Taken Too Soon - Part Two
Summary: Things go from bad to worse as the detectives start pointing the finger at Evan. And what happens when Jack finds a crucial piece of evidence that could ruin reputations?
Evan shot up in his bed. He could feel the sweat dribbling down his face and he couldn't get enough air into his lungs. He hadn't been able to form the picture of that man in his head last night but he had managed to worm his way into his dreams and now his image was fixed on Evan's brain. He had dark blonde hair, dark brown eyes and Evan was sure he had a piercing in his left ear. He closed his eyes, trying to piece together his face once again but it wouldn't come. All he had was what he could remember. But he was sure that he'd be able to spot him out in a crowd.
And if he could spot him out in a crowd then he would be able to spot him from CCTV. But he knew he was going to have to do a lot in order to get the access to that CCTV and the club were hardly going to hand it over to him no questions asked. He didn't have the authority. But he knew who did, it was just a matter of trying to persuade him.
Evan was sure that he would be able to, it was Jack after all. And despite Jack doing his best to keep Evan away from the case for the sake of his career. He knew that if he pushed the right buttons then he'd be able to get Jack on side. He wasn't unlike Evan after all and if this case had proven anything at all, then it was that Jack and Evan were a lot more similar than they had first realised.
Evan set about getting himself ready, changing into the clothes that he would usually wear when he'd go to the Lyell. He knew Sam wouldn't be happy about seeing him there, he wasn't meant to be anywhere near the place. But he needed to do something and now he had something that could be vital in the case. Vital to proving that Theo didn't take a drug overdose, Evan hadn't provided him the drugs and that there was in fact, someone else entirely to blame.
He jotted down the key features of the man's face whilst he could still remember before shoving the piece of paper into his back pocket and heading in the usual direction he'd make to the Lyell Centre.
As he took the walk he wished, almost prayed, that he would be able to convince Jack. He could be rather unpredictable on times but Evan just hoped that even he could see that there wasn't something right about Theo's death. And that the police were just wasting their time in trying brush it off as another death caused by stupidity. Theo wasn't stupid and Evan was damned to prove it.
He swiped his card at the entrance, the door buzzing as he pushed his way in. He couldn't see anyone as he walked in, the desks vacant apart from the coats hanging on the back of chairs. They were definitely here but he just didn't know where. He lifted his head to look in the direction of Sam's office but she seemed to be elsewhere as well.
Sighing, he wandered around, peering at their desks in the hope that they had left a case file hanging around that he could have a look at. But there was nothing. He moved to his own desk, sitting down on his chair. He would've gone looking for them but if they were having a meeting with the police then he knew that he should stay out of sight, for his sake as much as theirs.
He fiddled with the stapler on his desk for what felt like the best part of half an hour before Jack was finally emerging from the hallway. He hadn't noticed Evan at first but as he heard a clunk, his head snapped to meet the boy; his eyebrows furrowing.
"Evan we've told you," he spoke, keeping his voice low. But Evan was quickly interrupting him, holding his hands up in defence as he stood up and edged closer to Jack.
"I know, I know," Evan started. "But I needed to ask you a favour."
Jack glanced over his shoulder, checking to see if anyone else had left the meeting room yet. But luckily he seemed to be the only one as of yet. He placed a hand on Evan's shoulder and guided him out of through the entrance and to the chairs just outside. He sat down opposite to Evan, holding his hands together as he looked over at him.
"Make it quick," Jack breathed. If DI Morgan or DS Turner seen them now, he was going to have a lot of explaining to do so he wanted to get this conversation over with as soon as possible.
"I was hoping that you would be able to get hold of the CCTV footage for me," he explained. He watched as Jack clenched his jaw. Knowing that he was going to retort back with something, he continued quickly. "Hear me out. I went back to the club last night to retrace my steps, in the chance that something would jog my memory. I can vaguely remember some guy talking to Theo at the bar and I think if I saw his face I'd be able to spot him out."
Jack slowly shook his head, straightening his back, "I don't know about this Evan," he breathed. "Memories aren't always that great and you don't know if this man had done anything, he could've just been having an innocent chat."
"But what if it wasn't?" Evan pushed. "If nothing comes of it then nothing comes of it but I think it'll be worth checking out. Please Jack, there was something about him when I got to the bar. He made me feel, I don't know, nervous I guess."
Evan bit down on his bottom lip trying to stop the tears, "If he put something in Theo's drink," he could feel himself choking up as he said the words out loud. He took a deep breath to try and gather himself, "If he put something in Theo's drink. It could've been mine. It could've been mine Jack. And if it had, then maybe Theo would still be alive."
The tears fell from his eyes as Jack wrapped an arm around his shoulders, holding him close as the boy sobbed once again. He could feel Evan's pain too well. It was the same pain that he had been carrying with him for the past few months, ever since Thomas. He could almost feel himself welling up as he soothed the boy but he did well to hold it all in. He needed to be the strong one for Evan's sake.
He waited for the cries to stop before he removed his arm, looking down at the boy, "Fine," he relented. "I'll see what I can do. I can't promise anything but I'll try. I'll let you know when I get hold of them."
Evan closed his eyes, feeling his body relax now that he knew he had at least one person on his side, "Thank you," his lips twitched, he was getting somewhere; finally. He went to open his mouth to speak again but his focus switched to the two people leaving the elevator. He recognised them straight away, he had seen them in many photos.
The tears that had subsided were now quickly making a return. He stared at them, unable to move from where he was seated. He wanted to rush over to them, to comfort them. To tell them that he felt their grief. That he loved Theo. But he couldn't do it.
Nikki had soon come out, noticing the two of them standing outside, "Mr and Mrs Weir?" She asked, her voice soft. "I'm very sorry for your loss. If you would just like to follow me." She gestured her head in the direction of the chapel of rest but she was quick to notice Evan watching her. Her brows furrowed as her eyes flicked between Evan and Jack, confused as to why he had suddenly turned up again. Deciding now wasn't the time to be asking questions, she continued down the hall and into the chapel.
"I'd just stay away if I were you," Jack advised, grabbing Evan's attention again. "This is a really emotional time for them, you don't how they would react speaking to you."
"But I can offer them some kind of an explanation, I was the last person to see him," Evan expressed. He pushed himself up onto his feet now, his hands smoothing down his thighs. He didn't really give Jack much chance to speak before he was making his way down the hall, following after them. He knocked on the glass. Nikki opened the door; giving Evan a disapproving look.
