It's that time of the week again... I think! My brain is fried and confused after working all over the Easter weekend, I have no idea what day of the week we're up to any more! Lol. Huge thanks to A for Antechinus, Sez01 and iheartsergeantsmith for your fantastic reviews on the last chapter. And believe me, if The Bill were to come calling asking me to be a scriptwriter I would snatch their hand off! Lol.
So, same disclaimer applies as always (we know this off by heart by now, don't we folks?) but just in case, I can solemnly confirm I own nothing to do with The Bill, not even the lint from their pockets.
Read on, enjoy and as always, it is a pleasure and a privilege to receive any feedback from your goodselves :) so if you have a moment to spare and want to drop a review or PM or anything, I'd love to hear from you.
Moira walked back into the lounge after letting the two police officers out, her own tears of relief pricking at her eyes once more at the news there was still hope for her sweet niece to be found alive and rescued from her captors. The phone call they had received from the alleged kidnappers had been discussed with Neil assuring them all it would be investigated and anything they found would be passed on to the relevant investigating body if necessary. Sam read that to mean that the Intelligence Service were still somehow involved, still running a discrete operation to secure the capture and prosecution of more perpetrators of the sickening crimes against youngsters which had been uncovered by Dawid Podowski's disappearance.
"You two look absolutely exhausted. Why don't you go and have a lie down for a few hours and get some sleep? Neither of you looks like you got any worth mentioning last night." Moira opted to take on the role of mother, figuring that neither Sam nor Lorna was in any fit state emotionally to be overly aware of what was best for them.
"I need to be in work by two o'clock this afternoon. I should probably actually go in earlier, no doubt there are plenty of cases needing attention with so many of CID being involved with searching for Katie. I don't want to give anyone any excuse for taking their eye off that ball," Sam protested, desperately trying to shake off her fatigue and not focus on how nice the idea of curling up in bed with Lorna sounded.
"Nonsense, that's hours away yet. You've got plenty of time to catch at least three hours sleep before you need to head in to work. You'll be of little use to anyone if you can't stay awake to investigate anything and right now, you don't even look safe to get behind the wheel of a car," Moira admonished gently as she watched Lorna soothe a hand down the middle of Sam's back. "Go on, upstairs the pair of you and I don't want to see either of you again this side of midday."
"Thanks Mor. Come on Sam, you won't win this argument so save your breath to cool your porridge and come give me a cuddle for a while. We can set an alarm so you don't oversleep and even if you don't manage to doze off, resting for a while can't do you any harm. You do look pretty shattered, love." With a tiny nod, Sam accepted the outstretched hand of her lover and rose to her feet wearily. Moira watched the two of them shuffle off, leaning against one another for support as though neither individually had sufficient strength to make it the distance up the stairs and into the bedroom.
Once inside Lorna's bedroom, both women stripped down to their underwear, leaving that final barrier intact as each knew that only sleep was on the agenda such was their joint level of fatigue. Lorna got Sam settled first, tucking the duvet in around her before wandering around to her own side of the bed and slipping beneath the covers. Instinctively, Sam rolled into the warmth offered by Lorna's lean body, fitting herself along the Scot's side and draping a protective arm over her naked stomach. Their legs entwined naturally and within a few short minutes both were sliding into an ever deepening sleep.
"DCI Meadows, a moment of your time?" Gina Gold's imperious tone rang out clearly above the usual hubbub of the station's corridors.
"What can I do for you Gina?" Jack asked as he hauled his bulk into her office and closed the door behind himself.
"I've just despatched two of my officers to investigate reports of a couple of bodies being found at an address on the Canley Estate. PC's Green and Stamp are there and I've sent Sergeant Noble along to run the scene. Do you have any available officers in case it does turn out to be suspicious circumstances?" Inspector Gold asked from over the folder she had been perusing when she had spied the CID boss walking past.
