Blast From the Past - Part Two

Summary: Romance is blossoming between Michael and Sam. But as more things are revealed about the case, how will Jack cope when Nikki places herself at the centre?


She laughed as she took a sip of her wine, the corners of her eyes creasing as they connected with Michaels. She had missed this, just the ability to feel free and happy. Sam had loved the intensity of being back at the Lyell but being older and wiser now had come with it's benefits. She now knew that she could take a step back, she didn't have to take her work home with her.

In the days gone past, she would let the cases grind her down. She'd see all the faces in her dreams but now she could just turn up for work, get the job done and go home. It was one of the first things she had noticed after being back there for a couple of weeks. Things weren't getting to her as much as they used to. Of course there was the odd case that would get under her skin, that was inevitable with the job, but it certainly wasn't as bad as it used to be.

That warm feeling in her stomach grew as she continued to gaze over at Michael, why she ever pushed him away all those years ago she'd never understand. She should've stood her ground and been selfish for a change and stop putting other peoples feelings before her own.

She watched as Michael's hand moved across the table, stopping as it reached her own. He carefully turned her hand over, her palm facing the ceiling now as his fingers traced along the lines. The goosebumps erupted all over her skin as the shiver travelled down her spine.

"It's always been you Sam," he breathed, smiling as her lips twitched. "I should never have let you go."

"But you were married," she was quick to put in. "And you had David to think about. I couldn't ask you to walk from either of them, that wouldn't have been fair."

"I just wish that I had been honest with myself and with you, David would've understood," he spoke, his eyes not leaving hers. "He wasn't that young and he knew me and Helen were over long before we even realised it. Look, I didn't come here to talk about my ex-wife. How are you finding it all, being back in London and having to chase down criminals again?"

"Well things have certainly changed since the last time I was here," she started, moving her hand away so she could brush her hair out of her eyes. "And it has taken me a while to settle in and get used to all this new technology after being stuck in an office for so long but it's honestly the best decision I've ever made. I'm beginning to question why I left in the first place."

"Sometimes you need to take a step back from things to realise how much they actually mean to you," he quipped, lifting his own glass to his lips. "And you know what they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder," he winked at her.

Sam could feel her cheeks growing warmer, she had said the same thing to herself when she'd seen him that morning, she raised an eyebrow at him, "It certainly does."

Michael opened his mouth to speak but stopped when he spotted the waitress heading in their direction, the plates of food carefully balanced on her arms. They remained fairly silent as the two of them devoured the meals. Although Sam didn't miss how Michael had kept stealing looks from her at every given opportunity. It had been so long since anyone had looked at her like that. She had given up with relationships in recent years, finding herself unbothered about looking to have someone else in her life. Quite content being by herself.

But sat here, with Michael opposite her, making her legs feel like jelly she was beginning to wonder why she had starved herself of affection for so long. She wiped her finger across the plate, picking up the rest of the chocolate sauce left behind as she gazed over at him. He was pulling the various notes out of his wallet and placing them down on the table. She grabbed hold of her bag that hung on the back of her chair and pulled her own purse out.

"What are you doing?" Michael asked suddenly. Realising what she was doing, he reached out and plucked her purse from her hands. "I am paying, okay?"

"But that's not fair," she retorted, pulling a face. "This place is quite expensive, I can't expect you to pay for it all."

He shook his head at her, rolling his eyes, "Professor Sam Ryan, you're not an uneducated woman," he teased, a smirk slowly spreading across his face as he watched her mouth hang open, ready to spit an insult at him. "Don't you know the rules of a first date?"

She stole her purse back, "Of course I do but this isn't exactly our first date now is it?" She said smugly, retrieving some notes and handing them over to Michael who had just folded his arms. "Take it." She pushed them further into his face.

"No," he replied bluntly. They stayed staring at each other for a few good minutes before Michael sighed and took the money from her, placing into his pocket knowing he was going to have to come up with a way of sneaking it back to her. He pushed his chair back so that he could stand up and the two of them were soon heading out of the restaurant, Michael's hand resting on the small of her back as he guided the two of them down the hallway.

Before they knew it, the pair were pulling up outside Sam's house. She could feel the awkwardness growing, it was the part she always hated. Did she let him go? Or did she invite him inside for a coffee? She mulled over the options for a few moments, it was always a decision she hated having to make but as she looked over at him, his dark brown eyes enticing her she realised that she was far from wanting this 'date' to be over.

"Do you…" she began, almost feeling flustered. She wish she could've shaken herself for acting like such a teenager, her cheeks now feeling very warm. She chuckled as she watched the smile on his face grow, "Do you want to come in?"

"I'd love to," he grinned.

The pair left his car and made their way into Sam's house. Michael followed behind her as she walked through into her kitchen, switching on the kettle as she went past. Sam peeled off her coat, draping it on the back of her chair before setting about making the two of them some coffees. She could feel Michael watching her every move as she spooned the sugar into his mug, remembering how he liked his coffee despite not having made him one for over fifteen years.

Her skin tingled as she felt him come up behind her, his hands smoothing down her arms. He tucked his face into the crook of her neck, his lips connecting with her flesh. Sam's breath hitched, the metal spoon clattering against the china. The idea of coffee escaping her mind as she spun around in his grasp, their faces inches apart. She could feel his breath running along her top lip as she closed the gap between them, her lips crashing into his.

Her hands came to cup his cheeks as his wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her closer as the kiss deepened. Sam could feel herself growing breathless, pulling away from him, her eyes searched his. This had really been a long time coming. Her hand travelled down his body, her fingers wrapping around his hand as she tugged him away, heading in the direction of her bedroom.

Michael remained where he was, his arm now outstretched, he grinned at her, "I'll be up in a minute," he breathed. Sam nodded, unable to hide the redness in her face. But she turned and left the kitchen slowly, feeling his eyes boring into the back of her. Michael smiled as he dug into his pocket. Pulling out the notes he had taken from Sam earlier; he carefully placed them into one of the mugs, chuckling to himself as his feet took off in the same path as Sam's.


He stood up, the blood dripping off the tip of the knife as he loomed over her perfect body. Her face peaceful, almost as if she was asleep. He took a deep breath, the tang of metal hanging in the air. He felt alive and on top of the world. He wiped the back of his hand across his face, smearing the scarlet liquid. There was a sense of regret filling his veins as he realised that it had been too soon. He had been too eager. But as he looked down at her slim frame, the ecstasy surging through him, he knew that the time had come. He was never going to get that feeling ever again. The high he had got from plunging the knife into her flesh was like nothing else.

