sit beside Stevie at her desk. Groaning, the redhead rested her arms on the desk and laid her head on them. Her friend laughed, running a hand soothingly through her hair a couple of times until Hannah looked up.
"Why is he not getting the hint?" Hannah moaned. "I can't just tell him to get lost!"
"Probably not the best idea, no." Stevie agreed with a chuckle. "Just keep making excuses and he'll eventually figure it out."
"Eurgh…"
"I do want to do something tonight, though." The blonde informed her. "I haven't been out for ages."
"You'll have to come over to mine, then, because the girls are going to a results party and Max is staying at his mate's house." Hannah said with a sigh.
"You get the pizza, I'll sort the wine." Stevie replied seriously.
Smiling, wordlessly thanking her friend for understanding, Hannah nodded and wheeled herself back to her desk to finish her reports and get through the rest of the shift. She did her best to surreptitiously follow Jo across the office as the brunette left with Sam. When the blonde DI paused beside her desk, the brunette carried on out of CID without a backwards glance.
While Sam was informing her of the outcome of the case she and Jo had been working on, Hannah zoned out slightly. She was glad that Archer, or Quentin if that was his real name, had been arrested and was likely to receive multiple sentences, but her mind was somewhere else completely. Noticing that Hannah wasn't paying much attention to her, Sam frowned.
"What's up?"
"Nothing." Hannah tried to assured her.
Sam wasn't convinced. "What's happened, then? It's clearly something, or you'd actually be listening to me."
"I am listening."
"Yeah, but you're not, though." The DI replied, arching an eyebrow at her. "Shall I ask Stevie?"
Hannah sighed deeply. "Heaton asked me out again… I don't know how to make sure he gets the hint, without being rude."
"Just keep avoiding the point… it's working so well." Sam told her, rolling her eyes.
"Ha bloody ha."
"Just… pretend you're seeing someone else." The blonde suggested. "Or actually start seeing someone else."
Shrugging, the younger woman fiddled with her pen, clicking it several times as she thought. "I'm not ready for… I don't want to start seeing someone else. I don't want…"
Sam nodded. "I know, love. So you pretend you are. Just casually mention that you're seeing someone around Heaton. He'll get the message and back off."
Hannah nodded. "OK, it's worth a try."
Winking, Sam squeezed her shoulder and headed out of CID. Leaning her chin on her hand, the redhead considered her options until the end of the shift. Time flew by and she didn't realise it was time for her to leave until Stevie nudged her gently and nodded her head towards the doors.
"One car or two?" The blonde asked as they crossed the yard.
"I'll drive." Hannah offered, unlocking her car with the fob as they walked. "What d'you fancy? Pizza? Chinese?"
"Let's get pizza... pizza and wine."
"Make mine vodka."
Stevie laughed. "Now you're talking."
Hannah parked in the car park of the small supermarket on the high street and they went in together; Stevie picking up a Texas barbeque pizza, without even needing to ask, while Hannah grabbed two bottles of vodka and three bottles of wine. If the blonde was surprised or amused by the amount of alcohol her friend had picked up, she didn't say anything. Instead they went to the checkouts and paid, before climbing back into the car and driving to Hannah's house in near silence.
"Ell? Freya?" Hannah called as she unlocked the front door and went in, Stevie just behind her.
The girls appeared, moments later, on the stairs. They were both dressed ready to go out and barely shot Hannah a second glance as they headed for the door. Moving quickly from the kitchen, the detective held out one of the bottles of vodka she had bought in her daughter's direction.
"Here… to say well done on your results… enjoy your party."
"Thanks." Freya said, as Ellie took the bottle without saying anything. "Don't wait up."
"Just be…" she trailed off as the front door was shut with a bang, "careful…"
"Hey, come on…" Stevie handed her a glass of wine. "I've put the pizza in, I'm guessing the kids are in bed because I can't hear anything and we have a serious amount of alcohol to drink."
Nodding, Hannah allowed herself to be steered into the living room and dropped heavily onto the sofa. Dropping down beside her, Stevie put the half-empty bottle of wine on the coffee table and flicked through the channels on the television, looking for something interesting to watch. In the end she settled on an old romantic comedy that neither of them were particularly interested in, but watched anyway.
By the time they had finished the pizza and the movie had ended, they had polished off all of the wine and started on the vodka. They hadn't really spoken much since they'd arrived at the house, just being in each other's company was enough for the friends as they sat side-by-side on the sofa with their legs curled up underneath them.
"How are things with Smithy?" Hannah asked as the second movie they'd watched ended and the blonde picked up the remote to start channel hopping again.
Stevie snorted. "They're not. He thinks we should cool things down and concentrate on work for a while… apparently I'm a distraction."
"Men!" The redhead muttered irritably, downing the liquid in her glass quickly and unsteadily refilling it. "Who needs them?"
"Not you." Her friend pointed out with a giggle. "You're a lesbian, remember?"