"Sam Nixon's handling anything not connected to Katie Hart's disappearance so anything you need, just let her know. She has Angie and Kezia at her disposal but I'm afraid I can't spare anyone else. Terry and Mickey are following leads and still trying to track down a missing teacher from the school where Katie was taken, Grace is FLO for Lorna Hart and liaising with CEOPs in case they pick up anything on any of the internet sites they're monitoring. Stuart's in the wind and I'm still waiting for the brass to decide who to draft in to replace him. Jo's obviously out of commission for the foreseeable future." Jack allowed some of his frustration to slip through his ordinarily impenetrable mask.
"Any word on Jo? How's she doing?" Gina asked, genuinely interested in how the vibrant detective was faring.
"From what I've heard from Sam, she's doing ok I think, as well as you'd expect I suppose," Jack replied.
"Has a collection been organised for her? I haven't seen anything and I'm sure that everyone would be willing to contribute something, she's a popular officer, never treats anyone any differently regardless of whether they're in uniform or out of it."
"Ummm, come to think of it, no, I don't think there has. Everyone has been preoccupied with cases the last few weeks. We should do, I'll see if Sam'll organise something when she comes on shift this afternoon," Jack assured, duly embarrassed in the face of a Gina's aghast expression.
"Leave the relief with me, I'll get donations off this lot and tell Sam I'll have it to her in the next few days," Gina barked with a shake of her head. She had no doubt that Sam had already shown her support and caring for her friend but given Jo's worth to the station and her length of service, a whip-round really was the least they could do to show her that she was in the thoughts of her work colleagues. "I think I'll ask DI Nixon if Jo's up to receiving visitors later, might nip round and see her myself."
Sam slowly became aware of her surroundings; the soft skin beneath her cheek, the steady, even breathing signalling her bed-mate was still far away in the land of dreams, the warm duvet cocooning her from the cooler afternoon air and a gentle knocking at the bedroom door. Raising her head from her human pillow, she called out softly to alert Moira to the fact she could enter.
"Sorry to disturb you but I didn't hear an alarm go off and I thought I'd better check you were getting up for work," Moira whispered apologetically. In their haste to crawl into one another's arms and give into the crushing need to sleep, both women had neglected to set the alarm.
Sam groaned softly. "What time is it?" she asked, fighting to wake herself properly, as she carefully propped herself up on one elbow to make eye contact with her lover's sister without letting her see how much flesh was naked beneath the covers.
"Just after half past twelve. I thought you'd want a while to take a shower and get yourself ready for work. Come down when you're ready and I'll make you some lunch before you go, make sure we stoke your energy ready for your shift and whatever it throws at you." Moira turned and headed back out of the bedroom, making her way to the stairs already planning a menu in her mind.
Sam lay for a moment longer gathering her wits before she too padded out of the bedroom in search of a hot shower, leaving Lorna slumbering deeply. Without procrastination, the blonde detective stepped beneath the steaming spray, lathering her body up with Lorna's shower crème once more. She made it through that shower without interruption and re-dressed in the clothes she had thrown on before dashing to Lorna's house, grateful that she kept spare make-up in her handbag so she wouldn't have to go to work without her mask on. With practiced ease, she applied her foundation, doing her best to conceal the worst of the dark smudges beneath her eyes, assisted by her light eyeliner and clear mascara. She opted to leave applying her lipstick until she was ready to leave, knowing it would only need re-doing once she had eaten and drunk and doubting she would be allowed to leave before she had done precisely that! Before descending the stairs, Sam looked in on Lorna again, tiptoeing across the room and dropping a tender kiss against the sleeping woman's smooth brow.
"You look a lot better for a couple of hours sleep," Moira stated confidently as she directed Sam into a chair at the kitchen table and placed a glass of orange juice in front of the woman who seemed to have captured her sister's heart.
"Thanks," Sam murmured in response to the beverage and the comment, "I must admit I feel slightly less like a zombie now. At least my brain is semi-functional which is about normal!" She let out a self-deprecating chuckle.