Now he really knew of the pleasure one could get from taking a life. Looking down at his hands, the blood still bubbling at the tips of his fingers and dropping onto the grass. Lifting his hands he brought them to his lips, running them over his face, painting his lips red. He flicked his tongue out and he could feel the goosebumps erupting all over his skin as the liquid trickled down his throat. He had told him that it would feel like this.

He wanted to scream from the rooftops, to tell everyone just exactly what he had done. He was proud of this. But he knew this would be the last one. He wasn't going to get another like this. He knew he could get away with it, he didn't doubt that for a second. The detectives were too stupid to even link the others let alone find him now. But he knew the feeling that was pouring through his body right now was never going to be matched.

He jumped as he heard a siren blazing, the knife had slipped from his hands as he ran as fast as his legs could take him. It wasn't until he had stopped to catch his breath did he realise that the knife had fallen but it was too late. He couldn't go back, not now. He breathed deeply through his nose before he was running again. Running to his apartment.

Once inside, he didn't make any hesitations. Ripping his clothes off as he walked up the stairs, he pulled apart the razor and ran the bath. Kneeling down, he watched as the water rose, threatening to spill over the top; the steam rising to the ceiling. His finger danced along the surface before switching the taps off.

Standing up once again, he let all the air escape his lungs as he slipped one foot into the scorching water. He clenched his teeth together. It was like someone was poking a million needles into his feet. But he powered through the pain as he lowered himself into the water, his whole body submerged bar his head. He let the heat penetrate his skin for a few minutes, waiting for the bead of sweat to dribble down his forehead. He gazed at his hand, tightening his grip on the blade. The last thing he seen was his face, staring at him.


It had been a few days since that first murder had been thrust upon them and since Michael and Sam had been on their 'first' date. They hadn't gotten very far in their findings and the case Michael had been trying to build up against Frankie's boyfriend Paul was being knocked down very quickly. Even more so when the DNA results came back and they had found that the last person Frankie had sex with hadn't been Paul and what was making things even worse, nobody could seem to find this 'Katie' that Paul had mentioned.

It was looking more and more likely that whoever this person was that Frankie had gone to meet, they may have been the one who killed her. But none of them knew where they would start with that and given that the DNA they found wasn't on any database, it was making the task even more difficult.

Sam was being shaken awake, jolting her eyes open they were met by Michael's staring down at her, "What's happened?" She asked, her voice hoarse. She could see the panic in his face and she knew instantly that something was wrong.

"They've found another body," he breathed, standing up and taking a step back as he watched Sam getting out of bed. "They think it might be linked to the other one but they can't be sure. We need to get down there as soon as possible, I'll meet you there yeah?"

Sam nodded, "Just text me the address, I'll be as quick as I can," she was already pulling out all the clothes from her wardrobe, not worrying too much about what she was going to wear so long as it was warm. Michael quickly planted his lips on her cheek before he was disappearing downstairs.

Sam let out a breath as she caught sight of herself in the mirror, her hair sticking up everywhere. She did her best to smooth everything down which didn't do much but made it look less like she had just rolled out of bed. Hooking her bag around her and fishing her car keys out of her bag she made her way to the crime scene.

She was met by Jack, Nikki and Evan as she got there. Jack and Evan reviewing the scene whilst Nikki was taking pictures of the body. Straight away Sam knew that this was completely different to the previous one and she was beginning to wonder how the hell they were linking these two murders. She bent down, her face now level with Nikki's as her eyes looked up and down the woman's body, all bloodied and bruised.

"How are they linked?" She questioned, looking directly at Nikki.

Nikki shrugged her shoulders, "She looks like Frankie. The park is a five minute walk from the train station it's not unlikely, is it?" She answered, she knew that they would probably find more similarities when they did the post mortem. But as of right now, everything was just supposition.

Sam nodded slowly, knowing that Nikki was having her doubts as well. This woman had been brutally murdered, Sam could see that. The sheer amount of stab wounds showed the passion behind it. Frankie's murder had been thought out, meticulously executed. They had gone to the effort of making it look as though she had taken her own life. This was a different MO. No attempt was made to cover this one up.

"Has a knife been found?" She spoke into the air in the hopes that someone who would know the answer would speak.

It seemed as though it was Jack who took on that role as he walked over to her, "Nothing as of yet but I have noticed that there is some flattened grass just over in that direction," Jack pointed in the distance, Sam's eyes following his finger. "If the killer went that way in a hurry, it's likely that we'll find the knife. He may have left a blood trail as well."

"Well I should've thought so considering the volume of blood around the body," she commented, turning back to the woman. She looked young as well, probably the same age as Frankie. In a way she hoped they were linked because at least then, if they found the murderer behind all of this, these young women would be safe. "Any ID this time?"

"Yes," Nikki interrupted. "Her name's Melanie Wilson, twenty-three."

Sam sighed, only a year older than Frankie. Coming to terms with death was always the hardest part of this job. Shaking the thoughts away, her and Nikki continued with the examination whilst Jack and Evan disappeared in search of the knife. Nothing had been found by the time that Sam and Nikki had finished so they left the two of them to it as they headed back to the Lyell.

As they arrived back at the Lyell, Nikki was being called away again. They had found a body of a young male in his apartment. Suicide. Nikki made her goodbyes and quickly left Sam to it as she made her way to the apartment.

When she got there, she couldn't help but think about how close this was to the scene she had been at not half an hour ago. Her eyebrows furrowed over that thought, it wasn't uncommon to have more than one death in an area but they were never usually this close in timeframe without being linked. Shaking her head, she parked up outside and retrieved her silver case from the boot and zipped up her white SOCO suit.

She greeted the police officers as she passed under the tape and made her way up the stairs. Her eyes quick to spot the drops of blood on the carpet along with some clothes that had been strewn across the floor. From what she had been told so far, it was more than likely going to be his own blood. And as she rounded the corner into the bathroom her suspicions were confirmed. She gulped as she took in the sight, his pale body slumped in the water. The blood painting the room a bright red.

