Since you asked so nicely... next chapter for your perusal. Thanks to those who have left feedback, it really does give my muse something to work with. Apologies for the intermittent service, I'm in the process of changing jobs so am working 7 days a week just now. The end is nigh though so hopefully more regular updates can ensue before too long. Thanks for sticking with this story and I hope you enjoy the chapter. Let me know what you think then I know if it's working!
As usual, I don't own any characters from The Bill, I'm just stretching their legs to see where they feel like going. I'll return them before the next show airs, I promise!Sam scoured the pages of transactions in front of her, looking at all the payments which had been made and received by Andrew Kirk in the previous few months. She had taken to circling all those which stood out to her as being unusual, marking them up for further investigation. Her mobile buzzed on the desk beside her signalling an incoming call. Glancing at the caller display, she flicked the tiny machine open and greeted her caller.
"Hi Lorna, to what do I owe this pleasure so late on a Tuesday evening? I'd have thought you'd have been at your salsa class by now."
"Hi Sam, ordinarily I would be but I think you and I need to talk. There's something you need to know." The DI could tell from Lorna Hart's hushed tones that it was difficult to talk wherever she was.
"Name the place, I'll be there." Sam stated simply, feeling like something out of a Hollywood movie with all the dramatics surrounding her at present.
"What time are you finishing?" The feisty blonde glanced at her watch and then back at the papers in front of her, deciding that she could take them with her for further analysis.
"Give me ten minutes and I'm packing up. Want to come over to my place?"
"Possibly better at mine, the babysitter's only booked 'til half ten. You know the address?" Lorna's voice inferred a question which Sam answered readily.
"I'll find my way. See you there in about forty minutes then?" They agreed the time and hung up, Sam wondering why the meeting had to be so clandestine and Lorna glancing around her to make sure that in this instance, the walls did not have ears. She felt she had every right to be suspicious given what she had uncovered at Kirk's house, a discovery she was prepared to share with only one person.
"Come on in Sam, can I get you a drink?" Lorna took the blonde woman's coat from her as she shrugged out of it, grateful to get into a warm house after her freezing journey.
"A coffee would be like nectar right about now!" Sam joked, trying to ease some of the palpable tension in the air.
"I'll slip a tot of whiskey in it for you, that should chase away the chills." Lorna offered, ushering her guest through into the lounge where a roaring open fire waited to welcome her. "Take a seat, I'll be right back." Sam perched on the plush sofa, glancing around the room and admiring the CSE's taste in décor. Her eyes alighted on a photograph of a young clone of Lorna, whom Sam presumed was the daughter she spoke of so fondly. There was another photograph of Lorna with a handsome man, arms around each other as they gazed into each other's eyes, their love plain for anyone to see. The DI felt herself growing wistful as she observed, through these pictures, the family life Lorna was lucky enough to have. A subtle cough brought Sam's attention away from her less than discrete perusal to find Lorna standing beside her, a steaming mug of whiskey-laced coffee held out towards the guest.
"Sorry I was just admiring your photos. You look very happy together." Sam mentioned, accepting the proffered mug gratefully and wrapping her hands around it with a blissful sigh as she felt the warmth seep into her frozen limbs.
"We were, that was taken six years ago, about a month before James was stabbed to death by one of his patients, back when knife crime was still relatively rare." Instantly, the frost returned to Sam's core as she glanced back at the photo before focusing on this woman whom she had considered a friend but realised she knew very little about.
"Lorna, I'm so sorry, I had no idea."
"Don't be. I made my peace with what happened a long time ago. It's just me and Katie now and I have to be strong for her. She's really what helped pull me through the darkest times after it happened."
"How old was she when it happened?" Sam queried, following Lorna's cue to sit back on the sofa, feeling the soft cushions envelope her cosily.
"Six, old enough to remember her dad being taken from her but too young to really remember what he was like now." For a few moments, both women were silent, sipping their drinks and content to meander through their own thoughts.
"I'm sure you didn't just invite me over here so I could pry into your personal life. It sounded quite important on the phone." Sam was first to break the silence, conscious of the time and not wanting to outstay her welcome.
