Thank you guys so, so much for all your lovely reviews!
Not sure I'll be able to post a chapter on Saturday because I'm away for a Doctor Who convention, but if I'm not too exhausted and have wifi, I'll try my very best :)

Chapter 35

John found Kate by the coffee maker and as he approached, the delicious smell of a fresh brew filled his nose and it made him remember that he had skipped breakfast. He grabbed an empty mug and joined Kate in the queue.

"It's almost lunch," she remarked without looking at him. "You're late."

When Kate removed her mug from under the coffee maker, John saw his opportunity and started the machine back up to fill his own mug. While the liquid was pouring into the mug, he turned towards his boss. "I went to the airport and then the harbour to speak to Wilf," he explained. "He told me something interesting."

Kate's eyebrows shot up. "It better be related to the case. I'm not in the mood to give you a lecture about punctuality."

John chuckled. "You know you'd only be wasting your breath, right?"

His boss, however, didn't reply to that. There was a hint of a smile on her face, but she quickly hid her amusement and instead focused on the topic. "What did you and Wilf talk about?" she wanted to know.

In response, John pulled the sheets of paper out of his jacket and handed them to Kate. "I was looking into how Bonnie got here and the airport didn't have any records of her. Neither did Wilf, but when I showed him the photo, he recognised her."

He waited until Kate had finished reading and he wasn't surprised when she frowned at the sheet of paper. "This says Clara Oswald, not Bonnie Moore," she said.

A proud grin appeared on John's face even before he informed Kate about his theory – or rather Wilf's theory. "It does," he confirmed, "but I'm fairly certain that when I ask Clara about it, she'll tell me she didn't leave the island and come back on this date. However, someone else could have travelled under her name… someone who looked just like her."

Kate seemed to consider his theory for a moment, but John could tell from her face that she didn't think it was stupid at all. "It's a possibility," she replied eventually. "I'll look into that and in the meantime, I have something to show you as well."

When Kate turned around with no further warning, all John could do was to grab his mug and follow her through the corridors until they eventually came to a halt in her office. Following her orders, John closed the door behind them and waited for Kate to pick up a scrap of paper from the table which she handed to him. For a moment, he was confused. The name scribbled down on the sheet of paper was an unfamiliar one and the address belonged to a flat in London.

"Saibra Preston?" John asked, now looking back up at Kate, hoping to find some answers on her face.

His boss inhaled deeply before she spoke. "Saibra Preston is Bonnie Moore's old flatmate and friend," Kate explained. "We spoke on the phone this morning and she agreed to take care of the funeral. Someone should accompany Bonnie's body back to London."

In a matter of seconds, John's face turned into a frown until it finally hit him. "Hang on," he said, "you want me to play delivery person for a body?"

"If it was just about delivering her body, I would call an undertaker and let them take care of it," Kate shot back in response. "Someone needs to talk to Saibra Preston and I thought you might be interested in doing so."

When she put it that way, John realised that it didn't sound so bad anymore. At least he wasn't being downgraded to a courier.

"We hardly know anything about Bonnie," Kate tried to reason with him. "A friend might be able to tell us a little more about her, give us some insight."

John nodded in reply because he knew that she was right. "Alright," he agreed eventually. "When do I leave?"

"This weekend," Kate told him. "I'll get you the tickets and I'll have it arranged that an undertaker will meet you at the airport. You'll just have to sign the papers and talk to Bonnie's friend."

"Could you get two tickets?" John asked before he could think better of it. He was fully aware that it was unorthodox and he wasn't entirely sure why he was asking. He didn't know whether Clara would like to join him, but Bonnie was her sister whether she had known about her or not. The least he could do was to offer her a chance to find out more.

John had half expected Kate to protest or at least remind him not to get involved with Clara – not that it wasn't too late for that – but to his surprise, she merely shrugged. "I think that can be arranged."

"Good," he concluded. "I'll ask Clara if she wants to join me."

Kate opened her mouth, but she didn't speak immediately and it gave John the impression that she was still going to comment on it. "You and Clara-"

"We're friends," he interrupted her before she even had a chance to throw a wild accusation at him. "I'm not protecting her and I don't think I'm giving her special treatment. I just think she deserves a chance to find out more about her sister."

After a brief moment of hesitation, his boss nodded. "Alright," she agreed eventually. "Just don't forget what you're going to London for. Talk to Saibra Preston, ask anything that could be of importance."

"I will," John promised her, the determination audible in his voice. "We'll crack this case, Kate. I'm sure we will."

"Let's hope so," his boss replied, but she didn't sound quite as convinced. "While you're gone, I'm going to look into some things as well. Ciaran O'Neill in particular."

No matter how hard she tried to not think about it, her mind seemed to have turned against her and it kept replaying the memory of last night over and over again. Clara sipped her tea quietly and looked out of her kitchen window, hoping that the sight would take her mind off John. It wasn't helping, not really, and Clara had no idea what to do. She liked John, but what was happening right now was wrong on so many levels. It was almost like one of life's cruel jokes and Clara wondered what she had done to deserve this. She had kissed him on a whim last night, just to thank him for his help and for his friendship and in the same instant, Clara had realised that she had liked it. It wasn't possible. He was the detective working on Bonnie's case and she needed him to solve it and once he did, where would that leave her? And how could it be that she enjoyed kissing another man, however brief the kiss might have been, when Danny had only been dead for such a short time? No matter how she looked at it, every scenario just made her feel like the worst person on earth.

It wasn't the sight in front of her window but the ringing of her phone that eventually tore her out of her thoughts and she answered it straight away, hoping for a distraction.

"Hey Clara, it's John," the familiar voice on the other end said. "How are you?"

She couldn't help the smile that spread across her face when she realised who was calling because no matter what was happening, she was still glad to hear from him. "Are you calling to check in on me?" Clara wanted to know.

"No," he replied instantly, but then seemed to change his mind. "Well, yes and no. I also have a proposition for you, but first, I want to know if everything's okay."

Clara chuckled in his response. It had been a while since someone had worried about her over something that wasn't related to Danny and somehow, she found his concern amusing. "I'm fine," she replied sincerely. "No one has broken into my house today, so that's good news, and my students weren't too much of a pain in the arse. How about you?"

"I have some news about your sister," John replied, his voice careful.

"Okay," she said and exhaled sharply. "Well, fire away."

"Actually, I'd rather tell you in person. I'm about to go for a walk with Odin. Would you like to join us?"

Even if Clara hadn't been craving some fresh air, John must have known that her curiosity would be too strong to resist such a proposal. Clara could do nothing but agree. "I'll get my coat," she replied, smiling at the phone even though he couldn't see it. Maybe she was a bad person, but right now, John was her friend and Clara liked the idea of that just as much as that of Bonnie's case being solved. In the end, she knew that she could only have either one, but for now, she would enjoy his company.