Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue or any of the characters.
Sorry for the later update. I went away for five days and didn't get a chance to update before that. It is quite a long chapter so hopefully that will make up for it.
Thanks as ever for the reviews, favs and follows and for reading. It is so great to get your feedback. I will have to disappoint the guest reviewer who doesn't care about Frankie and only wants me to include the original characters - I'm afraid Frankie is a part of this story and does feature at the beginning of this chapter. This story will always be about Gail and Holly but they do need to interact with other people, otherwise the story will become repetitive. Also to the other guest who felt that Lisa's explanation didn't make sense - she had, as she said, invited Francine because she was interested in her and not because she was trying to throw her at Holly, but then Lisa got mad with Gail and Holly and fell back into her bitchy ways and, as Gail realized, blindly lashed out at Holly. Hope that makes sense.
Apologies for any mistakes -I proof this myself.
I hope you enjoy this. Let me know - I love to hear what you think! Oh, and thanks to Snarcasm for some more good advice!
Just noticed the reviews aren't showing up on the fanfic site - I'm still getting them via email though. This has happened before and usually takes the site a few days to sort out.
...
'Where are you?' Gail asked.
'At Alannah's place,' Frankie explained.
'You stayed at Alannah's place last night,' Gail said, trying not to sound surprised or disapproving.
'Yeah, why do you care Peck?'
'I'm just surprised. You were pretty wasted last night.'
'Not the first time I've hooked up when I'm drunk.'
'No, but you actually like Alannah. A lot. I can tell. So why fuck it up by going home with her drunk?' Gail persisted.
'Who said I fucked up anything or had sex for that matter. Alannah just gave me a place to crash,' Frankie said, ignoring Gail's observation about her feelings for the doctor.
When Gail called Frankie to say they needed her at the station, Frankie had groaned.
'I'm not due back for another two days. I'm still half-drunk. Can't it wait? You can run this investigation without me, Gail. Even if your mother is most probably insinuating otherwise.'
'I need to speak to you in connection with the investigation,' Gail paused.
Normally it was best not to give witnesses too much information. The element of surprise sometimes made them unwittingly reveal things. But this was Frankie and Frankie was straight down the line when it came to the law and Gail knew she could trust her. She could feel Frankie's impatience growing as the pause lengthened, so Gail made a quick decision.
'We've pulled your brother Tom in for questioning. He won't tell us anything until he speaks to you.'
'The woman in the suitcase,' Frankie said. It had been all over the news and Gail had confirmed she was working the case when Frankie asked last night.
'Yeah.'
'Okay, don't tell me anything more, Gail,' Frankie said, suddenly all business, 'if my brother's involved you need to keep me at arm's length from this investigation.'
'I know,' Gail said, noting that Frankie hadn't expressed any surprise that her brother was in custody.
They'd pulled Tom's record and found some minor charges for possession and dealing weed, for which he'd done some community service. Then there was the five year stint in prison for aggravated assault.
'Are you able to come to the station now?' Gail asked.
'I don't have my car. I'm not at home. Anyway, the amount I drank last night, I probably shouldn't be driving.'
That's when Gail found out that Frankie had spent the night at Alannah's. She offered to pick Frankie up or send a squad car, but Frankie had refused.
'Probably best if I get a cab,' she told Gail.
When Frankie arrived at the station, she presented herself at the desk and asked for Detective Peck. Duncan was on desk duty and looked at her warily.
'Just go right through,' he told Frankie, wondering if this was some sort of test or if the two detectives were messing with him, 'Detective Peck's in the pen.'
Frankie shook her head. 'Just ask her or Detective Price to come get me, Officer Moore.'
'But you can go,' Duncan started to say.
'Officer Moore, just do what I'm asking,' Frankie cut across him, her voice firm.
Duncan swallowed and nodded.
Frankie went and sat in one of the hard plastic chairs opposite the desk and waited. She heard Duncan call Gail. He was speaking quietly now, like he knew something was up. Not so quiet that she didn't hear him say, 'Detective Anderson said she won't go in until you or Detective Price come out.' Then he shot her a furtive look. Except it wasn't the least bit furtive and he quickly looked away, his cheeks reddening.
Sitting there, it took her back to the last time she waited for Tom in a police station. It was 12 years ago. She was still a rookie, barely out of the Academy, when she got the call from her mother. Aggravated assault. The victim might not make it - a king hit. Tom denied he did it. Swore black and blue it wasn't him who threw the punch.
'You have to come,' her mother said, convinced Tom was being framed, 'you're police. You speak their language.' She wasn't begging Frankie. The rancor with which she said 'you're police' made that clear. No, it was more an expectation. An obligation and Frankie couldn't say no.
It was a one and half hour car trip to Kitchener. Then Frankie sat for another two hours with her mother on the hard plastic chairs watching people approach the desk. A witness wanting to give a statement, another willing to alibi a suspect, a good citizen handing in a bunch of stolen wallets he'd found in a local park, a woman concerned she hadn't seen her elderly neighbor for a week, and a nervous teenager with his grim faced mom waiting to be questioned over a vandalism incident. It was the same parade she dealt with back in Toronto, except there she was on the other side of the desk, the uniform giving her an authority, a presence that, depending on the person she was dealing with, either reassured or instilled fear and loathing.
Finally the investigating officers spoke to them. Possibly a tad less brusque once they knew she was in uniform, but not much. Survellience footage showed Tom leaving the bar directly after the victim and his friends. He was wearing a blue hoody and, as he left the bar, pulled it down low over his head against the chill night air. There were no cameras in the alleyway outside the bar, and it was a dark night, but the victim's friends swore it was Tom. They remembered the hoodie.
