No Matter What – Chapter 48
Disclaimer: I own nothing beyond this storyline and the original characters. All identifiable content from The Bill is the property of Talkback Thames and Freemantle Media.
Sam stirred, nestling closer to the body beside her, as a chill swept over her, the fire having died out some time ago. Mere moments later, she realised what had woken her as a firm knock sounded on the front door. Extricating herself from Lorna's embrace, sparing a tender glance at her still slumbering lover, the DI made her way on soft feet to the hallway, checking who was on the other side before she considered opening the door.
"It's Matthew Sheldon, I have Katie with me." After a brief pause, in which Sam was too shocked and somewhat suspicious to react, the voice continued, "please let us in, it's not safe out here. I'll explain everything but please, please open the door."
"Mum?" a weak voice called, that was undeniably Katie's backed up the statement that she was indeed on the other side of the door. Still, Sam braced herself, ready for an assault and fearing this to be the latest attempt to scare them off, or worse. Opening the door, she was almost crushed with the weight of her relief as she saw the young mirror image of Lorna being gently guided through the gap, seemingly shaken and petrified but otherwise physically unharmed, at least at first glance.
"Your Mum's in the lounge, why don't you go through and wake her up. Be prepared to be hugged and smothered in kisses," Sam advised the young girl after a gentle embrace from herself. "I'm so happy you're home, sweetheart." Katie offered her a watery smile, the action unable to begin to ease haunted expression in her eyes. Sam doubted there would be much which would help soothe that, certainly not for a considerable amount of time and without significant professional support. As the young girl moved past her into the lounge, eager to be reunited with her Mum, Sam effectively barred the man accompanying her from following, indicating he was to go through to the kitchen with her and allow them privacy. As they moved towards the back of the house, Sam peered into the room Katie had entered, watching her silently sob before her Mum, seemingly unable to reach out and wake her. Keeping her tone low, Sam sternly instructed Sheldon to not even think about moving from his spot in the hallway just before the kitchen door. There was no way she was leaving him alone in a room full of potential weapons, still not trusting him to be acting altruistically, but her priority was ending the torment for both mother and daughter of their enforced separation.
The diminutive blonde entered the cosy room she had spent the evening with Lorna in, crossing the room with swift strides dropping into a crouch beside Katie and placing a soothing hand on her back. With her other hand, Sam reached out and gently nudged Lorna into consciousness. "Lorna, sweetheart, wake up," she murmured, trying to keep the excitement from her voice. "Honey, there's someone hear to see you."
"Mmm?" Lorna mumbled as she dragged herself from the pit of the deepest sleep she'd had since her daughter's disappearance. Her eyes flickered open then shut again, deceiving her as she thought she saw her daughter's tearful face before her. As she roused herself further and the image before her remained, her heart leapt into her mouth. "Katie?" A tremulous hand reached out, stopping short of touching the visage before her, terrified she would find it to be a figment of her imagination. Gently gripping her wrist, Sam closed the distance, urging Katie forward with the hand still at her back.
"Mum!" Katie sobbed and fell forward into her mother's arms, Lorna's own wails soon joining the young girl's. With a final caress for each of them, Sam rose and stealthily left the to their reunion, returning to the hallway and gratified to see Sheldon had complied with her instructions.
"Take a seat while I call the station. You can give your statement to the officers investigating Katie's disappearance." Sam barked, knowing anything said to her would be inadmissible as evidence due to her conflict of interest. "What's your name?"
"Matthew…Sheldon," the man answered softly, eyes raking over the kitchen and doorway.
Taking out her mobile phone, Sam dialled Grace's number, positioning herself between Sheldon and the door just in case he still had any ideas about trying to bolt. "Grace, hi, sorry to call so late but there's been a development. Katie's here, with a Matthew Sheldon." Sam listened momentarily before commenting, "physically, she seems fine, I've left her and Lorna getting reacquainted." With a gentle thanks, Sam disconnected the call, loitering silently as she observed the man before her.
"I'm not a threat. I know how it must look but I'm not the one you need to be concerned about." Sheldon placed his hands flat in front of him on the table, attempting to make himself look as non-threatening as possible. "I'm not what you think I am."
"I don't think anything and we are not having any kind of conversation until my colleague's get here. Anything you have to say, you can say to them, under caution." Sam felt her attention being drawn to the lounge, where soft voices could be heard muttering words of comfort and affection. Her heart was torn between wanting to be in there, offering support, and not being prepared to leave the man who had brought Katie back to them alone. She had to temper her impatience and wait for Grace to arrive before she could check on her lover, no matter how much she wanted to rush in there. Rationally, she knew that it was better to give Lorna and Katie some space anyway, part of her worried that her presence would be an unwelcome intrusion. For want of anything better to do, Sam crossed to the kettle, ever the woman of action, needing something to do. After filling it up and flicking it on, another thought crossed her mind and she satisfied her distaste for inactivity by snatching up her phone once again.