She passed the threshold into the room, her eyes scanning over every inch. She had no doubt that this man had taken his own life. She had seen this type of scene one too many times and there was nothing so far to suggest otherwise. She picked up his arms, checking the wounds, the one on his left being deep and straight, the one on his right much messier. But she could see that he had used all of his might to break through into the skin.

"Do we have a name for him?" She asked the constable as she looked up at him.

"Yes, Matthew Sullivan, aged thirty-one," he replied before leaving the room again, his face tinging a light green colour.

Nikki nodded, taking in the information before continuing. His body was still warm to the touch but that was no surprise given that his body had been submerged in the water for so long. And given how his skin was pink with burns she had guessed that he had wanted to torture himself further by letting the heat attack him first.

She sighed, wondering what drove someone to do something like this. She had never understood it, she had been in so many dark places in her head but suicide was never an option for her. Despite all the things she had been through, she had still come to appreciate life and how precious it is. Seeing people being ripped away from opportunities and seeing families torn by grief on a daily basis was enough to think against it.

Her eyes glanced over at the man, his own eyes still open as they stared back at her. She could feel the shiver crawl down her spine, his whole body lifeless and with no soul. She thought about what may have happened had someone caught him at the right time, saved him from this. From himself. She could almost feel the lump forming in her throat. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and focused her mind as she continued with her assessment.


Sam was well underway with the post mortem back at the Lyell, Michael in the observation room watching her. She hadn't heard anything back from Jack as of yet so she assumed that he hadn't found anything. She inspected every wound carefully, measuring the depth of each one. All fifteen of them were consistent with each other so she had no doubts that they were caused by the same knife. But as she reached the last one, she felt the metal rod clash against something.

Picking up the tweezers from her trolley, she fished inside the wound, retrieving a shard of metal. Turning to face Michael and holding her hand out for him to see, "The tip of the knife," she spoke. "I need to get on the phone to Jack, let him know what to look out for." She passed the piece of evidence over to the technician who placed it into a tray.

She pulled off her gloves as she walked over to the phone and dialled Jack's number from the piece of paper that sat on the counter. The dial tone rang twice before she heard him on the other end, "Boss, what's happened?" Jack answered, Sam could hear that he was short of breath and she was beginning to wonder what he had been doing.

"We've found the tip of the blade," she began. "It looks to be flat so now you have some idea of what to be looking for."

Jack almost chuckled as he looked down at the evidence bag he was clutching in his hands, "Don't think we'll need to worry about that now," he breathed, passing the bag over to Evan who was placing it carefully into the case. "We'll be there in about ten minutes."

Sam put the phone down before moving back to the body and continuing the post mortem. Thoughts of Frankie came to her mind as her eyes scanned the girl's arms. There were no signs of previous self-inflicted wounds but something did catch her attention. There was a carving, almost looked like a star, etched into the inside of her upper arm. Lifting it up so she could have a closer look she called for the technician to take a photograph, "There's a mark on her arm," she pointed out. "It could be nothing, possibly just some trend going around. But it would be worth checking to see if there were any markings on Frankie, see if anything's been missed."

Michael listened carefully, quite surprised to hear Sam admitting that she may have done something wrong. It made him realise that although she wasn't unlike her past self she had changed, grown. Before she would be so stubborn and would never admit defeat. But now here she was, happy to criticise her own work. He felt a sense of pride washing over him as he gazed at the woman in front of him, his heart rate picking up.

She stopped as she reached the woman's fingers, spotting the skin embedded under the nails. Reaching for the swab she swiped it, collecting the evidence before handing it over to the technician for analysis.

Sam was soon finishing up on the post mortem, not finding much else. Like Frankie, Melanie had been physically in good shape. She had taken the necessary tests for toxicology and then she was heading back to the changing room.

Nikki sighed as she punched the numbers into the device on the wall, her card was buried somewhere in her bag and she wasn't really in the mood for digging around. She waited for the door to click before pushing her way in and rounding the corner to her desk. She looked over her shoulder to find Jack sat in the lab, his focus completely taken up by whatever was in front of him. She watched him for a moment, his mind tuned into this one thing. She felt the flutter in her stomach as he looked over at her, their eyes connecting.

She hadn't spoken to him about her and Evan's conversation the other day. All of them being too wrapped in this case to take the time to pull him aside and check in on him. Her lips twitched as she peeled her coat off and draped it on the back of her chair. She crossed the hall and joined him, her eyes drawn to the knife that lay in front of him, the tip missing.

"Is that the murder weapon?" She asked, walking around him before leaning her elbows on the counter, their shoulders pressed together.

Jack nodded, reaching out to grab the dish and passing it to Nikki, "And that is the tip Sam found in one of the wounds," he explained. "I'm just trying to see if we can lift anything from this."

Nikki took a deep breath as she placed the dish back down. She could feel the air growing thick around them as she remained silent, milling over the right words to use. She could never judge Jack sometimes, she had known him for so long but she knew he had a short temper and the littlest of things would upset him. He'd never take it out on her of course, but if she had been the cause of his outburst then it would just play on her mind for the rest of the day.

She could feel Jack's eyes on her, his mind elsewhere other than the knife sat on the table. Nikki blinked slowly before turning to face him, her breath hitching as she realised just how close they had been. She suddenly stood up straight, putting that little bit of distance between them but his eyes still followed her as she looked down at him.

"Evan told me what happened the other day," she barely got out. Her throat felt tight. She had never been like this with him before, she'd always been able to say whatever she wanted without fear. But things were different between them now. Ever since Mexico. Ever since what happened. She knew that she had been so close to admitting that one thing she had always wanted to tell him the other week but she still couldn't find the confidence to bring it up again. The conversation never calling for it.

Her mind had played over the three words ever since they fell from Jack's mouth all those months ago. She hadn't been able to get it off her mind and she was beginning to wonder if he could even remember saying it in the first place. Or if he was just doing that typical Jack thing and pretending as though it never happened.

"He said that you had pinned the man down onto the table," she continued as Jack stayed quiet, his eyes searching hers. "That you had lost your temper. I think you scared him."

Jack dropped his head, breaking that contact. His thoughts raced, he should've known that Evan would say something. He couldn't blame the kid though, really he was doing the right thing and what he thought was for the best. But now that meant an interrogation from Nikki that he could do without. The other day had just been a blip, a fraction in time where he allowed his thoughts about everything from the past couple of years to fill his brain. He didn't mean for it to happen but it did and he didn't cope with it very well. But now he had time to compress everything again, he was doing better.