Frankie hired a lawyer and they went through the footage. Problem was Tom had confronted the victim earlier in the night, when the guy stumbled and spilt his beer down Tom's back. An altercation ensued. Not much. Just angry words. Rewinding the footage, Frankie spotted the second guy with the blue hoodie. He looked a little like Tom and had left the bar just before the victim and, like Tom, pulled the hood low over his head. Turned out he was the son of a judge.
'He's been cleared of suspicion,' the lead investigating officer said, his eyes shifting sideways, unable to look directly at Frankie. She wondered if he'd been bribed.
Her mother screamed at the verdict. Tom was her good boy - the only one of her children to stick around and look out for her. She blamed Frankie. 'What good are you to us. You were useless growing up and you're no better now. You aren't family, you're just one of them,' Sherry said, pointing to an uniformed cop standing outside the courtroom. Then she told Frankie to never come back.
So Frankie left and didn't see her mother until seven days ago, when she lay frail beneath the hospice blankets, the barrel chest a tell tale sign of emphysema. Every breath painful, her skin tinged blue from lack of oxygen, her body rattling, racked with a cough that just wouldn't stop. It hurt to watch.
Frankie hadn't known Sherry was dying until Tom called. Wasn't aware he'd moved to Toronto until then, her mother managing to drive even the good son out. Frankie despised herself for being there. Despised herself more for wishing she were somewhere else, tried to find a wellspring of compassion as her mother, even as she drew her last gasping, ghastly breaths, cursed Frankie still.
It wasn't long before Gail appeared looking apologetic, which was uncharacteristic for her.
'You didn't need to wait out here, Frankie,' Gail said. Her voice was soft, her concern palpable and entirely unwelcome, in fact irksome to Frankie.
'Best we do this by the book,' Frankie answered tightly.
Gail nodded and led her through to an interview room. Out of habit Frankie went to the side where she normally sat when interviewing a witness or a suspect. At the last minute, realizing her mistake, she moved to the opposite side of the table. Chloe was standing just inside the door and Frankie caught the look she and Gail exchanged and hated the compassion it held.
'Frankie,' Gail said, her voice soft and unhurried but her words formal, 'your brother, Tom Harrison is being questioned in relation to the murder of Rahmi Ahmir.'
Gail paused and Frankie nodded.
'When did you last see Tom?'
'Two days ago at my mother's funeral,' Frankie said, 'he called me a week ago from Kitchener to tell me that our mother was dying. I left that evening. Tom and I both returned to Toronto yesterday. I left Kitchener in the morning and Tom in the late afternoon.'
Gail wanted to say something. The standard 'I'm sorry for your loss' didn't seem appropriate here, and yet anything else would be too personal, particularly when Frankie wanted to be treated like any other witness. Her mother's death explained why Frankie had got a head start on drinking last night. It was a wonder she was still coherent when she showed at the club.
Gail didn't know much about Frankie's family. Only what Frankie had let slip in unguarded moments before clamming up. Her regret at her candor making her savage so any question or comment you dared make would be met with a rebuff. However, Gail had gleaned that Frankie had nothing to do with her family and that her mother was a piece of work. Not in the same way as Elaine. Still even if Sherry had gone about it differently, just like Elaine she was controlling and a bully, and Frankie, just like Gail, had had to get out or be suffocated.
'Are you certain that Tom remained in Kitchener that whole time?' Chloe asked.
'It was a bedside vigil,' Frankie said testily.
'Kitchener is only a 90 minute drive away. Any chance Tom could have ducked out. Maybe there was a day when he was gone for a stretch of time,' Gail said.
Frankie turned and regarded Gale for a moment. Gail shifted a little under her scrutiny, and wished she could tell the detective that she and Chloe didn't like doing this anymore than Frankie did.
'Tom didn't leave the hospice at all,' Frankie finally said. 'They provide some accommodation for relatives and he chose to sleep there. I was at a near-by motel, but I spent most of the time at the hospice with Tom.'
'How can you be certain he didn't leave hospice when you went to the motel to sleep?'
'I barely went to the motel,' Frankie laughed derisively, 'I should have saved my money. I snatched a couple of hours sleep here and there. Tom was always by my mother's bedside when I returned. You can verify that with the hospice staff, but I hardly think it was enough time to make a three hour round trip, plus commit a murder and dump the body.'
'What about last Tuesday,' Gail asked, referring to the day Rahmi had been left at the bus terminal, 'can you vouch for Tom?'
'Look to be honest, the days kind of meld, but Tom was always there. Look Gail, he wouldn't do something like this. He's not that kind of guy.'
'No,' the way Gail said the word it was more of a question, 'and yet he served five years for aggravated assault.'
'That was,' Frankie stopped. How many times had she heard family members say this very thing: that their child or sibling or father or mother was not capable of committing a violent act. How many times in this very room had she looked across knowingly at Gail, and felt a mix of pity and derision at the person's gullibility. Still she couldn't help but say something in defence of her brother. 'It wasn't a sound conviction.'
'No,' Gail said again, and again it sounded like a question, and again Frankie hated the look of sympathy on her face. 'Did he take the fall for someone else?'
Frankie shouldn't have been surprised by how astute Gail was. 'Not willingly,' she said.
'That why he mistrusts police.'
Frankie nodded.
Gail sighed. She seemed to be considering something for a moment.
