This Woman's Work

Thanks again for the reviews! Not quite sure how long this fic will be or who Sam will end up with but any suggestions are welcome! Here goes Chapter 3! Xx

3.

Max bought Abi a cup of tea in the canteen and he ordered a coffee for himself. They sat opposite each other at a table away from everyone else for privacy. He watched over the rim of his coffee cup as Abi stirred two sugars and then a third into her tea.

"Want some tea with your sugar?" He asked, trying to distract Abi from her inner torment.

Abi looked up and rolled her eyes but said nothing.

They drank for a while in silence but it was Abi who spoke first. "Do you really think Mark could be involved?" She asked.

Bearing in mind her previous reaction when they had suggested her ex boyfriend was involved, Max tried to tread carefully.

"We have to investigate every possible angle. Most crimes are committed by someone we know so we have to consider Mark as a suspect just for now." He paused, praying that Abi wouldn't blow up again. Like mother, like daughter he thought ruefully. "But you're completely sure that there is no way Mark could be involved?" Max clarified.

Abi had been sure, completely convinced that Mark was innocent in this but after hearing Max out she was beginning to doubt her own trust in her ex boyfriend.

"I...I don't know..." She stuttured, dropping her cup on it's saucer with a crash. "He was always so great with Jared. Guys aren't usually interested when they find out you have a child, especially at my age but Mark didn't seem to mind at all."

Max nodded. "Did Jared and Mark spend a lot of time together?"

"Quite a bit. If we went out in the evening I got a babysitter or a friend to look after Jared but he used to come to the park with Jared and I a lot."

Thoughts began to race in Max's head when Abi mentioned the park. "What about just the two of them. Did you ever leave Jared alone with Mark?"

Abi looked thoughtful. "Not much." She finally replied. "Why? Do you think he could have done something to my son?" She asked, panic making his voice higher.

Max quickly shook his head. "Not at all, Abi." He lied. "I just want to establish how well Mark knew Jared."

"Oh, okay." Abi said, she was about to speak again when her phone rang. She dug through her handbag and pulled it out. "Oh my God, it's him." She said.

Max looked straight at her. "Who?"

"Mark." Abi replied.

"Okay, listen to me Abi, pretend like everything is normal and don't tell him about Jared yet."

Abi nodded, took a deep breath and answered the call.

Sam rested her forehead on her fist and let Smithy work the computer mouse. She cursed herself for letting her bad taste in men be passed down to her daughter. Despite Mark's rugged good looks and wavy dark brown hair, Sam could see that appearances could be very deceptive. She and Smithy had already found that he had been caught for driving over the limit, driving while under the influence of alcohol and for possession of a Class C drug.

"I hate to think of this guy around my daughter and grandson." Sam finally said.

Smithy looked across at her. "I know this is difficult for you both but this is a good solid lead." Sam nodded but was yet to feel reassured, Smithy's comforting presence was helping a little though.

She looked up as the CID doors open again and Max and her daughter headed towards them.

"Is everything okay?" She asked, standing up and looking from Max to Abi and back again.

"Mark just phoned Abi." Max said, speaking for Abi who was shaking. Sam crossed to her and wrapped her arm tight around her daughter's shoulders. "Surprisingly he's decided to leave Liverpool and come to Sun Hill to visit Abi."

"How did he know she was here, I thought this was a spur of the moment decision." Sam said, looking first at Max but concentrating the last words at Abi.

"I had to tell my flat mate where I was going because she'd worry, Amy must have told Max where I was." Abi said, close to tears again.

Max took over the conversation again. "Abi's arranged to meet him at the Canley Arms at 3 o'clock, we'll send some uniform officers down as well as Smithy and I of course."

"I'm coming too." Sam replied straightaway but Max and Smithy looked at each other, both shaking their heads.

"You can't Sam, this is our best chance of finding out what has happened to Jared." Smithy told her.

Sam sighed, she knew that they were both right but she desperately wanted to be involved with the investigation.

"Okay, fine. I'll get in contact with Abi's flatmate then." She turned to her daughter. "Can I have Amy's number please, honey?"

Abi handed her mum her mobile and Sam copied down the number onto a piece of paper. She looked at her watch, it was half past one already but she didn't feel hungry.

"Why don't you go and have some lunch." She suggested "And then we'll talk about how to best to proceed."

