Thanks to fave reviewers, smithy's gal and Phoenix Angelwolf; you guys rock for reviewing so much! And sorry it's so short!
She's the One
Chapter 7
Andrea's car arrived outside Sun Hill station that evening. She helped Kerry out and they hurried inside. Marilyn looked up from her paperwork upon hearing Kerry's voice.
"Kerry? What are you doing here? You should be in hospital!" she exclaimed in her thick Liverpudlian accent. Kerry rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Oh, I guess you've heard about Smithy then."
"Is it that obvious?" Kerry spat. "Now, can you buzz us through, please?" Marilyn sighed, and buzzed them through the door. Once in, Andrea and Kerry saw the Superintendent striding up to them. He had a grave look on his face.
"Kerry, it's good to see you're well," he said deeply.
"Thank you, sir."
"Right, if you'd like to follow me, I'll brief you."
They followed Adam Okaro into the uniform sergeant's office. Kerry glanced over at Smithy's desk; it was laden with papers and files. He was so unorganised. Kerry smiled fondly at the memory of him.
They sat on the edge of a few desks and Adam switched on the Over Head Projector. A picture of Smithy appeared on the white board.
"Okay," began Okaro, "So far, we know that Smithy's phone has been crushed to deactivate the tracer hidden inside, so the abductor knows what he or she is doing. Neil managed to get a registration number of the car Smithy was forced into, and we've tracked it to a rental company near the Thames. We checked it out, and found that the car was rented by a James Patterson, living at 14 Berry Lane. We researched it, and it's a false identification. So really, we're no closer to finding him."
Kerry bit her lip awkwardly.
Suddenly, the door of the office burst open to reveal Trainee Detective Constable Best and Police Constable Hunter. Both were looking as if light bulbs were flashing over their heads.
"Sir!" Gary said. "We've just remembered who Smithy left with tonight!"
"Yes!" chipped in Steve. "Smithy said he was going to visit Kerry, but he was too drunk to drive, so Gabriel offered to take him! Oh, hi Kerry!" he finished upon spotting Kerry.
Gabriel? She wouldn't put it past him, the jealous freak. Maybe now was the time to spill the beans on him and let the truth run free. Who knew, maybe it'd help bring Smithy back.
"Sir, can I speak to Inspector Gold and yourself in private please?"
Adam nodded. "Steve, Gary, fetch Inspector Gold please." They turned, and left the room. Minutes later, Gina entered the room looking very puzzled, until she saw Kerry. Andrea made to get up and leave, but Kerry stopped her.
"No, I want you to stay," she said in a definite dry voice.
"Okay Kerry," Gina began, sitting down, "What's this about?" Kerry drew a deep breath.
"Do you remember two days ago when I called you, saying I was coming in and I needed to speak to you?" Gina nodded her head in understanding. "Well, what I wanted to tell you was about Gabriel. He's not who think he is. His name isn't Gabriel Kent, it's David Kent, and Sergeant Ackland can confirm it."
The looks on Adam's, Gina's and Andrea's faces were explosive. None of them said anything, so Kerry continued.
"Gabriel was also the one who persuaded me to report the supposed date rape. The only reason he did that was so no-one would believe me if I got raped again, and I did…by him.
"And now," she carried on, though it was so difficult to get all this off her chest, "I'm pregnant, with his son." With those last words, Kerry's eyes swelled up and tears began falling freely.
"PC Dunbar, find Sergeant Ackland, please," Adam said in a low voice. Reluctantly, Andrea left the room, giving one last worried glance at Kerry. Once she'd gone, Adam spoke again. "Why haven't you said any of this before?" he said in a concerned way.
"Because Gabriel, I mean David, threatened to –" she broke off when she realised what she was saying. It was Gabriel who shot her, she knew it!
"He threatened to kill you?" suggested Gina. The thought struck her too. Gabriel had been there when she was telling Smithy that Kerry was coming into the station to talk to her. What if it was then he decided to finish her off? "It was PC Kent who shot you, wasn't it?" Adam's eyes widened.
"Now, now, Gina, you can't go making accusations like that with no evidence," he said wisely.
"I have evidence!" Gina said in ringing tones. "Where's Gabriel now? He was there when I told Smithy that Kerry was coming into the station and that she wanted to speak to me! He could have shot her to prevent her telling me about his false identity or for him raping her! It's not difficult to work out; he had a motive!" Adam was silent, trying to piece the clues together, and they made sense once the puzzle was complete.
"Gabriel lusts me," Kerry spoke through the tears, "he could never love me. He's got Smithy!" Kerry suddenly felt a light bulb above her head too.
"He's going to kill Smithy! Hurry, we've got to find him!"