Here we go again; I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please R&R!
"Right, can you two get down to Club 246 and ask for the CCTV tapes, if they have any?" Sam asked after Stuart had told her about Kelly and her statement.
"On our way." Jo said, grabbing her coat, and chucking the car keys at Stuart.
Sam watched them walk out of CID together, happy and joking, trying to stop her eyes from narrowing. The last time she had felt a pang of jealously similar to the one she was feeling now was when Phil had first brought Monica Dreyfuss back to the station. She was young and French, and as she stared out at her sitting down, waiting, she tried to control her jealousy.
She looks like a moose. Sam had told herself, trying to keep a steady head. But as she watched Phil with her, escorting her down the stairs, his hands suspiciously close to her body, she felt the anger boil over and was forced to bury herself in her office for the rest of the night.
It's not like she was jealous of Jo, having Stuart as someone to flirt with. Been there, done that. And she wasn't jealous of Stuart having Jo to flirt with. Not a lesbian. It was the fact that they had each other, and she had no one at all. They could wake up in the morning and know that there was someone out there who was worth getting up for; a day worth living. What did DI Nixon have? Her work.
Work. The fax machine beeped over in the far corner, and Sam quickly moved to it, realising that she had been stood on the spot for the past minute, thinking about things she didn't have. Clutching the corner of the paper coming through the machine, she read eagerly, her eyes drinking the facts in.
--
"I wonder why Sam's so ratty lately." Jo mused, looking out of the car window.
"Time of the month?" Stuart asked, turning the car into a main road.
"Perhaps. Or maybe … " Jo paused for dramatic effect, and Stuart turned his head to look at her. "She's pregnant!" Jo said with a flourish.
Stuart smiled. "Maybe. She was pretty ratty when she actually was pregnant, but erm … " Stuart finished his sentence awkwardly.
"Whoa, back up. What do you mean when she actually was pregnant?" Jo asked, her eyes set on Stuart.
"Well, when we were together and she –"A sudden thought struck him. "You weren't at Sun Hill then."
"Well, apparently not. I knew you and Sam dated, but I didn't know you impregnated her!" Jo said, giving him a playful slap.
Stuart was at a lose as to what to say, but luckily for him Jo continued. "She miscarried?"
Stuart coughed. "Erm, yeah."
The car fell into a somewhat awkward silence, until Jo broke it, smiling. "Imagine you as a Daddy!"
Stuart laughed. "You can imagine all you like, but it won't be happening for a while Jo." He turned the car into an alley way and parked. "Here we are. Club 246. I imagine you're here every other Saturday night, Ms Masters."
Jo scoffed. "In your dreams, darlin'."
They got out of the car, and Stuart held the club door open for Jo, before he whistled. "Snazzy."
Jo turned around and gave him a dazzling smile. "Why, thank-you, Mr. Turner. I had no idea!" She said, before laughing.
"I was talking about the club." Stuart said, giving Jo a playful shove. Jo went to push him back, but soon stopped as a man approached them.
"Can I help you?" He asked, eyeing them up.
"Yes, DS Turner, DC Masters, Sun Hill CID." Stuart said, adopting a professional sounding voice.
"Do you have CCTV?" Jo asked, tucking her warrant card away.
"Yes, new system installed just last month." He crossed his arms across his chest.
"Right, can we have the tape for last Saturday night?" Jo asked.
"Michael!" The club's owner yelled at a man behind the bar, who immediately came running. "Get the CCTV tapes from Saturday night." Michael nodded and scurried away, as Jo and Stuart exchanged looks.
"Can I ask what this is all about?" The club owner spoke again.
"We're investigating a girl who was here on Saturday night, Mr … " Jo trailed off.
"Milesi. Paul Milesi."
"Right, Mr Milesi. We'll be down if we need any further information." Jo said as Michael handed her a disk in a case.
"Sure thing." Milesi's eyes remained fixed on the two officers as they walked out of the club, unblinking.
--
"That guy gave me the creeps." Jo said, sliding into the passenger seat.
"I can't imagine why someone would marry him." Stuart added, buckling his seatbelt.
"Was he married?"
Stuart nodded. "Did you not notice the ring he wore?"
"Nup. Good on ya, Sherlock." Jo said, as they drove out of the alleyway, on their way back to Sun Hill.
--
Sam was sat in her office, pouring over documents, when the door opened and Stuart appeared.
"We got the tapes, Ma'am." He said, closing the door.
"Good. Have you seen them yet?" She asked, not looking up from the dozens of pages scattered across her desk.
"No, we've just got back, but Jo's putting it on now." Stuart's response was met with silence, as Sam read and muttered words to herself.
"Samantha?" Stuart asked.
"Hmm?" Her head shot up and she fixed him with a stare.
"What are you working on?" He asked, moving closer to the desk and papers.
"Just a theory I have about the girls." She said, standing up while shuffling papers around.
"Care to divulge?" Stuart asked, reading a few snippets of writing.
"All four girls were pretty young, yeah?" Sam started, and Stuart nodded in agreement. "Perhaps they all had something in common, other than being young. And small."
"Like what? Book club?" Stuart asked, a half-smile playing on his lips, which was met with Sam's stony look that she was well known for.
"I'm talking about where they hung out. Perhaps they all hung out at Club 246?" Sam said.
"Bit of a long-shot, isn't it Ma'am?"