"Please," Evan almost whispered, trying to keep his voice calm. Nikki sighed, taking a step back to let the boy in. She probably shouldn't have but she knew that he had his best intentions at heart.
The man and the woman looked up at the sound of Evan's voice, their faces full of confusion as they stared at the young boy that had now joined them.
Evan moved into the room, "Hi," he started, his voice quiet. "You probably don't know but Theo and I, we were sort of together. I was there when he died."
Mr and Mrs Weir glanced at each other before the woman, Theo's step-mother, edged forward; engulfing Evan in her arms. The sobs were escaping him again as the woman ran her hands up and down his back.
Nikki bowed her head, leaving the room and allowing the three of them to have a moment to themselves.
"I'm so sorry," Evan weeped. "I did everything I could to save him."
"It's okay," she replied, pulling back from him and holding his arms with her hands. "Thank you."
Evan wiped the back of his hand across his eyes, removing the tears.
Mr Weir crossed the room, moving closer to Evan, "I want to ask you something though," he piped up. "And I want you to be honest with me, son. I'm not judging you and I am past judging Theo. It's too late for that. Was this to do with drugs? Was he taking them?"
Evan shook his head, "No. I can assure you that Theo didn't take any drugs. He swore down to me that he wouldn't do that," he let out a breath. "He told me about his mum and what happened to him. He said that that was the reason why he never wanted anything to do with him. He had seen it destroy her."
"So you think someone else did this?" Mr Weir pushed as Nikki walked back into the room.
Evan looked over his shoulder briefly before facing the two people, he nodded, "Yes. There's no other possible explanation," he stated. Trying to ignore the fact that he could feel Nikki's eyes boring into the back of his skull, he finished. "I'm going to do everything I can to prove that, I promise."
Nikki's lips parted as she heard what he'd said. She avoided the temptation to walk over to him and shake him. She settled with clearing her throat and grabbing his attention. Once their eyes connected, she made for the door, encouraging him to follow behind her. Luckily he seemed to have got the hint as he was hot on her tail.
"You can't make promises that you can't keep," she warned, her tone firm. Evan opened his mouth to speak but Nikki hadn't finished yet. "Why are you here? You're just making things worse for yourself," she took a deep breath. He was starting to remind her of Jack and that wasn't necessarily a good thing. Jack was painfully stubborn as it was, they didn't need another maverick running around the place. She sighed, her voice much calmer now. "I know you want to help and prove that Theo was a good person but you can't do that. You can't be anywhere near this. If you want to help, you stay away."
"Nikki I," he began but he knew he wasn't going to get anywhere with her. And she wasn't wrong, he knew that deep down. He just wasn't quite ready to admit it yet. "I came here to ask Jack to look at the CCTV. I can remember seeing someone talking to Theo that night and I just think it might be worth looking into."
Nikki nodded, she understood how he was feeling. She'd be lying if she said that she hadn't been in this position a million times before. And in those times she had lost all objectivity and she could never understand why Jack would get so frustrated with her. But now she was on the outside looking in, it was much more obvious. And it was heartbreaking to watch.
"Just leave it at that okay?" Nikki said harshly. "Now go home." She turned back into the chapel, not giving him the chance to answer her. Evan ran his hand over his head before making his way out of the Lyell.
It wasn't until the next day that Jack could get hold of the CCTV footage from the club, the fact he was having to go behind the detectives back made it that little bit harder. Once the footage had been emailed through he was on the phone to Evan straight away. He was going to look through it himself but he didn't know what he was looking out for but of course, there was one person who did know.
Evan didn't hesitate to make his way to the Lyell, wanting to get there as quickly as possible and confirm his suspicions. He swiped his card and he was barging his way into the building, finding Jack sat his desk. Nikki and Sam were nowhere to be seen.
"What have you got so far?" He asked, pulling his chair around to sit at Jack's desk.
"Nothing yet, I was waiting for you," Jack's lips twitched as he moved over to make more room for Evan. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
Evan nodded, his eye catching Jacks, "Positive. I need to do this, I need to be sure."
Jack let out a deep breath, he couldn't be bothered to argue against the boy now. He had his doubts with the way he had been reacting to the whole situation but he had known that determination. And he had known that frustration. He couldn't exactly keep telling Evan to take a step back when he had been in that position so many times and he would never dream of backing off.
He turned to his computer, clicking on the email with the various clips of the CCTV. There were so many from that night from all the different cameras. Jack sighed, knowing that this was going to take forever and they couldn't even be sure that this man Evan was talking about had allowed himself to be seen on camera.
"I'm going to make us a drink," Jack announced, standing up and making his way over to the kitchen. If they were going to be sat there all day looking through footage then they were going to need something to keep themselves awake.
It had been a few good hours since they had started, not much had transpired between them; both too busy trying to spot out anything suspicious. There was nothing so far and Jack was beginning to grow sick of seeing people dancing and exchanging saliva. A stark reminder of how lonely he had been feeling recently.
Trying not to think about that too much, he faced Evan, "How did you know this Theo?" He spoke, breaking the silence that had settled amongst them.
Evan almost jumped at the sound of Jack's voice, his mind completely focused on the footage playing in front of him. He gulped, not expecting the question. In between his fight for Theo's justice he had forgotten to even talk about him properly. And tell everyone just how much he had meant to him. But he supposed they would've guessed by his determination throughout this whole case, "I don't know where to begin," he chuckled. "I met him about a year ago, through a friend. We clicked straight away but nothing happened till that night," he could feel the lump in his throat forming, he swallowed it down.
"We had been dancing around each other the whole time, too scared of what might happen if we took things further," he explained, the tears forming all over again. "But I guess we were right to be scared. I just can't believe this has happened. I get a chance to share my life with someone and then it's ripped away from me. How is that fair?"
Jack shook his head slowly, "Life, unfortunately, isn't fair," he breathed, Evan's words striking a nerve. He couldn't stop his mind from wandering to Nikki and how they had spent the best part of eight years pining for each other but never actually doing anything about it, both too stubborn for their own good. "But listen to me Evan, you're young. You've got your whole life ahead of you and there are going to be people that you meet that will take you by surprise without you even knowing it. I lost someone, I was a couple of years younger than you but I loved her. She was my whole world and she was taken from me. And I still think about her and what could've been if she made different decisions. Or if I had made different decisions. But it does get better, trust me. The pain eases."
