The Bill: Beech is Back.
Chapter 2: Return to Sun Hill.
24 hours later the plane sets down at Heathrow airport and the man steps off it and into the bustling city of London. The man has a very striking resemblance to Don Beech.
Elsewhere in London, Claire and John are just entering Sun Hill Police Station. They make their way upstairs to the CID office. First to see them is Kerry Holmes, who although a little surprised to see them, greets them with a hug and lots of questions.
"Hi you guys, how are you? Where have you been the last few weeks? Everyone's been worrying about you and Deakin's really pissed off about you disappearing off like that."
"One question at a time please Kerry. We're fine, just tired and like I said at the pub 2 weeks ago, I've been chasing after the guy who attacked John. We ended up chasing him halfway across the world, that's why we haven't been in touch."
"Did you catch him serge?"
"No, he crashed into a river in Australia and was killed."
"JOHN, CLAIRE, MY OFFICE NOW," yells Deakin, "AND THE REST OF YOU GET BACK TO WORK."
They quickly walk into the office and sit down so Deakin can talk to them.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU WERE PLAYING AT CLAIRE? I EXPECTED BETTER OFF YOU! I CAN UNDERSTAND JOHN PLAYING THE LONE RANGER ACT, BUT YOU? ... WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING?"
"Sir ... I was after the guy who beat up John sir."
"I know that Claire but why? Or better still who?"
"Don Beech sir," Claire answers hesitantly, "When I heard John was attacked, I was worried, so I got in touch with a mate to trace him. Well obviously he found John and John told me what had happened. I tracked down Don to bring him to justice, but he escaped to Australia, so I followed him. AMIT was in on it sir."
"So what happens now?"
"Nothing gov, Beech is dead so I guess there's no choice but to return to normal."
"And AMIT?"
"Gone on another case gov."
"Ok, I want you two to stay out of trouble, so I've got this new case for you. A body was found in an abandoned office block this morning. I want you to check it out. All the details are in this file so get reading," says Deakin handing them a manila folder and dismissing them from his office.
"This is gonna be a long day," murmurs Claire as the rest of the office gathers round them to welcome them back.
An hour or so later they are finally left to get on with their work.
On the other side of town at CIB headquarters Stephen was dealing with a similar barrage of questions and Marion had agreed to stick around for a few weeks to help tie up the loose ends.
"Hadn't you better let Whitehouse know your back?" Stephen asks her.
"Yeah, probably," she replies before getting a pen and paper off the desk in front of her.
"What are those for?" asks Stephen.
"I need to plan what I'm going to say. I can hardly tell him about Great Yarmouth can I?" explains Marion.
"Good point. Can I help?"
"Sure, two heads are better than one."
Together they make notes on what information it is safe to tell DS Whitehouse.
"We obviously can't say anything about Great Yarmouth, but almost everything else is fair game. Just don't go into too much detail," rationalises Stephen.
"How about saying that after I found John, I spoke to him and found out who attacked him, but I couldn't say anything because ... oh, I don't know. He knows that I found John but how can I explain the rest?"
They are prevented from discussing it anymore when Marion's phone starts ringing.
"I bet that's him," comments Stephen.
Marion fishes the phone out of her pocket and answers it. "Hello."
"Gov, it's DS Whitehouse, I know you said not to call but I want to know what's happening. We've been called away from Sun Hill."
"I know," Marion answers, "I can't go into details but apparently the guy who beat up John Boulton was not only our suspect; CIB have been keeping tabs on him too."
"What's CIB got to do with anything gov?"
"I may as well tell you. The reason no one could find John was because CIB was looking after him. I don't know all of the details but I do know the person ho attacked him was DS Beech."
"But, I thought they were best mate's gov."
"So did everyone else. I couldn't tell you before encase Beech overheard, but I've been keeping an eye on him and we managed to catch him but he found a way to escape. That's why I haven't been in touch for a few weeks. We chased him halfway across the world."
"I don't understand gov, you and who?"
"Me and the CIB taskforce chased him to Australia. Beech crashed his car in a river and drowned. We only got back last night. Now do you understand Gary?"
"Yes gov, so when are you returning to normal duty?"
"As soon as all of the loose ends have been tied up and the paperwork's been completed which will probably be a few weeks yet."
"Ok gov, see you in a few weeks then," says DS Whitehouse before hanging up.
Marion sighs before returning the phone to her pocket. "At least that's one problem solved," she says.
"Yep; now to deal with the loose ends ..." starts Stephen.
"I wonder how John and Claire are dealing with all the questions?" thinks Marion aloud.
"You can ask them yourself when the shifts over. They're dropping by here on the way home," states Stephen.
"Ok then," says Marion.
Stephen hands her a pile of paperwork to start working through.
"You start on this lot and I'll do the other half," he says by way of an explanation.
At Sun Hill John is sitting in the office reading through the case file. A few minutes later Claire walks in with a drink for each of them.
"Did you get lost on the way to the coffee machine?" jokes John.
"No I was stopped by just about every single person in the station asking where I've been the past few weeks and everything. You found anything?" She answers him, handing over one of the coffees.
"No, this feels like the longest shift ever, I wish we could just get out of here."
"You're not the only one."
"Hey Serge, your phone's ringing," calls Kerry, walking into the office with a pile of folders under her arm.
"Thanks Kerry," John says picking up the phone receiver, "Sun Hill CID, DS Boulton speaking," he says into the phone.
"It's only me," says the voice on the other end, which he recognises as Marion's, "Do you and Claire fancy skipping out early today."
"Yeah but how?" he asks.
"Easy, I'll call Deakin and tell him I need you two to come and fill in some paperwork about Beech."
"Ok then, if you think it'll work."
"Brill, I'll pick you up from outside the station in a bit."
"Ok, speak to you then." He says before putting the receiver down.
"Who was that?" asks Claire with Kerry listening in the distance.
"Our saviour," is the only answer he gives her, confusing everyone in the room.
A few minutes later, Deakin calls them into his office. After they've sat down he says, "Claire I thought you told me this thing with AMIT is over."
"It is as far as I know gov," she answers.
"Well why have I just had them on the phone saying that you and John need to go and fill in some paperwork?"
Claire looks at John before answering. "We must have missed a form then gov."
"Alright then, go and sort it out and I'll see you both tomorrow morning."
John and Claire make their way out of Deakin's office, grab their coats, say goodbye to their colleagues and then make their way out of the station.
"John, what was all that about?" asks Claire on the stairwell.
"Our ticket outta here. I would've told you earlier but I didn't want Kerry to overhear. That phone call I got was about skipping out early," he explains.
Outside the station they find Marion waiting for them.
"Come on you guys," she calls to them, "lets get out of here."
John and Claire jump into the car and they all speed off to CIB headquarters.
Authors Notes:-
Well thats all i've got time to put up today. Expect the next chapter very shortly. Also don't forget to visit my webpage (The address is in my bio.) I'm thinking of writing some NC-17 stories to fill in some of the gaps in the chapters of this series, but because of 's rules about these types of stories, they will only be accesible through my webpage. I'll let you know more as soon as I can.