Author Note: Bit of a longer Chapter
Michael placed a coffee down on Stuart's desk, Stuart was mildly surprised as the boss only ever bothered to make Jackie a drink, he seldom made one for him. He smiled in thanks as he continued his work. Michael hovered before eventually sitting at Jackie's now empty desk. "em I checked out the names you asked me to Sir, they are all still in prison and doesn't appear to be any connections."
"it was a long shot, Stuart!" Michael shrugged and took a deep breath "how are you doing?"
"Sir?" Stuart asked.
"it's just me and you here, how are you coping since Stephen's discovery?"
"I'm fine sir!" An obvious lie.
"Stuart, I'm not trying to catch you out." Michael responded a slight harshness in his tone, he regretted it immediately "Listen...We both know Jackie is the heart of the team. I rely on her to keep us together!" Stuart nodded "and I know..that.. I may not be the easiest person to work for!" Michael smirked at Stuart 's facial expression obviously agreeing with the statement but never daring to say it "I really just want to see how you are!" Stuart looked at him, trying to weigh up his response.
"ok…this is all overwhelming, when I think about the fact that when was cataloguing evidence at the crime scene yesterday, that I was actually marking out where Jackie was assaulted, where she may even have …..died. I just feel sick!" Michael nodded giving him the space to continue " and….I am ashamed to admit it... but I believed the suicide story. I thought that she had taken 3 weeks leave because… in her mind it would be easier for us to cope" Stuart shook his head "I should have known better!"
"Stuart, it's ok. I must admit there were moments when I believed it, too. And I have known her a lot longer than you have. I would replay my last conversation with her, questioning what I had missed!" Michael got up from Jackie's desk walking around to perch on the front Stuart desk "all we can do now, is work together to find her!" Michael nodded happy to see Stuart seemingly relieved.
"eh Mike!" Michael turned to see Brian Holmes, standing at the door.
"Brian, what are you doing here?" Michael was surprised to see him, but immediately stood up to shake his hand.
"Stuart sent out a notification with a description of a murder victim. It happens to be terribly similar description to an officer of mine, who is currently missing!" Brian looked discreetly around the office.
"ok, Stuart, Stephen emailed some photographs post autopsy, can you pull them up for Brian?" Michael nodded.
"yes sir!" Stuart answered as Brian walked over to Jackie's desk noticing her personal effects were missing.
"em where's Jackie?" He pointed to the empty desk.
"Sorry Brian, I guess I should have called you. Jackie is missing as well, it's been about four weeks now!"
"what?" Brian muttered.
"how long has you officer been missing?" Brian stood silent. "Brian?"
"Sorry, what?"
"how long has your officer been missing?"
"Chris has been missing for at least three weeks, he does a lot of undercover work for us but he was taking an extended break, so had been winding down. I was on holiday when he finished his last assignment, so I did not see him before his break. We were supposed to meet yesterday to discuss his next case, but he never showed" Brian shook his head. Michael surmised that Brian had hoped to run into Jackie, that he was not aware that she was missing.
"Sir, the photo's" Stuart stated. Brian walking around to view the pictures on Stuart computer.
"yeah, that's him, DS Christopher MacDonald!"
"Did he know Jackie?" Michael asked.
"em I think they might have met in passing at couple social events that Jackie and I attended, you think their disappearances are linked?"
"yes, they definitely are Brian!" Brian looked confused. "Jackie's blood was found at the murder scene; she was definitely there!"
"is she dead?"
"it's possible but we are working on the assumption that she is still alive! At least I hope she is!" Michael stated as his mobile rang, he pulled it out of his pocket. "Stuart can you fill Brian in please! I need to take this!"
Michael answered walking out of the bull pen to the corridor "Hi Robbie, how's the search going?"
"Mike we just got here, and the front door was smashed in, the place has been completely ransacked, it's a right mess!"
"Shit, we should have searched it earlier!" Michael exhaled loudly, kicking himself for not acting immediately allowing his own feelings getting in the way.
"I have no idea of what might be missing?"
"ok stick with it and see what you can find! Oh, we have an ID on our victim, He is actually one of Brian's team!"
"What sherlock?"
"yeah, he came here after Stuart's missing person notice"
"Great, just was we need!" Robbie answered sarcastically.
"hey! that's enough of that, we could do with all the help we can get!"
Robbie scoffed "Let's not forget he is Jackie's ex, and if Jackie was having an affair or a secret relationship well isn't that motive, especially given his treatment of me?"
"you're not seriously suggesting that DCS Holmes, of complaints and discipline really tortured one of his officers and his ex-girlfriend!"
"no, I guess not, it just seems convenient for him to turn up now!"
"Robbie, I get there is bad blood between you. But I just don't see it, he looked genuinely upset and I think he was actually hoping to bump into her!"
"you don't think he knew?"
"no, well the newspapers reporting her suicide were all the local papers, it's plausible that he wouldn't have heard, and it's not like we go out of our way to pass gossip to complaints!"
"if you say so!"
"ok call me if you find anything Robbie!" Michael returned his mobile to his pocket turning to see Brian at the door. "Stuart fill you in?" Brian nodded, looking distraught.
"yeah, he did! I can't believe it"
"it's been a shock for us all!"