Evan smiled at Jack's words knowing that he truly meant it, "And you've got Nikki now," he dared to put forward, his eyes searching Jack's face for a reaction. He had always been skeptical about their relationship, always feeling as though he had walked in on them having a moment. But Jack being true to himself didn't give much away, just letting out a breath and letting his lips twitch fondly. "She told me about Thomas and about what happened," he didn't know where that had come from. But he supposed, given the circumstances, that Jack would be able to understand how he was feeling. He'd probably be one of the few people who would.
"Did she?" Jack raised an eyebrow, curious as to when and how that conversation happened. "What did she tell you?"
"She told me that Thomas died to save your life," he began. He bowed his head, regretting bringing the topic up now. "Sorry I shouldn't have said anything."
"No it's okay," Jack interrupted quickly. "It's just I haven't spoken about it since. Well, since it happened really." He didn't really want to talk about it, the pain still very much there but as he looked at Evan he knew that the boy was just trying to seek some comfort. For someone to really know how he was feeling. So, for the first time since he had found out that Thomas had died fighting to save his life, he spoke about it.
"Thomas was…well, he was Thomas," Jack laughed, unable to find the right word that would be best to describe the man. "We didn't always see eye to eye but he'd be there, supporting you no matter what. When Nikki told me about what had happened, I didn't process it for a while. It didn't feel real. But then, I'd lie in bed thinking about it. And thinking about how Thomas would still be alive if I didn't go to that crime scene. If I didn't end up in hospital."
Jack could feel himself growing breathless, the panic rising up his throat. But he did his best to carry on, "I'd be awake for hours, just wondering. Over thinking every little detail," he allowed himself to slow his breathing, taking deep breaths. "I still can't process it now. Every time I walk into the meeting room, I expect to see his stupid, smug grin staring back at me. But I don't. And it still hurts. And then I think about Nikki and Clarissa and how much worse it is for them. They watched him die."
"Just because they watched him die doesn't mean it's any worse for them than it is for you," Evan offered. "You're allowed to suffer too, Jack."
Jack looked away from him, not wanting his emotions to get the better of him, he needed to be the strong one here. He was meant to be supporting Evan through his time of need not the other way round, "It's my fault Thomas died," he barely let out.
"No it's not Jack," Evan placed a hand on his arm. "From what Nikki said, Thomas didn't want to be saved. He didn't want help. You can't blame yourself and I suppose that I can't blame myself for what happened to Theo. I wish it didn't and I hope now that we can find this man but it's like you say. Life is cruel. It takes the ones we love. But that is not of our making."
Jack's eyes scanned over the young boy in front of him. He was amazed at how someone so young could be so wise. Not moments ago he was all but blaming himself for Theo's death and now he was here telling him that it wasn't and that Jack shouldn't blame himself for what happened to Thomas. He wished he could have had that mentality at that age. But then he suspected that that was the innocence coming out of Evan. The innocence that Jack craved.
She didn't know why she had stopped to listen, it wasn't any of her business. But she couldn't stop the tear slipping down her cheek as she heard Jack speaking. As she heard Jack actually getting things off his chest and talking about Thomas. She almost felt offended that he had chosen Evan to open up to but with everything that had happened in the past couple of days she wasn't surprised. Of course he was going to open up to someone that was going through almost the same thing as him.
She couldn't help but feel hurt by that however, she had talked about her mother with him. That wasn't something that she had done often. She had hoped that by her getting things off her chest then it would encourage Jack to do the same. She tried not to feel that way, it was down to Jack who he wanted to speak to after all but it still got to her. She wiped the tears away, turning and heading back in the direction of the observation room, wanting a moment to herself.
Jack opened his mouth to speak but Evan was suddenly pointing at the screen, "That's him!" He exclaimed. Jack was quick to pause the footage and zoomed in on the mans face. It was the same man Evan had seen in his dreams, the exact same man. The dark blonde hair and the dark eyes. Now they knew what he looked liked, it was much easier for them to search for him in the crowds of people.
They continued sifting through the various videos in the hopes of finding something that would incriminate this man but there was nothing. They had caught a moment where the man had spoken to Theo but that was it. There was not a single thing to suggest that he had tampered with Theo's drink, much to Evan's disappointment.
But that wasn't going to stop him or throw him off. Now he knew exactly what he was looking for, it was going to be easier to spot him out now. Evan plucked his coat from the back of his chair and pushed himself up to his feet.
Jack furrowed his brows, "Where are you going?" His eyes following the boy.
"I've got something I need to do," and then he was rushing out of the door again without a second glance. He had a plan now, all he had to do was execute it.
Jack dug into his pocket, pulling out his phone and dialling DI Morgans number. Just as he put the phone down from informing the detectives of the new development, he received an email notification. He clicked the tab open, the results were back on the test that he did for the bag of cocaine.
"Shit," he said under his breath as the name popped up on his screen. His heart was racing. "Nikki," he shouted, knowing that she was hanging around somewhere.
Nikki pulled her eyebrows together at Jack's panicked face as she walked into the room, "What's wrong?" She asked, stopping by his desk.
Jack had placed the phone to his ear, calling through to the lab for a retest. He pointed at the screen for Nikki to have a look for herself. Her stomach dropped to the floor as she realised what it had meant.
"You don't think there could have been any cross contamination?" Her eyes connected with Jack's. "He was so sure that Theo hadn't taken anything and that he hadn't known it was there so how are his fingerprints on there?"
He shrugged his shoulders, "You're guess is as good as mine but I'm not going to be happy if we find out that he's been lying to us."
Jack managed to get through to the lab and he ordered a retest as soon as possible, wanting to get the results back today so they could be absolutely sure. He decided that it was probably best to sit on the information for the time being, just until they were certain. But if Evan's fingerprints were on the bag then Jack would have no choice but to turn him in.
The detectives arrived soon after, both of them wanting to review this footage for themselves. Jack had set up the monitor in the observation room and selected the clips containing the images of this man.
"What is it about this guy then?" DI Morgan looked at the faces around the room. "I haven't seen anything wrong so far, it's just a man in a club."
Jack glanced over at Nikki briefly before turning back to DI Morgan, "Evan thinks that he may have been the one to spike Theo's drink," he explained. "He had seen him talking to Theo when he came out of the bathroom, there were two drinks on the bar. It would've been a perfect opportunity for that to happen."
"Is there any physical evidence of this?" DI Morgan retorted, now pointing his finger at the video. "Is there anything on that to prove this?"
Jack shook his head, "No."
