Due to the fact that I may not be able to post for several days, I decided to put up two chapters today. Just a note, being in intense denial over what happened in Series 2, I decided to pretend that episode 8 never occured. Therefore, my story does take place during Nov. of '82, when we all know Alex was doing more fun things. This is unbeta'd, all mistakes are mine. I own nothing of Ashes, it all belongs to the BBC and Kudos and such.
January 13th, 1983
Gene was lost in thought. Unconsciously, he stared at the desk which up until several months ago had been the workstation of his favourite officer. He remembered the day she had disappeared. Ray, Chris and him had immediately run out to Luigi's to look for evidence. After scouring the alley for hours, all they had found was a trail blood on the ground which Gene had concluded was Alex's, since the woman said she had been bleeding. The trail led into the street behind the Luigi's, and then disappeared. They had no leads, and no ransom demands. Alex Drake had simply disappeared.
The rest of CID came in quietly, immediately beginning their paperwork. The Guv had been in a horrible temper since DI Drake had disappeared. Shaz started passing out the mail. There was a package in the mail today, labelled in a tidy script for the Guv. It was too big to fit in his box, so Shaz approached the door and knocked.
The Guv looked up. "What?" he asked.
"You have a package, Guv, and it won't fit in your box..."
"Just leave it on me desk Shaz." He threw a dart at the dartboard, landing just below the bull's-eye. Shaz left it on his desk and retreated quietly to hers.
Gene finished his game of darts and looked at the package on his desk. He grabbed his knife and slit the tape open. He opened the box flaps.
"SHIT!" Everyone in CID looked up at the Guv. He was standing over the package, a look of revulsion, horror and pity on his face. The Guv looked up and noticed everyone staring at him.
"Chris, Ray, come in here," he said, his voice carefully calm. Chris and Ray looked at eachother nervously and walked in the office. Ray closed the door behind him.
"Put on some gloves and look through the box," the Guv said; his voice still controlled. He was already wearing a pair of gloves. Ray and Chris did as he said and opened the box.
"Flamin' Nora!" Ray exclaimed. Chris ran out of the room toward the men's, holding his mouth.
Ray pulled out a blouse covered in dirt and stained in blood. It was torn in several places. Next came a pair of pants, and undergarments in the same condition. Under that was a white leather jacket, also covered in dirt and blood. Jewelry and a broken watch fell out as Ray picked up the jacket. On the bottom of the box were a gun and a warrant card.
The Guv looked at Ray. He spoke, his voice horribly calm, hiding all emotion. "I think, given the evidence, we have to turn the case about the disappearance of DI Drake into a murder investigation."
TBC...