Chapter 45: Devil In The Dark

Author Note: The mystery wasn't meant to be super deep, and yes, it's only halfway through the arc/part, but next we'll get Drs. Stewart and that will be fun. The cases will take a backseat again.


The prospect of making an arrest had Gail wide awake. It was also the prospect of being done with a very long day and getting to go home and sleep and relax. She was due a day off, hopefully before Holly's parents showed up, but really she was too busy to seriously concern herself with that.

Interviewing Becky about Allison had proven surprisingly enlightening. To put it simply, Becky hated Allison. They'd been friends up until Becky and Todd met at a Halloween party, dressed as Classic Trek Klingons, and Todd asked her out. She always felt Allison had wanted to be with Todd, but when she asked, to make sure she didn't break the friend code, Allison had said it was fine.

When the dating became serious, Becky found herself the recipient if petty sniping and was ostracized from two of their groups. Since that also impacted Todd's life, he switched to a new acting troupe, which as where he met Kirk.

"Why didn't you mention her before, when we asked if someone wanted to hurt Todd?" John was a little flabbergasted.

"She'd never hurt Todd. Me, maybe, but she's not even here." When neither detective said anything, Becky paled. "She's here? She's not supposed to ... She's not playing Marla is she? Todd stopped that after our second child."

Gail took a moment to miss having her radio, where it would be so much faster to get someone to guard Becky, but she'd have to make do. "Mrs. Mitchell, she's had ample opportunity to get to you all weekend." Frankly Gail didn't understand why Becky was still there, but to each their own. "However you should stay in your room until we call you."

Nodding, Becky accepted this and Gail called Oliver to get a protection detail, for peace of mind. They made Becky promise to check the badges, and gave her the names of the officers to expect. You could never be too sure.

"You think Allison's going to try to kill her?" John stabbed the button for the elevator.

"I think Allison was never okay with Todd dating Becky, but murder..." Gail shook her head. "Ever done anything weird on impulse, John?"

They stepped into the elevator and John looked thoughtful, "Dropped out of college and joined the academy. That's about it."

Gail nodded, "You thought about it for a long time, right? About how to do it, how to break it to people, how it was going to change your life forever. And then that one day, you just snapped and did it. And it was kinda insane, you felt like you were crazy reckless, even though you'd thought about it for days."

"Yeah," breathed John, seemingly startled at the explanation.

Not saying anything else, Gail waited for the elevator to stop. "Think it's enough to bring her in?"

"Invite." John pushed his short hair back and up, smoothing it out. He tilted his head and Gail nodded, gesturing for him to go first.

They quickly found their way back to Allison's booth, where she was starting to box up. "Detectives, is everything okay?" She looked stressed, though Gail could come up with a hundred reasons why.

"Actually, we'd like you to come with us, back to the station. Answer a few more questions," said John, his voice pitched to a casual tone, as if this was perfectly normal.

Normal people, innocent people, tended to spook when you asked them that. It was human nature, the fear of unknown and simple cop fear. There was a big difference between that tension and the one they saw in Allison. People told her you couldn't see guilt in a person, and Gail just felt they didn't see enough guilty people.

Allison looked between them and frowned, mental walls going up immediately. In her head, Gail could hear Holly making a joke about shields being at full strength. "I'm busy. Can this wait?" Deferring the conversation was a common tactic.

"We can talk about it here, if you'd like," John offered, making it seem like no big thing. While Gail had a weird knack for interrogation (anything was easier than Perik), John had that calm vibe that put a person at ease. Clearly if they wanted to talk in public, it couldn't be that bad.

"Oh." Allison looked at Gail again and then nodded. "I guess that's alright."

John smiled. "We just wanted to check something. You said you played Khan's wife?"

"Marla McGivers," nodded Allison. "It's something argued in canon. The original script for Star Trek II references her as Khan's 'beloved' wife, but the life was cut from the final version. Most of her characterization is drawn from the book To Reign in Hell, which has its own issues, of course, but what doesn't."

Her partner gave her a look and Gail nodded. "We were told that your, ah, Botany Bay crew had disbanded," Gail explained, slowly.

