As From Discretion Comes Isolation
Chapter 4
A/N - Thank you again for your support!
After completing the postmortem on Interpol member Lewis Richards aged 37, Leo peeled off his scrubs in the changing rooms before walking back to his office. From her desk Nikki peered through the glass to see him speaking with DCI Harrison, the policeman who had been heading the investigation since it all began. She watched as the two men shook hands before he left the office briskly, giving Jack and herself a nod as he passed them. Within seconds of the detective leaving, Nikki appeared in the doorway.
"What did you learn from the postmortem?" she asked walking further into the room.
"Simple gunshot to the back of the head, bruising on the face, neck and torso indicates the same level of torture inflicted as the others, and the cuts..." he trailed off.
"It's one of theirs then?"
He nodded sadly, "definitely, and they're getting bolder"
"Do the bullets match those found in the other victims?"
Leo shrugged, "Harrison has sent it off to ballistics just to be sure, waste of money in my opinion, every other part of his MO is consistent, I don't see why he has to confirm the bullet to ensure it's the same killer"
She ran her fingers through her hair, they had been working this case on and off for the past year and it was getting more difficult with each murder victim, "what did Harrison have to say?"
Leo snorted slightly, "oh the usual, 'this brings us one step closer', 'we are doing everything we can to bring them to justice', well why have you got no new leads after almost a year then?"
"He knows he can take a backseat because Interpol are officially leading the investigation now" she answered with the same skeptical tone as her friend, "I still can't believe that even though this is the second murder of an Interpol member and they didn't call us in immediately, his body was found last night!"
Leo nodded, "their excuse is all the legalities of the case, that doesn't exactly make up for the fact that key evidence is tampered with as people contaminate the crime scene"
Nikki sighed and nodded in agreement before returning to her desk to bury herself in her work further. Time had completely gone when she noticed Jack sat at his desk opposite.
"So listen, I was thinking I could take you out tonight, to make up for being an ass towards you this morning" he said leaning towards her slightly.
Nikki looked at him from behind her computer monitor, "Mr Hodgson, are you asking me out on a date?" she asked raising her eyebrows, trying to stifle a smile.
He looked slightly taken back, "no, I thought we could go for a pizza or something so you can chill, this case has got us all working around the clock"
She clicked save before shutting down the computer, "pizza? And who said romance was dead?" she laughed, "no seriously, that sounds great"
The laid-back atmosphere in the side street Italian restaurant that the two colleagues decided on was exactly where they needed to go, a direct contrast to their workplace. It was almost an hour until their food arrived and by this time they had consumed several drinks each and were beginning to relax.
"Do you know what I've come to realise recently Jack?" Nikki said taking a further sip of the cocktail she had come to enjoy.
He took a bite out of his meat-covered pizza, "what?" he asked.
"I've realised that female police officers really hate me" Jack gave a short laugh in response, "I'm being serious, they don't listen to any of the scientific evidence I tell them and they do their own thing instead"
"They probably feel threatened by you because you are clearly intellectually superior to them" he grinned.
She shook her head slowly, "no they just don't like me. They all love you, everyone loves you..." she paused, "they all used to love Harry too" she said wistfully, mentally leaving the conversation and thinking of all the times her heart hurt when a policewoman would throw themselves at him. After returning her head back to the present she looked at Jack, "am I really that easy to dislike?"
"Nikki you're great. You're smart and pretty, which is a rare combination among the female specimens as I've found! Don't let them stuck-up bitches get you down"
She smiled at him, "you are a sweet man Jack, I'm glad you came to work with us"
He returned her smile, "me too"
It was past midnight by the time Jack was walking Nikki to her front door.
"I'm afraid you are a bad influence on me Mr Hodgson, I never usually get drink...drunk, oh take me home, I can't even speak!"
"Nikki, we are home" he said pointing to her front door as he waited patiently for her to open it.
"Sorry!" she cried pulling her keys out of her bag, "well thank you for a lovely night out, I'll see you in the morning"
He looked at her, "are you sure you don't want me to come in? Make sure you're alright"
"I am perfectly capable of getting into my own home Jack but thank you"
"Goodnight Nikki" he smiled and leant over and kissed her on the cheek.
She gently touched her fingers over her face after she was safely inside her home and smiled.
As she removed her outer layers of clothing she noticed a small, bright red light flashing in the darkened room. After switching the nearest lamp on she realised it was coming from her answering machine. Without any thought she pressed the Play button to hear the message whilst she went into the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea.
'Hi Nikki it's me Harry, I really wanted to catch you and have a proper talk before I left but obviously we've missed each other again, we really need to schedule these phone calls properly. Anyway, it was just a call to see if you were ok, it's great hearing your voice even if it was just your answering message. I've been asked if I can help with a case in Florida for the next few weeks so I'm heading south... well now actually so I will try and ring you while I'm there but if that's not possible, I'll speak to you when I'm back in New York. I really don't want to lose contact, you're my best friend Nikki and don't ever forget it. Right I've really got to go now my flight's about to board, ok bye!'
Nikki stood staring at the machine, the cup in her hand shaking. The one night she goes out with Jack, Harry calls her, he calls her before he is going away and she's not there to answer his call. She slammed the mug onto the counter in anger before pressing the Play button again and sitting on the stairs listening to his voice. Tears of sadness and frustration fell down her face at hearing his message again. Even as she sat listening and looking at her house, everything reminded her of him, especially when he came to live with her after his flat was flooded just weeks before he got the job offer. She thought she had moved past this, she thought she'd gotten over him, maybe even beginning to develop preliminary feelings for Jack, but eight years of love does not disappear overnight. And so a saddened, angry and rather drunk Nikki ended up sleeping under her coat on the stairs.