But having Nikki stood next to him now, her brown eyes soft and caring, he could feel himself cracking. The emotions seeping out. He swallowed the lump in his throat as his vision blurred, "I lost myself in the moment," he sighed. "The guy was winding me up and I wasn't having the best morning and it just happened."

"Oh Jack," she breathed, fighting against the temptation to cup his face with her hands. She could see the tears sitting in his eyes and she was desperate to close that gap, to pull him into her arms and comfort him for a change. He had always been the one to hold her when she was crying, when she was distraught. And now, it was her turn to return the favour. But she couldn't. She was scared of what might happen if she did. "Was it about Thomas?"

"No," he shook his head. "Well yes and no."

"Jack just talk to me," she spoke, her voice firm. "Let me in. If anyone's going to understand what's going on and how you're feeling it's going to be me. After everything in…" she trailed off, not wanting to dig all that up again. Not after the last time they had spoken about it.

Jack took a deep breath, feigning a smile as he straightened his back, "It's nothing, I'm fine," he lied. Nikki watched as his head turned away from her. Her hand had moved before her mind had time to catch up. Her fingers wrapped around his hand, her thumb grazing across his skin. She could feel the blood rushing to her head as his eyes caught hers again and his hand tightened around hers.

She had opened her mouth to say something, anything. But nothing came out, her mind completely blank and her feet now glued to the floor. She jumped as she heard a voice interrupting them, Nikki retreating her hand straight away and holding it against her side.

"Sorry, again," Evan let out, holding his hands up as he watched the pair in front of them exchanging awkward looks. He always had rubbish timing and he was cursing himself for walking in on whatever it was that was going on between them. He shook his head as he tried to remember just what exactly it was he had come in there for in the first place. He squinted his eyes as he looked over at Nikki and then it suddenly all came back. "Nikki, they wanted to let you know that the mortuary is ready for you," he pointed behind him. He could feel his cheeks growing a bright shade of pink as he headed out of the room, wanting to get away as quickly as possible.

Nikki gulped as she stared down at Jack, he was broken. She could see that. She could see that he was desperate to talk, to tell her how he was really feeling. But he couldn't find it within himself to admit defeat, to admit that he needed help. Nikki had known that all too well, it had taken her years to come to terms with the fact that there were some things you just can't deal with on your own.

She wanted to reach out and hold him but she couldn't. She smoothed her hands down her legs before stepping back and heading down the hallway that lead to the mortuary. She had tried her best to shake the thoughts of Jack out of her mind so that she could concentrate on the upcoming post mortem but she was struggling. She didn't want to see Jack going through what she had gone through, she had known how it felt and she wouldn't wish it upon anyone. She wanted to be there for him in anyway she possibly could.

She quickly got changed and before she knew it she was stepping foot into the mortuary. The body lying on the slab ready for her assessment. She glanced briefly up at the constable whom she had met previously at the scene.

She began by taking photos, documenting everything before she were to have to clean away the blood in order to get a closer look at the wounds. As she wiped away the blood on the left arm she spotted a small marking just at the top of the incision. It was a star. She pulled her eyebrows together in confusion but still took a photograph. It was very recent, more than likely made not long before he had taken his own life. The thought that it could've been made after did pop into her head for a moment, but that was something that was always so hard to gauge. Even harder considering how the body was found.

Nikki doubted how much relevancy it would have but still chose to make a point of it on the off chance that it would have some other-worldly meaning. She had to stop herself from calling Clarissa's name out, she knew that the woman would have the perfect answer to this one. Always full of random facts and knowledge. Nikki supposed that she would have to find the answer for herself but she had no idea of where to begin.

Not dwelling on the marking too much she continued the investigation. The external examination finding only small scratches on his arms. They looked recent as well but it was hard to get a clear idea as a result of the burns from the boiling water. She took photos regardless before starting the internal examination. She manoeuvred her way around each organ, taking note of the fact that the constable had left the room. She looked over at Evan who would had also been watching, indicating that he should go make the man a cup of tea to settle his stomach.

She carried on despite the lack of audience. As she reached the brain she could instantly see the problem and as she inspected further her suspicions had been confirmed. And just in time apparently as the constable returned, looking somewhat perkier.

"He had a small tumour in his frontal lobe," she stated. "Might account for a change in his behaviour. May be the reason he took his life. Do we have his hospital records?"

The constable shook his head, "No but I can get them for you if you like?"

Nikki nodded, "Please, it might be useful to know if he was aware of his condition," she smiled politely. "Apart from that I am one hundred percent sure that this man took his own life. Are there any family or friends who could formally ID him?"

"No," he replied. "From what we can gather from the neighbours, the guy was a bit of a loner. He would have the odd girl around every couple of months but that was about it. He lived on his own and minded his own business."

"Poor guy," Nikki sighed, looking down at him. "To die and have no one miss you."


It had been a couple of hours since both Nikki and Sam had performed their respective post mortems and the two women were currently in the midst of writing up their reports and waiting for all the necessary test results to come rolling in their way. Nikki yawned, leaning back in her chair as she raised her hands above her head. Her eyes landing on the empty desk opposite her, she hadn't seen him for hours. Not since their last conversation.

He had disappeared when she came out of the post mortem and she didn't need to think twice about where he might've been. She had debated on ringing him, to find out if that was really where he was but she also knew that when he was like this, it was best just to leave him to work it out of his system. She wished she could shake him and tell him that that wasn't the only option, he could just talk to her. But she knew if he wanted to talk then he would.

Her legs were starting to feel tired and she knew she needed to stretch them. Pushing herself backwards she stood up and headed towards Sam's office, poking her head through the doorway.

"Cup of coffee?" She asked, smiling as she spotted the familiar look on the older woman's face, knowing that her own face was carrying a similar expression.

Sam's lips twitched as she nodded her head, she certainly needed some sort of boost to get her through the next couple of hours and it seemed as though great minds think alike as she was just about to do the same. She let her fingers rest from all the typing as she ran her hands over her face. Pulling her sleeve up, her eyes widened as she noticed the time, had it really been that long?

