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Chapter 17

John had waited for Kate Stewart to arrive at the station for what felt like an eternity and when she finally walked past his office, he jumped up from his seat in an instant and followed her into the corridor. The sooner he talked to her the better.

"Kate!" he called after her as he followed at a quick pace.

His boss turned on the spot and looked around for a moment until she spotted him as he ran after her. "Let me guess," she replied, "it's about the Jane Doe case?"

John shrugged his shoulders and granted her an apologetic smile. "What else could it be about? It's not like there's a lot happening in this place."

Kate raised her eyebrows at him, but after a moment, she gave an approving nod. "You have a point," she agreed. "So, what is it? Did some exciting new evidence turn up?"

Instantly, John's mind wandered to the little evidence bag hidden away in the drawer of his bedside table, the one that contained the note with Clara's address. He would hand it in eventually, but now was not the time for that. They had a more urgent lead to follow. "Unfortunately, no," John lied. "Can we talk in your office?"

In reply, Kate gestured towards the door to her left and they both stepped into the large, bright office that looked so much more comfortable than his own. A part of him envied his boss for it until he remembered that he hated to spend time indoors anyway. John always preferred to be out there where the action was happening instead of hiding behind a desk. That was one thing he had inherited from his father.

"So, what do you want to talk to me about?" Kate asked him as she closed the door behind them. "Did another witness turn up? A new lead?"

"Um," John hesitated and raised his hand. He scratched his head and glanced towards Kate in the most sheepish way possible. "Maybe. I think."

Just because Clara thought that it was suspicious and John agreed with her didn't mean that his boss would share their opinion. In fact, now that he was about to tell her, the entire story suddenly sounded silly in his head. But what kind of detective would he be if he ignored the fears and doubts of a young woman that he had sworn to protect?

"Out with it," Kate demanded, throwing him a stern look. "If you think there's something I need to know, I want to know about it."

John inhaled deeply before he began to explain and decided to start at the very beginning. "Okay, remember a few days ago when I was late to work?" he asked and waited for Kate's reassuring nod before he continued. "I told you I had run into a journalist who had asked me questions about the Jane Doe case."

"Yeah," she replied. "And?"

The rest of the story came out in a rush. John reminded her of the break-in at Clara Oswald's house, he told her about her encounter with the journalist – if that was really what he was – and how strange it had seemed to Clara when she had realised that he seemed to know about the break-in already. He knew that all of that could be a strange coincidence, that the man could really be just a journalist on the hunt for a story, but if there was any chance that he wasn't, Clara could be in danger and he would not allow anything to happen to her.

"So you're saying that this... journalist is actually the man who broke into Clara Oswald's home?" Kate asked, her eyebrows furrowed at him in disbelief. She didn't think there was anything to it.

"I don't know," John admitted. "But it's strange and I think we should look into it. I mean, even if he really is just a journalist, there was no way he could have already known about the break-in unless he was lurking near her house when it happened. If he's a journalist, he has someone on the inside who passes him the information. The possibility of that alone is enough reason to look into it."

At last, Kate seemed to actually consider his words because the idea of a mole within the police was not one that appealed to her. In the long run, it could compromise an important investigation. After a moment, she sighed. "Alright," she remarked. "Do we have a name?"

"Only a first name," John explained. "Ciaran."

"Sounds Irish."

"It does," he confirmed. "And he's certainly not from around here. He doesn't even have a hint of a Scottish accent."

To his surprise, Kate didn't respond at all. Instead, she sank down in her office chair and buried her face in her hands. She rubbed her eyes for a while as if she was tired even though their shift had only just started. John already considered a retreat to leave Kate to her thoughts when she removed her hands again and looked straight at him.

"Why is Clara Oswald in the middle of this?" she wanted to know. "Is it her resemblance to the dead woman? Is there another connection that we're just not seeing?"

Again, John thought about the note, but he couldn't bring himself to believe that it had anything to do with the murder.

"As crazy as it sounds, is Clara responsible for that woman's death?"

"No," John replied immediately.

Kate leaned forward and squinted her eyes at him. "How can you be so sure? I've known her for six months and I honestly believe I don't know her at all. You met her less than two weeks ago. How can you possibly rule out that she had something to do with it?"

That was the thing. John couldn't, but he also couldn't bring himself to believe that Clara was a murderer. "I just know, okay?" he replied and realised that he sounded angrier than he had anticipated. "When she came to see me yesterday, she was terrified after the encounter with the journalist or whatever the hell he is."

Kate didn't seem convinced because the frown on her face only deepened.

"Okay, maybe she does know something," John spat in despair. "Maybe she saw something or… I don't know, but you can't ignore the fact that this man scared her and that someone broke into her home. We have to look into it. If she had nothing to do with the woman's death, she could be next. Has that ever crossed your mind?"

His boss was about to open her mouth and respond when suddenly, a knock on the door cut her off and instead of answering him, she told whoever was outside to come in. John spun around and watched Osgood walk into the room, looking both nervous and excited at the same time.

"Oh, good," the young pathologist breathed and smiled into the room. "You're both here."

"Do you have any news?" Kate demanded instantly, her eyes suddenly more alert.

John exchanged looks between her and Osgood and finally nodded towards the young woman, telling her to continue. He was curious and, at the same time, afraid of what she had dug up.

"Okay, so," Osgood started, but she paused to take another breath before she went on. She really was excited by whatever she had uncovered. "The DNA test came back. You know, the one where we compared Jane Doe's DNA to the one from that teacher who was here? The nervous one?"

Osgood had some cheek calling Clara the nervous one, but John didn't have time for her stalling right now. He needed to know what the test said. "What was the result?" he asked instantly.

The pathologist smiled at both of them. "I have to admit, I really didn't expect it," she said breathlessly. "I mean, I feel like we're in the middle of a crime novel, this is-"

"Osgood," Kate interrupted her sharply. "What is the result?"

When John had hoped that she would finally come out with it, Osgood disappointed him once again when she reached into the pocket of her lab coat and pulled out an inhaler that she used to take a deep breath from. He had run out of patience at last and stepped forward, tearing the letter out of Osgood's hand. Unfolding it took what felt like an insanely long time before he finally read the words on the sheet of paper and instantly, he knew that he would have to talk to Clara Oswald as soon as possible.

"Well?" Kate demanded. "What does it say?"