'It's irregular, and I know you want to do this by the book, but Tom won't tell us anything until he gets some sort of reassurance from you. Would you speak to him? Detective Price and I would be present, of course.'
'Of course,' Frankie said, 'and his lawyer.'
'Oh,' Gail said almost as an afterthought as she began to rise out of her chair, 'did you know Rahmi Amir was four months pregnant when she was killed? If Tom's the father, I guess that would have made you an aunt.'
Frankie knew not to flinch. Knew what Gail was doing. Getting her off kilter. Damn she was good. Well, Frankie told her to do this right.
'You want to know what I know about their relationship?' she said, deciding not to beat around the bush.
Gail nodded.
'I hadn't seen Tom for years until he called me from the hospice. I didn't even know he'd lived in Toronto for the past year. He told me he'd met Rahmi six months ago and he was in love. He said it was the real deal, but he was scared. He hasn't got a good track record when it comes to relationships. Kind of a family trait,' Frankie couldn't keep the bitterness out of her voice. 'He didn't want to fuck up this time.'
'So he didn't mention anything about the pregnancy?' Chloe asked.
'No.'
'Would he have been happy about the pregnancy,' Gail asked.
'Yeah, of course,' Frankie started to say, 'actually to be honest I don't know him well enough to say. We had such a fucked up childhood it made me swear never to inflict that upon kids.'
The revelation - personal and raw and full of hurt – took Gail and Chloe by surprise. Frankie had never spoken to either of them about whether she wanted children. Gail had always sensed not. Frankie didn't exactly gravitate towards children when they were around. Not in the way Gail did. It made sense now.
'Tom did tell me that Rahmi has an over-protective half-brother. He didn't like Tom. I jokingly said I could send some uniforms to shake him down, but Tom said Rahmi knew how to handle him.'
…...
Holly stood back as the interns stowed the gear in the back on the fan. Her phone pinged and she half hoped it was a text from Gail. When Gail and Chloe had finally left to go back to the station, Holly had made an excuse to follow her out into the corridor. She hadn't wanted to leave Natasha and Wilson on their own but she needed to reassure herself Gail was okay. At least Robinson was standing watch just inside the entrance to the apartment where the crime tape had been strung up. The officer had returned from 15 with Chris and Andy, who were now canvassing the building.
'Gail,' Holly called out softly as Gail reached the very doors she had seen her burst out of not half an hour before.
Gail turned and smiled, then winced a little and Holly could see her cheek was hurting her.
'I'll wait in the car,' Chloe said, sensing Holly wanted a private moment with Gail. Without waiting for a reply, she slipped out the front.
'Are you okay?' Holly asked as she reached Gail, raising one hand to examine her cheek.
'Yeah, I've had far worse.'
Which didn't reassure Holly at all. Her hand stilled in the air and her eyes widened. She tried to suppress the look of alarm on her face but failed miserably and in the next moment Gail was laughing.
'It's okay nerd. I'm still in one piece. It's not, it's never that bad.'
But it was, it had been that bad. Holly knew that. Knew Gail's body bore the physical and emotional scars of her job. She knew too, that despite this, Gail kept putting herself on the line because it was her job, because she'd pledged to protect and serve, because the weight and the seriousness of that responsibility had been drummed into her from an early age and she would no more shirk it than stop loving Holly. Gail might not show it, but Holly knew too that she went out there day after day because she cared.
Gail took a step towards Holly and, taking the hand that a moment ago had been suspended in front of her face, ran her thumb gently, soothingly across Holly's palm. Then without letting go, Gail looked directly into Holly's eyes, and Holly felt her heart stutter and the breath catch in her throat at the love she saw there. Then Gail kissed her. It surprised Holly that Gail didn't bother to check they were alone. She took Holly's bottom lip between her own and tugged ever so slightly, her teeth scrapping lightly so Holly for a second forgot where they were and instinctively moved to press herself against Gail, but then stopped herself.
'Later, nerd,' Gail said, pulling back and Holly couldn't figure out if the bravado was real or mustered for her sake.
As soon as Holly was back in the apartment, Natasha asked if Detective Peck was alright and Holly caught herself just in time before she rolled her eyes.
Now outside the van, she checked her phone. It was a voice message from Rachel. No doubt telling her she should talk to Lisa. Holly decided to ignore the message for now. If she really had decided to cut Lisa out of her life, she needed a plan for how that would work, especially as up to now their lives had been so entangled. Holly knew that Rachel, conciliatory by nature, would try to persuade her to forgive Lisa. But dammit, thought Holly, suffused by the same burn of anger she'd felt last night when Lisa yet again undermined Gail, in fact undermined her relationship with Gail, she'd had enough of Lisa.
When they were younger Lisa's bitchiness had been amusing. Back then her acerbity was wittily perceptive and she had mainly directed it at people who deserved it. Which when Holly thought about it was a bit like Gail with her snark. Holly had believed Lisa would mellow over time, but instead she had become more vindictive and obnoxious, and her snobbery seemed to increase with every passing year.
Holly decided she and Rachel were like the frog in boiling water. Just as the frog didn't realize as the water slowly got hotter and hotter that it was killing it, so they had become so inured to Lisa they couldn't see how poisonous, how destructive she had become. Last night Holly had finally had enough. Enough of pandering to Lisa. Enough of her insinuations and put downs. Enough of her elitist bullshit
...
