A/n – Sorry it's been so long, I got distracted with my other story, and watching CSI, and working, working, bloody working… Anyways, here's the next bit…
Xxx
Nick sat awkwardly on the floor, his hand still in Sara's, and he looked at his watch, he had been there for nearly an hour now, and as exhausted as he was, he couldn't bring himself to sleep. He wanted to be there when Sara woke up, but he also wanted to carry on with the investigation, to talk to Catherine, to Brass again, but he feared leaving Sara's side right now. Several times he had started to speak to Catherine, but the words had caught in his throat, and after a while, it had become apparent, that Catherine too, had fallen asleep.
Thoughts were running through his mind, especially Sara's mumbled words of 'Déjà vu' and the fact that Sara seemed to have had no idea she was pregnant, or even how far along she was. Although he now had a fairly got idea of what had happened the past few nights, it was clear there was still a lot that he didn't know. Eventually, he drifted to sleep, his hand in Sara's, and his head leant awkwardly against the bed.
Xxx
'Mr Hornby, thanks for coming in again, my names Captain Jim Brass… I'm sorry, but I have a few more questions about the assault you reported to my colleague Nick Stokes…' Brass said whilst gesturing to a seat.
Matt took the seat, but didn't relax 'Look… I've told you everything I can, I know I should have said something sooner… but I was embarrassed…'
Brass just nodded, his arms crossed over his chest 'That's ok, I understand… But, it would really help if you answered my questions… this shouldn't take long…'
Matt just nodded 'Ok…if it will help…'
'Do you know a Rose Hornby?' Brass asked, doing his best to keep his voice even
'Ummm… Well… Yes, she's my ex-wife… Why?' Matt stuttered
'When was the last time you saw her?'
Matt furrowed his brow, confused 'What has this got to do with the bitch who raped me?'
Brass slammed his hands down on the table 'Answer the damn question!' he snapped
'Ummm… about 4 months ago, when I filed for divorce…'
'Are you sure about that?' Brass asked, his voice low.
Matt just nodded his head, not wanting to speak, knowing he was caught in a lie, but unsure what to say to justify it. Brass opened a folder, and pulled out two photos, one of himself and Sara leaving the bar, the other of Rose leaving seconds later. 'Looks to me as if you saw her two nights ago, the same night that you claimed Miss Sidle, a valuable and trusted colleague and friend of mine, assaulted you… it's clear your lying about when you last saw your ex-wife…. What else are you lying about?'
Matt just looked at the photos and stuttered 'She's...She's a friend? So… So what, you're covering up what she did to me? I'm the victim here!' Matt said, getting louder and louder.
Brass slammed his hands into the desk again, shocking the other man into silence 'Shut up!' he snapped 'I've checked your records… you haven't filed for divorce at all, and you tried to phone your wife several times last night… why?'
'No comment…'
'Oh, well, I'll leave that line of questioning for now then… I'll just show you some photos instead…' Brass pulled out a couple more photos from the folder, and threw one down, this being a photo of Sara, covered in bruises and scratches. It wasn't the most revealing, but it told enough, and it made Brass sick to look at it. 'This, as you will recognise, is Miss Sidle… now, she was raped… by your wife… she was robbed and drugged too… think long and hard before you answer… did you know about this?'
Matt reached out to take the photo, but Brass pulled it out of his reach.
'No…No, I didn't know… I swear…'
'Are you sure about that… you tried phoning Rose whilst Rose and Sara were in each other's company… are you sure you weren't phoning to see if Rose had managed to rob her yet?'
'No… no, it wasn't like that!'
'Then tell me, what was it like…?'
Xxx
Sara stirred slightly in her sleep, and shifted her body a little, her hand slipping from Nicks grip, her body pushing further into Catherine's, and then she settled down again. Nick had instantly noticed the absence of her hand, and rolled his neck, trying to work out the kinks that had formed from sleeping in such an awkward position. Nick stretched, and stood up, looking at the two women on the bed. In any other setting, he would have thought it lovely how they were holding each other so close, but the circumstances that had led to this situation were awful, and he felt a sadness within himself. Walking over to the chair, he settled himself down, and hoped to get a bit more sleep before either woman woke up.
When Sara had stirred, Catherine had woken briefly, and pulled Sara closer to her, and was vaguely aware of Nick standing and walking to the chair, she thought about saying something, but the warmth of Sara's body against hers had quickly sent her back to sleep. Another few hours passed, and then a shrill ring penetrated the space, as Nicks phone began to ring, and all 3 people shot awake, startled by the noise.