"When it's between friends Sam, it's never prying. But you're right, this wasn't technically a social invitation – although I hope you know you are welcome here any time." Lorna seemed to be struggling with where to begin but Sam waited patiently knowing that she would find the correct place in her own time. "When I was searching Andrew Kirk's house yesterday, I came across something that disturbed me, far more than the images we found hiding under his floorboards and in the backs of cupboards. I spent all last night mulling over what I should do with the information I'd found. I finally decided at around 4am this morning that I would bring the evidence to you and let you draw your own conclusions. Towards the end of my shift today, I went to retrieve the evidence only to find it missing. I checked, double checked and triple checked but it's gone, not signed out even though it was definitely signed in. I don't think whoever has it knows that I took photographs of it in situ before I alerted anyone to it's presence, or at least I hope they don't. I brought the memory card home with me just in case but to preserve the evidence chain, I had to sign that out. If they do find out and go back for it, they'll know where to come looking for it." Lorna's voice had taken on a slight tremor as she had recounted her tale, leading Sam to suspect she feared for the consequences if someone did decide to look for the aforementioned memory card.
"Lorna, what did you find? What is so important to someone that they need to make it disappear?" The DI in Sam came storming to the fore, driven by the knowledge that someone was deliberately hampering their investigation and wondering if it had anything to do with the questions arising surrounding Jo's ability to do her job.
"Take a look for yourself." Lorna crossed to a sleek looking printer into which she had previously inserted the memory card she had taken from the evidence locker. She collected a couple of high quality printouts of images and handed them to her guest, watching her face intently as she ingested the implications of the pictures in her hand.
"That's… but that's… oh my… no wonder he's so keen to discredit Jo!" Sam felt her stomach churning at the content of the images in her hand. At the same time, her mind was whirling with consequences and implications and strategies. She looked down again at the vision of the Superintendent in a very compromising position with a young girl no older than 10. Juxtaposed to the image was a list of subscribers names to a very provocatively titled website.
"You see why I'm a little nervous about who I could talk to? I still wasn't entirely convinced until I saw you listening at DCI Meadows door this afternoon."
"You saw that?" Sam's face was ashen as she feared who else may have seen her eavesdropping on the senior officers conversation.
"Relax Sam, there was no one else around. From the expression on your face when you left just before Heaton walked out of DCI Meadow's office, I guessed that whatever you had heard did not sit well with you. How is he discrediting Jo?"
"You could say I was fuming after hearing him in there. He basically told Jack to stop Jo and I from working together, that our friendship prevents me from supervising her properly and he went as far as to imply that she is using her sexuality to influence witnesses to talk to her!"
"But that's just ridiculous! How does he come to that conclusion?" Lorna huffed her disgust, her fear receding as her anger flared.
"Opportunity. He cited that court case last week as an example, actually said that 'no smoke without fire' is often true! Even if Jo wasn't so sickeningly in love with Lucy, she would never in a million years dream of taking advantage of anyone in that way." Sam uttered, letting the photographs fall back into the printer tray, then thinking better of it and picking them up again. "Would you mind if I take these? I'd like to send them to a friend of mine with instructions that if anything happens to either you, your daughter or anyone who knows of their existence, I will contact them and ask them to send the photos to a suitably high profile newspaper. That at least ought to offer you some security from repercussions. Besides which, I'm sure you'd rather not have these lying around where Katie might find them."
"DC Dasari, can I have a word please?" Sam beckoned Grace into her office and closed the door behind them.
"What can I do for you?" Grace asked, taking the seat Sam ushered her towards, not used to having cosy chats behind closed doors with DI Nixon.
"How are things going over at CEOPs? Are they having any joy tracking the website the video of Dawid appeared on?" Sam perched on the edge of the desk, not wanting to make the meeting formal.
"Not brilliant at the minute, they're getting through one set of firewalls and server re-routings only to find another being created as fast as they can break through. Whoever's running this thing knows their stuff, CEOPs have got their best people working on it day and night." Sam nodded, her fears confirmed that this was indeed much bigger than just one missing child.
