Jo's hands flew to Sam's breasts, covering her up and protecting her modesty, her own shielded by Sam's body in front of her.
"Hugh, what the…" Sam spluttered as her heart hammered in her chest, cursing herself for allowing Jo to distract her long enough to forget about changing the locks.
"You're slipping up, Sam. I really did expect the locks to have been changed after yesterday's little tête-à-tête. Still at least you took something I said seriously I presume, seeing as Abi and Joey appear to have vanished. So have you managed to find anything out about O'Rourke?" Hugh lowered the lid and perched on the toilet, making himself at home oblivious to the women's distress at his presence.
"No, I need more time. Besides, if Joey and Abi are out of the way surely that eliminates the threat to them." Sam sunk further into the bubble-bath filled water as Hugh's gaze lingered a little too long on her breasts, still covered by Jo's hands.
"You must be the infamous Jo, the fiancée I keep hearing about." Hugh extended a hand towards Jo who looked back at him with undisguised venom.
"Get the hell out of here before I drag you into the station myself. At least have the decency to wait outside while we put some clothes on." Jo's main concern was with Sam's discomfort, noticing how he had leered at her naked body from the moment he walked through the door.
"Oh I'm not staying. Meet me tomorrow at three o'clock in the park on North Lane, there's an abandoned club house there from when it was the cricket club, I'll meet you inside as long as you don't bring reinforcements. We can talk about what you've found out then. Don't fool yourself into thinking Abi and Joey can't be found Sam – I followed them to the safe house without being detected and I'm fairly certain I wasn't alone. There was a biker who happened to pass me on three separate occasions on the trip, here's his licence plate number, you might want to check it out." Hugh rose, arm outstretched offering the slip of paper on which he had scrawled the number plate details, slipping it onto the cabinet as neither woman moved to accept it. "If you want proof that I know where they are – let's say I'm disappointed that you saw fit to leave your daughter and grandson's safety in the hands of Gary Best." Hugh threw over his shoulder as he sauntered from the bathroom. Neither woman moved for what seemed like an age following his departure, the only sound their rapid breathing and the occasional drip of water from the tap.
"I'm calling an emergency locksmith, we're getting the locks changed tonight." Jo commanded, releasing her hold on Sam's chest and using her arms to lever herself up out of the bath. Sam sat forward to allow her to go, hugging her knees to her chest and shaking with fear, knowing that her daughter was still in danger and that there was no way of warning her. Jo saw her distress and softened slightly, her anger at Sam's neglecting to mention Hugh had keys fading in light of her terror. "And then I'll call the DCI, get him to move Abi and Joey to another location. I'll tell him what Hugh's just told us, we can have them safely tucked away somewhere before first light and an operation in place to re-arrest Hugh in time for tomorrow's meeting."
"The number plate belongs to a Ford Fiesta so either Hugh was mistaken or the plates have been stolen or cloned. Either way, it doesn't help us any. But I have been doing a bit more digging into Ciaran O'Rourke." Jo settled herself at her desk, feeling as though her homecoming was complete after hastily arranging a doctor's appointment to sign her back on for work earlier that morning. "Ten years ago, O'Rourke was linked with a paramilitary organisation who had a habit of planting bombs on mainland Britain."
"What are we talking, IRA?" Mickey asked with a quizzical expression, wondering how Phil could have overlooked something so important. Jo nodded gravely.
"His daughter was sixteen at the time, about to go to college to study Psychology. She attended a weekend lecture in the June she left school – a lecture given by Dr Hugh Wallis – at a conference on criminal psychology in Manchester. Her father had forbidden her to attend, possibly because it was the same day a suspected IRA bomb exploded in the city, decimating much of the shopping centre there. I've arranged to speak to an old colleague of Hugh's, someone who was at the function that day with him, hopefully he'll be able to shed some light on the relationship between the two of them." Jo continued, "I remember that day: June 15th 1996. I was a PC with the Greater Manchester Police; a local radio station received the warning around 10am, I was one of the officers charged with evacuating the shopping centre… and with helping to clear up the carnage that followed after the van exploded outside of Marks and Spencers. If he is involved in any way with what's been happening here, we need to be prepared, to understand that he will go to any lengths to achieve his goals."
"If Hugh met his daughter ten years ago, how come it's taken him this long to seek revenge, if that's what this is?" Zain asked reasonably.
"It wasn't until the spring of the following year that Niamh O'Rourke 'fell' from a motorway bridge, leaving her in a coma for months and severely brain damaged for life. It was discovered after the fact that she had been three months pregnant at the time – the baby didn't survive the fall. A witness who had been driving on the motorway came forward to say that he'd seen a man arguing with Niamh moments before she went over the side of the bridge but he couldn't identify anyone in particular. After the nature of their relationship was discovered Hugh was questioned but he had an alibi, said he was with a prostitute. O'Rourke paid the woman a visit. She died from the beating he gave her, he wound up in Strangeways in Manchester for eight years for her manslaughter, had another six months tagged onto his sentence for assaulting a fellow prisoner. He was released just under four months ago on November 28th 2005 and disappeared without trace. There's been no contact with his parole officer, no confirmed sightings of him, not even a visit to his daughter. Until now, there was a suspicion that he'd gone back to Ireland." Jo supplied matter-of-factly.
"And this is the man we think is keeping tabs on Sam and/or Hugh?" Mickey's question was rhetorical, pointing out the significance of the situation rather than questioning Jo's concern.