"That's good then. Now, what would you like on your sandwich? There's some roast chicken with stuffing or honey roast ham or I could do you some boiled egg ones if you prefer." Moira stood poised ready to spring into action at Sam's decision.
"Honestly, you don't have to wait on me, I don't expect you to make me meals and supply me with drinks," Sam declared abashed.
"I know, but it appeases my nature so what'll it be? I want to feel useful and this makes me feel useful so humour me please?" Sam knew when to concede defeat, and had her suspicions that Moira was adept at winning her arguments most of the time if recent form was anything to go on.
"OK well thank you, in that case I'd love a ham sandwich," the slim blonde replied with a grateful, understanding smile.
"Want any cheese or onion or salad on it?" Sam shook her head indicating plain ham would be fine with her so Moira rustled up the simple lunch and placed it on a plate with a bag of plain crisps and a smile. Patting the seated woman's shoulder affectionately, the redhead set about fixing her own food before joining the police officer in eating in companionable silence at the kitchen table, the only sound the ticking of the clock.
"I'd better give Abi a quick call, I promised to let her know when there was any news," Sam suddenly remember as she swallowed the last bite of her sandwich.
"You go do that, I'll take care of these few dishes," Moira informed her, glad to see Sam accepting her assistance with a heartfelt 'thanks' and no protestations this time.
"Hi Mum, are you ok? Is everything alright?" Abi's voice was quiet through the phone line as though she was trying to be discrete. The young woman looked over to where her son was quietly watching an animated movie.
"Yeah, the body wasn't Katie. I'm sorry I didn't call earlier but I was sent to bed by Lorna's sister!" Sam admitted with a small, tired chuckle.
"Oh I want to meet her, someone who can tell you what to do and get away with it, I need to learn some of her tricks!" Abi rejoined lightly.
"Don't go getting any ideas, Abigail, you'll never get away with it," Sam assured, though her jovial tone belied the harshness of her words.
"How's Lorna holding up?" Abi enquired turning more serious, wanting to make an effort to support her mother and feeling increasingly sheepish for how selfishly she had acted the previous day. Hindsight, as they say, is startling in its clarity and didn't always make for comfortable viewing.
"She's still sleeping," Sam informed her daughter then paused with a blush as she realised what that might imply. "She was possibly more exhausted than I was, we both fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows I think," she clarified, cringing even as she did so, not knowing how comfortable Abi would be with hearing her mother discussing sharing a bed, even innocently, with the other woman.
"I can't imagine sleep comes very easily to her at the minute, I know it wouldn't to me if anything happened to Jared." Abi ignored her own discomfort at how naturally her mother discussed sleeping with another woman and focussed instead on the fact that a mother was missing her child. "When do you have to go to work?"
"In a few minutes, I'm on two-ten shifts this week, but I just wanted to check in with you before I left. How are you? Is everything ok there? Have you spoken to Mike at all? Not that I'm pushing you to leave, you know you're more than welcome to stay for as long as you want to." Sam realised she was babbling but everything felt so tentative with her daughter that she didn't want to say anything and have it taken the wrong way or interpreted to mean something hurtful.
"I think I'm going to call Mike this afternoon, I need to apologise to him for how I've been treating him the last few weeks. You were right yesterday, I've been looking for excuses to fight with him and every time he refused to fight back, it made me more and more frustrated. Sometimes, I wonder if it's because he simply doesn't care enough about me - about us - but then I calm down and realise it's just how he is. He's so naturally placid – I wish I could be more like him." Abi released a sigh, sinking down into the cushions of the sofa.
"If you love him and are willing to work at your relationship with him, you'll find a way to meet somewhere in the middle. He'll need to do the same too and start telling you when you're being pushy or unreasonable so you can back off before it blows up into this huge mess you seem so intent on creating," Sam advised. "Be honest with him, tell him how his lack of response makes you feel and ask him to afford you the same honesty in return. Give him a chance to explain why he doesn't rise to your barbs, you might be surprised at his reply, you never know."