Allison stiffened. "Who told you that?"

"Becky Mitchell."

The look on Allison's face was pure anger. "She's just jealous that the best she can do is play a trill. She can't even do the classic Trek with those cow legs."

This was Gail's turf now, the indignant anger. John had put Allison in a place where she would want to talk, and Gail had the knack to make her talk. "You don't get along," she said, not asked, and tilted her head.

"Becky? Perfect princess Becky?" Allison scoffed and folded her arms. "It was the knife, wasn't it?" Gail nodded. "Damn it, I should have lied." Allison's eyes went wide, "It wasn't… I didn't mean to… Can I change my mind?"

Taking out her cuffs, Gail took hold of Allison's upper arm. "Allison Roan, you're under arrest for the murder of Todd Mitchell, do you understand?" When Allison muttered her understanding, she continued through the charter.

"Tell Kirk I'm sorry," she whispered as the loaded her into the car.

That was unexpected, and Gail frowned. "Kirk?"

"That's what she said." As the uniforms drove her to the station, John shook his head. "Think you can break her for the whole story?"

Gail snorted, "Please." She looked after the car, "Come on, let's let her sit and go tell Becky."

Upstairs in the hotel room, Kirk was sitting with Becky, holding her hand. Unable to tell if there was something going on, Gail let John take the lead again. "We thought you should know, we have a tentative confession from Allison Roan."

Both Trekkies exhaled, looking pained.

"She wanted to tell you she was sorry, Kirk."

And the man didn't look surprised, he just nodded sadly. "I should have known," muttered Kirk. "It's the curse."

"Curse?" Gail blinked a few times.

"Allison used to play Lois Lane in stage productions of Superman." He shook his head. "We never should have kept her in the group," said Kirk. "She used to do a great Lois Lane, and everyone knows they're all crazy!"


The party was loud and drinks were paid for by the mayor, which was weird and hilarious. Once Gail called her to tell her about the arrest and confession, Holly had been impressed that it ended that fast. But Gail assured her, most criminals weren't hardened killers with a stonewall defense, but regular people making terrible decisions. An hour later, Chris showed up in Gail's car to drive Holly to a surprise party at the Penny, explaining that there was no way Gail or John were leaving any time soon, and he was their chauffeur.

As soon as Holly walked in, Traci grabbed her and hauled her to the bar, where Gail and John were holding an embarrassed court, John standing by the bar while Gail was perched on it. Gail's look of perpetual disdain and annoyance faded as she spotted Holly. Hopping off the bar, they managed to get in a quick hug and brief kiss before another drink was pressed into Gail's hand.

"They're trying to kill me," complained Gail, handing the Jack and Coke to Holly.

"How drunk are you?"

Defensively, Gail replied, "I ate a burger."

It was John who leaned in to provide a drink count, "She's on number five. She really holds her lick... Her booze. I, however, am on three or floor." He was definitely drunk already.

"Lightweight." Gail wrapped an arm around Holly, keeping her close by. "Don't worry, Snowflake'll drive him home tonight."

"And Chris is our ride… How does that work if he has your car?"

"Dov has his car." Gail shrugged and Holly just sipped the drink. It was surprisingly strong. "So how was your day?" There was a nearly British level of absurdity in the statement and Holly nearly snorted her drink out of her nose.

Laughing, Gail guided Holly to a table. "I'd like a burger," Holly declared. "And I want to hear what the motive was."

John made the order before joining them. "Boring. Jealousy," he announced, sitting across from Gail and Holly. "She wanted Kirk to leave Becky."

That was mundane, and Holly felt disappointed until the name kicked in. "Kirk? Not Todd?"

"Yep, she was in love with Kirk, had been for years," sighed Gail, accepting another drink and the appetizers. "Numb-nut didn't even realize Kirk loves Becky like a sister. Who ordered potato skins?"

"I like them," grumbled John, taking one.

"You're so gross. I told you to order the fries."

"They're coming!"

Holly smiled at the bantering. "So she killed Khan to get to Kirk?"