It was only a few minutes later and Nikki was returning with two cups of coffee. Walking in, Nikki placed Sam's down in front of her whilst she settled down in one of the chairs opposite from Sam's desk. She took a sip from her mug, her eyebrows furrowing as she caught sight of one of the photos spread out on the table. She laid her mug down as she reached over and picked up the photo to look at it more closely.

"How have you got this?" She asked, recognising the star that had been drawn into the skin.

"What do you mean?" Sam retorted, now very confused.

Nikki looked up at Sam, the earlier thought about how it had been so strange having the two crime scenes being so close together filling her mind again, "I found the same markings on Matthew Sullivan, the suicide this morning," Nikki explained as she stood up and ran to her own desk. Shuffling through the various pictures, she found the one she was looking for and rushed back to Sam, slamming them down on the desk. "I knew it couldn't have been a coincidence that they were so close together, not just in location but in time as well."

Sam eyes flicked between the two photos, the markings were identical, "We need to check Frankie's body. See if she's got the same markings. Do you think this Matthew may have been murdered by the same person who murdered the other two?"

Nikki shrugged her shoulders as she folded her arms, "It's possible but he's completely different to the others. He's male, he's older. How would he have become a target?"

"Do you have any doubts that it was anything but a suicide?" Sam pushed.

Nikki shook her head, "No," she placed her hand against her forehead as she moved around the room. "This doesn't make sense. With Frankie, the scene was set up to look like a suicide. The drugs in her body, throwing herself in front of the train. Even went to the effort of making it look as though she had slipped down the embankment. Then with Melanie, it was cold and calculated. They had wanted it to look like a murder, no care was taken, the knife was dropped a few kilometres away. And now this Matthew, there were no signs at all to suggest anything other than a suicide. How can you be so up and down? Strategic one minute, frenzied the next and then returning back to this sense of calm."

"But that was just how the bodies were found," Sam pointed out. "When did you place time of death?"

"It's hard to be accurate because he was submerged in the water for so long but at an estimate I would say between nine o'clock in the evening and three o'clock in the morning," she answered.

Sam digested the information, looking down at her notes, "I placed time of death between ten and twelve. So it's possible that the person may have killed Matthew first and then Melanie," she suggested.

Nikki thought over it for a moment, the theories clicking into place as she caught on to Sam's wavelength, "So if this person murders Matthew, Melanie walks in and encounters the scene. She's scared, she runs away. He catches her and murders her, leaves the same way they came and drops the knife. This attack is frenzied because it isn't planned, he didn't expect to kill her," Nikki moves to sit down in the chair again. "If someone had killed him, that might explain why I found blood on the carpet. There were drops of blood on the stairs and across the hallway. I took some samples for analysis so we should be getting those back soon."

"In the meantime," Sam interrupted, placing her hands on her desk and standing up. "We should take a look at Frankie's body and check to see if she too had the same markings on her."

Nikki followed behind Sam as the pair of them headed back to the mortuary. The technician helped retrieve Frankie's body from the fridge and pulled the zip down, revealing the woman's lifeless body. Sam started forensically checking her arms whilst Nikki watched. She sighed, nothing. But she wasn't about to give up so she continued. She suddenly felt as though someone had squeezed all the air out of her lungs as she spotted it.

It was tiny, very easy to brush over but it was still there. And now it was sticking out like a sore thumb. Pulling the phone out of her back pocket, Nikki took a photo as Sam held the hair back, the star marked into the woman's skin just behind her ear.

"That's the link," Sam let out. "These three people were killed by the same person."

They quickly put the body back, Nikki emailing the photo over to Sam. They were back in the office and Sam had just picked up the phone to call DCI Connor to let him know of this latest development.

"I'm going to see if I can rush those samples from the carpet," Nikki chirped before heading back to her own desk and ringing through to the lab. They answered pretty quickly, shocking Nikki. "Hi, it's Nikki Alexander, I was wondering if I could chase up those results from the Sullivan case."

She listened as the person on the other end responded, almost feeling something bubbling up inside her, "What do you mean they've lost them? How am I meant to get anything done around here when your team are too incompetent to get one thing done," she spat, she glanced up to see Jack walking into the room, a cut above his eyebrow.

He eyed Nikki as she perched on the edge of her desk, her face screwed up and he just knew that he walked in at the wrong time.

"Well, I'm going to head down to the scene again and collect some fresh samples," she started. "When I send these ones off, I expect them to be a priority. This could be a key piece of evidence in a murder enquiry after all."

She slammed the phone down so hard, Jack was surprised it didn't smash into a million pieces. It wasn't often that he seen Nikki like this, even at all if he was being honest. She very rarely lost her temper, he was usually the one for the outbursts so he was quite taken aback to see her in this state. Nikki moved, yanking her coat off the back of her chair.

"Are you coming?" She asked as she glared at Jack who she knew had been watching her again.

"Okay," was all Jack could reply with, he didn't know how to deal with her when she was like this but from his experience of women he knew that it was probably best to remain quiet. "Are you going to tell me what's happened?" He questioned as he pulled the seatbelt over him in her car.

Nikki sighed as she started up the car, "Sam and I found these markings on Frankie, Melanie and Matthew. All of them in different places but the same marking," she explained.

"So you think they may have been killed by the same person?" Jack interrupted.

"Yes," Nikki continued. "I went to go chase the results of the blood I found on the carpet in his apartment but they seemed to have lost them. Sam and I were trying to paint some kind of a picture of what may have happened. I couldn't understand why Melanie had been found in a completely different state to that of Matthew and Frankie. The attack on Melanie was brutal but with Matthew and Frankie, it was thought through. Care was taken to make them look like a suicide."

Jack nodded slowly, trying to make sense of it, "Right," he let out as he thought over it. Trying to see it from Nikki's perspective. "Are you thinking that Matthew might have been murdered first and Melanie saw something she shouldn't have?"

"Exactly," Nikki confirmed as she rounded the corner onto Matthew's street. As she parked up and left the car, Jack trailed behind her making their way into his apartment. Nikki didn't say much, knowing exactly where she was headed and what she needed to do.

But Jack hung back for a moment, his forensic brain switching on as he looked around the apartment. He rounded the corner into what looked like the man's room. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, or was striking him as of yet. But his face screwed up as he spotted that the wardrobe door was ajar. Pulling the spare gloves out of his pocket, he slipped them on and opened the door.

"Shit," fell from his mouth as spotted the broken laptop in pieces at the bottom. "Nikki," he called out.

