Gathering Storm

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, it's so nice to know people are still reading Rats fics! :) And apologies for the length of this chapter!

Chapter Three: The Murder

—

The next day came around quickly, and when Jack and Rachel arrived at work in the morning, Helen immediately told them to go up to Jeff's office. "Why? What's going on?" Jack asked curiously upon seeing Helen's facial expression.

"Just go and see him please Jack," was all Helen said in reply, but the look on her face said that something was definitely wrong. She watched the two detectives pace quickly up the stairs, almost missing an alert from Gavin on the radio.

"Graham Denton…" Jeff began to say once Rachel and Jack were in his office with the door closed behind them. He paused momentarily, seeing Jack roll his eyes as if he was saying 'what's he done now?'. "He was granted bail yesterday evening as both of you may know, but when he didn't turn up for a mandatory work meeting earlier this morning, a colleague went to his house where they found him deceased."

Jack's mouth opened slightly but no sound, no words, came out.

"Suspicious circumstances according to forensics and the coroner," Jeff continued, deliberately not giving away how or when Graham died.

Jack and Rachel shared a confused glance and then looked back at Jeff, neither really knowing what to say.

"You'll be interviewed about it soon… informally at this stage."

Jack frowned at what Jeff said, "Huh? Why do we need to be interviewed?"

"Think of it as a formality, Jack," he answered simply, "Also, I will quickly add that with the passport scam being handed to the Feds, you'll need to give them everything you've got on the case, alright? I'll expect that to be done by the end of today."

"Everything we've got? Well that's basically nothing," Jack commented sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

Jeff then appeared to hurry them out of his office, "Right, well. That's all. I'll let you know when Homicide get here. If they don't let you know themselves first."

Jack and Rachel walked out of the office in silence; both were quite surprised by the news. Although Jack was glad more than anything, there was a part of him would have liked to have had the chance to knock the guy's block off. Jack, by his own admission, had been fairly restrained when he arrested Denton.

Rachel sighed sharply as she sat down at her desk.

"I take it Jeff told you what happened to Denton?" Mick said, merely from the body language of both Rachel and Jack, "Bit of a shock, isn't it?" he added, looking over at Jack with particular intent as he spoke.

"A shock, maybe, but who really gives a shit?" Jack muttered out loud, not exactly meaning to.

But if Jack wasn't shocked enough by the news of Denton's death, the next words Mick spoke really stunned him, "Just as long as you have an alibi, Jack. Because anyone… everyone can see that you had a strong motive."

"What?"

Mick shrugged a little offhandedly, "All I'm saying is–"

"Oh I know what you're saying!" Jack interrupted him gruffly, shaking his head in disbelief at what he was hearing, "You and God knows who else, think I killed him, hey Mick? Well isn't that good to know that my colleagues trust me and actually think I'd do something that stupid."

"It's not that at all–" Mick started to reply in his own defence, but he was interrupted once again, this time by a few quiet knocks on the door closest to Rachel's desk.

"Detectives. Joe Da Silva, Homicide," a man said in greeting. Rachel turned around at the sound of his voice, surprised to see that Joe was now working for Homicide and not the Armed Holdup Squad. "Sergeant Christey, I'd like to speak with you first if you don't mind… just this way," he pointed to the interview room door.

Jack managed a small, almost sarcastic smile as Joe walked away, and under his breath said, "Great."

—

"Now Detective Christey, I know we're in the interview room but this is just an informal chat for now, nothing more," Joe began, smiling at him pleasantly, trying to break the ice.

Jack wasn't having any of Joe's pleasantness however, saying impatiently, "Can we just get this over and done with? What do you want to know?"

Joe straightened his posture and placed his hands down so that they were resting on the table, "Okay," he nodded slowly, noting Jack's abrupt tone and assertive behaviour, "I know you've been told about the death of Graham Denton. Now, you were the one who arrested Denton yesterday morning at his home in Leichhardt, were you not?"

"Yes."

"And you arrested him for the attempted murder of Senior Constable Rachel Goldstein the previous day?"

"Yes."

Joe nodded again, "Okay. Your arrest of Denton…" he looked down at some paper piled in a folder in front of him, shuffling through it until he found what he was searching for, "Got a little rough, would that be fair to say?"

