Jack
After Nikki's hung up on the CCTV, we see her turn as if she's aware of something and then Alan Lane approaches, swipes his arm – which we know from Nikki had a hunting knife in, then he goes again.
My heart jumps into my mouth when Nikki falls against her car during the swipe with the hunting knife – an action which apparently broke her car window at the same time as removing part of her finger. No wonder there was so much blood – her hand was cut to ribbons by the glass as well.
Cut to ribbons. Imagery, Jack. It's not helping.
After, few minutes we see Nikki managing to pull herself to her feet using her car to lean on, and making her way gingerly around to the boot, still using her car as a crutch. She manages to open the boot as she collapses on the ground and of course, there is blood everywhere.
At this point I'm digging my fingers into my palm in an attempt not to yell at the screen. No one is helping her. No one is there.
No one has noticed and Nikki, being Nikki is just attempting to deal with the situation on her own, with the minimal amount of fuss possible.
"Nikki!" Leo sighs, shaking his head, as we watch the CCTV version of her working to create her make-shift bandage as best as she can.
It's clear just how much pain she's in as she has to keep pausing to gather herself. Eventually, she manages to pull herself to her feet with her good hand using the open boot as leverage. She shuts the boot and makes her way around the car again, disappearing for a while, though we can see faint movements once she's in her car.
"What were you doing then?" Clarissa questions her, determined not to miss any details.
Nikki shrugs, "Took my coat off and wrapped it round my arm, took painkillers, rang the taxi"
"Two paraceptamol!" Leo retorts again, as indignantly as the first time. "You didn't really think that would help, Nikki, surely – you're a doctor."
"Paraceptamol was all I had." Nikki counters. "I just needed something to take the edge off at that point. I worked with what I had...and as for being a doctor, Leo..." she continues "they told me at the hospital that it apparently doesn't count when you're the patient."
I bet that went down well with Nikki.
"They agreed to discharge me, on the condition I wasn't going to be alone, but I think Leo being a doctor swung it. Me being a doctor didn't count for anything." Nikki finishes looking highly unimpressed.
"So...you didn't discharge yourself." I remark.
Nikki looks at me guiltily. "No, sorry, but I would have done and they couldn't of stopped me."
Leo gives a resigned sigh, "No I don't think anyone could have stopped you, if you had decided to leave, Nikki."
Well, it's perfectly true. If they hadn't discharged her, she would have done that herself and it would have been pointless trying to talk her out of it.
CCTV Nikki emerges from her car and slowly makes her way to the entrance of the car park, occasionally leaning on cars as she passes. Then she disappears from view.
"Now we know he's guilty-" Clarissa begins but the notorious DI Warren interrupts.
"What he did in the car park doesn't tie him to Joanne Henderson's murder-"
Honestly I could slam my hand down on the table in frustration.
Nikki
"Do you mind if I step out for a glass of water?" I interject diplomatically. I can see that Jack is moments away from exploding – not that I can blame him really. I could swing at a punch bag myself right now – if I wasn't one hand down. "Jack, could you help me please?"
"Yeah" He agrees as Leo dismisses us.
"Urgh she's just so- urgh" Jack fumes as we go in the kitchen. He reaches for a glass and dutifully fills it with water, before handing it to me.
The water was a ploy really. I had to get Jack out of there and away from that woman before he got himself in trouble by punching a wall or something. He'd reached boiling point. He would never ever hit a woman and there is no punch-bag in the meeting room, so it would have been the wall – or the table or something. Possibly, even the screen we just watched the CCTV footage on considering what the footage contained. Anyhow, I thought it advisable to remove Jack from the rapidly heating-up atmosphere before he got in trouble, undoubtedly injuring himself in the process.
"Thank you." I say sipping the water. "I know, Jack ok. I know. But please try to keep calm. We need your brain on this too and besides..." I drain my glass and put it by the sink, before patting his arm. "Who's going to look after me if you get thrown off the case for losing your temper?"
He nods. "Ok, I'll try for you, but honestly, Nikki, she had better start co-operating – it's crystal clear that he's guilty." We go to leave but Jack turns back to me. "She had agreed and was co-operating so...What exactly happened at the police station, Nikki?"
I sigh. "Daddy turned up at the station." I retort. "He was none too pleased about my penny-worth in the situation - he gave me the cold shoulder, that's for sure. Anyway, Dad had words with Kate and suddenly she had doubled-locked everything against Roly Henderson and dropped the case against Lane, so he was released. Come on, let's go back."
Back in the meeting room, they seem to be discussing my missing finger and as we sit back down, DI Warren makes an insensitive comment along the lines of no one being able to re-attach what Lane removed.
If this is her trying to be objective, she's losing her 'people' skills at the same time.
I glance at Jack. Although it's clear he's unhappy with her for making such a comment, he sticks to his word and manages to keep his reaction to a minimum.
I opt for sarcasm in response, in the hope that if Jack sees me 'holding my own' rather than getting upset, it will help him to stay calm. A calm Jack is what we need at the moment.
"That's ok, Kate, I'm perfectly aware that I won't get my finger back – not in the way you mean, anyway. Even if we got it back within the required time, I doubt very much that Lane has wrapped it up carefully and packed it with ice. I simply wish to acquire it so that it's out of his slimy possession, because quite frankly, the idea of him having a piece of me is sickening"
And I want him locked up for Joanne's murder. Roly Henderson is innocent. We all know that.
Not to mention the others he might possibly have murdered including his wife.