"Maybe, but what else have we got to go on? All four of them are small and young. And female. I can hardly build a water-tight case on that, can I Stuart?" Sam snapped.
"Not really." He replied, eyeing his superior. "Sam, is there anything you want to talk about?"
She looked at him with a puzzled look on her face. "Like what?"
"Well, I dunno, personal problems … " Stuart started.
"No, there's nothing." Sam lied through her teeth. For a moment she felt like telling him everything, how she was lonely, how she missed Phil, how she was jealous of Jo and Stuart's flirting … but then what would he make of her? Instead, she chose the route that she had most often visited – attack as a form of defence.
"If there was something wrong, why would I tell you?"
"I like to think we can talk to each other." Stuart said defensively.
I like to think we can too. But it's too late Sam, you have to follow this through. "What, after you bailed on me after I miscarried our baby? I don't think so. I'm now your superior, Sergeant. There's nothing further to talk about." Sam sat down once again, dismissing Stuart, who wordlessly left, slamming the door behind him.
For once, Sam was glad that Neil had drawn the blinds in their joint office, as she let the tears fall freely down her cheeks.
--
"What?" Jo eyes followed Stuart as he came and sat next to her on the desk, facing the TV. His face had an odd, angry and confused look on it.
"It's definitely her time of the month." Stuart said, throwing his hands up in the air.
"Who, Nixon?"
"Yeah." He turned to look at Jo, before continuing. "I go in to tell her about the tape, she tells me about a theory she's working on. I talk it over with her, and casually ask if she's alright. Before I know it, she's leapt down my throat, asking me why she would tell me anything. Next thing, she brings up the fact that I bailed when she miscarried, and then we're back to her being my superior." He once again turned to look at Jo, who now had a hurt look on her face.
"You bailed on her when she miscarried?" Jo asked, staring him in the eye.
"I didn't bail, as such. She chose to tell Phil bloody Hunter about the baby, I come back from a day at court and Phil tells me she's at home. I go there to comfort her, and she chucked me out!" Stuart pleaded his case. "I didn't bail on my pregnant girlfriend." He added, placing a hand on Jo's arm.
Jo smiled. "I believe you, you're better then that Stuart."
He patted Jo's arm, before turning his attention to the screen. "Have you got anything yet?"
"I was waiting for you. And some popcorn." She added with a smile, before pressing the play button, starting what would be a long afternoon of watching drunken people dance and make passes at each other.
--
"Hey, are you coming tonight?" Beth asked Emma, pulling on her leather jacket.
"Yeah, wouldn't miss it for the world! And after the day I've had, I could do with a good drink and a dance." Emma replied, smiling.
"Awesome. Who else is coming?" Beth asked the entire locker room, and a few responses were mumbled.
"Are we meeting in the taxi, or at the club?" Diane asked, brushing her hair out of the school-girl buns they had been in all day.
"Erm … I don't know, what do you think?"
"I think we should meet at my house, and then get a cab there." Sally piped up, shoving a jumper into her bag.
"Alright, see everyone at seven then?" Beth asked, and people nodded and muttered their responses, leaving the locker room with a sense of anticipation in the air.
--
"How long have we watched this for?" Jo asked, rolling her head side to side.
"Four hours." Stuart said, glancing at his watch.
Jo let out a scream of frustration. "Surely there has to be something else we can do?" She pleaded.
"Oh, someone sounds so stressed!" Stuart put on a baby voice, just to patronize her, before placing his large hands on the base of her neck. "I think someone needs a massage." He lowered his voice and proceeded to massage her, his breathe caught in his throat. Finally, a valid reason to touch her.
"Wow, that feels good." Jo commented, rolling her head side to side again His touch feels so right. Even if he's not a woman. "Have you ever thought of taking this up professionally Stuart? 'Cause I'm sure you could make a fortune."
Stuart laughed, his breath tickling the hairs on the base of Jo's neck. "As much as I would love to, I just can't tear myself away from this joint." Or you.
Stuart moved closer, but soon their moment was shattered by Sam walking into the room. "Have you got anything?"
An incredibly dirty thought flickered across Jo's mind, but she managed to straighten up and talk to Sam. "Not really Ma'am. She makes a few appearances, but there's nothing really significant."
"Hold on." Stuart said, watching the screen closely. "Isn't that Paul Milesi chatting her up?"
All three of them leaned in closer to the screen, watching a small redhead in a purple dress sway to the music, leaning in close to an older man clad completely in black, who was shouting something apparently humorous into her ear.
"Who?" Sam asked.
"Paul Milesi, Ma'am. He's the owner of Club 246." Jo answered her, closely watching as he smiled at Loretta as she stumbled across the club. In a moment he was joined by another woman, this one wearing a white suit with her dark hair pulled back into a high ponytail. They exchanged words, both looking after Loretta.
"Who's that?" Sam asked.
"We didn't meet her at the club, but judging by the way Paul's talking to her and touching her, I'd guess it's his wife." Stuart said.
"Right, can you two run checks on these people; I want to know everything about them." Sam ordered, and Stuart nodded.
"Ma'am, can we do an Obbo on them? There's just something about Paul that makes me suspicious, call it a hunch." Jo said.
Sam thought about it for a moment. "Alright, you two can go tonight. Watch him at the club, and then follow him home. But only surveillance, we don't have anything on him yet."
"Ma'am."
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