"Right," DI Morgan stood up, DS Turner copying his actions. "I think it's about time we had an official chat with this Evan Myles, don't you? Where is he?"
The panic was rising up inside Jack as his eye caught with Sam's, "I don't know. He left when he saw the man. He said he had something to do."
"And you're only telling me this now?" He spat. He was now looking at Sam. "I need an address."
Sam moved, the last thing she wanted to do was hand Evan over to the police but she couldn't say no. She'd be in as much trouble otherwise. She left Jack and Nikki behind as she went to go find an address.
"You're going to have to tell them Jack," Nikki warned, making her way over to him. "When are the results coming back?"
"In the next hour or so," he sighed. "It can't be him Nikki. The way he was talking about him earlier, he," he stopped. He didn't know what to say. What to believe. He thought he could trust Evan, that he had been true to his word. But you can't hide from facts and you can't hide from evidence. He wanted to scream. If Evan had been behind all of this then he had well and truly played them.
Jack pushed past Nikki, leaving the room in search of a quiet place to get some air.
The detectives were able to track down Evan, finding him at his apartment. They had brought him down to the station although he was somewhat reluctant about the whole ordeal. Evan was tapping his foot up and down as he waited for them to come in.
"Right," DI Morgan announced, slamming a file down on the table before sitting down in his chair. "I want a rundown of the events from that night please. Every little detail you can possibly think of," he was leaning his elbows on the desk, his hands clasped together.
Evan glanced at the two men in front of him, wondering what was happening. And just why they had brought him in. He had known Jack would phone them eventually to let them know about the CCTV, he just hadn't quite anticipated that they would be pulling him in for questioning.
"Well," Evan cleared his throat. "Theo and I got to the club at around twelve, half twelve. I can't quite remember. Everything was fine, we danced for a bit and then he went to go get us some drinks whilst I went to the toilet. When I came out, I seen a man talking to him. Our drinks were on the bar."
"Did you see him do anything to the drinks?" DS Turner piped up, taking DI Morgan by surprise who just shot him a look.
Evan shook his head, "No. But it didn't seem right, there was something about him," he furrowed his brows as he thought harder about the moment. "I went to get Theo, we danced and had our drinks. Then he said he was going to go get some air. I remember that he was stumbling as he left. I didn't think anything of it at the time, we'd been drinking a fair bit beforehand. I went to follow him but I bumped into an old friend. We talked for a few minutes and then I went outside. And that's when I seen Theo lying on the floor."
He swallowed the lump in his throat; the images flashing through his mind again. "I tried to save him but I knew it was too late. And by the time the ambulance arrived, he was gone. There was nothing I could've done to bring him back."
"That's what happened?" DI Morgan pushed.
"Of what I can remember anyway, it's still a little hazy here and there," he continued. "I assume that Jack has shown you the footage of the man?"
"Yes," DI Morgan confirmed. "But he also failed to show me anything incriminating. From what we can see this man was just spending his night out in a club. You, on the other hand, I have my doubts. For all we know you could've slipped the rohypnol to him yourself."
"Why would I do that?" Evan threw back, straightening himself up in the chair. Almost feeling the hairs on the back of his neck standing up on end.
DI Morgan shrugged, "I don't know, you tell me," he spoke with a calmness about him. As if he knew he was right and he had no worries about that. "Maybe you thought he wouldn't like you unless you drugged him. Now you weren't to know that he'd be allergic to the stuff. You've worked on crime scenes, you know how they work so you formulate this story. You use Jack to get you the CCTV and you pick out a random person to use as a scapegoat. It's very clever, I'll give you that but I can see through it. You even went to the effort of planting drugs."
"Well you're wrong and you have no hard evidence to prove that I had anything to do with it," Evan replied firmly, his lips set in a straight line as he glared at the detective; the anger bubbling up inside him. It was bad enough that Theo had been drugged and henceforth killed but the moment he finds the person who could be responsible for it, the police start pointing the finger at him. He jumped at the knock at the door.
DI Morgan did all the formalities for the sake of the tape and left the room. Evan watched the door carefully, his eyes glancing over at the mirror. He prayed for evidence that would put him in the clear. He hoped that Jack had managed to find something that would prove his innocence. But as he caught the smile on DI Morgan's face as he walked back into the room, Evan couldn't stop his heart sinking to the floor.
DS Turner clicked play on the tape as they carried on with the interview.
DI Morgan placed a new piece of paper down on the desk, finding himself grinning at this new piece of evidence as if it was gold dust, "I think I gave you too much credit then. Not as clever as I thought. So, do you want to tell me more about this bag of cocaine that we found in Theo's pockets."
Evan shrugged his shoulders, "What about it? It wasn't his, he didn't take drugs."
"So whose was it?"
"I don't know," Evan retorted. "I don't know how it got there. He didn't have it when we went in."
"Okay," DI Morgan strung out. "Different question. How did your fingerprints end up on the bag?"
"What?" Fell from his lips in shock. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He couldn't understand how any of it was possible. He had never touched drugs in his life yet somehow his fingerprints ended up on a bag of cocaine that he never seen in his life. He ran his hands through his hair.
"Talk to us Evan, there's no hiding from this," DI Morgan pursued. "Explain to us how they ended up there. Did you plant them after you realised that you were the one who killed him? Were you hoping that if we found them then we would just write this off as a drug overdose and that you'd get away with it?"
"Have you not been listening to what I've been saying since this happened?" Evan's eyes darted between the detectives, an incredulous look on his face as he flung his hands into the air. "You were the ones who wanted to leave it, I was the one who told you not to. Who told you that Theo would never do that, would never take drugs. So why would I do that if I killed him? Surely I would just sit back and let it happen. Let you jump to that conclusion."
"You wanted to cover your own back," DI Morgan suggested. "But you ended up shooting yourself in the foot by constantly arguing against our findings. You though that if you stayed quiet, then we'd suspect you more. You've played a dangerous game Evan but unfortunately you haven't won."
"This is bullshit," he shook his head, almost wanting to laugh at the ridiculous situation he had now found himself in.
"So please, tell us how your fingerprints ended up on a piece of evidence we found on your friends dead body," DI Morgan pushed further, hoping that his choice of words would strike a nerve and cause the young boy to snap and admit everything. It didn't seem to do the trick however.
Evan closed his eyes, his memory running through every event that night. There was not a single moment he could think of when he may have come into contact with drugs. His first thought had been when he went to the bathroom, but there was nothing. He walked around in his brain, to the moment Theo left and he had bumped into Lucy. And then it clicked into place.