Tom looked up keenly when they entered the interview room with Frankie. Gail noticed a look of relief cross his face. She wondered if Tom had looked up to his big sister when they were growing up. Frankie told Gail she a loner – had in fact distanced herself from the family but was Tom the exception? Had he counted on her to get him out of strife? And if so, how far was Frankie willing to go to keep him out of trouble?'
Frankie pulled up a chair next to Tom, while Gail and Chloe sat opposite. The lawyer was on the other side of Tom.
'These are good people,' Frankie said, 'I trust them, Tom. They are like family to me. If you tell them the truth, they'll do right by you.'
Tom looked at Frankie for a beat, then over at Gail and Chloe. 'Okay,' he finally said, expelling a rush of air with the word.
'Frankie told me you cared about Rahmi, Gail said gently, 'I'm hoping you'll tell us what you know so we can catch whoever did this.'
Tom nodded.
'I hadn't seen her for two months. I've been working on the offshore oil rigs in Newfoundland. Saving up. We wanted to get a place of our own. I was on my way home when I got the call my mother was dying so I went straight to Kitchener instead.'
'When did you last speak to Rahmi?'
'Five days ago.'
Gail exchanged a look with Chloe. Five days ago. That was when Rehmi was murdered.
'At what time?'
'6.30 pm. Rahmi had just finished work. She's a nurse. Was.' Tom stopped and grimaced. 'We only spoke briefly. Rahmi was expecting Zaheer, her half-brother. He invited himself over. There was a knock on the door. I, we both assumed it was him and Rahmi hung up.'
'Invited himself over? So would Rahmi have been pleased to see him?'
Tom shook his head.
'They weren't close. Zaheer came here with his parents from Pakistan when he was a teenager. His mother died not long after and his father married Rahmi's mother about five years later. By the time Rahmi came along, Zaheer had left home. Apparently he made it clear that he didn't like his step-mother, resented the fact that she was taking his mother's place.'
'So if they weren't close why did Rahmi agree to see Zaheer?'
'Her parents died in a car accident about 18 months ago. Zaheer decided that it was his duty to look out for her. Rahmi said he was quite sweet about it at first but then he became controlling. Started telling Rahmi what she should do and what she should wear. He thought it was wrong of her to go out at night with her girlfriends and said her clothing was, as he put it "immodest." He wasn't happy when I showed up.'
'That still doesn't explain why Rahmi agreed to see Zaheer.'
'She said when he phoned and asked to come over, Zaheer had said he wanted to make amends, to apologize for his behavior. Rahmi is,' Tom caught himself again and stopped, then swallowed thickly before continuing, 'was a really sweet person. Generous and kind-hearted. She wouldn't think twice about giving him a second chance.'
'Did you feel okay about Rahmi seeing him?'
'Not really. I didn't trust him and it seems like I had good reason not too.'
'Do you think he would be capable of murder?' Gail said.
'I don't know, maybe,' Tom paused for a moment, 'When I said he became controlling it bordered on the obsessive. It made me worried for Rahmi, but she would laugh it off. Said he was harmless.'
'Did he ever threaten her?' Chloe asked.
'Not that I know of. Rahmi said it was mainly verbal abuse. Telling her she was bringing shame on the family name. He said she should be more subservient, more respectful to him and that she should act like a good Pakistani woman not a white whore.'
'Did he ever physically harm her?' Chloe asked.
'One time. It was just before Rahmi and I met. She said Zaheer came to her house in a rage. He'd seen her out with friends at a club. He shouted at her and grabbed her upper arms and shook her. Rahmi said it left her with bruises.'
'So he backed off when you and Rahmi started seeing each other?' Gail asked.
'Yeah, but he wasn't exactly excited about us. He wanted to marry her off to someone in the Pakistani community.'
'So how would he have reacted to her pregnancy?'
'Not well,' Tom bit his lip, before continuing a little hesitantly, 'I didn't know Rahmi was pregnant. As I said we haven't seen each other for two months. We had talked about kids, even though we'd only been together for a short time, but it didn't matter to us. You know when you just know that this is it, that this person, this relationship is right. Is everything you ever dreamed of and looked for and dared to hope might be yours one day.'
Gail nodded. Yep, she knew that feeling. There had only ever been one person who made her feel that way. One person who she knew almost from the beginning was a certainty and one person who she almost lost through her stupidity. The loss of Holly had almost destroyed her, so what must Tom be going through knowing there were no second chances with Rahmi. That she would never come back.
'Rahmi said she had a surprise for me when I got back to Toronto she hoped I'd be happy about. Then I got called to Kitchener so I never found out what the surprise was.'
'But you think it was the pregnancy,' Chloe said.
Tom nodded. So, Gail thought, that explained Tom's shocked reaction to the news Rahmi was pregnant.
'How often did you usually speak to Rahmi?'
'Every couple of days'
'So what did you think when you didn't hear from her?'
'I was starting to get worried. I left a few messages, but then my mother died and I was dealing with that. I tried to call again then. I went round to her place last night when I got back to Toronto but she didn't answer the door. I thought she must be on the night shift which is why I came round again this morning.'
'Rahmi didn't give you a key to the apartment?' Chloe asked.
'No. I guess when she didn't answer my calls, I began to think maybe she'd dumped me.'
'Any reason she would?' Gail said.
'No,' Tom shook his head miserably, 'we were happy. I guess I'm kinda damaged goods so I couldn't believe my luck that someone like her could love me.'
Gail nodded. Life could be so heartbreakingly, so agonisingly cruel. She felt Tom's raw grief and wondered if he would ever come back from this. Deciding it best to change tack, she shifted the focus back to Zaheer.