Jack stared at him, his blue eyes hardened at the line of questioning, "No rougher than many other arrests I've made in my time as a cop."

"He said you, and I quote him here, 'grabbed me by the arm and yanked it behind my back'," Joe again looked down at the paper in front of him; Jack then realising that it was Graham's statement from when Mick and Helen interviewed him.

"Yeah that's generally how it happens when you put handcuffs on someone to arrest them," Jack answered, deadpan, "And he was moving around a lot and I suppose I just wanted the little prick to be still."

Joe nodded again, but kept quiet.

"Look, where are you going with all this?" Jack then asked of Joe. He was feeling impatient and annoyed by the conversation. "I know how interviews work, I've been a detective for 12 years. So if you think I did it…" he paused carefully, "If you think I killed him in some sort of revenge ploy because he tried to stab my partner when she all she did was recognise him… why don't you just bloody ask me?"

"Okay Detective, I'll cut to the chase," Joe became as blunt as Jack was being, "Where were you last night between the hours of 1am and 4am?"

"In bed. Asleep."

"Is there anyone who can verify that?"

Jack tried his best not to hesitate, knowing that he was about to lie, but was pretty certain his hesitation was obvious as he answered, "No, no one can verify that." Jack didn't want to tell Joe that he was with Rachel, especially without talking it through with her first. But if his gut instinct was correct, it wouldn't matter if he said he was with Rachel; they'd probably think she would lie for him.

—

While Jack was being interviewed, Mick turned to Rachel, saying with confidence, "You're Jack's alibi, am I right in saying Rach? I mean, you can vouch for where he was last night? Although he's probably not going to admit it."

Rachel's eyes narrowed as she stared across at Mick, wondering what on earth he was thinking, "Wow. You really believe Jack killed Graham Denton, don't you? That he's capable of it," she avoided his questions by asking another one.

Mick shook his head emphatically. "No, I don't think he killed him, not at all. Capable? Yes of course, anyone is capable if they're pushed far enough. I'm just trying to think like the Homicide detectives. With or without evidence, they're going to suspect it was Jack because of his motive and it's a pretty strong motive too. He's suspect number one and I'm not sure how many others they would have on their list right now."

"And what motive is that?" Rachel asked, sounding naïve, although she had a fair idea of what Mick's answer was going to be.

"Getting revenge on Graham Denton for attempting to stab you," Mick said right away, still emphatic, "You could have died if he did stab you… and Jack knows it. That has got to be one of the reasons why he's been so pissed off about it all. On top of that, his feelings for you."

"Jack's pissed off with himself, I think, more than anything," Rachel replied honestly, deliberately ignoring Mick's last comment. She didn't want to have that particular conversation with him again.

Mick began to nod in agreement, "Maybe he is yeah… but you didn't see him with Denton yesterday, Rachel. You didn't see the anger in Jack's eyes. And it was all directed towards Denton, as if me and Helen weren't even there. He's like a bomb ready to blow up at any moment. And I get the feeling Da Silva will see that too."

Choosing to stay silent, Rachel tilted her head back, staring up at the ceiling above. She had seen Jack angry before; seen him lose his temper. But this was an entirely different type of anger, this was rage of the deepest kind. Mick was right about one thing though, Jack was definitely like a bomb ready to blow up and Rachel knew she had to try and stop him from exploding.

—

Having a bit of free time felt like a Godsend to the detectives, especially after their roundabout interviews with Joe Da Silva. When Mick left the office briefly, Jack decided to chat to Rachel about what he'd told Da Silva, even if he wasn't really supposed to talk about it. "I didn't tell him I was with you last night, Rach," he said, with an intense but soft tone in his voice, "I didn't want to involve you… if you know what I mean."

Rachel, in many ways, felt sorry for Jack. She knew that by him lying to Da Silva and therefore not having a very good alibi, that things might get tricky for Jack, and she just wanted to be there for him as best she could. "I'm not sure lying is the right choice, Jack," Rachel decided to be honest with him, "I mean, I get it… I get why, I do. But now you don't even have–"

"It wasn't a lie as such, it was a half-truth," Jack told her confidently, "I was asleep in bed at the time… I just said no one could verify it, that's all."