"She was trying to make it look like the Klingons did it," Gail explained, an arm winding around Holly's waist. "So … the plan was to hurt Todd and Becky. The Klingons would clearly be an attack on Kirk, because Kirk and Klingons. And Becky would be so upset, she wouldn't want to see Kirk anymore, so Allison would have a free path to, ah, comfort him."

The fries finally made an appearance, and Gail grinned, grabbing one to eat right away. "See? I didn't forget you." John slid the vinegar over for Gail. "Does that make any sense, Dr. Stewart? Framing Klingons?"

"John, you can call me Holly."

But he looked at Gail. "Technically it's not work," he said slowly.

"Technically," agreed Gail, putting fries on her plate and doctoring them with vinegar.

Clearly Holly was going to have to ask about that later. "It makes sense," she told John, taking some non-vinegar coated fries. "The third movie, after Khan, is about the Klingons. They kill Kirk's son."

John snapped his fingers, "Oh! Right! That's what he said, the killed his son and then they took his Khan!"

"Seriously?"

Gail nodded, "He had a whole rant." Taking a breath, Gail was just about to recite it when Holly leaned in to kiss her. No. She didn't need to hear that. Someone hooted and Gail growled as she leaned away. "Shut up!"

Mouthing a thank-you to Holly, John cleared his throat. "So the Klingon thing makes sense. We're going to need to find a Trekkie in the Crown's office."

"Won't be hard," Gail said thoughtfully. "Getting a jury to understand it is the hard part. So glad I'm just a cop."

After dinner and more drinks, Chris drove a very tipsy Holly and totally drunk Gail home. It was the first time in about a year that Holly had seen Gail that drunk and she wasn't surprised when the blonde dozed off halfway home.

"Thanks for the ride, Chris," smiled Holly, easing Gail's head onto her shoulder.

"No problem. Just make Gail delete the photo about the Kingons." Holly bit back a smirk and nodded. Gail might delete the photo but Holly wasn't going to. Besides which, Gail thought it would make a good Christmas card for the division, and had already sent it to Oliver. "Should I park in the garage?"

"Please, just go around the back."

Chris eased Gail's car into the empty spot. "Need help getting her in?"

"Maybe." She gently nudged Gail, "Hey, honey, wake up. We're home." Unbuckling herself and Gail, Holly scooted to push Gail into sitting on her own.

With a complaining groan, Gail opened her eyes. "Why am I in the back?" She rubbed her face sleepily. "Oh. Hi, Chrisikins," she sighed, and reached for the door.

"I think we're good, Chris. Thanks again." Holly accepted a hug from the tall, teddy bear, officer while Gail muttered something that might have been a thank you, but more likely was a suggestion to get out of her house. Holly made sure Chris safely got into the car driven by Dov before closing the garage and following Gail.

As tired as Gail was, she had already locked away her gun and badge before starting the shower. Some things were just engrained in her brain, Holly had come to learn, and putting everything away and getting clean before bed was one of them. Plugging in her phone was not and Holly made sure to turn off both their alarms before docking them to charge.

Gail went to sleep right away, though Holly stayed up to read a little and wind down. She couldn't say it was nice that Gail still needed to sleep with some light on, but she did enjoy being able to read in bed without bothering her girlfriend. It didn't take long for Holly to feel her eyelids droop and she turned off her light, making sure the nightlight was still working, and curled up next to Gail to sleep.

For the second morning in a row, she woke up first and smiled at the (blurry) sleeping detective in her bed. Gail's face was scrunched up in concentration, sleeping hard, and Holly reached over to caress her cheek. The face relaxed and Gail stirred. "Go back to sleep," she muttered to Holly, not opening her eyes.

"There's a beautiful woman in my bed," whispered Holly, leaning forward to kiss Gail's cheek.

The blonde grumbled and rolled over, scooting back to take the little spoon spot. "I have a hangover, Holly," she complained.

"Poor baby." Holly propped herself up on one elbow and gently stroked Gail's hair. She'd told Gail to drink more water, but given how tired she was beforehand, it wasn't going to matter much.