"Thanks Mum, I'll try. I'd better let you get to work. Hope it's a quiet shift for you. Will I see you later or do you need to stay with Lorna tonight?" Abi asked, determined to keep her tone lightly inquisitive so her mum didn't assume she was about to start getting clingy and demanding again.
"I'm not sure, I'll give you a call when I'm on my break later and let you know. You can tell me how it went with Mike then too," Sam replied, subtly pushing her girl to do the right thing.
Jo slipped into the surprisingly cosy room as quietly as she could, not wanting to disturb the occupant if she was sleeping. It was remarkably less sterile than she had envisaged, with comfy chairs and pastel coloured walls holding framed prints, furniture such as a chest of drawers, a wardrobe and a bedside cabinet all in matching beech finish. Despite their efforts though, there was no disguising the fact that it was a room set up for nursing sick people in – the monitoring and medical equipment was indiscrete and plentiful.
"Jo," Saira called huskily, her voice smaller and more thready than Jo remembered it being. She'd lost weight too, the woman lying before her almost anorexic in appearance. "It's so lovely to see you. How are you?" Her presence appeared to be warmly accepted and was apparently infusing an additional spurt of energy into the terminally ill patient.
"I'm ok, thanks. How are you doing? Sorry stupid question…" Jo trailed off nervously, stepping further into the room and perching herself in the low armchair at the side of the bed. "I brought some mint imperials in for you, I didn't know if you'd want something to freshen your mouth up and keep you from getting too dry."
"You're a sweetheart, thank you, that's really thoughtful. And it wasn't a stupid question, it was an honest one. I'm doing ok, I've made my peace with what's happening to me and they're treating me well here. Having surprise visitors sure does brighten my day though, I'm so glad you came." Saira reached out a thin hand, gripping Jo's weakly in her palm as though needing the connection to convince herself that she was actually there and wasn't a drug-induced hallucination. "I see you're sporting new headgear, I like it, it suits you. It's got attitude."
Jo raised her free hand to self-consciously pat the green marbled bandana she had opted to wear. "Thanks, I'm still not sure about it. I had a bit of a meltdown when my hair started coming out, even though I knew the likelihood was that it would happen sooner or later."
"I think most people do. Hair is such a personal accessory, you don't realise how important it is to your self esteem until it's no longer there. It took me ages to get used to feeling so naked. I wouldn't take my scarves off at all, not even in the house. The only exception I made was when I was alone and locked in the bathroom having a shower and even then, it would be the last thing I took off before I got in and the first thing I put back on when I got out and dry enough. I wouldn't look myself in the mirror without it on. I slept with one on or, in the winter if it was cold, with a woolly beanie hat on. For the first two weeks, I made my husband sleep in the spare room, I wouldn't let him anywhere near me. Have you asked about talking to a MacMillan Nurse? They are angels, all of them, absolute angels. I'd highly recommend it, they helped me so much to come to terms with a lot of things, including moving in here." Saira sighed heavily, her gaunt features pinching as a wave of pain shot through her. She fumbled blindly for her morphine pump, pressing the boost button to receive the pain relieving medication. Seeing Jo's concerned gaze, she forced a smile. "It's good stuff but it does make me loopy and then sleepy so I'll apologise now in case I say anything silly or fall asleep on you."
"It's ok, hon, you do whatever you need to do." After a pause, the detective asked, "you really think it helps talking to a MacMillan nurse?"
"I do, they know everything you're feeling, every worry you might have, they're remarkable," Saira replied earnestly. "Anyway, enough health talk, tell me about you. How are things with Lucy?"
"She's amazing. I still feel like I should pinch myself every day just to make sure she's real and I'm not dreaming. She took me shopping for the headgear, she arranged for a hairdresser to come to the house to cut my hair when it started falling out and she's so fiercely protective of me if anyone else even hints at making an issue out of my appearance or us being together openly. I thought I was feisty but I have nothing on her!" Jo enthused, her face softening into a tender smile as she spoke of the woman she loved deeply.