"And that probably just gives them more reason to think you had the opportunity."

Jack took a deep breath in and out, answering, "Yeah well, where's their evidence, hey? They don't have any and they won't get any either because I didn't do it," he paused, adding quietly but meaningfully, "Not that I didn't want to hurt the bastard…"

Rachel closed her eyes for a moment. It was in that time that Mick hurried back into the office, saying, "We've got a job, guys. C'mon, let's go."

"What is it?" Jack asked, getting up off his chair and grabbing his jacket in one quick movement, 'cop mode' taking over.

"Reports of a diver in trouble in a wreck off Rodd Point."

Quickly following Mick down the corridor, with Rachel not far behind, Jack then said, "What sort of trouble? Dead sort of trouble or just hanging in there sort of trouble?"

"Not sure. The details are a bit sketchy at this stage."

—

At the foreshore of Rodd Point, the detectives were met by Dave and the Harpy crew. It was the first proper time that Dave had seen Rachel since the day she was almost stabbed; since he had called her a smartarse. Dave subtly called Rachel over with the sideways movement of his head, she followed him to a quieter area, where no one else was around.

"Listen… Rachel," he began, in usual Dave manner, "I'm sorry about the other day. I shouldn't have said what I said."

Rachel was shaking her head as soon as he started to apologise, "No, no it's okay Dave," she flashed a friendly smile at him, "I should be the one apologising to you. It was just one of those days… I was having one of those stupid, crappy days and I took some of it out on you. So I'm sorry."

"Well you didn't call me a smartarse," Dave smiled back, "Plus I think I kinda knew you weren't having the best of days, I shouldn't have said it."

Rachel decided to call a truce. She didn't want to leave anything hanging over their heads, especially after what almost happened to her. Life is too short, she thought. "How about we call it even then?"

Dave nodded once, agreeing, "As long as there's a beer involved."

"Don't you know it!" she exclaimed with a small laugh, and they walked back to where everyone was, happy now that they had cleared the air between them.

As Emma and Johnny got kitted up in their diving equipment, Dave began to explain to the detectives what they knew had happened so far. "It seems as though there's only one person we're looking for, judging from the gear left in the boat. He didn't have a dive buddy from the look of it either. And I'm not holding onto any hopes that we're going to find him alive, he's apparently been under for about 50 minutes according to some witnesses."

"Right, thanks Dave," Jack told him, watching through sunglasses as Dave headed back to where the Harpy was docked. He then turned to Rachel and Mick, saying with authority, "Do you two want to canvass the area and I'll speak to someone at the boat rental place? Okay? Good," Jack strode off in the opposite direction, not giving either of them the chance to reply.

Somewhat confused by Jack's offhandedness, Rachel and Mick glanced at each other from where they were both standing, "Oh-kay," Rachel responded, even though Jack was now too far away to hear her.

—

"Got him Dave," Emma said over the radio about 20 minutes later.

"Status?" Dave asked, from his position on board the Harpy.

"Deceased."

"Okay. Copy that," he answered, signalling to the detectives that the news about the diver wasn't good, "Bring him up. I'll get forensics down here."

Jack, Rachel and Mick walked over to where the Harpy was docked, and watched with some trepidation as Emma and Johnny brought the dead diver to the water's surface. "Found any I.D?" Jack asked Dave, "A boat rental employee said he paid in cash when he hired the boat, and I'm assuming the name Max Wattage is false…"

Dave hid a wry grin, "None in the boat but we'll see if there's anything on his person," he said as he helped Emma and Johnny pull the dead man onto the boat. "Check all the zippers, some wetsuits have hidden pockets," Dave then told Emma.

"Sure thing, Sarge," Emma replied, checking over the man's body. She didn't have to search for long, however, "Got something!" she exclaimed, holding up what appeared to be a drivers license, "His name is Christopher Denton. Born September 21 1966," Emma then handed it to Dave.

Rachel felt her entire body freeze at hearing the man's surname was Denton. Was that just some sort of weird coincidence or was he related to Graham? Jack appeared to be having the same train of thought she was, although he said it out loud and with a frown on his face, "Denton? Is that a coincidence or what?"