'Do you know where Zaheer works?' she asked gently.
'He's a bus driver.'
...
'You've got a suspect?' Holly asked, 'Not the guy you tackled?'
'No. Turns out the guy I tackled is Frankie's half-brother.' Gail let that bombshell drop and waited for Holly's reaction. She wasn't disappointed.
Holly's eyebrows shot up and her eyes bugged slightly with amazement.
'That is one hell of a coincidence.'
'Six degrees and all that,' Gail said.
'Is Frankie okay? Does she know? I mean I didn't even know she had family - she never talks about them.'
Gail couldn't help smiling a little that Holly's first reaction was to be concerned about Frankie. There was absolutely no reason for Holly to like or even care about Frankie. Gail knew how overbearing the detective could be and how she would get a perverse kick out of reminding Holly that she had had sex with Gail. And at some level that must irk Holly. Frankie was the second woman Gail had slept with. The one who made her, well not get over Holly because that had been impossible, but who'd helped her move on.
Yet Holly accepted Frankie because she was Gail's friend, just as Gail put up with Lisa. Although Holly didn't goad Frankie. Not in the way Gail sometimes did Lisa. Gail had to admit it. She was still sometimes somewhat of a child when it came to Lisa. Although the boob job doctor did ask for it. Which reminded her, she needed to be mature and talk to Holly about Lisa.
'Yeah Frankie knows,' Gail made a face.
'Oh, oh,' Holly said, putting an extra emphasis on the second 'oh' as she realized what this meant, 'you had to interview her.'
'Yeah and I hope Frankie still counts me as a friend.'
'Oh, Gail,' Holly said sympathetically, moving so she could place a hand on Gail's arm. She left it there briefly and then stepped back. They were standing in an autopsy suite and Holly was conscious the interns or any of the morgue staff could interrupt them. 'Surely Frankie of all people will understand it's your job.'
Gail shrugged. 'I guess. Anyway I don't think Tom – Frankie's brother - is the killer. He gave us a name though. Zaheer, Rahmi's half-brother.'
'Half-brother. That fits with the hair we discovered on the robe cord. By the way, we found the robe. It was in the bathroom. I'd say it belonged to Rahmi. So are you bringing this guy in?'
'We sent some uniforms over to Zaheer's apartment. No one was there. Chloe's just calling some of Tom's alibis back in Kitchener. That's where he and Frankie have been this past week - by their mother's death bed.'
'Oh, poor Frankie,' Holly said, 'that's really tough. No wonder she was drinking so much last night.'
'Yeah, being Frankie it's complicated. I don't think she and her mother were on speaking terms, which may actually make her death worse for Frankie.'
Holly nodded understandingly.
'Anyway, I thought it was worth checking to see if you'd found anything at the scene,' Gail continued, 'then Chloe and I are going to meet Chris and Andy back at Zaheer's apartment. See if he has shown up.'
'Is he a bus driver like you thought?'
'Was,' Gail said, 'We spoke to his manager. Apparently he's been behaving a little erratically at work over the last month and the manager fired him yesterday.'
'Erractic. How?'
'Late for shifts. Didn't show for work a few times. Rude, even aggressive with passengers and staff at the terminals. The manager said Zaheer began to look unkempt like he wasn't bathing or changing his clothes.'
'So someone whose life was unraveling by the sounds of it. A state of mind that might make him more likely to kill.'
'Yeah,' Gail agreed, 'anyway did you and the minions find anything in the apartment that could help us?'
'Not a lot,' Holly made a rueful face. 'He knew about wiping fingerprints so nothing on the wineglass or the plates or the cutlery or tabletop. We did lift some prints from the pizza box. Until you make an arrest we won't know if they belong to the killer.'
'Okay. That's a start.'
Holly nodded. 'I did, however, find quite a bit more of his hair on the dinning chair and even the carpet.'
'Is that normal?' Gail asked, 'to be shedding so much hair.'
'No. It's possible he's suffering from Alopecia Areata.'
'I'm guessing that has something to do with hair loss.'
'Yes, it's an autoimmune condition that affects the hair follicles. For some reason the body's immune system gets the wrong signal and mistakenly attacks the hair follicles. It causes hair to fall out in small, round patches about the size of a quarter. Most people with the disease will only get a few bald patches but some lose more hair. I'm not sure if stress is a factor, but it's possible it could cause hair to fall out at a greater rate.'
'And the killer would have been stressed,' Gail said, inwardly smiling at the way Holly could rattle off medical facts. 'It fits with the way the manager described Zaheer's behavior. The manager also said Zaheer was unkempt – maybe the hair loss contributed to that impression.'
'Makes sense. He certainly wouldn't have looked well groomed with a bunch of irregular bald patches.'
Gail pondered that for a moment and then said, 'What I don't get is if she knew she was pregnant why did Rahmi drink wine?'
'I don't think she did,' Holly said, not the least troubled by Gail's sudden switch of focus. 'Her prints were on the wine glass that was knocked over. From the spill, I'd say the glass was full.'
'So how did she ingest the barbiturates?'
'There was an empty glass in the kitchen with traces of orange juice and pentobarbital. He must have slipped it in there.'
'So she was drugged even before they sat down to eat dinner. Perhaps he hoped the wine would speed up the effects of the drug.'
'Yep. It also might explain the upturned chair. Perhaps she fell off the chair as she lost consciousness. Maybe even knocked the wine glass over as she went.'