"Have you had any more thoughts on letting her make an honest woman of you yet?" asked the stricken woman, voice growing less distinct as the powerful pain medication took effect.
"I can't lumber her with me like that, not until I know I can be part of her life – an active part of her life and not just a burden she has to bear. I'd love to say yes, to sweep her off her feet and walk down the aisle with her but when I do that, I want it to be because we know we have a future together and not just a week or a month or even a year." Jo released a heavy sigh as she briefly allowed herself to imagine a wedding day for herself and Lucy.
"And what happens if you do only have a week or a month or a year? Could you make peace with yourself and face death knowing that you never got to share that with her? Never gave yourself to her completely?" Saira asked tiredly. "I understand your sentiments, Jo, I really do, but take it from one who is staring her mortality in the face; you suddenly find yourself regretting a whole lot of things you never thought you would when it's your time to go."
"Sam, I need you to take Angie and head down to the Canley estate," Jack barked as soon as his DI reached the top of the stairs, not seeing the point in her shedding her jacket only to have to put it back on again almost immediately.
"What's there?" Sam queried, pausing her stride to listen to the details of the latest case to be handed to her mini-team.
"Two dead bodies, suspicious circumstances, both decapitated, hands cut off too. It's going to take a while to get an ID on either of them," Jack handed Sam a slip of paper with the address of the incident scribbled hastily on it.
Sam glanced at the address, her face paling. "Guv, were the bodies discovered inside this flat?"
"Yes, why?" the older man queried, snatching the paper back and studying it for himself.
"That's Dawid Podowski's family's address. Please tell me they were moved after Dawid was found? That they weren't sent back to the same flat like bait when the sick bastards who took that little boy knew exactly where to find him." There was a note of desperation in Sam's voice as she considered what the discovery might mean. There was no way it was a coincidence, it couldn't be.
"I'm sure they were. Regardless, until we know otherwise, we'll treat this as a completely isolated and unconnected case to Katie's disappearance. You and Angie see what you can find out, Kezia is at your disposal too if you need another pair of hands and I'll chase up Stuart's replacement, see if we can't get them in place sooner rather than later." Sam needed no further prompting, taking off at a fair speed into CID to retrieve her colleague, ushering her out of the door with a promise to explain on the way in the car.
The two women raced to the scene, Sam driving and filling in Angie as much as she could regarding what she had learned of the two bodies. For the moment, the DI opted not to share the history of where the bodies were found, deciding that should be on a need to know basis and since there was no definite need for Angie to know right now, Sam felt justified in her decision to withhold.
"Sergeant Noble, what have you got for us?" Sam asked as she strode over to where the police cordon had been established, ducking under it and trusting Jo's temporary replacement to follow suit.
"It's a grim one, Guv. Eddie's the CSE on this one with Lorna being out of commission. We've left him and his team doing the initial sweep through of the scene. From the amount of blood, I'd say it's fair to assume both were killed here and this isn't a dump job. I'm sure Eddie can give you a more detailed breakdown by now." Diane switched her gaze to the new DC, watching the slight lightening of her coffee coloured skin and wondered how long it would be before the younger woman would be revisiting her lunch.
"Any persons of interest hanging around we should be having a chat to?" Sam asked, already moving towards the front door of the flat.
"No, it's been quiet. Too quiet really. I suspect more people know what went down here than don't and I'd be willing to bet my paycheque that not one of them will talk to us about it," Diane muttered cynically earning a hard glare from the newcomer whereas Sam simply accepted her at her word, knowing that it was damn close to the truth.
"Let's go see what we have then," DI Nixon announced to Angie, moving forward without waiting to see if the detective was following. By the time the younger woman caught up to her, Sam was already slipping into the protective clothing necessary to ensure they didn't contaminate the crime scene enclosed within the flat. "I know it may seem patronising, but this is CSE Olosunje's domain and what he says goes. We don't touch anything without his say so, we don't move anything without him telling us to and we don't set foot anywhere we haven't been told he has already processed, ok?"