Without speaking, Dave stepped off the Harpy and passed the license over to Jack, who glared down at it. The man's I.D photo did have some resemblance to Graham Denton, Jack thought. "Okay," he soon said to Rachel and Mick as they were walking back towards the shore, "Let's get on to Helen and see if she can find anything on this guy."

"I'll do that," Mick offered politely, and he walked over to where his car was parked to chat to Helen on the radio.

Jack looked over at Rachel, noticing she was pretty quiet, "You okay Rach?" he asked.

She blinked a few times and looked back at him, "Yeah."

—

"There are two people listed as Christopher Denton's next of kin, Mick," Helen informed him over the radio, "One is his sister, Laura Denton, 37. She lives in Paddington."

"And the other?"

Helen paused noticeably, before eventually saying after one long breath out, "The other… Graham Denton… brother."

"Fuck!" Mick said in a hoarse whisper, but making sure he wasn't speaking into the radio. He then cleared his throat, "Okay, thanks for the info Helen."

"And Mick, take Rachel with you when you go and see the sister…" Helen added quickly, "Even though I don't want Rachel to be too involved either, I most definitely want Jack's involvement in this to be as minimal as possible. In fact, I really don't think he should be involved at all. If Jack doesn't like that, he can talk to me about it. At the station."

"Copy that, thanks Helen," Mick put the receiver back in its place and got out of his car. He slammed the door shut, sighing heavily and with some frustration as he did so. He knew Jack wasn't going to be happy with the decision. Mick saw Jack and Rachel walking closer and met up with them halfway between the two cars belonging to the detectives.

"How'd Helen go? Did she find out any information?" Jack asked him.

Mick was almost reluctant to reply at first. He didn't even want to look Jack in the eye but knew he had to eventually. "Yes Jack," he soon answered, nodding, "But Helen wants me to take Rachel… and she said if you're unhappy with that, you can go back to work and talk to her about it."

Jack's mouth dropped open but he wasn't all that surprised by what Mick was saying, "Oh let me guess, the dead guy is some relative of Graham Denton?" he didn't even bother waiting for a response, "Fine. I'll go back to the station and talk to Helen."

Exactly as they did about 30 minutes earlier, Rachel and Mick shared a confused glance. Jack was suddenly being a bit too cool, calm and collected about everything for their liking. It seemed like a ruse, a cover, for how he was really feeling.

—

Driving to Laura Denton's house in Paddington, Mick and Rachel remained relatively silent until they arrived at the address. "Are you going to be okay with all this?" Mick asked as they got out of the car, "Helen said she didn't really want you too involved either, but I think it's better you being here rather than Jack. Unless you're feeling uncomfortable in any way…"

"I'm fine," Rachel quickly replied, quite convincingly too, although she wasn't really all that convinced on the inside.

They walked towards the front of the house, where Mick was about to knock on the door but it opened before he could do so. A woman appeared in front of them; she had a sorrowful expression on her face.

"Hello, I'm Detective Michael Reilly and this is Detective Rachel Goldstein. We're from the Sydney Water Police," Mick began calmly, flashing his police badge, "I'm sorry to disturb you, but we're looking for Laura Denton–"

"Yes, I'm Laura," the woman answered anxiously, still standing in the middle of the doorway, "What's happened? Has this got something to do with my brother Graham? Have you found out who killed him?"

"I think it's best if we talk inside. May we come in?" Mick then asked considerately.

"Yes, of course," Laura stepped aside, allowing Mick and Rachel to enter the house. She then directed them to the lounge room where she gestured them both to sit down. "So, what's this about? My brother Graham? I spoke to the police earlier this morning..." her voice trailed off as she began to get upset.

Mick shook his head, deciding that he should be the one to speak instead of Rachel, "No, we're not here about Graham. His killer hasn't been found yet… not at this stage," he paused, seeing Laura look him oddly. "The body of a man was pulled from the water at Rodd Point a little while ago–"

Laura gasped, almost as if she was realising what Mick was about to tell her. "Chris was going to Rodd Point this morning… he phoned me and said he was hiring a boat to go diving," she started to explain even though no one had asked, "He said he was going to use a fake name… I guess because of Graham's name being in the papers over the last couple of days or so… Are you sure it is Chris?"