'Mm,' Gail considered this for a moment, 'Did you find her phone?'
'No sign of it. Is it important?'
'It could be. Chloe is going to pull Rahmi's phone records anyway, but it will help corroborate Tom's version of events. You said it's likely the killer put Rahmi in the suitcase right after he killed her – otherwise rigor mortis would have set in. So any idea when the body was removed from the apartment?
'Hard to tell, I'm afraid,' Holly make an apologetic face, 'it's possible he took it with him that night or even returned the following morning to collect it before he dumped it at the terminal.'
'Okay. Thanks,' Gail said a little distractedly, clearly mulling over the information. 'Hey, I need to go now. Price will be waiting for me out front.'
Holly nodded and then took a step towards Gail.
'How are you holding up,' she said reaching up to touch the side of Gail's face, 'with this and Frankie.'
'Yeah, I'm alright' Gail said and Holly could see she was trying to be resolute.
'Your cheek is looking a bit swollen. Have you iced it?'
'A little. We have been a bit preoccupied Holly,' Gail drawled but she was smiling, 'Lisa was all prepared to stitch me up, and I don't mean metaphorically.'
'You spoke to Lisa,' Holly removed her hand from Gail's cheek and took a step back.
Gail wondered if she was imagining it, but Holly's manner instantly seemed less warm.
'Actually, I saw her. Lisa came to the station. She wants to talk to you. Apologize,' Gail said, realizing she couldn't avoid telling Holly now. She hadn't meant for Holly to find out like this. Gail had planned to find a suitable moment to raise the subject but then the comment about Lisa and the stitches had just slipped out.
'I hope you showed her the door.'
'Holly, I got the impression she was genuinely upset. She realizes she crossed a line. I think you should hear her out.'
'Really?' Holly said, screwing up her face in disbelief, 'I've spent too much time putting up with Lisa putting me down and I'm sick of having to justify why I'm with you every time I see her.'
'Maybe she has good reason to be protective of you. I can be a screw-up and I wasn't exactly acting like girlfriend material that first time I met her.'
'Oh, Gail,' Holly sighed, and Gail couldn't tell whether it was from exacerbation or despair that she would think this of herself, 'Lisa was a total bitch that night.'
'But Holly, that's just Lisa. You've said that too many times to count. Don't we just roll our eyes and ignore her or better still yank her chain.' Gail tried for some levity without success.
'Gail, honey, I don't know why you're suddenly her champion. It's not like she's ever been very accepting of you' Holly said.
'Yeah, yeah I know but I haven't made a huge effort with her either. I can see why she feels excluded by us.'
'Lisa feels excluded,' Holly said incredulous. 'Lisa is expert at manipulating people and, honey, she's well and truly played you.'
'I think I can tell if someone's playing me, Holly,' Gail said, fighting to keep her voice level and trying not to be offended Holly believed she could be so easily duped by Lisa. 'You know Lisa cares about you. Why else would she put herself through the humiliation of apologizing to me and asking me to get you to speak to her? I think she wants to make this right.'
'Yeah? If she really cared, then Lisa would respect my choices including the fact I'm with you.'
'But haven't you got a history of choosing bad girlfriends?'
'Lisa told you that?'
Gail nodded.
'And you believed her?'
Again Gail nodded.
'Gail, I have had some very nice girlfriends and some duds but none of them met Lisa's ridiculously impossible standards, including, or perhaps most of all, you. That's why I played down our relationship that night at the Penny. It wasn't the first time Lisa had given me that crap.'
'Oh,' Gail said, immediately wondering how many nice girlfriends Holly had had and why it was she would have preferred they were not nice, which was kind of strange because all Gail wanted was for Holly to be happy.
Well, if Gail was really honest all she really wanted was for Holly to be happy with her. And of course she wanted Holly's past relationships to have been happy ones. Didn't she? It was not like Holly's life began the day they met, even if a tiny part of Gail wished it had. It would certainly make things less complicated. But that was not how life worked. Nor should it. Holly was who she was because of all the things that had gone before, including those girlfriends good and bad, and including Lisa and all her pretentious stupidity. Gail shook her head slightly as if to clear the jumble of thoughts swirling around in her head. One thing she did know was ignoring your best friend had never been the key to happiness.
'You've known Lisa all your adult life,' Gail tried again, 'she and Rachel are your oldest friends. You can't just throw that away.'
'You know what Gail, sometimes you outgrow your friends, and once that happens the best thing is to move on. I don't get why you agreed to do Lisa's dirty work for her.'
'I'm not,' Gail shook her head and sighed, 'I just said I'd ask you to talk to her.'
'So now you have and I haven't changed my mind. I don't want to speak to Lisa. Can we drop the subject now,' Holly said, and Gail detected a note of impatience in her voice.
Gail couldn't understand what was happening here. She'd only been trying to help, certain Holly wasn't serious about cutting Lisa off, but now the conversation seemed to have gone down a rabbit hole and Gail couldn't figure how to turn it back around.
'Does your behavior remind you of anyone?' she asked quietly.
Holly shook her head.
'You're acting just like me when I refused to take your calls after that night at the Penny. I was being a child and it was stupid. Fine, cut off from Lisa, but don't you think you owe it to her to tell her that's what you're doing?'
Holly looked at Gail steadily and said nothing.
'Is that what you decided after I refused to take your calls. It was time to move on. Because you'd outgrown me or maybe you realized you were out of my league, because what would someone as worked out as you are want to do with someone as emotionally stunted as me.'