"Hello?" a groggy voice on the other end of the line answered after just a few rings.
"Moira, hi, it's Sam," the blonde greeted, the tremble in her voice ambiguous without any facial expression to support it. "I thought you'd want to know, Katie's home."
"What? When?" Moira exclaimed with delight. "How is she?" she asked, a little more sombrely.
"All things considered, she looks physically ok. There's psychological trauma, obviously, but she's home and currently right where she needs to be, with her Mum," Sam supplied warmly. "The police are on their way and Katie will need to be checked out to make sure she's ok, but you're family, you should have the opportunity to be here too."
"Thank you, for calling and letting me know. I'll just get myself together and be over as soon as I can," Moira confirmed. As the call dropped, Sam heard a knock at the door and called out that she would get it so Lorna didn't feel compelled to leave Katie's side.
"Neil, I didn't expect to see you here," Sam announced as she opened the door and saw Grace beside her fellow DI.
"This is a significant break in the case, I thought it prudent to take an active part in gathering any pertinent information. Where's Sheldon?" Neil asked succinctly.
"In the kitchen," Sam advised. "Katie's through here in the lounge with Lorna." Grace made to follow Neil to question their suspect but he motioned for her to speak to the young girl, knowing they needed to act swiftly to determine why Katie had been apparently released. It jarred with what he knew of the network they had been investigating and until he knew otherwise, he was treating this latest twist with the highest of suspicion.
Entering the lounge just behind Grace, Sam felt a smile spread across her face at the sight of Katie wrapped in her mum's arms, Lorna's eyes squeezed shut as she held her girl, almost like she couldn't bring herself to believe she was really there. Not wishing to intrude on the moment, Sam hung back, opting to perch on the armchair nearest the door.
Grace cleared her throat, gently announcing her presence. "Lorna, I'm sorry to interrupt but I really do need to speak to Katie. Anything she can tell us while her memories are fresh could help us bring an end to this once and for all."
The words seemed to break the spell Lorna was gripped in. Her eyes opened and Sam couldn't fail to notice the flash of fear rapidly cycling through relief to settle on delight at the weight of her daughter still resting against her solidly.
"It's not a dream?" Lorna croaked, looking around the room, her gaze settling on her lover. Immediately, her expression changed to one of confusion at the distance between them and she reached an arm out, beckoning Sam to her side. Tentatively, the blonde woman rose and closed the gap, feeling her hand crushed in a vice-like grip as soon as she was close enough. "She's home Sam, Katie's really home." Sam nodded with a watery smile, sinking onto the couch beside the CSE. Lorna's grip never loosened as she leant into the warm, reassuring presence of the woman who had come to mean so much to her in such a short space of time.
The young girl on her other side unburied her face from its place in her mother's neck, glancing at the other officer in the room. "I'll tell you what I can but please, Mr Sheldon, he saved me. They think he's one of them but he's not. He's the reason they didn't hurt me." Haltingly, Katie gave her fullest account of how Stuart had picked her up from school on the pre-text of Lorna having befallen an accident at work, how her suspicions had arisen and she'd been drugged. The blindfold which had been an ever-present accessory limited the information she could share about the location she had been held in but the miniature version of the CSE proved a valuable source of information no less based on what she had heard and smelt whilst being held captive. She was able to offer details of the different men's voices she had heard, potential accents, her musical ear offering up pitches and tones. Sam and Lorna listened on, providing silent support, with a mixture of horror and pride at how articulate the teenager was. Eventually, she came to how there had been talk of a deal which had been made for her purchase, that she was to be 'unmarked and unsullied' otherwise the buyer wouldn't make the trade. That buyer had turned out to be Sheldon, the handover taking place at a desolate waste-ground after a seemingly short car journey. Katie had remained blindfolded until they were in Sheldon's car, driving away. He had pulled over after a short while, untied her hands and gently removed the scrap of cloth blocking her vision. She explained how he had told her he was working undercover and that he was taking her home, providing her with food, drink and the address she shared with her mother. He apologised for not having got her out sooner but said he had needed to make it seem legitimate for fear of them both being harmed. As Katie's account came to a close, Grace stepped out of the room to confer with Stuart. Sam had no interest in following, knowing without a doubt that her place was beside Lorna and her daughter.
A short while later, Neil entered the room. "Sam, Lorna, officers from MI5 are on their way over and will be escorting you to a safe house." Upon seeing Sam about to object, he forestalled her protestations with a stern, "I've been told to tell you it's non-negotiable this time. You go into protection until the imminent threat is dealt with. They'll make arrangements for Katie to receive support, of course, and you'll be escorted to any appointments or interviews you need to attend but for the time being, you need to be off the grid and unreachable."