"I am not." Hannah retorted. "I'm a… Jo-bian…"
Stevie laughed loudly, almost falling off the sofa in her amusement. "There is no such thing. Besides… you've… you…" She squinted. "Have you ever been with another woman?"
"No… have you?"
"What, been with another woman apart from Jo?" Stevie frowned lightly, slightly confused. "I've never been with Jo."
"Good!" Hannah told her firmly. "Or I would have to stop being your friend."
"No you wouldn't."
"I would."
Stevie shrugged and shuffled across the sofa so that she could reach the vodka bottle on the table. "I kissed a girl once, when I was twenty. It was quite nice."
"Top three kisses." Hannah said, pointing her glass at the blonde. "Go."
"Mmm… Dean Barett when I was nineteen, Lenny Ferras when I was twenty-four and Smithy." Stevie told her with barely a hesitation. "Your turn."
"Jo… Mike Jones when I was twenty-seven and… Smithy." She agreed with a nod.
"Smithy is a good kisser, isn't he?"
"Jo is better." Hannah sighed.
Stevie frowned. "Hey! This was supposed to be about taking our minds off our exes." She reminded her friend.
"I thought it was about dodging Heaton."
"Well, that too… but then we got pissed and it became about forgetting about Jo and Smithy."
"Yes." Hannah nodded decisively, knocking back her drink. She raised the bottle shakily and refilled both their glasses. "To being single!"
"That." Stevie agreed, clinking their glasses together.
They sat in companionable silence for another couple of minutes, before Hannah decided that she was hungry and attempted to stand up. She overbalanced immediately and dropped back down onto the sofa giggling. Stevie was unable to do anything but join in with her laughter as she tried to push the redhead away from where she was half sprawled over her lap.
"Get off!" She laughed.
"I'm trying!"
Giving her a shove, Stevie rolled sideways and found herself sitting on the carpet, making them both laugh even more. Slowly, Hannah got to her feet and held out a hand to help the blonde get up. When she tugged Stevie's arm, they both collapsed back onto the sofa in a tangle of limbs, deciding not to attempt to move again.
Looking sideways, Hannah realised that Stevie's face was incredibly close to hers and her eyes flicked involuntarily to the blonde's lips. She held her breath willing the sudden urge to kiss her friend to pass. Hannah knew that it was almost definitely down to the amount of alcohol that she had consumed that she was even considering the possibility of kissing Stevie. The last thing she needed now was to ruin her relationship with one of her best friends.
"I…" She attempted to move backwards, away from the blonde, but Stevie had other ideas.
Wrapping her hand around the back of Hannah's neck, Stevie brought their lips together and kissed her firmly. Unable to stop herself, the redhead kissed her back, bringing her hand to the other woman's waist and angling herself better to deepen the kiss. Stevie moaned as Hannah's tongue swept along her lips, allowing her to push it into her mouth.
As though suddenly realising what she was doing, Hannah pulled away, running a hand through her hair and shaking her head. Stevie looked at her curiously, evidently wondering what was wrong.
"Stevie… you're my best mate… I… I don't want to mess that up."
"You're my best mate, Han…" The blonde replied. "I don't want that to change, either, but…" She chewed her lip. "I really wanna see how this works out."
Hannah frowned. "What d'you mean?"
"I don't want a relationship and neither do you. But sometimes… sometimes you just want…"
"Are you talking… do you… are you suggesting we should be friends with benefits?"
Stevie shrugged. "We could give it a go?"
"What if it makes things weird?"
"It won't." Stevie promised, squeezing her friend's hand tightly. "No one else ever has to know and, more than anything else, I will always love you as my mate."
Slowly, Hannah nodded; the amount of alcohol in her system clouding her judgement. She had no doubt that Stevie was just as drunk as she was but, if the blonde thought it was a good idea, she wasn't going to argue. She was lonely and missed having someone to hold her. If it could work out the way Stevie was suggesting, then Hannah was in favour of the idea.
Smiling, Stevie leant in and kissed her again, her hands cupping Hannah's face gently. Pulling away, Hannah took Stevie's hand and led her upstairs to her bedroom, switching the lights off as they went. The redhead wrapped her arms around Stevie's waist and pulled her carefully so that she was lying on top of the taller woman on her bed. Their kisses, which had started off as indulgent explorations of each other's mouths, had turned passionate and soon clothes were being pulled off and discarded without a second thought.
Although she had never slept with a woman before, it seemed that Stevie was a natural and a while later, both women flopped back against the pillows in exhaustion. Snuggling into Hannah's side, Stevie pressed soft, open-mouthed kisses against the bare skin of the other woman's shoulder.
"I totally get why you went over to the dark side." She murmured, tracing patterns on Hannah's stomach with her fingertips.
"Dark side? I think it's more like I left the dark side and saw the light."
Stevie chuckled. "Well I can definitely see the attraction, anyway."
"Converted you, have I?" Hannah asked lightly.
"Maybe not completely, but I definitely want to do that again."
"Play your cards right and you might get lucky."
Yawning, Stevie snuggled closer. "Maybe I will."