"What is it?" She queried, walking into the room and edging closer to Jack who was now picking up what was left of the laptop. "Why would he have a broken laptop?" Now she was really confused, nothing about this situation made any sense. "Do you think you'll be able to recover anything from it?"

Jack blew his cheeks out, "I don't know," he shook his head. "If the hard drive isn't too damaged we might be able to pick up something. Max has taught me a few things over the years so I'll see what I can do. Have you got those samples again?"

Nikki nodded, not hesitating to get back to the Lyell and start all the tests so they could make sense of whatever the hell was going on.

It was a couple of hours later, both Sam and Evan had gone home but Jack and Nikki stayed. Nikki wanted to be there for when the results came in and Jack had been slaving away trying to recover some data from the laptop. He had toyed with the idea of phoning Max but he knew he would receive some comment from Clarissa about how he wasn't able to cope without her. And he knew that she would mean no harm in that but it would be a harsh reminder of the fact he wasn't coping without her.

He had missed her in ways he never thought he would. She had been this huge person in his life, his rock. Someone he could turn to no matter what. And now she was gone, admittedly not that far away. And if he really wanted to see her he could just drive to her house. But it wasn't the same as to when she was at work and just there for when he had moments like this. He knew he shouldn't rely on people as much as he did but Clarissa was his best friend and that one person who could make him smile no matter what was going on around him.

He looked over at Nikki, sat at her desk and staring at her screen. Why was it always them? The ones who couldn't just let things be. They didn't need to be here, they could wait until tomorrow to get everything, but that stubborn streak that was inherent in both of them always shone through during cases like this.

Jack was beginning to grow frustrated with the laptop now and he could almost hear his bed calling his name. It wasn't in his nature to give up but he was struggling to keep his eyes open. He started to pack all the stuff away when he heard her speak. Glancing up he could see that she was making her way over to him.

"When were you going to tell me that you had started all that again?" She asked, pointing to the cut above his eyebrow. Jack just stared back at her, unable to find the words. "I wish you wouldn't. I wish you would just talk to me instead of beating yourself up about everything."

Jack took a breath, shrugging his shoulders slightly, "It's just my way of coping with things. You of all people should know that."

"But it scares me," she let out. "It scares me because one wrong punch and that could be it. All that because you felt guilty about something you couldn't control," she dared. She knew that she would hit a nerve. She was giving a voice to his worries and she knew exactly how he was going to react but she needed to get it out in the open. She needed him to know how much she truly cared about him.

He felt his back straightening as the defensiveness kicked in, "Well it's my guilt Nikki and I'll do what I want with it," he quipped standing up and grabbing his bag. He pushed past her, only stopping when he felt her hand on his arm.

"Jack please," she begged.

"You can't fix me Nikki. I know you like to think that you can but you can't," he spat. He could feel the anger flowing around his body now, the lack of sleep getting to him. He took a step back from her, her arm dropping. "I'm not one of your little projects that you use to make yourself feel better. I mean, I don't even know why you do it. Have you ever considered that some people don't want to be fixed?"

Nikki's lips parted slightly, not quite believing what was coming out of his mouth. The tears slipping down her cheeks as she stared back at him. She had nothing to say back, she wanted to hit him, to push him away. He had never been like this with her, not even after Mexico. She had expected a reaction when she brought the topic up but she never expected him to stoop that low.

"I'm going home," Jack breathed, turning and making his way out of the entrance.

She felt as though her heart had broken in two as she watched him walk away. Although she didn't have too long to think about it as the phone was ringing. She swiped the back of her hand across her face, removing the streaks as she picked up the phone and placed it to her ear.

"Dr Nikki Alexander," she sighed, doing her best not to let the sobs escape. It was the test results, she noted down all the information before giving her thanks and putting the phone down again. She could feel herself letting go. She cried, for what felt like the millionth time that year.

As Jack got outside and the cold air hit him, he felt nothing but regret. He knew he shouldn't have said it and he urged his body to turn around and find her. Tell her that he was sorry and that he knew exactly why she was so hell bent on protecting everyone around her and going out of her way to better the lives of the countless children who had lost everything. He knew what it had boiled down to even if she never chose to speak about it.

He shook his head, wanting to kick himself for being an idiot but he continued on his path towards the car. Knowing that it was pointless trying to win Nikki back now, he needed to let her calm down first.


It was the next day and the tension between Jack and Nikki had been picked up on straight away. The frostiness between the pair painfully obvious as Evan had turned up that morning, he had caught wind of one of the glares Nikki was giving Jack. And now his mind was racing over what had transpired between the two considering they had been perfectly fine yesterday.

Gathering up her evidence, Nikki walked into Sam's office, making a point of catching Jack's eye and looking away as she passed, "I got the results back on the blood test last night," she announced, edging into the room. "The blood belongs to Melanie."

Sam's face screwed up, "But that can't be right," she looked down at the pieces of paper Nikki had handed to her. "Unless he had caught her as she was leaving but there were no signs of that. All the wounds I found on her body were relatively the same depth."

"And if she was bleeding when she was at the apartment, I would expect to see a lot more blood," Nikki pointed out.

"There were no other signs of a struggle either," Sam ran her hands through her hair as she wracked her brains. "Apart from the skin under the fingernails."

"Wait, you didn't mention that?" Nikki tilted her head, a puzzled look on her face before she disappeared. She returned not a minute later, carrying photos from the post mortem of Matthew Sullivan. "I found defence wounds on Matthew."

"But that would suggest that he killed Melanie," Sam felt as though her head was going to explode. She was about to continue her point when Jack interrupted them, leaning on the doorframe. She didn't miss how he was expertly avoiding Nikki's eye however and if weren't for the fact that this case had suddenly become more pressing she would've knocked their heads together.

"The results have come back from the skin you found under her fingernails," he started. "They match the DNA I found on the knife. However, they don't match the DNA found on Frankie's body."

Nikki's head flicked between Sam and Jack, "So if we're now saying that Matthew killed Melanie, then his DNA should match those results right?" She waited for someone to nod before she continued. "So who's DNA is on Frankie's body?"

"There has to be a third person," Sam spoke. "Any luck with that laptop?"

Jack shook his head, "Just give me another hour and I might be able to get something," and with that he disappeared.