'Gail,' Holly said, 'that's unfair.'
'Yeah. Well it seems to me that you find it easier to move on than resolve your problems.'
'Gail,' Holly started to say but was interrupted by the arrival of Chloe.
'Hi Holly,' she said breezily, 'Gail, you ready to go to go?' As she spoke Chloe surmised from the rigid poses both women had struck and the tense expressions on their faces that she'd walked into an argument. 'I can wait outside until your ready Gail,' she offered.
'No, 'Gail said quietly, 'I think we're done here.' She pushed off from the counter she had been leaning against.
Chloe gave Holly a sympathetic half smile. As Gail reached the door, Chloe just behind her, Holly called out.
'Gail, wait,'
Gail stopped and turned, her face impassive.
'Just, just stay safe, both of you,' Holly said, sounding a lot less annoyed, in fact if anything sounding somewhat contrite.
Gail gave a curt nod, and Chloe shot Holly another sympathetic look.
'We'll talk later,' Holly offered, 'okay?'
'Yeah, okay' Gail said, softening. She gave Holly a small uncertain smile.
'And you know I'm not annoyed with you. I'm just -," Holly started to say, tilting her head to one side with that understanding smile she seemed to reserve just for Gail, but before she could finish Natasha and Wilson appeared at the door.
'Detective Peck,' Natasha greeted Gail exuberantly.
It seemed to Holly that the intern's eyes lit up the moment she saw Gail.
'How's your cheek?' Natasha took a step towards Gail to, it appeared, inspect Gail for herself.
Gail's eyes widened and she practically flattened herself against the door before doing a kind of sideways crab move through the doorway so she was suddenly out in the corridor.
'Come on Price,' she said gruffly, striding off.
Holly cursed the interns' timing. She didn't like the way the conversation had gone. She was angry with Lisa not Gail. It maddened Holly that Lisa would dare ask Gail to plead her case. She still blamed Lisa for that first time she and Gail broke up. Then ever since Holly had returned to Toronto, Lisa had bagged out Gail at every opportunity. No matter if it were an overt slight or a sly little dig, the underlying message was always that Holly could do better. Lisa made it abundantly clear to Holly she was tolerating Gail for Holly's sake. Yet she had no qualms about asking Gail to intercede on her behalf. It was beyond outrageous Holly decided. Yet entirely typical, knowing, as she did, not to expect any better of Lisa.
Holly realized Natasha and Wilson were looking at her expectantly. So she snapped out of her reverie and set them to work on a task. All the while she couldn't help seeing that uncertain smile on Gail's face as she left the autopsy suite. It bothered Holly. They didn't normally argue. In fact this might be the biggest disagreement they had had since getting back together. Still, she thought their relationship was resilient enough for a few cross words not to matter.
But then there was that uncertain smile. It meant only one thing, Holly decided. She'd hurt Gail. Holly felt that burn of anger in her chest again. Damn, if Lisa wasn't causing more problems for them. Now Holly was annoyed with herself for being short with Gail, when Gail was only trying to do what she thought was right. Holly was sure of one thing then. She needed to apologize to Gail. She reached for her phone in the pocket of her lab coat and then remembered she'd left it upstairs in her office. When the interns finished up, she'd go and retrieve it and call Gail. Leave Gail a message reminding her she loved her.
...
Once out of the room, Chloe struggled to match the pace set by Gail as she practically marched down the corridor.
'Want to tell me anything about what was going on back there,' Chloe said as they left the building and she properly caught up with Gail.
Gail stopped and looked at Chloe, and for a moment Chloe thought her expression softened.
'You want me to share?'
Even though Gail's voice and expression was flat, Chloe thought she really was going to open up, and then Gail's mouth twisted in a sneer.
'Price, what alternate reality are you inhabiting. In what universe would I willing share with anyone, let alone a Disney Princess.'
'This one, Gail. The one where I'm your friend and don't want you to mess up with Holly again,' Chloe said undeterred by Gail rebuff.
'That's not what's happening here, Price. Holly and I are just having a disagreement. So don't turn this into a drama and don't try to rescue me. You and Dov argue sometimes, or is that unheard of in the Von Trapp kingdom,' Gail said sarcastically.
She yanked open the car door and settled into the driver's seat, cranking over the engine before Chloe managed to get into the passenger side.
'And before you ask, I'm okay to drive.'
'Probably better if you do, Gail. You'd don't want to damage your other hand.'
Gail slowly turned her head to look at Chloe, her eyes big. Then she burst out laughing.
'Oh my god, Chloe. I can't believe you just made a snarky comment. Watch it. I think your crown may have slipped.'
'Ha! Well it's going to slip a lot more if you don't tell me what's going on. I have actually never heard you and Holly argue. And I don't want to once again have to mail back a whole lot of crap you buy on an on-line shopping spree.'
'Wow. Another jibe. Alright, alright. And I don't want to be responsible for making you tumble off your throne or is it a pedestal,' Gail grumbled, but Chloe could tell her mood had shifted. 'Holly and Lisa had a falling out and Holly's not talking to Lisa and Lisa asked me to intervene and when I tried to Holly wasn't happy,' Gail explained.
'And was the falling out over you?' Chloe asked.
'Kinda, but I was only trying to be a supportive girlfriend but now I've just made Holly mad.'
'Trust me Gail, she's actually mad at Lisa, not you. One for the way Lisa puts you and your relationship with Holly down and two for going behind her back to get you on side.'
