Sam rifled through the case notes she had brought home with her, hoping to pin down the elusive hint of an idea lurking at the dimmest recesses of her conscious mind. It was there somewhere, she was sure of it, the key to solving the case and capturing the man responsible for terrorising Sun Hill's female population. She had hoped that the peace she could find at home would allow the idea to blossom, to tease it from her sub-conscious and allow her to make a breakthrough. Thoughts of Jo, still slumbering soundly on her sofa, kept threatening to crowd out all other considerations, much to Sam's frustration. Hoping to control her mind before she wandered off into another fit of day-dreaming, Sam wandered through into the kitchen to pour herself another mug of coffee. She stared out of the kitchen window, gazing with unseeing eyes out over the somewhat unkempt garden, her mind rapidly sorting through the information she had read, disregarding irrelevant white noise and categorising the more salient points. She kept coming back to the photos taken of the victims, something about them kept niggling at her. With renewed vigour she marched back into the lounge and spread the photographs across the table hoping that her mind would sift through the chaos.
The dedicated DS had been examining the photographs of their five known victims for over an hour when her mobile phone rang, startling her with its volume in the quiet house. She snatched it up answering the call swiftly, hoping it had not disturbed Jo.
"Sam, it's Phil." He waited to hear Sam's voice before continuing hoping his concern would endear him to the feisty blonde rather than give her a tool to ridicule him with.
"Hi Phil, how's things at the station? Any more leads come in?" Sam felt her heart-rate settling back nearer to it's previous state. As Jo stirred on the sofa, she mentally kicked herself for forgetting to change the volume on her mobile.
"Ah you know, same old, same old. Nothing new on the case. I was wondering, well we all are really, how's Jo doing? She going to be ok?" Sam could hear Zain and Suzie having a heated discussion in the background as Phil lowered his voice, not wanting to completely destroy his hard-man image with his colleagues.
"She's going to be fine Phil, she's sleeping at the minute, finally. Listen, while you're on the phone, let me run something by you. Our rapist, I think he's branding his victims. Every one of them has a very similar bruise on their backs, in similar positions, I don't think it's accidental. I think he's trying to send a message to us, that he's proud of his work. He's arrogant, cocky. That might work in our favour if he thinks he's unstoppable. He wouldn't be the first to make mistakes. But we still need something to give us a clue to how he chooses his victims. I've been going over the case files, all the women lived alone, had no family nearby, very few friends, career-minded women but none of them seem to have that one common element that could introduce our guy to them. We need to find that link Phil, can you get Suzie and Zain to stop trying to murder each other long enough to look into whether these women used the same website, even internet provider, phone company – anything that might expose them to this guy. It's been two weeks since his last attack – the longest gap before has been twelve days – he's going to be getting restless soon and we need to be one step ahead of him before he claims another victim. The last woman was beaten more viciously than the previous victims, he's escalating, soon it won't be enough for him to beat them and sexually assault them – he needs to be stopped before he strikes again." Sam paced the dining room as she spoke to Phil, feeling the urgency within her increase as she spoke, a deep sense of foreboding driving her to stop the brutal attacker.
"We'll go through everything we know about all of the victims, supermarkets they use, mobile phone companies, internet usage, everything we can think of to find a link. Concentrate on taking care of Jo for us Sam, she's not as tough as she makes out she is. I think you might be the only one who can put her back together, you're the only one of us not afraid to stand up to her!"
"I will. Call me if you find anything, no matter how tenuous a link it might be." Sam ended the phone call, poking her head round the door to the lounge to find Jo sitting up with her head in her hands. "Hey, how'd you sleep? Want anything to eat or drink now?" Sam crossed over to the sofa, sitting beside Jo, angled towards her to get a better look at her.
"I feel like I have the hangover from hell. How can I feel more like I haven't slept in a week now than I did before I slept? How long was I out for?" Jo glanced out of the window, surprised to find it still light outside, she felt like she'd slept for hours. "Was that the station on the phone?"
"Yeah, Phil wanted to check you were ok. I think he's really fond of you, you have more friends here than you think. I made the spare bed up for you if you want to catch up on more sleep, it might be more comfortable than the sofa – it's a bit short for anyone taller than me! You've only been asleep for a couple of hours, a mere fraction of what you're due." Sam smiled at her, a frown creasing her brow when she saw how pale Jo was. Instinctively, she placed a hand on the brunette's forehead, feeling for any sign of fever or a temperature.
"I'm fine Sam, really, just tiredness catching up with me I guess. I really ought to be getting home, see what's left after Tessa's been through the place." Jo made no move to go, her head telling her she should but her body not having the energy to comply.
"I'd feel happier if you stayed here tonight Jo. I hate to think of you rattling around in the place you've shared with Tessa when you could be here, keeping me company. Abi texted me to say she's staying over at Sarah's house tonight and it seems a shame for us both to be alone. Besides, you're at my beck and call since I drove you here!" Sam nudged the taller woman, not usually so tactile but finding herself powerless to resist around the buxom brunette.
"Do taxi's not know of this road's existence then? I really appreciate the offer but I really do need to get back to the house, at least to see that it's ok. Tessa was a bit mad at me when she left the station and she proved that I don't know what she's capable of doing. I think I'd rest easier knowing the house wasn't wrecked." Jo stood raking a hand through her hair, not quite believing that she had twice woken up to Sam's face in the same day, something she thought she would only ever dream of doing. Her head swam as her body tried to find the energy required by the move, lack of food threatening to unbalance her.
"If you insist on going back there then I'll drive you but only on the proviso that you promise you'll come back here with me afterwards for the night. I'll even throw in a takeaway to sway you! I would cook for you but I think you've been punished enough for one lifetime without needing that inflicted on you as well!" Sam rose from her sofa, her eyes daring Jo to refuse her offer.
"Fine, I can see when I'm beaten, I promise to come back here if you'll drive me to my house," Jo intoned, trying to convince Sam she was bored with arguing with her but the hint of an amused sparkle in her eyes undermined the charade. Jo had to admit to herself that she was happier with the idea of spending the night in Sam's company than alone, surrounded by memories of her last five years with Tessa. She decided that she wouldn't dissect the reasons for her glee too carefully – her fatigue and emotional imbalance might colour the outcome.