Nikki bit down on the inside of her cheek, trying to stop the tears from welling up in her eyes. The anger she had felt last night had not dissipated in the slightest, if anything she was feeling even worse and she just wanted to scream. It was so unlike Jack to be this cold. Something was wrong and she just wished that he would stop pushing her away.

Sam's eyes connected with Nikki's, "Is everything okay between you two?" She asked.

Nikki did her best to plaster a smile on her face, "Peachy," was all she could come up with before she too was leaving the room. Although she didn't stop to sit at her desk, she continued past them, making her way to the observation room, wanting a quiet moment to herself. Away from everyone else.

After what felt like a lifetime Jack finally managed to recover most of the data from the hard drive. He felt the relief washing over him as he looked through the history. He stumbled across what looked to be some kind of messaging website. He felt his heart dropping as the various messages and pictures started popping up.

"Sam," he shouted. "You might want to see this."


"So, go over this again," DCI Connor chirped, his face full of confusion just like everyone else's.

Jack was leaning against the wall next to the board that was displaying the messages he found between Matthew and another person who was going under the alias of 'thevulture.'

"Matthew for the past couple of months has been messaging this person on a website people use to make friends and speak to people," Jack explained. "There was nothing interesting in the first couple of weeks but slowly this guy starts sharing things. He openly admits to killing people and he explicitly explains the feeling of it all. From what I could gather from the messages, Matthew's mother had died not long before he started messaging this person."

"And as we know, he was diagnosed with a brain tumour around that time," Nikki piped up. "He obviously was in a vulnerable place and this person took advantage of that."

DCI Connor's eyes moved between Jack, Nikki and the screen, "So this person killed Frankie and then somehow managed to persuade Matthew to kill Melanie," he said slowly, trying to make sense of it. "But what about Matthew? Dr Alexander, you said that you were sure he had killed himself, there were no other signs that someone else was involved."

"When we read further into the messages," Jack interrupted, not giving Nikki the chance to answer. "This person explains to Matthew that once he kills someone and gets that feeling then there is no point in being alive, because you'll never get that feeling again. I think this person made Matthew murder Melanie and then kill himself."

"And the marks?"

"His way of leaving a stamp I suppose," Sam suggested.

"Is it possible that he made that same mark on Matthew? That he was there when Matthew killed himself?" Michael asked.

"It's possible," Nikki picked up the photo of the star left on Matthew's arm. "It's hard to tell because the body was left in the water for so long but if that is what this person leaves behind. A kind of symbol, then he could've done the same with Matthew. It could've been done post mortem but very shortly after."

"So how do we find this person?" Michael looked at the faces around the room, in the hopes that someone would have some kind of idea of tracking them down.

Nikki stood up, walking over to the board and scrolling all the way to the first messages shared between this person and Matthew, "We know that Matthew reached out first, he sent the initial message," she could feel herself growing breathless, knowing that this probably wasn't going to be the best idea but they didn't exactly have very many options. "I think it might be worth trying to reach out to him."

Jack scoffed, shaking his head at her, "You can't be serious," he was glaring at her now. "Nikki that's such a stupid idea, do you realise the danger of that?"

"Come on Jack," Michael interrupted but Jack didn't take his eyes off Nikki. "I don't see why we can't do it and there's not really any other way of doing this."

Jack huffed, standing up and heading out of the room. Nikki watched him, fighting against the temptation to run after him and really have it out with him. There was a time and a place for that and now wasn't it.

He hated when him and Nikki were like this and he knew it was his fault. And he knew that he could just apologise and things would be okay again but she was as stubborn as he was. And he knew he wouldn't be able to get through to her.

"So, where do we start?" Michael queried as he glanced over at Nikki back in the observation room.


The police department had spent the past couple of days messaging back and forth with this person and they had seemed to be doing a good job. Eventually leading them to today, where they were finally going to meet up with the person. Unfortunately that had come at the cost of Nikki. She had volunteered herself out of spite; to piss Jack off. She knew it was a stupid idea to bait herself like she was but she was also prepared to do anything to get this man put away for good. To get this case over and done with. It was also to prove Jack wrong, that she could do this and she could catch the killer.

She had considered that she would just be proving him right however. How this was just another one of her 'projects' - as he had so aptly put it. But this wasn't a project, this was her job. The people who got caught up in the middle were part of her job as well. That didn't mean there wasn't any truth in what he had said however. She knew deep down she could be overbearing in her need to fix everyone but she had her reasons and he should understand that. Out of everyone in her life, he should understand that the most.

They hadn't spoken to each other at all, the tension growing even more between them as the days had passed. That didn't stop Jack from going along with them however, he may not have been on the best terms with her but he was not about to leave her stranded with a murderer.

She let out a breath as she sat on the bench in the park, she knew she wasn't alone. She knew that the police had strategically placed themselves around the area. She knew that Jack was lurking somewhere with them. But she couldn't help the panic that was rising up her throat. Her hands were shaking as she adjusted the microphone they had strapped to her. She was now starting to regret suggesting this in the first place.

All the air left her lungs as the person sat down next to her, "Are you Clare?" He asked to which Nikki nodded, doing her best to smile and not look so nervous. He stuck his hand out to shake hers, "I'm Owen. Do you want to walk?"

"Sure," she spoke, standing up and letting him guide the way as they headed down the pathway.

He stayed quiet as they walked and Nikki could feel her heart pounding out of her chest. It had felt like a lifetime as they continued, the trees closing in around them as the path came to an end. Nikki was glancing around her, praying that they were still close, still watching them.

"What are you looking for Nikki?"

Nikki tried to take a step back as he heard her name coming out of his mouth but he had already grabbed hold of her. His fingers digging into her skin as he twisted her arm. She let out a scream as his free arm closed around her neck. She clawed at his arm trying to fight him off but she could see the black spots forming. She hadn't even realised who she had been calling out for her until she seen his dark figure in the distance, approaching them.

Jack had heard her screams and that was enough for him, he was running as fast as his legs could take him. As he saw the two, the man's arm held around Nikki's neck, it was like something had snapped. Just like it had in those months after Mexico, when they had gone to chase down the suspect. When he had lost all sense and had pounded his fists into the man. It was just like the other day, when he lost his temper with the man. And it was just like the times he had stepped into the cage, when he'd let himself be pushed around and beaten up. When he'd let himself suffer for all the things he had done to people.