"Yes Guv," Angie replied shortly, understanding that she was new and that everyone was trying to get a feel for her capabilities but still resenting the assumption that she was green all the same.
"And watch out for Eddie – CSE Olosunje. He has an eye for the ladies and is an incorrigible flirt so don't take anything he says too seriously but if he oversteps the mark, feel free to slap him back down – verbally of course. The rest of us do, frequently," Sam assured before striding into the nightmarish scene, mind focused completely on the job ahead of her.
"Ah DI Nixon, a pleasure, as always. And who is this gorgeous creature you've brought to see me?" Eddie was on his hands and knees, swabbing a patch of fluid when the two women entered.
"This is DC Angie Walker. She's been temporarily assigned to Sun Hill to cover while Jo's off," Sam supplied, turning to Angie and informing her, "Angie, meet Eddie Olosunje. Crime Scene Examiner and general buffoon but he's okay at the technical stuff so we keep him around."
Angie couldn't help but grin at the mock outrage which fixed firmly on the robust man's face. "Ok? Ok? I'll give you ok," Eddie cried indignantly. "Pay no mind to her, DC Walker, she's just sour because I won't explain things to her in words of one syllable!" Angie released a guffaw of laughter, heedless of how inappropriate their hilarity might appear whilst standing amidst the aftermath of a brutal killing.
"I think it's time for you to baffle me with your science then, Eddie," Sam advised, sobering before they drew attention to themselves. Gallows humour was a necessity in their line of work, in order to cope with the horrific things they saw, but there was a time and a place for sharing it and where they were at present was definitely neither of those.
"Certainly," Eddie concurred, himself focusing back on the reason for their gathering. "The bodies are in the master bedroom, both female. Judging by size and development, I'd say one is aged between 35 and 40 years of age, the other is a pubescent adolescent, approximately 16 years old." Sam couldn't help but blanch at the description, which could so easily apply to the mother and sister of Dawid Podowski. Eddie continued his run through of what he had already determined, "both victims were killed here, no evidence that the bodies have been moved post-mortem. There's a lot of blood so either the killer brought a change of clothing with them or they left here covered in their victims' blood. According to the pathologist, liver temp suggests time of death between five and seven this morning."
"Who found the bodies?" Angie asked, clearly eager to move away from the more gruesome details of the murders.
"A neighbour looked through the window as she was walking by on her way to the shop for her morning paper, saw the feet of one of the bodies and the blood pooling around it, called the police who broke in to the apartment and found this," Sergeant Noble informed them from the doorway. Turning her attention to Sam, Diane continued, " Guv, do you want to speak to the neighbour or shall we take her down to the station to make her statement?"
"I think the station's best. Make sure to give her a hot drink. Even if she didn't see the extent of this, I'm sure it was still a shock for her. I'll be back shortly to take her statement, once we've finished here," Sam instructed. "Is there anything with the bodies to suggest who they are? Any forms of ID or anything?" The blonde DI hoped against hope that it wouldn't prove to be Izzy and her mother.
"Nothing and without hands for fingerprint ID or dental records, it might be a while before we can confirm who they are depending on what else comes up in the course of the investigation," Eddie admitted.
"Ok, Angie could you speak to the uniformed officers and see what they've found so far. I just need to make a phone call," Sam advised, stepping out into the hallway and heading for the front door, dialling Jack's direct line number as she went. "Guv, it's DI Nixon. You need to make enquiries about the whereabouts of Zofia and Izzy. The bodies fit their general age but there's no way to tell either way at the moment. I think we need to err on the side of caution and at least check that they can be located by those who know where they are."
"Leave it with me Sam, I'll let you know if I get anywhere when you get back to the station," DCI Meadows replied on a heavy sigh, wondering just when their tiny part of the world had erupted into a treacherous gangland.