The Journey: Chapter Four Chapter Four

Rachel gradually spread her news around, but Jack's "Chinese Whispers Theory" was unavoidable. Heading for her locker to collect her bag after a long shift, she heard two of the younger constables gossiping about her in low voices. She stopped out of their sight to hear what they were saying.

"I reckon the baby must be Jack's," said the first. "Remember when he filled in here last year? Well I was on the desk that morning they were both late, and you should have seen them when they finally showed up! He had on the same shirt from the day before, in a crumpled up mess, and she had her sunglasses on. Real subtle. And they both looked like shit warmed up."

The other girl shook her head, "I heard Helen tell Tayler it's Frank's baby. She told her not to tell anyone else, but they didn't know I'd heard too."

"Really?" squealed the first girl. "I always knew there was more to those two than met the eye..."

Rachel decided she'd heard enough. She wasn't going to hide from the gossip, so she walked past the girls, fetched her bag, and walked back, ignoring the guilty looks on their faces.

She wondered when exactly her life had turned into a soap opera. And a bad one, at that.
~~ * ~~

Telling David wasn't easy, but not as hard as Rachel had expected. He already had a half brother, and he seemed to take the news of another sibling surprisingly well.

"The baby's going to live with you all the time, isn't it, Mum?" he asked.

"Yep," Rachel told him, "So you'll have to come over more often to play with it!" she commanded, pouncing on her son and tickling him all over. Both were rolling on the ground in hysterics by the time the ringing door chime announced Jonathan's arrival.

Rachel got up reluctantly and dragged herself to the door. One last disclosure, and this one she was dreading. She plastered a smile on her face and opened the door, as David came running up beside her.

"Hello, Jonathan," she greeted him, smiling.

Jonathan frowned suspiciously. "David, are you ready?" he asked, ignoring her.

Rachel gritted her teeth and prepared herself for battle. "Um, David, you wanna run inside and grab your bag?" she suggested. David looked from his mother's determined face to his father's customary scowl, and fled.

"You have something to say, Rachel?" Jonathan challenged.

"You'll probably hear it from all your wife's rumourmonger friends anyway, but I thought I might as well tell you myself. I'm pregnant," she finished, head raised and staring him in the eye. Just let him try to make something of it.

"Really," he answered, as though the news didn't surprise him. "And, who is the father?"

"I really don't think that's any of your business, Jonathan," she told him coldly.

"My son calls you Mother, Rachel, and you don't think it is any of my business what sort of loose morals *you* are teaching him?"

"Ooh, yes, you're a one to talk about loose morals, aren't you, Jonathan?" she challenged. "'Thou shalt not commit adultery,' Jonathan? Remember that one?" she asked him, raising an eyebrow pointedly.

Jonathan merely glared at her. "David? Are you ready?" he called again.

David appeared from behind his mother, with his schoolbag on his back. He surprised Rachel by giving her a hug before plodding off to his father's car.

"I'd better not be hearing things about you, Rachel," Jonathan warned, turning and striding to his car before she had a chance to answer. Instead she managed to smile and wave to her son as the Mercedes pulled away.
~~ * ~~

Rachel walked into the water police offices in a much more cheerful mood than anyone had seen for a while.

"So, what have we got today?" she asked Helen, as she breezed past the front desk.

"Attempted murder," the older woman announced. "Well, so far, anyway--they're still not sure if the guy's gonna pull through or not, it could be upgraded to murder. Here," she finished, handing Rachel the printout.

"Knocked on the head, eh? I think crims these days have lost their finesse, don't you?"

Helen chuckled, "So how are we today?" she asked.

"*We* are doing fine," Rachel informed her, smiling.

"So how did it go with Jonathan?"

"Well, he's still a prick, if that's what you're asking," Rachel answered offhandedly, "But I think it went as well as can be expected."

"What about David?" Helen asked carefully.

"I'm not exactly sure," Rachel frowned. "I think he's okay with it, it'll just need some time to sink in."

"He'll be fine," Helen assured her. "Now you'd better take that upstairs before they fall asleep."

Rachel laughed, heading for the office.

Both men were sitting at their computers typing when she walked in. Tossing the printout onto Jack's desk, she grinned. "Have fun!"

"Oh, come on!" Mick protested. "I still haven't finished the paperwork on the last two cases!"

"Oh well, they'll have to get you another detective soon," Rachel assured him.

"Not soon enough. What have we got?" he asked Jack, who had finished reading the printout.

Rachel passed it along to Mick, who raised an eyebrow. "Used to be a prison officer?" he observed. "Wouldn't have many enemies then, would he?"

"Yeah, right," Rachel remarked dryly. "I'll check his records, see if there are any clues in there," she offered, cleaning the whiteboard of yesterday's case notes. She took the printout Mick had finished with and stuck it up in the corner of the board with a magnet.

"I guess we'll go and check out the crime scene," Jack replied, grabbing his jacket from the back of his chair.

Mick saved his unfinished report, mumbling, "Why can't *I* get a nice easy desk job for a change?"