Everything that had happened between himself and Nikki had quickly disappeared as he lurched forward pushing the man to the floor. What had happened didn't matter now, all that mattered was that Nikki was safe and no more harm was coming to her. He could worry about the rest of it later on. The man had swiftly let go of Nikki, the blow from Jack taking him by surprise.

The police officers had caught up before Jack had the chance to really lay into him. Jack stood there watching as the officers cuffed him, his chest rising and falling. And then he heard her voice, trying to reassure DCI Connor that she was fine and Jack was turning to her. His heart sinking as he caught sight of her, her face full of fear. He hated the fact that he seen her like this before. Scared, frightened and broken. He hated that he had done this to her. If they never argued then she wouldn't have been so stubborn as to go out and do this in the first place. It was another thing on top of a long list of things that were his fault.

He was by her side instantly, his hands cupping her cheeks as he pulled her into his chest, "I'm so sorry Nikki," he spoke softly, closing his eyes as he felt her hands grabbing at him, trying to bring him closer to her. The feeling of her clawing at him, reminding him of the moment they had found each other in Mexico. When he finally had her in front of him and she wasn't just a voice on the phone. He tried to block out those memories, he had been trying for years. Because they hurt too much. Because he knew what they could've been but he let her slip away. He pushed her away.

She couldn't stop the sobs that escaped her now. Jack held onto her as tightly as he could, all the words spoken between the two of them forgotten about. He waited until she was ready and then he was lifting her up from the floor. He wrapped his arm around her, keeping her close to his side as they made their way back to the car and back to the Lyell.

He settled down next to her on one of the sofas in Sam's office, his arm never leaving her shoulder and her hand not moving from his chest as she played with the button on his shirt. Sam had left the two of them to it, knowing that they needed to sort out whatever had happened between them.

She only interrupted them to let them know that they had charged this Owen and that he had admitted to everything. Including all the murders he had committed long before Frankie, which meant that Sam was now going to have to look into all these different cases and double check over them. But she reassured Nikki that that was going to be a problem for another day and that she should just focus on herself.

Sam left them in her office, a smile growing across her face as she spotted Michael heading towards her. He slipped his arm around her waist, their lips connecting briefly.

"Well this is a nice surprise," she grinned.

"It wasn't you I came to see actually," he replied, his arm moving from around her as he looked over her shoulder, spotting the two people he had been after. "I wanted to see if Nikki was okay and to say thank you for everything she's done."

He went to move forward but Sam stopped him with a hand on his arm, "Best just to leave them to it," she said softly, her eyes catching Michael's. "Nikki knows that you're grateful but she needs to rest. Besides, I want to know where you're taking me tonight."

Michael raised an eyebrow at her as he clocked the smirk on her face. He stepped forward again, his hands on her hips, "I didn't realise I was taking you anywhere Professor Ryan," he chuckled in between kisses.

Sam stepped away from him, almost feeling a shiver from the loss of contact but there was a twinkle in her eye, "Well then, you'll have to think of something quick because I'm starving." She started making her way out, leaving Michael standing there, an incredulous look on his face but he soon caught up to her, his fingers wrapping around hers as the pair left the Lyell.

Jack's hand was running up and down her arm, calming her as the cries subsided. He could kick himself for the way he had been acting towards her for the past couple of days. He had managed to push her away again. The only sense of relief was that she was here right now and hadn't whisked herself off to America like she had after Mexico.

"I'm sorry Nikki," he let out eventually. His voice rumbling against her ear as he spoke. "I shouldn't have said what I said."

"You were only telling me what I needed to hear," she breathed, sitting up so she could look at him now. "I do try and fix people. I jump into things thinking I can solve them and I don't take the time to consider whether or not I'm doing more harm by that."

She almost chuckled at herself causing Jack to raise an eyebrow, "Someone once told me that I was just trying to find myself in those people. Trying to save that little girl. Motherless, fatherless. The lost child," she swallowed the lump in her throat, doing her best to not cry as she remembered the words spoken by her old teacher all those years ago.

It had played on her mind so often because she had known it was true and it infuriated her that he had got it so right. "I suppose, when I see those people, lost and alone. With no hope. I know what that feels like and I want to protect them from that. I miss her Jack. I miss her so much. Not a day goes by where I don't think of her, of what she would be saying of me now. I was so angry with her, for leaving me behind. For leaving me with my father."

Jack stayed silent, letting her speak. He had known that she had lost her mother when she was young but she never really spoke about it, not properly. That had been the only information he managed to prise out of her over the years. But now he didn't know what to say, how to react. He thought back to the time he had seen those hospital notes, how her doctor had commented about her defensiveness when it came to her mother. And now she was here, opening up and he didn't know how to deal with that.

"I think she would be proud of me and for what I've achieved," she continued. "I'd give everything to see her again. To have her hold me like she used to when I was younger. The type of hug that made you feel safe, protected and like nothing could hurt you. Like home," she paused, her mind racing. But there was one question that continued to stick out to her, it always had but she had never dared to ask it out loud. "Why is it that everybody always leaves me?"

"Right you're going to have to explain that one to me," the smallest of smiles spread across his face as Nikki's lips twitched. But he knew what she was getting at, he had felt it too. That feeling had known him too well.

"First it was my mother, then my father abandoned me at every given opportunity," she explained. "Then I finally feel as though I had a family in this place, with Harry and Leo. Then Harry left and so did Leo. But then there was you and Clarissa and Thomas. My family. The best family I've ever known. But they left me too."

"I'm still here," Jack whispered, suddenly feeling breathless, as he tucked a blonde lock behind her ear.

"And why is that?" She pondered, her eyes not leaving his. "How come you've never left?"

"I suppose I could say the same thing about you," he answered. "You're the only one who hasn't left me yet."

"Yet? You say that as if you've found a way to get rid of me," she laughed as she moved to rest her head on his chest again. Her arm wrapping around him so she could feel as close to him as possible. "You couldn't get rid of me Jack Hodgson. Not even if you tried."

Jack couldn't help the grin that was filling his face as he tightened his grasp on her, his lips resting against the top of her head.


Next time: Taken Too Soon - Evan is thrown into the middle of a case after a night out with a friend takes a deadly turn. Will Nikki and Jack be able to support him during this harrowing time? Or will he just make things worse for himself?