"I need you to use your contacts there to trace another website but it has to be done in the strictest of confidence. I've had an anonymous tip off, one which I am one hundred percent convinced is accurate, that this is linked to this website somehow." The DI handed Grace a slip of paper with the web address of the site Lorna had stumbled upon when searching Kirk's house. "This could involve a lot of influential people, people who would rather we didn't open this particular can of worms because of what it might do to their careers and their public images. I'm counting on you to exercise complete discretion and to choose who you employ to trace the website very carefully. It will be safer tracking it from CEOPs, less likelihood of someone involved realising that we are looking into them. If possible, try and get a list of subscribers to the site and a host address. There's a very strong possibility that Kirk is involved in this setup and we can't afford for anyone to tip him off." Grace nodded her understanding, the expression on her superior's face the only confirmation she needed of the gravity of the situation.
"How high are we talking?" Grace queried as she stood to leave.
"Possibly as high as you can go." Sam admitted, thanking Grace and asking her to contact her on her personal mobile for security purposes if she needed to report anything. The blonde DI had waited a further 24 hours after speaking with Lorna, confirming that the photos had arrived safely with her friend, before she involved anyone else in investigating the newly discovered website. Her mind was split between worrying about how to tackle the enquiry without Heaton discovering what was going on and wondering how Jo was getting on at the hospital. She had been infinitely grateful to learn that Lucy would be accompanying her lover to the appointment for her MRI scan but still could not help but wish she was there too.
"Miss Masters?" Jo looked up at the sound of her name being called, her heart dropping into the pit of her stomach. She stood shakily, reaching for Lucy's hand and receiving a reassuring squeeze as her partner rose with her, silently accepting the unspoken invitation to join her. "If you'd like to come through please, we'll get you ready for your scan." The volunteer whose job it was to get Jo to where she needed to be seemed content to chat idly as they walked down the narrow corridor, past people waiting for x-rays for a vast array of ailments. "It's a bit busy this morning, must be all that ice around, lots of people slipping and tripping. Luckily there's not as much call for the MRI scanner so we should have you sorted in good time. Are you heading to work after this or have they given you the day off?" The tiny woman enquired good naturedly, her eyes kindly and without pity which Jo was grateful for.
"I've got the morning off but I'm expected in this afternoon." Jo answered, her voice a little husky from her fear. She hated hospitals with a passion but knew that she would have to resign herself to attending them regularly until she had beaten the cancer… or until it had beaten her.
"Well, here you are if you'd just like to get changed into this very attractive gown, we'll try and get you done quickly so you can make the most of the morning before having to go to work." The woman bustled off to inform the radiographer that Jo was available for her scan, leaving Lucy to assist Jo out of her clothes.
"I can think of nicer times I've undressed you!" The young olive-skinned brunette mentioned, winking at her lover as she tried to ease the tension in them both slightly.
"Yeah," Jo murmured distractedly, her mind consumed with thoughts of what the scan could show. "Listen sweetheart, I need to say this so please just let me get it out without stopping me ok?" Jo waited for the other woman to nod her assent before continuing, "if the scan shows more tumours, if it's spread, I don't want you to feel like you have to stay with me out of duty. I could end up needing a lot of help and I don't want you to feel burdened by me ok? So I want you to know that you have my permission to get the hell out of dodge any time it gets too much for you. You have your whole life ahead of you, I don't want you wasting it on a lost cause." Jo found herself unable to speak any more, the words refusing to pass the lump which had formed in her throat. She felt Lucy clasp her hands tightly in her own, urging her quietly to look at her.
"No matter what happens, no matter what this scan reveals or what the outcome might be, I love you with all my heart and there's no way I could live with myself if I left you to get through it alone. So whilst you may have squared it away in your own head, I can't. I won't leave you Jo, not unless you tell me that's what you want in your heart of hearts and not because you think you're a burden to me. You'll never be a lost cause to me, no matter what." Both women had tears coursing down their cheeks as the radiographer arrived to take Jo for her scan. "I'll be right here waiting for you to get back love." Lucy told her as she was wheeled from the room.
