Apologies if this chapter is not quite up to scratch and a bit short, just a small filler really! Thank you for the lovely reviews this has received, I really do appreciate them a lot :)

"Morning all. Oh, where is everyone?"

Brian cheerfully walked through the office entrance with his helmet still fastened on top of his head, and his bike beside him. He carefully leant it against the wall and unclipped his helmet, placing it on the coat rack next to his now removed coat and scarf. He looked around the empty office, searching for his colleagues. His governor's office door remained shut as if she was indeed there. However, the angle of the blinds covering the window soon revealed the lack of movement inside. His eyes turned to Gerry's desk, searching for any sign that he was there, but was once again greeted with silence. The computer's screensaver mode had been activated, shining the smallest glimmer of hope which was soon pushed from his mind as he noted the cleaners could have easily accidentally knocked the button whilst cleaning the office the previous night. The fire escape door remained shut, yet to be opened meaning Gerry had not been out for a smoke yet, if he was even here. It was either that or it had been shut behind him which was looking increasingly unlikely.

"Gerry? Sandra?"

"They're not here," Steve called to Brian from where he was standing next to the kettle. His attention turned to the only other colleague's desk in the team. The man's coat had been messily flung on the desk, knocking the pot of pens over and spreading them across the desk. He turned to face the kettle with a sigh of relief and nodded at the scot as he offered him a mug of coffee. He gladly walked over and accepted, drinking the warm liquid down in an attempt to heat himself.

"I think winter is coming early this year," Brian chuckled to himself as he referenced the harsh, cold winds he had to endure on his cycle to work that morning. The early morning sun had given a false sense of warmth, forcing the man to rush about, layering up before leaving, earning a laugh from Esther. Steve laughed at his remark before heading to hang his own coat up on the coat rack.

"Neither of them were here when I got here. But Gerry's coat is hung up," Steve mentioned as he sat down at his desk and logged onto his computer, "maybe he left it here yesterday."

Brian shook his head and sighed, "He wore it to the pub last night."

The boys had all gone for a drink at the pub the previous night in celebration of the new lead they had uncovered during the day. They had only had a couple of pints each, and Brian had stuck to his carbonated water but they had all agreed to leave early to be in for work the next day.

"It was a shame Sandra couldn't come last night."

Steve gave a small smile to Brian in agreement. It was weird that Sandra hadn't come out with them to celebrate. They usually had to drag her out of the pub, not in.

"Have you noticed that she doesn't come to the pub much anymore?"

Steve pondered Brian's question, realising that he was indeed correct. He couldn't remember the last time she had made an appearance at any social outings. She had always made out to be busy, with an impromptu visit from her mother or the occasional date with the most recent guy to sweet talk her into visiting some sleazy restaurant. The men sat in silence, each pondering the reasoning why. As if on cue, the doors to the office opened and in walked Strickland.

"Where's Gerry?"

The two men looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. Neither of them had seen the man that morning, or his car now that they thought about it. So why would Strickland be asking?

Strickland sighed and sat himself down on the sofa next to Brian. Both Sandra and Gerry should be in the office by now. Seeing as neither Brian or Steve had seen Gerry, he must have left not long after he had last seen him; meaning either he has gone 'on enquiries' or Sandra finally made an appearance and they have quickly made themselves scarce in order to avoid him. Either way, he has definitely earned himself a bollocking.

"Have either of you seen Sandra? When I spoke to Gerry earlier, she hadn't been in yet."

The pair shook their heads, both now more confused than they had been before. Steve rose to his feet and began to search Gerry's desk. He picked up the almost full mug of coffee and sighed, knowing that he had been there already. The beverage was freezing cold, leaving him to wonder where he had gone in such a hurry. It wasn't like him to leave this much of a drink. Brian placed his mug down on the coffee table in front of him, stood up and quickly reached for his phone, dialing Gerry's number.

As it went straight to the answerphone, he sighed in defeat, said, "answerphone," and placed the phone back on the set.

Strickland stood up and pulled his mobile from his blazer pocket and tried the same number. After being put straight through to voicemail, he gave up and began to try Sandra's number, but again he received no answer to any of the ten attempts. As he reached to put his phone back into the pocket, his fingers felt the ever so slight vibrations given just before the phone started to ring. He immediately pulled it out and was greeted by the chiming of his ringtone. He hesitantly looked at the name on the screen; Sandra. He took a deep breath before pressing the answer button and held the device up to his ear, relief flooding over him that she had finally contacted him. The calmness didn't last long as the voice on the other end of the phone was not Sandra, but a familiar deep voice instead.

"Gerry, what's going on? Where are you?"

Steve and Brian exchanged a worried glance at each other as Strickland began to speak. Their befuddlement soon turned to concern as the blood rapidly drained from the man's face. His hand fumbled around behind him, fingertips searching for the rough fabric on the back of the sofa. He shakily gripped the material and slowly sank to sit down. As he listened, more colour drained from him, concerning the boys even more. As the phone disconnected, the phone dropped to the floor, Strickland losing complete grip of it.

He eventually raised his line of sight from the carpet up to face the boys, and said, "Sandra's been rushed to hospital."

His voice came out as a mere whisper, reflecting the extreme levels of concern and shock he was feeling. The trio sat in silence for a few minutes before Steve spoke up.

"I'll drive."