The grumpy face faded a little as Holly kept running her fingers through Gail's hair. "The sun's up?" Gail's eyes were still tightly closed.

"Yes." Holly brushed her fingers across Gail's shoulder and arm. "You don't have to be at work till noon." Gail muttered an 'ah' sound and managed to smile and look annoyed. "What's that about?" Grinning, Holly put her chin on Gail's shoulder, her hand roaming a little.

There was a pause before the reply. "You're awake and frisky," yawned Gail, clearly not fully up yet, but not moving away. Grumbling, Gail stretched her arms out in front of herself, "Why did I move in with a morning person?"

With a smile, Holly pressed her lips to Gail's shoulder. "Because morning sex is fun?"

"Sex with you in general is fun," allowed Gail, catching hold of Holly's roaming hand. "But I really have a hangover, Holly."

"Sex is great for headaches," Holly suggested, moving to nuzzle the back of Gail's neck.

Grumpy Gail was winning, however. "Really?" She nudged Holly away from her neck, "Not helping."

Thwarted. Holly sighed and settled for just cuddling, and felt Gail relax quickly. "How hungover?"

Gail groaned and pulled her pillow into her face. "No sex, and believe me this is the only time in the history of the universe I'm ever going to say that, Holly."

With a laugh, Holly reached up to push the pillow away. "No sex right now, fine. But I want sex before my parents get here." There was a soft 'oh' from Gail and she scooted to roll over and actually look at Holly. She repeated the question, "How hungover?"

"Uh, headache, cotton mouth, nauseated." A pause. "Tired." The symptom rundown was concise. "You're going to make me get up, aren't you?"

"No," promised Holly, kissing Gail's forehead. "I'm going to get you water, painkillers, and a banana. Stay." Holly also decided to get her coconut water, on the chance Gail was willing to drink the stuff.

Gail sighed, "You're the coolest chick ever, Holly."

"I know," smirked Holly, and went to fetch supplies for a hangover cure. The only hangover cure. Science.


After her first case, Gail had gotten so snippy with people interrupting her while she wrote her reports, someone had made her a sign: Don't Poke The Bear. Most of the time she kept it in her drawer, but as she worked on writing up the stupid Khan case, she put it on the desk and put on her headphones to concentrate. The headphones also let her ignore the sound of the shoes in her head.

It wasn't anyone's fault. It was just one of those days where one of the lawyers came by, in his wingtip shoes, and they echoed on the tile in the lobby. Gail just happened to be downstairs getting a donut when he walked by. There was a sound, like nails on a chalkboard to her soul. And this was not the day, the place, or the time for dealing with crap like that.

They were expecting Holly's parents on Thursday, which meant Gail needed to be done with everything by then, and there was a lot to record. The only person who survived bothering her was John, who sometimes asked for clarification on terms, or spelling. Neither was done when Butler came over with the news.

"Plea bargain."

Gail read his lips and tugged her earbuds out. "Already?" It astounded her that a plea bargain was even an option in a murder case, but she wasn't a lawyer.

Nodding, Butler took the free chair near their desks. "She could hardly have plead innocent after confessing to you two," he smiled.

Angry, John slapped his laptop closed. "She's insane."

"That's probably the point," Gail mused, leaning back.

Butler nodded, "The lawyers started to argue it wasn't murder, since she didn't plan on killing him."

Both Gail and John expressed their disbelief at that claim. "Intimidation," snapped Gail, having memorized the nature of murder years ago. "And she came with a goddamn knife!"

Raising his voice a little, Butler continued. "Which is why the Crown's office is leaning to a plea. Cop to murder, take life with parole in 30-plus, keep her crazy ass off the street and away from … what did you call them?"

"Cosplayers," sighed Gail.

The Inspector nodded. "That. Look. You guys did great, okay? No complaints from anyone. Hell, you actually closed the case in two days."

As Butler started to get up, Gail cleared her throat. "Sir, can I ask a quick favor?"