He turned, the beam spreading across his face as he seen his childhood friend running in his direction. He wrapped his arms around her, holding on to her tightly.
"Lucy oh my gosh," he exclaimed, picking her up and almost squeezing all of the breath out of her. He eventually put her down. "What the hell are you doing here? I thought you were in Manchester?"
"I was, but I wanted to come down to London for the week," she was speaking into his ear, the music seeming to have gotten louder.
His attention was grabbed by someone bumping into him, a bag of white powder dropping to the floor. Without thinking, Evan bent down and picked the bag up; handing it back to the man.
"Sorry about that," the man had spoken, taking the bag and heading outside.
Evan didn't have much time to think over the odd interaction as Lucy's voice was pulling him back into the conversation.
"How have you been? You're doing forensics aren't you?"
Her voice trailed off in his memory as his heart started racing. The image being so clear and vivid in his mind now. It had been the man he had seen talking to Theo, the man who they had found on the CCTV. It was him. He opened his eyes, connecting them with DI Morgan's.
"When I was speaking to my old friend," he began. "The man who I had seen speaking to Theo pushed past me. He dropped a bag, it must've been the same one. I picked it up and I handed it back to him. That's how my fingerprints got on there."
DI Morgan pursed his lips, "And you've just conveniently remembered that? Are you sure it was this man that you've been talking about? Clubs are dark, you often mistake people in them."
"I am sure," he spoke through gritted teeth. "I can see it so clearly now. He must've seen Theo leaving on his own so he followed after him but seen him on the floor. My fingerprints being on that bag would've been the perfect alibi so he put it in his pocket. So, if it came to it, you'd just point the finger at me and he'd get away with it."
DI Morgan laughed with a mocking tone, "You expect us to believe that?"
"I'm about to become a forensic scientist, why on earth would I be stupid enough to plant drugs on someone that had my fingerprints on?" Evan threw back.
"But you were panicking," DI Morgan raised an eyebrow at him. "You didn't expect him to have an allergic reaction. You did what you thought was best in the moment."
"I didn't do this," Evan interrupted, feeling his anger getting the better of him as he slammed a fist down on the table. He rested his forehead against his palm. "You need to talk to Lucy, she'll confirm it. I have her number somewhere."
"Fine," DI Morgan relented, standing up and pausing the tape again.
It had been a couple of hours since the police had questioned Evan, they had been in the middle of talking to Lucy when Jack had phoned them to tell them that he had found something they should take a look at.
Sam, Nikki, Jack and the detectives had set themselves up in the observation room just as they had that morning. Jack clicked to the footage from the hallway, he had managed to spot out Evan talking to a girl when a man had pushed past him, dropping something that looked remarkably like the drugs they found on Theo's body. The tape played out to show Evan picking it up and handing it back to the man before he continued his conversation with the girl.
The sigh that came from DI Morgan caught their attention.
"What is it?" Jack questioned, his face screwing up.
"It still could've been him boss," DS Turner piped up. "For all we know they could've cooked up this whole plan to make it look like that. To make them look innocent."
DI Morgan shook his head, "It won't stand up in court. Besides that girl confirmed it. We're going to have let him go."
"Finally," Jack exasperated. Facing the screen again to pull up the picture he'd managed to get of the man. "Now please tell me you're going to try and find this man."
"Were there any other fingerprints or DNA on the bag?" DI Morgan questioned, feeling deflated now.
Jack shook his head, "He could've been wearing gloves, it's quite hard to tell on the tape because it's so dark so I can't confirm it but I say it's pretty likely given that only Evan's were on there and we can see the man handling the bag."
"But how would he know that Theo was going to have an allergic reaction?" DS Turner queried. "If you're saying that he went to the effort of planting the drugs to incriminate Evan, then how did he know?"
"Maybe he didn't," Nikki interrupted. "Maybe he panicked and saw his opportunity. It doesn't look as though he bumped into Evan on purpose and Evan did mention that this man had been at the bar when he spoke to Theo."
"Why would he be wearing gloves then?"
"He's just drugged a young boy's drink," Nikki could almost feel herself getting annoyed at the fact that she was having to spell it out to them. "I'm sure what you can guess what his intentions were, he wouldn't want his DNA to be traced so he wears the gloves."
DI Morgan gathered the notes up in front of him as he stood up, "Well we best start looking into it then and don't worry, we'll let your friend go," he quipped as he left the room.
Sam, Nikki and Jack shared a look between them, rolling their eyes but all feeling rather relieved now that they had hard proof that showed Evan had nothing to do with this. He was innocent.
They spent the next couple of days trying to track down this man but they had no such luck. Evan had managed to convince himself to stay away but he was still itching to do something. To do anything to help. He had been on the phone to Jack every couple of hours to check in and see if there were any news. But nothing.
He knew that the police were slowly starting to give up. All they had was a picture of his face after all. They had nothing else to trace him. The footage they had found wasn't exactly incriminating either, they just had Evan's word to go off.
He had received a phone call from Jack that morning, asking him to come in. When he got there he couldn't understand why Jack had even bothered telling him to come into the Lyell, he had only wanted to inform him that the police were going to be taking a step back from the search until anything started to yield results.
"I doubt that they're going to find him," Jack tried to speak as calmly as possible. "They're going to give it another couple of days and then they're going to close the case."
"What?" Evan took a step back in surprise.
"These people know how to work the system and unfortunately they know how to get away with it," Jack sighed. "He's probably a million miles away by now."
"This is bullshit," Evan spat.
"I know," Jack bowed his head.
"Can't you do anything?" Evan pushed.
"What do you want me to do?" Jack huffed. "There's nothing I can do, it's all down to the police now. It's their job to find him."
"If it was Nikki in my position you'd do something," Evan retorted, not quite knowing where he was going with this but he could feel himself growing annoyed.
"Now that's not fair," Jack stood, holding his hands up as he edged closer to Evan. He didn't want to lose his temper, the boy was distraught and that was understandable. But he was starting to hit a nerve now. "I know you're upset but this is just the truth of the matter unfortunately. I wanted to let you know because I know how much this whole situation is hurting you."
"If this was anyone else you would be going out of your way to help them," Evan scoffed, backing away and heading out of the building.
Jack called after him, not wanting to leave things the way they were but he knew that there was no point in chasing him. He was angry, he needed to calm down. Jack shook his head as he made his way down the hall, in the direction of the locker room.
