I sipped my coffee as I headed back to the reception area and I was surprised to find the counter unmanned when I got there. When I'd stepped out to the tearoom, Stevenson and Fitzgerald had been there. I was about to call out their names, when I noticed the door to Georgie's office was slightly ajar. That door had been shut behind me when I'd finished up in there about an hour ago and returned to my own desk.
Keeping my footsteps light, I walked to my desk and very quietly, I sat down. I had been assigned this particular desk for the one reason that it gave Georgie a good view of me from her own desk, but that also meant that I had a good view right back. Of course, with the door only open a fraction, my view was obscured and with the venetian blinds tilted to keep out the afternoon sun, the room was darkish without the light on, but it was enough to see someone's arm as they rifled through one of the desk drawers. They were just to the edge of what I could see through the door, but it was definitely a uniform sleeve, so no one had just wandered in off from the street. Was it Stevenson?
"What are you looking for," I wondered. I had a fair idea. There was no reason for someone to be in that room with the door as it was and without turning on the light, other than they didn't want their snooping to be noticed. I heard footsteps and quickly made myself look busy over my paperwork just as the door came open.
"Oh, hey Charlie," Const. Fitzgerald said. My being back at the desk had certainly come as a shock to her but she recovered quickly. "I was just looking for that report I had left on Watson's desk yesterday." It was a plausible explanation for being in there, I thought, but not for going through the drawers of Georgie's desk. That's not where files were kept.
"Did you find it?" I asked. There was nothing in her hands, so she obviously hadn't, nor did I ask her why she hadn't turned the light on or left the door fully open while she was in there. I didn't want to spook her by being too inquisitive. I just hoped my apparent ease wasn't too overdone or she might start to suspect that I was suspicious of something. And right now, I was damn suspicious of her actions and behaviour.
"Nah," she said with a shake of the head.
"She probably locked it in the filing cabinet before she left work yesterday," I said. "I can get the file if you'd like," I offered. "Grace gave me the key to the cabinet earlier." Grace's files were in that cabinet, so it had been a sign of trust that Grace had given me the key, though she knew I was as desperate to get the mole and end this, as she was. That sudden look of interest in Fitzgerald's eyes at the mention of the key, told me that that must have been what she had been searching for in the desk. "Which file is it that you want?" I asked as I continued to play along with her.
There was only a slight hesitation, before she replied. "It's the Alan Henderson case," she said. "That bastard is finally going to court in a couple of days and I just wanted to go over everything again before I testified." I was well aware of who Alan Henderson was. He was an abusive bastard well known to the station, but his wife would never press charges. His son had also been one of the River Boys. I'd heard after returning, that Sid Walker's daughter had accidently killed him while trying to get away from him. Sasha had been cleared of murder, but then Alan's wife had been arrested for trying to poison him. She'd gone to jail, while that abusive bastard had gotten himself a new girlfriend. Unfortunately for that thug, his luck had finally run out when his new girlfriend had only been too happy to press charges the moment he beat her up the first time.
Fitzgerald glanced at her watch. "Look, I need to be on patrol, so if you could get that file for me and leave it on my desk for when I get back, that'd be great."
I nodded, then asked. "Lisa, where is Stevenson?"
"Oh, a lady came in asking for help with her car," she explained. "She broke down just across the road from the Station."
"Does he know anything about cars?"
"No, but she was a looker and he knows all about women."
I rolled my eyes at that. "When you're outside, tell Stevenson to arrange roadside service for her and to get his arse back here."
"Will do."
I watched her leave and tried not to be too excited or ahead of myself. While I was certain Fitzgerald had been lying about the real reason she had been in Georgie's office, it didn't make her the mole. I mean, surely it couldn't end up being that easy? And if so, then it was more sheer luck than anything which I had done to expose the mole. Thirty seconds longer in the tearoom and I'd have missed her.
The moment Stevenson returned, I headed into Georgie's office and closed the door behind me. I didn't want to drag Grace away from Georgie's side, but she needed to know about this.
"She is to testify against Henderson," Grace said after I'd filled her in. "But you're right, it doesn't really add up as the reason for her to be snooping in the dark like that."
"Well, going by her reaction, I think it was definitely the key to Georgie's filing cabinet she was after," I said.