"I gave Stuart all of Chris's details, he doesn't have a next of kin that I am aware of, I think why he is into the undercover work! And Cameron is one of his aliases, so he likely knew Jackie all along! I was just going to go outside and get some air, take it all in"
"Listen, why don't we go to my office and we can have chat!" Brian took a deep breath, finally nodded. He followed Michael to his office "that was Robbie on the phone, Jackie's place has been completed ransacked, I was there only couple of days ago and it was fine"
"so why break in now!"
"My guess would be that since we have evidence that she was attacked, that they didn't need to keep the pretence going"
"The papers really report she had killed herself?"
Michael opened his office door, holding it open for Brian who closed the door behind as Michael went to sit on his seat. "well, they went to a lot of trouble to make this look like suicide, Brian!"
"none of it makes sense Mike. They obscured Chris's fingerprints, but they must have known we would identify him eventually!" Brian took the seat in front of Michael.
"they were likely just buying time to take Jackie to a secondary location! I don't think they expected him to die when he did. Jackie either has something they want or knows something she shouldn't" Michael leaned back on his chair, swinging slightly from side to side. He was almost relieved to see Brian, knowing that someone that loved Jackie was here, he felt a sense of relief. He saw Brian is more of a peer not someone he was responsible for, like he felt for Robbie and Stuart.
"but they could have cleaned the scene of her blood, and we would be none the wiser, why didn't they?" Brian asked almost rhetorically. They sat in silence for a moment. Michael suddenly sat up straight.
"because they didn't know her DNA was on the database, I mean why would it be? its not mandatory. And if she were never to be found then, we would never have known she was at that warehouse." Michael exhaled loudly, realising they may never have known what happened to her, if it hadn't been for some teenagers looking for a party. Michael pulled out the newspaper from his drawer " and this is was all we would have been left with!" Michael placed the paper on his desk Brian picked it up looking at the photographs of her.
"Mike, why is Jackie's DNA on the database?" Brian sat down on the chair across from him, handing him the newspaper back.
"after you two went your separate ways"
"you mean after she dumped me!" he scoffed. Michael shrugged, he assumed that had been the case, but Jackie had never told him. Although he knew that she was hurting regardless of who ended it.
"well since then, she had been doing a lot of charity work, opening the rape crisis centre,"
"yeah I had heard about that, the powers that be where talking a lot about it!" he shrugged. "impressive!"
"well as part of that, she was also looking at database reform. She told me there is a lot of rape cases that have never been processed because of back logs in the system or because the information is all compartmentalised. But obviously sharing information opens up a whole lot of data protection questions, so she told me that putting her details on it would show how secure it was!"
"so, who knew that she was on it?" Brian asked.
"just me and one technician she said she wanted to keep it secure, prove the security procedures would work!" Brian got up to walk around Michael office.
"what if she was lying?"
"how so?" Michael looked at him confused.
"what if the real reason she wanted to be on that database was because... she thought she might need it to... identify her?"
"you're saying she was expecting to be killed?"
"it's too much of a coincidence otherwise" Michael leaned back, looking back at the photo he had stolen from her flat, which he had placed next to his photograph of Jim. Brian noticed the look, and stepped forward to look at it, "may I?" Michael nodded.
Brian smiled looking at it "that's a good picture, one of yours?"
"no, it's Jackie's, I might have taken it from her flat?" Brian smiled. "you both look so young!"
"it was a very long time ago!" Michael shrugged. "i don't remember seeing this one before!"
"well, the frame looks new, so I assumed it's only a recent addition!" Brian found himself lost in the photograph. He had tried to get over Jackie, tried to put their relationship behind him but when he found an opportunity to see her he couldn't help it.
"i'll help in anyway I can, Mike!"
"i appreciate that!" Michael smiled, as Brian put the photograph back down on the desk.
The CS stormed into Michael office "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON MICHAEL!" He yelled. Michael had never seen him so angry.
"sir, DS Reid and DS Macdonald appear to have been attacked!"
"it's bit more to it than that! What's this about her having a false name!?"
"we haven't gotten to the bottom of that yet!"
"her flat has been ransacked, obviously something.."
"obviously, she is bent!" the CS interjected.
"no, there's an innocent explanation here, I know it!"
"well I don't Michael and if you don't get your act together, I will be reconsidering your leadership here!"
"sir, I known Jackie very closely and she not bent, I would know!" Brian interjected.
"just because you were shagging her, doesn't mean she isn't bent! How do you know she didn't just hook up with you because of your position would make her above reproach!" Brian looked away.
"sir, that's not fair!" Michael interjected seeing the hurt across Brian's face.
"I don't care what is fair, this is a big mess! The press is going to make a big story out of this, I already have the assistant chief constable on my case!" CS Gordon paced the room the stress evident on his face "Holmes start an investigation into DS Reid immediately!"
"yes Sir!" Brian had composed himself.
"DCI Jardine, Do your bloody Job!" He slammed the door closed behind him. As the door closed their photograph fell to the ground smashing on the floor.
"Michael I'm sorry, I must have not put it back on the desk properly!" Brian said apologetically.
"not your fault Brian!" Michael stood up walking around the desk to pick up the broken frame "you had better go and start that investigation!" Brian nodded obviously seeing that Michael was upset and wanting some time alone, he left closing the door behind him.
Michael crouched down scooping up the broken frame and the picture, the glass falling to the ground when an SD card fell to the floor. "what the..." he picked it up, it must have been wedged in the back of the frame, he turned the back of the face seeing another 2 SD cards cello taped to the inside of the frame. On the back of the photograph, Jackie had written,
'Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
And sorry I couldn't not travel both'
"Christ Jackie, what are you involved in?"