This was starting to become a daily occurrence now, a way to beat the emotions out of himself. But at least now he wasn't in some gym five miles away so if he was needed then he could be found straight away. His mind wandered to Thomas as he remembered the day he had brought the punch bag in. It had been a sort of Christmas present from Thomas, Nikki and Clarissa; the three of them clubbing together to give him something that would benefit them as much as it would him.
Nikki walked down the hallway, she had been searching for Jack. She'd been unable to find him at his desk so she had guessed that he was elsewhere. She just wanted to talk to him, the conversation she had overheard between Evan and Jack the other day still playing on her mind.
As she pushed the door into the locker room, she gasped as she shut her eyes quickly, bringing her hands up in defence, "Sorry," she managed to get out as she started backing up to the door.
Jack secured the towel around the lower half of his body as he chuckled, his whole body now a bright red as he watched the small blonde woman trying to manoeuvre her way out of the room with her eyes closed.
"Nikki it's alright," he breathed, moving to sit down on the bench in the middle of the room. "You can open your eyes."
Nikki cautiously opened her eyes again, feeling the blush creeping up her neck. She had seen him topless more times than she would like to admit but she would never get used to it. To that stirring in the pit of her stomach that made every nerve in her body tingle. She gulped, trying to calm herself as she stepped further into the room and sitting down next to him. She could feel the heat from his shower radiating off him. Either that or her own temperature was rising.
"What did you want?" Jack asked, thankful that his voice remained steady.
She had been so distracted that she had completely forgotten what she had even came in here for. Her breath hitched as his eyes connected with hers, finding her eyes drifting from his and down to his lips. The goosebumps erupted all over her skin as she realised that he was doing the same.
It suddenly came back to her, the reason she had come here in the first place, "I just wanted to talk," she let out.
"About what?"
Nikki turned her head away from him, breaking the contact. She took a deep breath trying to calm her nerves. She wasn't sure why she was psyching herself up, it was just Jack. She supposed that she didn't want it to come across in a way that made her sound annoyed because she wasn't. She just wanted to understand.
"I heard you talking the other day," she started, looking at him once again. "You and Evan. You were talking about Thomas."
Jack's eyes searched hers, wondering where this was suddenly coming from. It had been a good few days since that conversation and Jack hadn't really thought twice about it. If anything it had slipped his mind despite him feeling better for it. He stayed silent, wanting Nikki to continue with her point.
"I'm not offended Jack," she clarified, noticing the confusion in his face. "I suppose I just wanted to know how you've known me for the best part of eight years yet you found yourself trusting and opening up to someone you've only known for a few months."
Jack's face screwed up briefly as he shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. I guess I knew that he understood how I had been feeling for the past couple of months."
Nikki nodded slowly, trying to make sense of it, "Do you feel better? Now that you've got things off your chest."
"I suppose," Jack answered. "It's got nothing to do with you though Nikki. He was struggling and I wanted to let him know that he wasn't on his own. That he knew that there was at least one person who knew what it felt like to lose someone so suddenly and have it feel as though it was your own fault."
"Good. You can talk to me as well," she offered. "You know that."
"It's just different with you Nikki," he was growing breathless now. The situation they were currently in dawning on him. He was sat there half naked, only a towel covering him and she was insisting on having a heart to heart with him. He wanted to chuckle, she always chose the best moments to talk. He tried to tear his eyes away from her, knowing that if he kept the eye contact things would start spilling over the edge. Things they had buried years ago.
She wanted to stay quiet, to let him speak but there was nothing coming out of his mouth. His lips were parted as if he wanted to say something but he was too scared to. She urged for him to say it, for them to start that conversation but it never came. The two of them being too stubborn to let that happen. She smoothed her hands down her legs before standing up. She was looking down at him now, something she didn't get to do often.
"I better get going," her voice an almost whisper. She swallowed. "Leave you to actually get some clothes on." Her lips twitched at the faint smile on his face. She moved her body around, heading in the direction of the door. Her hand stopped on the handle, the temptation to turn back around, to let it happen, bearing too much for her.
She had managed to bury it all down when she started her relationship with Matt. It had taken months to scrub away the feeling of his lips pressed into her skin. The feeling of his hands caressing every curve of her body. He had been so unexpectedly gentle with her. She had seen the force behind his punches, she knew how much damage he could do with his fists. But when it was just the two of them, in that room in Mexico, he was soft. Delicate. Like she was made of glass and he was scared of breaking her.
His mouth had kissed away all the cuts and bruises she had managed to gain from that box. He stayed with her all night. He held her when she cried; when she woke up in the middle of the night, the panic attack taking over her. He calmed her down, he soothed her with his voice. But she left him behind, she booked a flight to New York and she left him. She had so desperately wanted to stay, to let him protect her with his arms but she was scared. She was scared that if she gave in to her feelings, gave in to what her heart had so desperately yearned for, then he would just leave her like everyone else had.
Nikki could feel his eyes burning in the back of her head, he was watching her. Waiting for her to turn around, to give in. But just as she had left him before, she left him again. She pulled the door open, swiping the tears away as she made her way down the hallway once again.
Jack let out a breath as he watched her go, watched her walk away again. He ran his hand through his hair, thinking about all the things he could've said. All the things he had wanted to say. He thought things would be different after he got released from the hospital. After he had finally said those three words that he had been wanting to tell her for years. But she never brought it up, probably thinking that it wasn't intended for her. But then, he never brought it up either.
He knew that she wasn't angry with him for talking to Evan, she just felt left out and he couldn't blame her. She had opened up about her mother, something she had never done before. She welcomed him into that part of her life and he turned away from her. But it wasn't that. That wasn't his intention. He did want to talk to her.
He wanted to tell her every little detail about his life. He wanted to share every part of him with her. But he was scared, as she was. The moment they took that step over the line was the moment they would have to actually talk about what happened. He had tried to forget about it, finding himself growing interested in other people just so he could remove the image of her that was burned into his memory.
But he'd close his eyes and she was there. His fingers running through her blonde hair. Her breathless kisses. The taste of her tears on the tip of his tongue. The way she had left marks in his flesh for weeks after. She had been like no one else and that made it harder to get her off his mind. No one compared to the way she had made him feel.
It had been years of pent up frustration, he had her finally calling out his name in ecstasy. But it was the wrong time, it was too soon. It got mixed up with all the trauma. Mixed up with all the things that Nikki had trained herself to move away from, to forget. But it wasn't just Nikki, he had blocked it off in his mind as well. Convinced himself that he would only hurt her if he continued to love her.
