As Barron revved up the car again and pulled back onto the street, Amy tried not to let the shock show in her face. Who was she working with? Had she really heard what she thought she'd heard? Had he really broken the number one rule of policing? She couldn't even speak as a new fear trundled through her viens. Suddenly she didn't even want to be in the car with him, because she knew she had heard right.

Later they returned to the Homicide building and went their separate ways. As Amy walked down the hall towards her office, she saw Barron and the assistant commissioner standing side by side, leaning against the wall talking. She increased her pace as she approached the two of them but couldn't help but hear them as she passed.

"…Nah it's not Dylan McMahon. I know that for sure…" Barron's words were so unbelievably laced with lies that Amy held her breath as she walked past, and she didn't let it out until she was safe in her office with the door closed. She was right about Barron and his ability to flick personalities. He had been so sure – so fucking sure in fact, as he had put it – that Dylan had done the robbery in Illawara Street, but now was telling his superior that it wasn't him. She hadn't even been at Homicide for five minutes and already she felt like maybe she'd made the wrong decision.

After her morning excursion, the day seemed to pass in a blur. She spent much of it organizing her desk, sussing out the coffee facilities and trying to avoid Barron. This wasn't hard, but when Ned again dragged her down to the Latin Quarter after the doors of Homicide closed for the night, Barron was of course sitting at the table Amy had begun to think of as the Melbourne table. As she and Ned approached, Ned seeming to hover closer than the previous night, Barron looked up and gave Amy another death stare. It wasn't as intense as it had been that morning, because something in his face looked a little worried. Maybe she had overheard too much?

"Come on Amy, I'll buy you a drink," Ned offered, his hand on her back, guiding her towards the bar. Out of habit, she shrugged off his hand and tore her eyes away from Barron, before giving in and allowing Ned to buy her a glass of wine. She was wary though, wondering if she should let anyone buy her anything in this place – what if one day they tried to buy her silence, the way the girlfriend had bought Barron's?

Leading her back to the throng of detectives as they grasped their drinks, Ned sat Amy down at a tiny little two seater table by the door, just metres away from the Melbourne table. It made her realise for the first time that maybe there was something about Ned…or something about her? He was being nicer tonight than just taking the one night role of introducing around the new girl. She looked at him over her wine glass as she took a sip. Wearing a warm and good looking smile, he grinned back at her, seeming intent to start a conversation with her.

Surprising herself, they talked easily for a solid half an hour. Charming as always, he bought all her drinks that night, and even stood up to meet her when she excused herself to go to the bathroom. Smiling shyly, she walked out of the bar and into the short hallway that lead to the bathrooms of the Latin Quarter.

Approaching, she walked in a little bit of a daze as she thought how charismatic Ned was, and how attractive she seemed to find that. She was shaken out of her reverie as she reached the bathroom door though, as in a split second, out of the corner of her eye, she watched as the blonde girlfriend slipped a wad of bills into Barron's hands as they stood at the end of the hallway, almost completely shrouded in darkness. As the girlfriend went to turn away, Barron tugged on her arm brutally and pulled her in close to him. She winced, her face crumpled, but listened as Barron whispered in her ear before walking away. They obviously shared a violent relationship, judging by the way Barron grabbed her. Amy didn't waste a second in darting into the bathroom as Barron came walking back up the hallway.

Breathing heavily Amy stood with her back against the door. She felt so unprotected from the ways of these detectives here in Melbourne. There was no threat of guns or knives, but it seemed so much unseen threats. So many whispered conversations. So many dark dealings. Barron had just confirmed for her what she had feared. She tried to steady her breathing as she entered a stall and moments later went back out to join Ned.

He was standing in the foyer waiting for her, his hands in his pockets, leaning casually up against the wall speaking with Barron, an uneasy look on his face. As she entered, the two men stood laughing together, slapping each other on the shoulders as they shared a private joke that Barron seemed to find a lot more funny than Ned did. With the approach of Amy, Barron stopped a little short and suddenly became the opposite of what she seen him be in the last 24 hours towards her. "Amy!" he bellowed, allowing the thick smell of his vodka breath to come into contact with the air in the foyer. "We were just talking about you!"

She couldn't believe how he flicked so stealthily from personality to personality, even when he wasn't a bit smashed. One minute he was the crooked cop who took bribes and the next he was one of the most charming guys she'd ever met. It was probably what made it so easy for him to be crooked she guessed.

She just forced a smile and bid farewell to Barron as Ned led her out the front door and onto the busy street where his car was parked. "So where to Detective Fox?" Ned smiled as he opened the door for her. She appreciated the fact that he didn't have a hotted up car with mag wheels and a spoiler to match. So she got in and asked to be driven home, and he took her right to her door.

As she entered and Ned drove away into the still summer night, Amy walked dejectedly into her flat on the bottom floor of the building and walked down the hallway wearily. Suddenly she was questioning everything and second guessing what she had encountered. Maybe she was paranoid. Maybe she had taken everything out of context. Maybe she had been away from the city for too long.

She sighed as she sat down on her bed. Rubbing her temples she reached for the phone on her bedside and out of pure habit, she punched Alex's number into it without even looking at the keypad. Her eyes closed, she waited for him to pick up the phone. It rang and rang and Amy sighed when she heard Alex's answering machine message. The lump rose in her throat as she heard his familiar voice. "Hey guys. You've reached Alex. I'm not here right now, so leave me a message and if you're lucky I'll get back to you."

Honey why you calling me so late

It's kinda hard to talk right now

His message made her laugh as she tried to not let how much she missed him show in her voice. It didn't work. "Alex…" suddenly she didn't know what to say. She was essentially talking to an answering machine. What could she say? "Just calling because…" she hesitated. Why was she calling? "Just calling." She shrugged her shoulders at nothing, embarrassed at her effort.

It's really good to hear your voice saying my name

She paused, not wanting to hang up straight away, even though she knew the answering machine would time out at any second. She decided to make the call worth her trouble at least. Words tumbled out of her mouth as she went to hang up. "I miss you," she whispered wistfully into the mouthpiece. There was so much more she wanted to say. To ask him questions. How had he been? What had he been doing? Had he been thinking of her? Did he miss her? Had she made the right decision moving to Melbourne? She wanted his reassurance, but that night, she wasn't going to get it. She fell asleep with a frown creasing her features.

Honey why you crying is everything okay