Abi thought it unusual that there were no signs of life when she returned home. Her mum's car was still in the drive and the curtains still drawn. Even when on the late shift, Sam was usually up with the lark, bustling about the kitchen and dashing to the shops before heading off for a day of crime fighting. Abi let herself in through the front door quietly drawing the curtains in the lounge before making her way through to the kitchen. Opening the blind, she was surprised to find open case files on the table, knowing better than to look too closely. Turning away, she filled the kettle, flicking the switch and preparing three mugs.
Sam stirred as daylight seeped through a crack in the curtains. She buried her head in the warmth beside her, trying to shield her eyes from the intrusive brightness. She stopped wriggling as she realised her head was nestled against the rather generous chest of her bed companion, who was still sleeping soundly, arms wrapped tightly around Sam, one hand straying dangerously close to Sam's bottom with only the thin material of her nightdress separating their skin. 'Well that worked, perhaps a little too well!' Sam thought to herself, not sure how to extricate herself without waking Jo.
Abi climbed the stairs with the mug of coffee for Sam, having decided to wait until Jo was awake to make hers. She knocked quietly on her mum's bedroom door, pushing it open before she heard any response, knowing Sam would not thank her for letting her sleep in. She looked around the room for any sign of Sam, puzzled by her absence. Backing up slightly she peered down the hallway towards the bathroom, her confusion deepening when she saw the open door. Abi placed the mug on the cabinet beside her mum's bed before looking into her own room, finding no sign of her mother there either – which left only one room for her to be in, the room she had offered to Jo. Abi stood outside the door, listening for any signs of movement inside, for any signs of life, wondering whether she should peek in.
Sam heard movement on the other side of the door, freezing as she thought Abi might actually look in, knowing how the scene would look. She closed her eyes and feigned sleep as she saw the door handle start to turn. The telephone ringing downstairs saved her from her daughter's inquisition, but it roused Jo from her slumbers which Sam feared would only result in another round of questions she'd rather avoid at that moment – at least until she had had chance to clear her head.
"Sam?" Jo seemed confused as she awoke to find her sergeant in her arms.
Sam turned still groggy eyes towards her taller companion and, with a more confident smile than her inner turmoil deserved, greeted her. "Morning. It seems we were both ready for some sleep. I don't remember anything after curling up with you until the phone woke me just now!" Sam hoped that Jo wouldn't find it too awkward waking up together, desperately fighting her urge to brush the hair away which was obscuring Jo's beautiful face.
"I can't remember sleeping that long in ages. Tessa always pulled away during the night, kept tossing and turning, woke me up. Thanks Sam, for giving me a good night's sleep. I was sceptical I must admit, but now, I'm thinking of bottling you as a cure for insomnia!" Jo joked, trying to take some of the tension out of the situation as she let her head fall back to the pillow after a quick peek at the time. She sensed Sam's awkwardness, although both noted neither of them had made a move to leave the embrace they had awoken in. The bedroom door opening made them spring apart like guilty teenagers caught in the act by a parent.
"Mum, sorry, erm Phil's on the phone, says he needs to talk to you, it's urgent." Abi babbled the message out before turning on her heel. Sam was after her in an instant, grabbing her robe and pulling it on as she raced to the phone.
"Phil, what is it?" Sam listened as Phil filled her in on the morning's latest.
"Sorry, I know you're not on 'til later but I thought you'd want to know as soon as we knew anything. There's been another woman abducted, same sort of area as the other five victims. We're canvassing the area now, see if neighbours heard or saw anything."
"I'll bring Jo up to speed, we'll be in shortly. How long has this woman lived alone? Jo has a theory, I'll let her fill you in when we get to the station but when you look into the victims' records, see if any of them changed the name on any of their utility bills recently, if they were in their partner's or husband's name prior to the split." Sam's mind raced, her brain still a little groggy from being torn so suddenly from her blissful semi-conscious state in Jo's arms.
"I'll get Suzie onto it, hopefully we'll have something to support that theory when you get here. Zain's chasing CCTV in the area, see if we can get any handle on which way he's headed so we stand a chance of finding her before he does his worst to her." Phil ended the conversation, already in motion in the office issuing orders to track down the information Sam had mentioned.
"Mum?" Abi appeared in the kitchen doorway, looking expectantly at Sam.
"Not now, Abi. It wasn't what it looked like, I'm not so cheap that I'd take advantage of Jo like that. I'll explain later, ok? Right now, Jo and I need to get to work." Sam kissed her daughter's cheek and patted her swollen belly adoringly before dashing back upstairs, knocking on the spare room door and waiting for Jo to call out before entering.
"Another one?" Sam nodded, puzzled as to how Jo could possibly know already, without her having said anything. "Your face can be an open book at times, and you look like someone just really peed you off! Since it was Phil on the phone, it doesn't take a genius to deduce that either he said something really tasteless or something important happened at work and seeing as he's on his best behaviour around you these days, I guessed it was work. My powers of deduction aren't that rusty, you know!"
"I asked him to look into the changes of name on the utility bills, see if your theory holds water. It might give us some sort of idea how he targets his victims at least, if not where he might have taken her." Sam paced up and down, mindless of the fact her robe had come undone and she was shamelessly flashing flesh.
"I'll be ready in ten. The sooner we get to work on finding who this guy is, the more chance we have of finding this latest woman before she has to suffer too badly at his hands." Sam took in Jo's wet hair and the rosy glow to her skin, marvelling at how anyone could shower that quickly.
"Give me twenty minutes, I need to shower yet!" Sam grinned as Jo rolled her eyes, before heading out of the door and heading into the bathroom.