"Yeah, I could see you in maternity wear," Rachel observed dryly.

Halfway through putting his jacket on, Jack snorted. "I wouldn't mind seeing that, either," he laughed. "C'mon, Twinkle Toes, let's go."

Mick opened his mouth to defend himself, but thought better of it and followed Jack out the door.
~~ * ~~

"Anything?" Rachel asked, when the detectives arrived back in the office a few hours later.

Jack shook his head. "The wife said he had a few enemies, but she reckons it was par for the course. We should check their whereabouts, though."

"Already done," Rachel told them. "I had a rummage through the prison records with Helen, and we tracked down most of the prisoners who'd made complaints about him."

"Most?" Mick asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, all but one were confirmed as either still inside, or their parole officers vouched for them. The other one, Clive Porter, escaped two days ago while he was being transferred to Emu Plains."

"Any idea where he'd go?"

"Yeah, there were two possibilities. One was a cellmate of his, Rodney Mann, who also complained about Rismore, and the other is his older brother Doug. Here are the addresses," she said, handing them over.

"Thanks, Rach," Jack smiled, pocketing the info.

"Yeah, can you finish my reports for me while you're at it?" Mick asked.

"Mick, I think somehow you are missing the point of every officer writing their own reports."

"What point, burying us in paperwork?," Mick smiled.

"Get out of here," Rachel warned, balling up a bit of paper and throwing it at him. Mick gave her a hurt look before skipping off after Jack.
~~ * ~~

Half an hour later, Rachel headed to the lunchroom for a bite. Sitting beside Helen and Tayler, she bit into her sandwich with relish.

"Hungry?" Tayler asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You shush," Helen admonished Tayler, then turned to Rachel. "You need to eat properly with a baby on the way."

Rachel looked from one to the other of them, trying to laugh and chew at the same time. "Hey, I'm not an idiot, you know, I have done this before!" She was getting used to Helen fussing over her, but sometimes it was a little too much. She finished her sandwich dutifully, as Jack and Mick arrived back from their chat with Doug Porter.

"Helen, would you be able to look someone up for us?" Mick asked.

Helen, her lunch still half eaten, started to get up, but Rachel said, "I can do it if you like, I'm finished," she offered.

"What name?" Rachel asked, sitting down in Helen's chair.

"Doug Porter," Jack told her, and Rachel typed it in.

"Nothing. He's clean."

"Yeah, right," growled Jack, "And I'm the Queen of Sheba."

Tempting as it was, Rachel and Mick let that one pass.

"How about Lanna," Mick asked. Rachel hit a few keys and a new record came up. A list of prior offences appeared on the screen, along with a picture. Rachel raised an eyebrow. "That her?" she asked.

"Yep, that's her," Jack replied, leaning over her shoulder to read the priors. "A few for soliciting, that's not really surprising. Print it out?"

Rachel nodded and the printer began to whirr. "I reckon she's an undercover," she said suddenly.

Mick and Jack both frowned. "Why would you say that?" Jack asked.

Rachel shrugged. "Just call it women's intuition."

"Yeah, right."

"Hey guys, I've got something for you," Tayler reported, appearing behind them. "A stolen car, with Clive Porter's fingerprints all over it, turned up about a hundred metres away from Rodney Mann's garage."

Jack raised an eyebrow, "So, the little bugger was lying to us, after all."

Then Jeff joined the party. "I've got your warrant to search Doug Porter's place."

Mick shook his head disbelievingly. "It's gonna be one of those days, is it?"

"We'll pay a visit to Rod on the way back, then."

Rachel laughed at their exasperation, "You'll never take me for granted again, will you?"
~~ * ~~

An hour later, the two detectives returned to the office again, with Rodney Mann in tow. They disappeared into the interview room, shaking their heads at Rachel.

"Are the boys around?" Helen asked Rachel, leaning through the door.

Rachel shook her head. "They're in with Rodney Mann."

"Oh, right. Give them this when they come out would you?" she asked, handing Rachel a large spanner in a plastic evidence bag.

"Looks like an assault weapon to me. Any prints?"

"Nope, Mullet wiped it clean for us."

"Lovely," replied Rachel sarcastically.

Helen smiled and backed out of the door. "Oh, and tell them Porter's place was clean."

Rachel shook her head. Stupid crims were definitely underrated. They made a detective's job a hell of a lot easier.
~~ * ~~

"Anything?" Rachel asked, when the boys exited the interview room and farewelled Rodney Mann.

"Oh, only a few volumes, Jack informed her. "Apparently, Porter got AIDS from Rismore, and that's the motive for the bashing."

"Rismore's got AIDS?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, an inmate set a booby trap with an aids infected needle," Mick finished. "According to Mann, he raped Clive Porter and passed it on to him."

"Charming," Rachel replied.

"We're off to interview Rismore again, see what he's got to say about this 'new information'."

"All right then, well I probably won't be here when you get back, I'll see you guys tomorrow, ok?"

"Sure thing, Rach."
~~ * ~~

I would like Chapter Five, please.

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