"Our divers found his driver's license on him," Mick answered, "We will need you to accompany us to the morgue to identify him. When you're ready though, Ms Denton, there's no rush."

Laura started to sob quietly, but through her tears managed to say, "I know Graham was charged with attempted murder yesterday… I know it was for trying to stab a police officer… but he didn't deserve to die. Neither did Chris… neither of them deserved this."

With those words from Laura, Rachel suddenly felt nauseous so she excused herself from the room and hastily made her way outside. She crouched down on the verge of the footpath next to a tree, trying to stop herself from throwing up. Rachel thought about what her grandmother once told her about getting rid of nausea: breathe in through your nose, hold, and then breathe out through your mouth. That technique didn't really work all that well, she realised.

"Are you okay Rach?" came Mick's concerned voice from behind her, "Laura will come to down to the morgue with me a bit later this afternoon, so we can go back to the station now."

"I'm fine," Rachel stood up quickly at the sound of his voice, wishing that everyone would stop asking her if she was alright. Ignoring the sick feeling in her stomach, Rachel swallowed hard, saying, "Let's go," but she still copped a concerned eye from Mick, "If you tell Jack or Helen about this, I may have to punch you."

Mick held up his hands to chest height, but laughed as they got into the car, "I wouldn't dream of it!" he started the engine and said before he drove away, "But seriously, are you okay? You looked like you were throwing up before… or about to throw up."

Rachel sighed, although she decided to finally answer the question with relative honesty, "I just felt a bit sick that's all…"

"From what Laura said?" Mick asked a little vaguely, but he was pretty certain that Rachel would know what he meant.

She glanced across at him from the passenger seat and then back down at her lap, fidgeting with her fingers as if she was nervous, "I guess so."

—

Back at the station, Jack and Helen had just finished their prolonged chat about Jack not allowed to be involved on the Denton case. Helen was merely adamant that there was too much of a conflict of interest. Jack, however, left Helen's office reeling. It was as though she was against him too; as if she also thought he'd had something to do with Denton's death.

He sat down on his office chair heavily and smacked his fist down onto his desk out of frustration.

"Detective Christey," Joe Da Silva then poked his head into the office, "Can I have a quick word with you outside?"

Jack remained seated for a couple of seconds, wondering if Joe happened to see him 'punch' his desk or if there was something else going on, "What have I supposedly done now?" he asked sarcastically, slowly getting up from his chair and following Joe outside.

"I've just been speaking to Jeff, and he and I agreed that you will be suspended from duty with pay, effective from the end of today. While the investigation is ongoing," Joe stated as soon as Jack had closed the door.

Jack was speechless.

"There are some serious allegations against you at the moment, Jack," Joe tried to somehow make the conversation less formal by using his first name, "These allegations have only gotten worse since I spoke to you this morning. So Jeff and I just feel that it would be better for everyone, including you, if you–"

"Allegations? Meaning more than one?" Jack interrupted, mainly out of confusion, "Look… I didn't kill Denton. I don't even know how he died for God's sake!"

Joe held up one hand to stop him from continuing, "I know it's going to be a bit of a shock, but we will keep you informed as much as possible, okay?" he left Jack standing on the balcony before he could answer.

"Fucking hell," Jack then said to himself, deciding to stay outside for a while longer. A few minutes later, he heard the door open and close, and annoyed, said firmly, "What now?" before he completely turned around. Instead of Joe standing in front of him, Jack saw that it was Rachel. He let out a sigh, "Sorry, Rach."

She walked towards him, stopping when they were standing only a few inches apart, "We've just been told what's happening…" she began softly, pausing to ever so lightly touch his hand, "I think you should seriously think about telling Da Silva the truth about your alibi. About us."

Jack shook his head, "No, I can't do that. Da Silva would just think that you'd cover for me or whatever. He's a complete dickhead who has already decided I'm guilty, no matter what he actually says or knows. And I'm sure he'd manage to find something to accuse you of if he knew I was with you that night."

"But Jack, it could help–"

"Yeah, and it could totally backfire as well," Jack answered before she could finish. He then said with absolutely sincerity, "I'm not doing that to you. I care about you too much, Rach."

—

To be continued (in the fourth and hopefully final chapter)!