Xxx
'I really did try to divorce her… but, well, she didn't make it easy… after a while, well… I dunno… I guess, we went back to doing what we did best… pulling small cons, easy marks, bedding them, and robbing them…. After a while though… Rose got jealous… she started working against me… stalked me… she followed me to the bar the other day… I tried to pretend like I didn't know… then… I took Miss Sidle home…I lied before… we took a taxi, she didn't use her gun… she didn't rape me…'
'Why did you lie, why did you make such a hideous claim? What did Sara ever do to you…?'
Matt hung his head in shame 'She didn't… Rose did… I followed Rose the next night… I saw her at the club with a brunette… saw her with Miss Sidle… I was angry, angry that Miss Sidle could so easily move on to another quick and easy fuck, and livid that it was Rose… I didn't think it was any coincidence that Rose was there, but… I don't really know…I don't know… I can't prove anything… I kept myself hidden… watched them leave… hoped that maybe Rose would just rob the girls, then leave… I tried phoning… she didn't answer… I tried several times, but, nothing, no answer… '
Matt shrugged 'I gave up, after a while… but then, I noticed that her credit card had been rejected at some posh hotel… I was pissed all over again… we never took marks to somewhere so…expensive… I knew then, that this was more of a revenge ploy against me… that perhaps Rose would do something stupid… and try and blame me… I ….' Matt paused, rubbing his eyes 'I … I know some of her tricks… how… unstable she can be sometimes… '
'What tricks?' Brass demanded
'Drugs… she drugs her marks sometimes… gets rough… I…I wanted to go to the hotel… to confront her… but, when I got there, I saw Miss Sidle… she looked, well, she looked awful… I tried to phone Rose again, but she wouldn't answer… I knew something was wrong…I didn't know what to do… '
He stood, and started pacing the room 'I waited… phoned a few more times… then, a coroner came… I panicked… I… I just knew… Miss Sidle killed my wife!' he shouted, swinging his arms wildly 'She killed her!' he collapsed on to the floor 'I knew you'd cover it up, so I thought I'd accuse her of abusing me, so she would at least go to jail for that… '
Mr Hornby broke down at that, tears wracking his body, but Brass just couldn't bring himself to care. Instead, he threw down a picture at the man's feet; a picture of his wife's body lay in the bed in which she had died.
'Sara didn't do this… '
Xxxx
Nick wiped the sleep from his eyes, and fumbled for his phone 'Stokes…' he answered trying not to yawn
'Nick, it's Greg… listen, I've got another break in the case…'
Nick sat up, now fully awake, his attention on Greg
'Ok… let me put you on speaker phone… hang on… we just woke up, it's been rough here, what have you got?'
Greg smiled a little, glad that someone had at least got a little rest
'Hey…' he said aware that he was on speaker now
'How you doing Sara?' he asked gently, wanting to know how she was before telling them the good news.
Sara just shrugged, forgetting for a moment that he couldn't see them. 'Ask me again once this nightmare is over…' she whispered, not wanting to tear herself from Catherine's arms, but knowing she should probably sit up a little.
'I know Sara… ' Greg said, and then paused briefly 'Look… I've got good news…you know that fancy watch of yours…'
'Yeah…' Sara mumbled
'Well… it proves your innocence…' Greg said, the smile evident in his voice. With this Sara quickly sat up more, her heart racing, staring at the phone in Nick's hand, one of her hands on her stomach once more, absentmindly rubbing against it, something she has been doing more and more lately, even if she wasn't always aware of it.
'How?' she managed to whisper
'Well… it notes your heart rate, right?'
Sara just nodded again, not sure what to say
'Well… that watch was worth every freakin penny! I can tell, looking at the data, that… well… you had sex… then slept… then there's about 2 minutes where nothing is recorded… this must have been when Rose stole the damn thing off you… anyways… then the heartbeat tracks again… this time, a slightly different tempo… clearly, not yours… anyways… it tracks normally for…I dunno… about 2 hours… then there's this…spike… then, shortly afterwards, it flat lines… we have an accurate time of death for Rose… also, an accurate time of when she hit her head… you weren't in the room for either occasion… it was an accident… congratulations Sara, a worthwhile $300 investment pays off!'
Both Catherine's and Nick's jaws drop at this '$300?' Catherine whispers at the same time as Nick say 'A watch told you all that?'
Sara sits quietly, tears streaming down her face. Catherine and Nick watch Sara silently; this wasn't the reaction they were expecting at all.
'Thanks Greg… Look… I'll call you back, were gonna be here a while longer…' Nick states, disconnecting the call before Greg could say anything further.
Xxxxxx
A/n – Still a bit more planned for this story, but, once again… I need sleep! The idea of the watch is based on Fitbits… although I'm not exactly sure if such things existed back when this would be set… but let's pretend. Hopefully more up at the weekend, if I'm not working.
A review would be much appreciated!
Emz