Jo felt panic begin to seize her as she began her journey into the huge metal tunnel in which she would be incarcerated for the next hour or so. She was sure that never would forty minutes feel so long in her entire life. No amount of warning or explanation could prepare her for the reality of being surrounded by whirring machinery and magnets which fired ….. into her body disrupting it at an atomic level simply to build up a picture of her. The room was frigid and smelled strongly of that unexplainable but unique hospital stench. Loud clanking noises startled her and a stern voice reminded her of the need to lie still at all times. She chuckled in her mind as visions of her body disintegrating if she moved sprung into her head, memories of watching Star Trek with Tessa and the transporter accidents which had befallen some crew members coming to mind. She sobered as she thought of what she might do if the scan revealed more tumours, of how she would tell Lucy and Sam, of what it might mean to her personally. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly as the machine clanked and whirred and banged around her, her mind desperately trying to transport her to a happier place and time. Lucy's face hovered before her in her mind's eye and she focused on every tiny detail, studying it as though her life depended on knowing every slight crease and pore.
Sam glanced for the hundredth time at her phone, willing it to ring and for Jo to be on the other end telling her that she was ok. The fear of not knowing whether the cancer had spread was worse than dealing with the reality if it had, Sam decided. She had never been one for fighting what she was ignorant of and found that this was no different. She had taken the time to trawl the internet looking for all the information she could find on the type of tumour Jo had been diagnosed as having so she knew there was a reasonably good chance other organs or areas of her body would have been infected, especially given the size of the initial tumour. She had also investigated what an MRI scan was like and wondered how Jo was coping with it, knowing that she was not fond of enclosed spaces at the best of times. She didn't even have much in the way of new information for the investigation to distract her from her musings, everything seemed to be taking twice as long as usual. She was sure that it was simply an illusion, that time in fact was passing as it always had and it just seemed like it was dragging because of her preoccupation. The knock on her door had never sounded so much like music to her ears; right then, Sam did not care who was interrupting her reverie, it signalled a much needed distraction to smooth the passage of time.
"Come in," she called to her visitor.
Grace opened the door and slipped in, closing it behind her awkwardly as she juggled a large file containing numerous sheets of paper. "I thought you might want to take a look at this. I mentioned that website to Alec and he copied me the entire contents of a file which has been running on that website for a few years. Every time they get close to one of the players, something happens to put the investigation on a backburner again. He's doing what he can, discretely, but he warned me that it might be impossible to get that list you're after."
Sam took the file gratefully, thanking Grace and assuring her that she had suspected they would not be allowed to dig indiscriminately. "I'll keep this with me and look over it tonight. I trust Alec won't mention his involvement to anyone else?"
"I can guarantee that, apparently some of those who have shown an interest in the origins of that particular website have met with unfortunate accidents. I don't think Alec is in a hurry to take a tumble off his motorbike!" Before Sam could ask her to keep it to herself, Grace continued, "and neither do I Guv, as far as I'm concerned I never saw any of that. Truth be told, I didn't read it. The less I know about it the better all round I suspect."
"Thank you Grace, I owe you so call me on it any time." Sam stood along with the sergeant, ready to see her out of the office.
"I'll bear that in mind next time I want a last minute day off!" Grace smiled slyly leaving Sam to her thoughts once again. She picked up her phone and dialled, waiting for someone to answer.
"Hi, this is Lorna's phone. Sorry I can't take your call right now but if you leave me a message I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks." Sam waited for the requisite beep before leaving an invitation on the voicemail, enquiring if Lorna was up for joining her that evening. To anyone else, she hoped it would sound like a casual arrangement between friends, hoped that Lorna would read between the lines and realise that Sam had news.
"Miss Masters, come in, come in, take a seat and let's see what we can do for you." Jo practically dragged Lucy with her into the consultation room, her ordeal in the tunnel over but her turmoil far from receding as she awaited the results. The doctor waited for both women to be as settled as they were likely to get before he addressed Jo again. "I've taken a look at the results of your scan."