"How did you find all this out so easily? Phil came up against stone walls wherever he tried looking." Jack asked casually, knowing how frustrated his sergeant had been to draw blanks on a likely suspect.
"I still have friends in GMP, one of them owed me a favour," Jo explained, taking a sip from the plastic coffee cup which was a permanent feature of her desk. She watched Sam who had listened to the rundown silently, offering no insights into her thinking.
"We need to stop this as soon as possible before anyone else gets hurt in the crossfire. Now we know that Hugh is intent on hunting this guy down himself, that's why he's desperate for information. And it's pretty safe to assume that if he does find him, it won't be for a cosy chat and a quick apology. Hugh has already shot a man who tried to help him, we know he's capable of anything to protect his own interests. Is there any way we can safely use that to lead us to O'Rourke?" Jack posed the question to his team, watching their minds whirr into action.
"Maybe this geezer on the motorbike will show up this afternoon when Hugh meets with Sam, we could always try following him. Nicking him will likely get us nowhere but if we put a tail on him, maybe he'll lead us to O'Rourke, or at least give us more evidence that it is him behind the attacks." Mickey suggested leaning forward and resting his forearms on the desk in front of him.
"Zain, you think you could handle that? You're least likely to be sussed as a cop and if Hugh sees you it's not a problem since he's never met you before." Jack turned to the well-spoken DC, knowing it was right up his street.
"Course Guv." Zain agreed readily, eager to be an integral part of the investigation, having felt sidelined up until now.
"Sam, are you prepared to go ahead and meet Hugh as planned?" Sam nodded, her expression a little melancholic.
"Just promise me that they're safe Jack," she said quietly as the rest of the team got to work.
"I promise, there's no way they were followed this time." The DCI assured her sincerely.
"Fancy a cuppa?" Gary asked, trying to draw the unusually quiet young woman out of her silence.
"How long is this likely to go on for Gary?" She drew her knees to her chest, worrying at her bottom lip with her teeth. "As much as she irritates the life out of me, I wish Mum were here."
"It won't be for long, Jo and Sam will get whoever's behind this and send him down for a long stretch. You'll soon be back home wondering how on earth you ever thought you missed her!" Gary flopped onto the sofa beside his charge, wishing there was more he could do in a practical sense, the emotional support never having been his strong point.
"What if they don't get him? Will I ever be able to see them again?" Abi felt tears prick her eyes at the thought of bringing up her son without the love and support of her mother and Jo.
"Of course you will; they're the best and they won't stop until he's where he belongs. Now, how about I fix us a bacon buttie?" Gary offered, his best little boy lost expression coaxing a smile from his companion.
"Do you ever stop thinking about putting something in your mouth?" Abi admonished him, playfully patting his stomach with a wink, suggesting his waistline was expanding.
"If it's empty, there's too much temptation to put me foot in it!" Gary quipped rising from the sofa and crossing to the kitchenette in the corner of the room. Abi creased up laughing, tears rolling down her cheeks as she buried her head in a cushion.
Finally recovering enough breath to speak, she told him, "you know what Gary, I don't care if you turn out to be crap as protection. At least having you around is good for my morale!" She stood and crossed the tiny room, pecking him on the cheek lightly, dissolving into fits of laughter once again as he knocked the frying pan to the floor in response, his crestfallen look only adding to her mirth.
"All set?" Jo asked as she looked across at Sam in the passenger's seat.
"Mm-hmm," came the unsure response, a scowl firmly fixed on the blonde's elfin face.
"Come 'ere." Jo instructed, pulling Sam towards her and locking their eyes onto one another's. "We'll be fine, we'll go in there, tell him what he wants to hear and leave. The rest is down to Zain and Terry." Terry had been tasked with following Hugh after the meeting while Zain was to tail the mystery biker if they showed up. The park itself was teeming with undercover uniformed officers: Will and Emma strolling around the gardens arm in arm looking every bit the young couple in love, Lewis hanging around the toilet block with the appearance of a drug addict looking for his next fix, Honey sat on a park bench with a scarily lifelike doll in a baby's pram, a harassed mother out for a breath of air. All entrances to the park were being watched discretely and the officers were confident that no one could slip into or out of the park without them noticing. Jo listened to everyone's assurances that they were in position before placing a tender kiss on Sam's quivering lips. "Let's go sweetheart." They had decided that since Hugh had addressed them both, they would both arrive at the park and let him decide if he would speak to them as a couple or if he would deal only with Sam alone. The two women climbed from Sam's own car, knowing that Hugh would be on the look out for it and a pool car would alert him to the possibility of other officers present. They entered the park, Jo hearing in her discrete ear piece the commentary of their journey beginning. Sam preceded Jo up the rotting steps to the old clubhouse noticing the lock was hanging off the door. She turned to look at Jo, nodding slightly before pulling the door towards her and slipping through the gap, almost gagging on the stench that greeted her. Jo's hand covered her mouth and nose as she followed Sam through into the dingy, dark building, her free hand rifling in her pocket for a torch so that they would be able to see where they were more clearly, both women keen to avoid any surprises.
"No sign of anyone approaching yet Guv." Tony Stamp's gruff voice sounded loud in Jo's ear making her heart pound a little. Finally locating the torch, she flicked on the beam sweeping the narrow light across the room in front of them.
"Let's check out the shower area, make sure there's no one lurking back there." Sam suggested, already moving forwards into the gloom. They rounded the corner, both coming close to losing their breakfast in the face of the sight that greeted them. Speaking into the transmitter located in her jacket collar, Jo asked for backup.
"We've got a body in here Guv."