** For authors notes, disclaimer etc. see chapter 1
Blonds have more fun 7/?
"Jesus where the hell am I supposed to start?" I'm finally alone in my room surrounded by case files and I'm not sure how to begin to sort this mess out. I've already showered and changed into lose fitting grey joggers and a vest so I'm comfortable and also to wash away the residual grubbiness from my encounter with Alan Richards. I'd assumed that the shower would clear my head, consolidate what I have heard and make it easy to see where to go next but it hasn't.
Right now I need my boys, I need the white board that I have borrowed from the hotels conference room to be filled with Brian's anal colour coded lists, Gerry's photos with little details under them and Jack's tables that make everything seem clearer. Over the years we've developed a way of working together to pick apart the most complicated cases and the worst put together notes and evidence. Today though I have to do it myself and I have to get started I'm already looking at the prospect of no sleep!
"What the hell!" I'd just sat down on the bed to open the first box and the bloody door has knocked again. Who the hell is it this time! "I swear whoever you are if you don't have a bloody time machine so I can go back and refuse to do this you better have life insurance because…."
"We don't have a time machine but we do have booze and snacks and we're here to help is that enough?" Gerry has just walked past me with a quick peck on the lips and is in the room quickly followed by Brian and Jack. I can't believe this and I'm starting to seriously suspect that when I sat down to start working I feel asleep and am dreaming this!
"Wow Sandra what the hell have you done to your hair?" Nope I'm definitely awake if I was dreaming Brian would be much, much more tactful!
"Nice to see you too Brian. What are you doing here? How did you even know I might need you?" I'm glaring at Jack, delighted as I am to see them I did tell jack I didn't want them to know what was going on.
"Don't look at me, Strickland sent us, and Brian has a point about your hair since when are you a brunette?" God everything that's going on right now and their biggest issue is my hair colour! Is it odd that I find that really reassuring? They're here I don't know why Strickland decided to send them now but I'm not going to complain. "Gerry are you on board with her changing her hair colour?"
"Not really but…."
"But he doesn't get to pick my hair colour! Can we focus please?" I've actually had to shout over the three of them to get them to shut up something else that is making me smile today rather than making me cross.
"Sorry Sandra." They crack me up when they all answer at once like kids apologising to their mother or a teacher or something.
"Good. Why did Strickland send you now? Don't get me wrong I'm pleased you are here but he wasn't even prepared to start thinking about sending you down here when I was talking to him this morning until he was sure there was a case to work. Why'd he change his mind?"
"Search me." Gerry looks completely confused and so does Brian but Jack is try too hard to look like he hasn't a clue either. This is his doing after our conversation this morning he clearly had them all in the car with Strickland's blessing within half an hour but he'll never admit it.
"Ok well whatever the reason I'm glad you're here, Jack, Brian did you get a room?"
"Oh yeah unfortunately we have to share they are book solid for the whole week because of some Sci-Fi conference on at the local conference centre so the sooner we can get this wrapped up the better. I can only share with Brian's obsessive bed time routine for so long Esther has warned me it's not pretty."
"Yeah well we've all heard you snore like a steam train when you fall asleep in the car so I'm not thinking it'll be a bundle of laughs sharing with you either!" They are both looking like the fact they will be in the same room in the dark might mean I have two more murders to deal with before this is out and frankly I don't blames them. As far as Jack's concerned I wouldn't be excited about sharing a room with Brian, much as I love him and everything I see enough of his weird obsessions in the day time I don't need to see what they are like at night! In saying that Brian has a point too we have al suffered through Jack's pneumatic drill like snoring when we're on long car journeys and it's not pleasant.
"Ok well look why don't I ring down and get them to bring some hot food up I'm guessing you lot haven't eaten then we can see what you have in the booze bag, take a box each, eat, drink and organise and it should take us no time to put together what's here and get some stuff on the board so we know where we stand. The fact that board is so clean is freaking me out so let's get started." They have all started milling around opening boxes, pulling out files and I finally feel like we can get somewhere with this, Together we can make sense of it all, I can tell them what Forsythe told me and what Richards did and my opinion of both men and they'll know what we should believe and what we should discount. Not only that but with Gerry here I'm no longer nervous that every time I open the door I'm going to be faced with Alan Richards back for another go at proving to me that he's irresistible.