And now here they were, the feelings bubbling under the surface again; waiting for something to give way. They both knew how it felt to be completely exposed to one another but they were both absolutely terrified of letting go. Of letting things happen. He pushed the thoughts down as best he could.
The bright lights and blaring music were bringing it all back again. He knew that this would be the one way to find this man. He didn't want to do it, he didn't want to put himself at risk. But he had to do it for Theo. And if the police didn't want to do it then he was going to have to be the one.
Evan got to the front of the queue, flashing his ID to the bouncers just as he had countless of times. He wandered through the hall, pushing down the memories that were threatening to flash across his mind. He needed to concentrate, he needed to keep his mind focused on one face. He had no doubts that he would be here, looking for his next victim. Especially if he had been doing this regularly and especially if he thought that he had gotten away with what had happened to Theo.
He walked to the bar, the place most likely to find him. He ordered himself a soft drink, he needed to keep his head clear. He sat down on one of the stools, his eyes eager and alert to see the face that he hadn't been able to get off his mind ever since he had remembered it. He could feel his heart racing, he knew this was risky and who knew what trouble he could land himself in but he felt as though this was something he needed to do.
He sat there for what must've been two hours, he had lost count of how many glasses of coke he had managed to get through but he knew that the toilet was starting to call his name. He didn't want to leave, just in case. It would be just his luck that the moment that he left the bar the guy would appear. But he needed to go and he supposed that if he was quick it wouldn't matter.
He pushed himself away from the bar and made his way to the bathroom. His heart stopped as he looked up from washing his hands, it was him. He could almost feel his whole body shaking and suddenly he didn't know what to do with himself. His mind had gone over and over about all the things he had wanted to say, wanted to do. But now that he had seen him, he froze. He glared at him as he went about his business.
And then he followed him to the bar, he sat a few seats away, needing a few more moments to formulate his plan. He watched his movements carefully, wondering what was going on in his head. He was looking around the room, no doubt trying to pick out someone else he was going to take advantage of. That's when their eyes connected from across the bar. Evan's breath hitched but he knew it was time. He plastered the best smile on his face that he could manage and he headed towards the man.
He sat down on the stool next to him, "I'm Evan," he held his hand out for the man to shake. He took it, shaking it firmly.
"Jamie," he replied, a sickly smug smirk on his face.
Evan wanted to be sick, he wanted to punch him. He wanted to do anything. The different scenarios ran through his head, the vivid images worrying him. But he continued, he needed to sweeten this Jamie up before he stuck the knife in.
"So what brings you here Jamie?" He asked, doing his best to come across as friendly as possible. He was biting the inside of his cheek to try and keep it all in.
"Probably the same reason you're here, Evan, is it?" He winked making Evan's skin crawl.
Evan shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know, I suppose," he sighed, knowing that he was going to have to start getting the ball rolling otherwise he wasn't going to get anywhere. "I lost someone recently actually."
"Oh I'm so sorry," Jamie reached over, placing a hand on Evan's arm. Evan was quick to flinch away. "That can't have been easy for you."
He shook his head, "No it wasn't," Evan bit his lip as he thought of all the ways he was going to word it. How he was going to do it slowly, to catch him out. To actually hear the man admit to what he had done. "It was just under two weeks ago now." He looked at the man, trying to gauge a reaction. But there was nothing, the man's face remaining stoic.
Evan carried on, "Do you want to go outside for some air?"
"Sure," Jamie nodded but he grabbed Evan's arm stopping him from heading in the direction of the smoking area. "Not there, come with me."
Evan had no choice but to follow him. He couldn't exactly abandon ship now, so he trailed after him as they walked back out of the club entrance. He was expecting for them to come to a halt but Jamie kept going. He urged for him to stop, rather wanting to stay near crowds of people that would see them if anything started happening. But that was the exact opposite of what Jamie wanted.
Evan's heart was racing now and the panic was rising up his throat. He reached into his pocket, scrolling down to Jack's name. He was about to click on the number when he felt everything going black and his body tumbling down to the floor. There was a crack as his head connected with the ground. His nose was throbbing as he clawed his hands out in front of him, trying to find something, anything, to get away. He couldn't see anything, his eyes fused shut. He slowly opened them, the blur of the man looming over him. His hands gripped at his chin.
"You think I don't know who you are," he spat. "I knew straight away. You and your stupid prick of a boyfriend. Why couldn't you just leave it alone?"
Evan dug his fingernails into the mans wrist, trying to get his hands off him, "You killed him. Just admit it," he struggled to get out as the mans hands moved to his neck, pushing down on his airway. "You drugged his drink. You wanted to take advantage of him. But it didn't go your way. You panicked. You knew I had touched those drugs. So you put them in his pocket."
Evan gasped for breath as the mans hands tightened. He struggled even more, his body squirming underneath him.
"You know, you're not really in a position to be accusing me of anything," Jamie spoke though gritted teeth, watching the blood draining from Evan's face. "You should've just left it alone and then maybe I wouldn't be having to do this."
He could see the dark spots forming in his eyes and he couldn't get the air in his lungs quick enough, he was losing. He grappled more, trying to use his last ounce of power to get the man off him but it was no use. He was losing his energy quickly. He gave up, letting it happen, letting the darkness take over him. His body relaxed, "Screw you," managed to escape his mouth before it went black.
Jack and Nikki had spent the whole day ignoring each other. Not necessarily on purpose just more out of the fact that neither wanted that conversation to come up again. It had made things rather awkward, especially when Jack had been making his goodbyes. The two of them working late and into the early hours of the morning. Jack had been the first to cave, his bed calling him. But as he heard his phone ringing and Evan's name popping up, he stopped. His face screwed up as he wondered why on earth Evan would be ringing him at this time in the morning.
He answered the phone, he couldn't hear much and at first he thought he had just accidentally called him. But as he listened more closely he could hear someone speaking and it almost sounded like they were fighting. He ran back into Nikki, his face full of panic as he put his phone on speaker so she could hear as well.
Nikki looked up at Jack, "Shit," she was already pulling her coat from the back of her chair and grabbing her car keys without a second thought. "Do you know where he is?"
"No but I can probably guess," the both of them were moving quickly to Nikki's car as she started the engine and sped off in the direction of the club they had gone to not two weeks ago. Jack kept his phone on just in case they had got the wrong end of the stick but he called out for Evan's name and didn't get an answer.