'I'm not on Lisa's side. I just don't want Holly to throw away a friendship because she's being stubborn. I thought I was doing the right thing,' Gail said gloomily.
'Well, maybe you need to let Holly figure it out for herself.'
'What if she never lets herself figure it out? She won't listen to reason, which is not like Holly. She is just being so stubborn.'
'Remind you of someone?' Chloe smiled.
'Me, of course,' Gail answered empathically and as if this was a no-brainer, 'which is why I'm so worried.'
'Gail, maybe Holly's not ready to discuss this yet. When she is you can encourage her to speak to Lisa, but if she decides not to you'll need to respect her decision.'
'I guess,' Gail blew out her breath, 'hey, this is the apartment isn't it?'
She nodded in the direction of a yellow brick building. It was one of those nondescript low rises built in the 60s. Eight stories high, with spaces for cars on the ground floor interspersed with concrete pillars. Its boxlike shape and plain façade, broken at regular intervals by pokey windows and narrow balconies barely big enough for two small chairs, gave it a drab and utilitarian feel. It was run-down, and Gail guessed it was probably home to low-income earners and students.
The small glassed lobby in the center of the building wasn't locked and it led to an elevator that wasn't working. No building superintendent here.
Gail sighed.
'What floor is Zaheer's apartment?'
'Fifth. 5B' Chloe said.
Gail sighed again.
'And I thought this day couldn't get any worse.'
'Should we wait for McNally and Diaz or start walking up?' Chloe asked.
'Walk. Let them know the elevators are out and we've started the trek.'
As she trudged up the stairs, Gail replayed the conversation with Holly in her head. Gail couldn't believe Lisa was again coming between the two of them. Holly had said she wasn't annoyed with her, but it had felt like the more Gail had urged Holly to speak to Lisa, the more cool and distant Holly had become. It reminded Gail of the day in the lab with the thumb. Holly of course had every right to be mad that day, but she was hurt too. The distance, the standoffishness was a defense, a shield to prevent Gail from getting back in, under Holly's skin and into her heart. Problem was, Holly said later, Gail was already lodged there in her heart. Stuck. As if Cupid had indeed shot his arrow with Gail's name on it.
As she reached the fifth floor landing, Gail decided she should ring Holly. See if she was okay. Actually, see if they were okay. Maybe she should apologize. Chloe would know if that was the right thing to do, although that meant having another conversation with her perky colleague about the whole thing.
It was then that Gail saw Zaheer. A compact kind of guy, he looked a lot like his half-sister. A cap was pulled down over his head so she couldn't tell if he was shedding hair. He'd just closed the door to his apartment and glanced at Gail edgily. Which made sense if you were trying to get away with murder. It was bound to make you jumpy.
'Zaheer Amir?' Gail said, purposely not showing her badge or immediately identifying herself as police so as not to spook him. It made no difference. His eyes widened with alarm. It might have been comical had he not in the next moment barged past Gail, shoving her against the wall, then collecting Chloe who was nearly at the top of the stairs and sending her sprawling to the center landing.
Great another bruise, Gail thought as she pulled herself upright and went back down the stairs to Chloe, hoping she hadn't been injured in the fall.
'Are you alright?' she asked, offering her hand to pull Chloe up.
Chloe nodded. 'Just a bit winded.'
'Okay, I'm going after him. Diaz and McNally should be on their way up the stairs by now so we should be able to corner him.'
'Wait, Gail,' Chloe wheezed but Gail had already almost reached the floor below. Chloe couldn't let Gail pursue Zaheer on her own. She was Gail's partner and that meant she needed to have Gail's back. Chloe took a deep breath and, clutching her side where it hurt, ran down after Gail.
There was no sign of Andy or Chris on the stairs. Surely they would be outside by now, Gail reasoned. For a second time that day, as she tumbled through the lobby door, Gail found herself calling out 'stop police.' There were a surprising number of pedestrians on the sidewalk, most of whom shrank back in alarm. Gail was vaguely aware that one guy had pulled out his phone and started recording.
Zaheer was just ahead of her. Suddenly he turned, making Gail come to an abrupt stop. She saw the glint of silver like a flash in front of her face. It was so fast she didn't see where he'd pulled the knife from. Taking a step backwards, Gail stumbled slightly. Then almost as if it were happening to someone else, she watched as the knife sliced through the sleeve of her shirt. The sting and then the goddam awful pain brought her out of her head and back to the street. It threw her off balance. She tried to right herself as she took another step backwards, conscious Zaheer was advancing towards her again, waving the knife about in taunting circles.
There was no time to reach for her gun. In any case she couldn't use it with so many pedestrians around. Gail felt her heel hit an uneven part of the sidewalk, where one side of a slab of concrete had lifted. Then she was toppling backwards. It was like someone had knocked her feet from under her. As she fell, she noticed the stain of blood spreading on her grey shirt, caught the 'o' of surprise on the face of an old woman out walking her dog, sensed Zaheer come closer, and heard Chloe calling out but from too far away. Much too far away. Landing with a thud on the ground, Gail saw the intent in Zaheer's eyes as he bent over her. Wished with all her heart she hadn't been so off hand with Holly back at the morgue. Wished she'd told Holly she loved her, just like she normally did.
...
Okay, so I hope you're not mad with me for making Holly and Gail argue. All couples do. And this is not like that night at the Penny - both Holly and Gail's instinct is to talk to the other and apologize. But then a knife wielding killer had to get in the way. Next chapter, Lisa and the Superintendent meet (I haven't written this yet but I am looking forward to it).