That was rare, she knew. She tried like hell not to ask for favors, and certainly not for special treatment. Butler raised his eyebrows and looked over at John, who quickly opened his laptop again and started typing studiously. Still, Butler offered, "My office?"

He didn't have an office, but when people needed a private word, they always went to one of the smaller rooms. "No, I just may need some time off. My… Holly's parents are coming in town on Thursday." Gail wasn't quite sure what to call them. Were you supposed to call them your girlfriend's parents?

"Oh! If you finish that report, you can have the rest of the week, Peck." Butler smirked. "First time meeting them?"

She shook her head. "I've met her mother. I guess her father doesn't like to travel, or something."

"Sounds like fun," laughed Butler, leaving them be.

Gail put her earbuds back in and went back to her report, until she became aware of her partner's eyes, watching her. "What?" she sighed, not taking the earbuds out.

Shaking his head, John replied. "Nothing."

"Men," muttered Gail and she went back to work. She knew he had something to say about himself, but he could take his time and it didn't really bother Gail all that much. It wasn't as if she was the most welcoming person in the world.

Near noon, John waved a hand at her, mouthing 'lunch?' Gail nodded and saved her progress. She was getting to a better point in the report. They were much longer than when she'd been a uniform and far more intricate. The worst part was as you went over things and felt stupid for not seeing the clues before hand. She did include photos, however, for Butler's amusement, like the one of Chris and the Klingon women.

"I need meat," John groaned as they went to the elevator.

"TMI." Gail checked her phone and smiled at a text from Holly telling her that Gerald had been dumpster diving, complete with a photo of Gerald in the dumpster with an amused Chloe watching.

They picked a Moroccan restaurant near the division, each ordering a large dish. "So listen," John said, looking nervous. "I want to tell you something and it's probably going to piss you off."

Gail shrugged, "I've probably heard it before." She was too bitchy, too cold, too cynical.

"I like you as a partner."

That wasn't expected. "Sorry, what?"

John smirked, "You. I think you're a cool partner. You're smart, you say what you think, you don't say what you don't mean, and you give me shit. I like you."

"Oh." Gail tore off a hunk of bread and dipped it in the bean paste.

"See? That's what I mean." Pouring them both some mint tea, John explained. "You don't just say crap like you like me too or whatever because I said it. You actually process it."

Gail shook her head, "You are very strange, John Simmons."

He shrugged. "I get that a lot."

"So… that's it? You wanted to eat lunch so you could tell me you like me?" There was more, she knew it, but she didn't feel like treating him like a suspect. Just ask, that's what Holly told her. If you have a question, you can just ask people.

And now John looked nervous. "What do you know about Missing Persons?"

Gail sipped the tea, which was amazingly good and sweet and she was going to have to have it again. "It's the second shittiest department, on the soul sucking scale of people interaction. Right behind kids... That shit would eat you alive."

"Well that makes it easier," muttered John. "I went into Missing Persons because my fiancé vanished. We got engaged and four days later … Gone."

"Okay, that is officially worse than being dumped at the altar in front of your family," Gail informed him. "Did you find her?"

"No." He took some bread. "Last year they declared her legally dead. I'd already given up, though." John looked at Gail, apologetic, "That's such a fucking downer. Tragic guy, lost his fiancé to a mystery. And everyone always tries to tell me it sucks and they're sorry for me and baby me."

Smirking, Gail gestured at him. "I am not the shoulder to cry on."

"And I don't want one," he confirmed. The appetizers came and they both chowed down. "Thank god you're not what I expected," admitted John, watching Gail put an entire Briouat in her mouth at once.

Gail swallowed. "Because I'm a woman?"

But her partner shook his head. "Because you're a Peck. I've met your mother."

"Who hasn't?" snorted Gail. The back of her brain told her that this was where she was supposed to tell him something about herself. "I don't do this well, John, this people thing," she finally said.

"That's okay," he replied. "You have this weird ability to make people confess. I can cover the people crap if you do that." They clinked their tea cups and Gail felt a growing level of comfort with John. This would work.


And that's the end of the first case. Next half we have to meet the Stewarts. Actually meet Lily on camera this time, as it were.