"We'll be kept together, right?" Sam asked, feeling Lorna's hold on them both tighten.
"As far as I'm aware, that's the plan, yes," Neil advised, knowing with one glance at his feisty colleague, there would be no other acceptable option.
"Can I please let Jo know? That I'll be in touch with her when I can and that we're ok? Tell her that we have Katie back and that I'm sorry I can't be a better friend to her right now. And please, please let me let Abi know I'm ok?" Sam asked her colleague, knowing they hadn't always seen eye to eye but hoping he would understand she couldn't just be wrenched out of her life indefinitely, possibly permanently, without worrying about those she was leaving behind. Neil nodded his assent, earning a heartfelt thanks from the blonde.
"Is there anything in particular you want to take with you? Any photos, personal items, clothes etcetera? We can't allow you to take electronics, nothing that can be traced I'm afraid but if you have anything else you want to grab, I'd encourage you to do it now. MI5 will be here soon."
Sam allowed Lorna and Katie to climb the stairs to gather a few meagre possessions while she fired off a text to her closest friend and her daughter, knowing the hour was too late to call either of them.
"Sam, I'm sorry it's come to this, I know how much this is costing you," Neil began.
"Small price to pay for Katie's safety and Lorna's and countless other kids who could potentially be targeted by these bastards. Just do me a favour, Neil, and catch them. Get them all or at least enough of them to shut this down for good. I know it's a lot to ask and it's dangerous for anyone involved, you included, but they have clearly done this for too long and got away with it by using bully-boy tactics to cow anyone who gets too close into stopping looking." Sam rose from her seat on the sofa as she heard footsteps descending the stairs once again. Neil merely nodded in confirmation the investigation would continue unimpeded, no matter what tactics were employed. Sam's phone rang in her hand. Checking the display, she frowned at Jo's name flashing there. "You should be asleep," she said by way of a greeting.
"So should you but after that message, I don't think sleep will come easily to either of us for some time. I know time is scarce so I'll keep this short. I just want you to know that no matter where you are, no matter how long it takes, our friendship will still be here waiting for you. Besides, me and Lucy can't wait forever to get married and I'm not marking that occasion without my best friend by my side!" Jo cautioned.
"You and Luce are engaged? Oh Jo, that's fantastic news! I'm so happy for you both, congratulations," Sam gushed, genuinely delighted for her friend. "You can count on me being there if there's any way I can." A knock at the door brought a new flurry of activity. "Listen, Jo, MI5 are here so I've not got much time left. Promise me you will fight with everything you have in you and beat that bloody cancer?"
"I am and I will Sam," Jo confirmed, tears clouding her voice at the prospect of losing her friend, possibly forever. "Take care of yourself and we'll all be waiting for you when you come home. I love you, Sam, and I will never forget how much you've done for me and for Lucy too in recent months. I'm going to fight and I'm going to go back to work as soon as I can so you don't come back to a complete, monumental cock-up that'll take you years to sort out."
"I love you too, Jo. Don't do anything that will set your recovery back. I need to know you'll be here when I get back. What would I do without my right-hand woman to help me keep the men in line?" Sam tried to joke, her own sadness colouring her tone as tears rolled down her cheeks. Jo heard a stern voice in the background ordering her to wrap it up. "I've got to go. I'll miss you, Jo."
"Be safe Sam and come home soon. I'll miss you too." Jo heard the line go dead and allowed herself to break down at the loss of someone she considered her closest friend. Lucy had been hovering in the doorway long enough to get the gist of the reason for the late night call. Silently, she slipped into the seat beside her fiancée at the kitchen table, wrapping her arm around Jo's heaving shoulders. "Katie's home but they're in danger, they're having to be moved to a safe house. I may never see her again, Luce. I feel like everything, apart from you, is going to Hell. The cancer, the job, this case. It's not how I imagined this going. We were supposed to be happy, to be able to plan our wedding without all these shadows hanging over us."
"I know, sweetheart," Lucy murmured, not knowing what else to say.
Back at Lorna's house, Katie was bundled into the back of the waiting armoured car, Lorna being encouraged to follow swiftly until she caught sight of her sister being held back by officers. Making a detour, she barged her way through, scooping the other woman into the fiercest hug she could manage. "Katie's ok but we're not safe. We have to go into protection, at least for a while. I'm so sorry, Mor, I don't know if or when we'll be back. I love you so much and I can't tell you how much I appreciate your strength, your support. I've got to go, I love you." Without another word, she wrenched herself free from her sister's hold and clambering into the car beside her daughter. Sam followed her lover, sparing a glance towards Moira, hoping her eyes conveyed her commitment to taking good care of the woman's sister and niece. In return, she received a desperate, sorrow-filled nod.