Nikki pulled up in a spot as the two of them headed down the street shouting for Evan. To any passerby they probably looked insane but that was the least of their worries. Nikki stopped, trying to focus her mind as she heard scuffles coming from an alleyway. Her head turned, her stomach dropping as she saw a man looming over someone and it looked as though he was strangling whoever was underneath him. Her body didn't move as she called for Jack as loudly as she possibly could.
That's when her body seemed to kick in but Jack had beaten her to it. He was ripping the man off Evan and pushing him down to the ground, not hesitating to pummel his fist into his face. Jack felt the fury surge through his body, seeing the man trying kill Evan striking something up inside him again and he let rip.
Nikki didn't know who to go to first, she needed to see if Evan was okay, if he was still alive but he needed to stop Jack before he ended up committing a murder. She was reassured when she caught Evan moving, coughing and spluttering as he tried to catch his breath. His eyes connected with Nikki's and she knew he was telling her to see to Jack.
She did her best to pull Jack away from the man and it wasn't exactly easy given the difference between her and Jack. But with all her might she managed to prise him away from him. She got in between the two of them, her hands resting on Jack as she pushed him away. His chest rising and falling against her palm. Happy that Jack wasn't going to do anything she turned her attention back to Evan. He needed to get into hospital as soon as possible, he was breathing which was a good sign but anything could've happened. She seen the blood on the floor and she had caught sight of the wound on his head.
She was by his side as Jack was on the phone, calling for the police and the ambulance. The man hadn't moved much. He just groaned as he rolled around the floor. Not that she cared all that much but she was glad he wasn't dead because at least it meant that Jack was safe.
Her one hand was rested on Evan's cheek as she tried her best to soothe the boy, her other hand squeezing his, "It's okay, you're going to be okay," she whispered, feeling herself welling up. She glanced over at Jack checking that he was still there. Thankfully he was.
They heard the sirens in the distance and everything seemed to move so fast. The red and blue flashing lights, the paramedics bundling Evan into the back of the ambulance. Nikki decided to go with him as Jack stayed behind to give his statement to the police. Nikki handed him her car keys saying that she will meet him at the hospital.
She hadn't let go of Evan's hand the whole way there. He was awake and alive but he had no idea of what was going on. She tried to talk to him, to calm him down. His eyes had stayed connected with hers and she just hoped that he wasn't looking at her in confusion. She wished that he knew who she was.
They eventually reached the hospital, Nikki sitting in the waiting area just outside his room as they checked him over. She'd bought herself one of the coffees from the machine, finding that the moment she relaxed was the moment she realised just how tired she was. She still hadn't heard anything from Jack either and she was starting to get worried. She was about to get her phone out when she heard him bursting through the door not looking particularly happy.
He huffed as he sat down on the seat next to her.
"Everything okay?" Nikki questioned as she glanced over at him, she was quick to spot the graze on his cheek and she knew he was going to have a black eye in the morning.
"Perfect," he rolled his eyes.
"What did the police say?" She pushed, handing the coffee over to him. He took a sip from the plastic cup before he passed it back to her.
"Nothing. They've arrested him. I've been on the phone to DI Morgan to let him know what had happened, they're going to question him tomorrow," he explained before he looked at her. He noticed the bags under her eyes and he avoided the temptation to reach out and tuck the piece of hair that was hanging down behind her ear. "How is he?"
She shrugged her shoulders, "They're still checking him over. I think they're going to send him off for a CT scan soon," Nikki moved her hand out, her finger brushing across his cheek. She expected him to flinch away from her but he stayed there. "You should probably get that checked out."
Jack took hold of her wrist, the smile spreading across his face as he caught her breath hitching at the contact, "Well I just so happen to know this brilliant doctor who would take a look at it for me."
Nikki raised an eyebrow at him as she rolled her eyes. Only Jack would choose to start flirting in this situation, "And how do you know that this doctor wants to take a look at it?" she mocked his Irish accent causing him to chuckle as she dropped her hand.
"Well, this doctor likes to look after me all the time," he threw back but his smile dropped as his eyes danced between her eyes and lips. Things growing serious between them again. "Nikki, what we were talking about earlier. I do want to talk to you-"
"Jack it's okay I understand-" she interjected.
"No Nikki," he paused, trying to gather himself. Perhaps the waiting area of the hospital wasn't the best place to let everything spill over the edge but he supposed that this was the place to get everything off your chest. Or at least it was for him. "I'm just scared."
"Scared of what?"
"I think you know," the air was thick around them, he couldn't tear his eyes away from her. He inched closer to her slowly, expecting her to back away but he found that she was copying his actions.
"Well you shouldn't be scared," she whispered, the goosebumps erupting as she felt his breath running along her lip. Their noses brushed against each other as their lips met in the middle for the briefest of seconds. She had known how they felt under hers. Their softness. She had felt them hot against her skin. Her stomach flipped as those memories were becoming a reality again. But the moment was short lived as the nurse came out of the room asking for her.
She could see Jack bowing his head in the corner of her eye as she faced the nurse. "He's awake and asking for you," she smiled sweetly.
Nikki looked over her shoulder at Jack who just nodded as the two of them stood up and headed into the room. The sight of the young boy bloodied and bruised breaking her heart but the smile was still there underneath his swollen face. She edged closer into the room, feeling Jack close behind her. But he had walked around to the other side of the bed.
"You and me need to have a word," he warned jokingly as Evan watched him. "But I think that can wait until later, eh?"
"How are you feeling?" Nikki asked softly as she perched herself on the edge of his bed, taking hold of his hand and squeezing it gently.
"Like shit," Evan chuckled, wincing at the pain that was surging around his body despite the amount of painkillers that had been pumped into him.
"Well you did it," Nikki beamed. "He's been arrested. They're going to question him tomorrow but he's not going to get away with it, not after this."
"You did good," Jack piped up. Nikki looked over at him, the smile spreading across her face as their eyes connected. But there was a sadness behind them and she knew that she was wearing the same expression. They were both thinking the same thing, what had just happened - or rather, what nearly happened - wasn't going to happen again. It was just going to be another one of those things they swept under the carpet and forgot about. Another one of those things they buried, amongst all the other things.
Next time: Moment of Truth - Memories are resurfaced as a face brings everything back for Jack and Nikki. Will this be the tipping point for Jack? Or will Nikki catch him before he falls?