"I kept all my files on the investigation in that cabinet, because Watson and I are generally the only two with access to it," Grace said. "They're all filed under a false case name, but given time, someone who got in there could find them, which was why I gave the key to you. I just didn't want to risk leaving it unattended." I could hear Grace sighing over the phone. "We tried not to let it get out that someone had tipped McWilliams off, but when drugs and money are stolen right out from under your nose, then there was always going to be a few whispers and people wondering how it could have happened," she said. "And if Fitzgerald is the mole, it's possible that with Watson and myself out of the way and everyone else distracted by Watson's condition, then finding herself left alone like that, it must have felt like it was the perfect opportunity to have a dig around and see if she could find out anything on the investigation or if we had any suspicions of inside help."
"Was Fitzgerald one of the officers you had already cleared?" I knew Grace had cleared most of the officers, except for a few.
"No, I hadn't gotten around to checking into her just yet, because lately, I had been focussing most of my energy on our trio with the financial concerns," she replied. "I have to admit though, that Lisa Fitzgerald wasn't exactly on my radar for being the mole."
"She doesn't exactly seem the type," I said in agreement. When Lara Fitzgerald had decided to transfer to another station after going on maternity leave, it had been a little weird to then have Lisa Fitzgerald turn up a short time later. They shared a surname and the same initials, but they were very different women, both in stature and personality. Still, I had thought Lisa was an honest copper though. "But then again, my judgement isn't always that great," I said to Grace.
"You're not alone with that one there, Charlie." She snorted self depreciatingly. "And I'm the one who is supposed to be the expert at reading people."
"You've been a bit distracted lately."
"That's no excuse," she said. "I have never been so off my game as I have been recently and I'm the only one to blame for that."
"So what now?" I asked. "If Lisa is the mole, then how do we prove she was working with Mac?"
Grace took her time before answering. "She took a huge risk in snooping like that, which could be a sign that she's getting worried, so I say that we take a chance and tackle her head on over what she was doing earlier, make a few mentions about how bad snooping looks so soon after drugs and money had been stolen from inside the station and gauge her reactions," she said. "Basically, we do whatever is necessary to wear her down until she confesses and with any luck, that confession will involve revealing that she is indeed, the mole."
"Oh, that sounds so easy."
Grace chuckled at my sarcasm. "No one ever said this job was easy."
"And don't I know it," I muttered. I was suddenly feeling so close to the finish line, yet at the same time, I needed to remind myself that the line might still be far away, depending on how the next few hours unfolded. I just wanted it over with, so I could focus on my family and dealing with Brax's demands, without having to worry about looking over my shoulder for the mole to maybe make a move against me. It was probably an irrational fear, but it was one that had always been a possibility. I guess with having so much to lose now, it was making me more paranoid than usual.
"I'll be there when I can, Charlie," she told me as my attention returned to her. "Until then, keep an eye on Fitzgerald."
Grace sighed as she put her phone away, before heading back into Watson's hospital room.
"Is everything ok?" asked Joey.
"Charlie needs me at the Station." She hovered by the side of the bed and gazed down at the woman she loved, reluctant to leave.
"Grace, I know I'm probably not Watson's most favourite person in the world these days," Joey said to her, having picked up on her hesitation. "But if you're worried about leaving her alone, then I can stay here and keep her company for you."
"Thanks Joey, that would be great," murmured Grace. It was exactly what she had been worried about. She couldn't be by her side all the time, but she hated the thought of leaving Watson all alone. There were few other options available though, especially since Watson's parents had decided that their daughter wouldn't want them there and so they'd chosen to stay away completely. She had half expected it, but their attitude had still pissed Grace off a little. She knew things weren't great right now between them and their daughter and that Watson may not want them by her bedside, but surely given the gravity of the situation, they could have at least come down to the Bay and been close to her, even if they didn't go into her room. Watson had told her she'd always been close to her family and while her brother's actions had put an understandable strain on things between her and the rest of the family, she was starting to wonder if there was perhaps more going on between Watson and her family than she knew about.
She reached down and cupped Watson's cheek. There was a strange kind of peacefulness about her expression, but it was all a lie. Without the machines, Watson might not be here. She shook those thoughts from her mind and bent over her, pressing her lips softly to her forehead. "I need you to get better," she whispered. "I need you to be awake and frustrating the hell out of me just for old time's sake." She kissed her again and then rested her forehead gently against hers. "I really need you better so I can tell you how much I love you," she murmured.