Max and Smithy managed to co-erce Sam and Abi into joining them for lunch in the canteen. While the two men tucked into hearty portions of shepherd's pie, Abi took small bites from her tuna sandwich and Sam pushed her chicken salad around the plate. Max and Smithy looked at each other but said nothing, they knew they would have very little appetite if their child or grandchild was missing. At half past two, Abi left for the pub with Nate and Diane in an unmarked car. Smithy and Max followed in another. Sam watched her daughter leave, her insides twisted in fear and anxiety. Once the five of them have left, Sam took a deep breath and headed up to her office, the piece of paper with Amy's number on it tucked inside her grip.

She closed her office door and rooted around in the bottom drawer or her desk. She pulled out a longnecked clear glass bottle and guilitily poured a measure into a small glass. She swallowed the liquid in one go, wincing as it burned her throat but it was worth it for the feeling of warmth spread through her. Getting rid of the evidence, Sam picked up her desk phone and dialled the number Abi had given her. The phone was answered after four rings.

"Hello?"

"Hi there, this is DI Samantha Nixon, I'm Abi's mum." She introduced.

"Oh, hi, this is Amy Spencer, Abi's not here, she came down to London to visit you." She sounded confused.

"I know," Sam took a breath. "Have you heard from her ex boyfriend Mark recently?" She asked.

"Actually yes, he rang last night, I thought it was weird because Abi told me they were over for good." Amy said.

"Thanks Amy, what did he say?"

"He wanted to see her. He said something about still having some of her things and he wanted to bring them over. I told him that she had gone to visit you in London and then he told me not to bother and he'd catch up with her when she got back."

"Okay, that's really helpful." Sam paused. "I'm sorry to put you in a difficult position Amy but what did you think of Mark?"

Amy paused, wondering how much to give away to her friend's mother. "To be honest I was pleased when they split up, Abi could do so much better."

Sam let this sink in. "What was he like?"

"Oh, very charming, good looking too but there was just something about him that I didn't like. I was pleased to see the back of him and Abi was too. Why are you asking me all these questions DI Nixon?" Amy said, suspicion clouding her voice.

"It's Sam." She corrected. "If Mark gets in touch with you again please don't tell him this."

"Okay," Amy sounded even more puzzled now.

"Before Abi came to meet me at the police station where I work, she took Jared to a park and while she was helping a woman to find directions, Jared went missing and we still haven't found him.

She heard Amy gasp. "Oh my God!" She paused. "Do you think Mark could be involved?"

"We don't know yet but it's something we have to look into. Do you think he'd be capable of something like this?" Sam asked, dreading and hoping for the answer at the same time.

"I'm not sure." Amy considered. "He was pretty upset when they split up, he kept calling and turning up saying he wanted to see Abi but that stopped suddenly and we assumed he'd moved on and met someone else."

"Okay thank you, you've been very helpful Amy." Sam said, bringing the call to an end. Her watch told her that it was just passed three o'clock and she desperately wanted to know what was happening at the pub.

"I really hope Jared is okay, and you find him soon." Amy said before she and Sam said goodbye and hung up.

Smithy and Max sat at one end of the bar, sipping beers. Smithy had changed out of his uniform into jeans and a grey zip up top. They casually watched Abi and a younger man at the other end of the bar. PCs Noble and Roberts, also in plain clothes, occupied another table nearby and pretended to be a couple.

"I really should go." They heard Abi say. "I promised my mum I'd meet her at half past three, I haven't seen her for ages so I don't want to be late." She said. Both Max and Smithy were surprised at how well she handled the situation. Once again they were struck by the similarities between mother and daughter.

"Okay," Mark replied. "But I'll be hanging around here for a while so if you want to get together we could, how about another drink back here at seven? You could bring Jared?" He suggested.

The last comment made Abi panic but she tried to keep her cool. She was under strict instructions not to mention Jared's abduction.

"Yeah, okay." Abi smiled, sliding off the stool and slinging her handbag over her shoulder. "See ya, Mark." She said, heading for the exit.

Max and Smithy waited a few moments and they too left the pub, followed a few minutes later by Diane and Nate.

"What did you make of that?" Max asked, to no one in particular.

"He's got Jared." Abi simply stated, her face pale in the afternoon sun. "I know it. He's got my son."

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