Chapter Four

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Alex fumed in the stationery cupboard for almost an hour before Gene arrived to let her out.

'Sorry' he said, 'Got tied up with a phone call.'

'Sorry?' her voice was dangerously quiet, 'Sorry's nowhere near good enough.' she pushed past him and began walking down the corridor with as much dignity as she could scrape together.

'Love the way your arse twitches when you're cross.' Gene called.

Alex stopped dead, turned on her heel and headed back to him, not stopping until she was right in front of him.

'Well it does' he smiled, 'sorry'

Up came her fist, making contact with his chin. God it hurt her hand, but the satisfaction was incredible; watching him stagger and only just manage to keep on his feet, she moved closer to him as his hand flew to his chin to protect it, 'You don't come near me, you don't speak to me, you don't look at me.' she yelled, poking at his chest , 'As far as I'm concerned you are persona non grata.'

His face set, 'You can't go around hitting people Bolls.'

'You're right, I can't' she said furiously, 'And I won't be anymore, because you'll never give me reason to- keep away from me! Understand?' and then she turned and sped up the corridor to the incident room, grabbed her coat, and stormed out of the station and back to her flat, where she poured a large glass of wine and ran a deep foamy bath.

An hour or so later, feeling human again, she rang Chessie.

'Don't worry about setting me up with that escort' she said, 'There's no need anymore, I've decided to become frigid after all.'

Chessie laughed, 'You can't become frigid . You either are or you ain't'

'I can after today.' Alex said, she could feel the waves of disapproval coming down the phone line.

'What happened?' Chessie asked wearily, 'You shagged 'im again didn't yer?'

'Er- sort of.' Alex admitted.

'Hang on!' Chessie squealed, 'God I'm slow on the old uptake with this one, I've just realised who it is- it's that DCI of yours.'

'It's not.' Alex replied quickly.

'Well, I think it is' Chessie laughed, 'But it's none of my business, can't say I'd blame you though, and he looks like he could be very persuasive and determined.'

'It's not him.' Alex insisted, 'but it doesn't matter who it is anymore, because I'm through with men full stop.'

'You eaten?' asked Chessie.

'Sorry?' Alex replied.

'I'm having one of my famous sausage suppers tonight. Come.' invited Chessie.

'Sausage suppers?' Alex whimpered, wondering about hidden meanings, was it a euphemism for some debauched sexual pastime that she hadn't heard of, 'What do you mean?'

'Well -it's a sausage supper, we sit around a table and eat sausages and mash,' Chessie explained carefully, 'have a few drinks and a chat- then there's a boring bit you probably won't like but you don't have to stay for it if you don't want to.'

'Boring bit?' Alex asked.

'Book group.' Chessie said.

'Right' Alex replied uncertainly.

'Knew that bit would put you off.' Chessie said, 'Like I said, you don't have to stay for it.'

'Is there a dress code?' Alex asked.

Chessie laughed, 'Dress code? Comfy as possible I guess.'

'Ok, thanks.' Alex said, she needed to get away from bloody coppers for a bit, one bloody copper in particular.

She had dressed in her comfiest leggings and a sloppy jumper and was about to call a taxi when the phone rang.

'Bolls' Gene said.

'Piss off.' she slammed the phone down.

It rang again, she picked it up and put it down, cutting him off, and then picked it up to call a taxi, the taxi firm promised to have a car there in ten minutes. She felt torn and wondered if she was doing the right thing. Her mother had always told her never to pre-judge anyone, and she knew she needed to make friends outside of work, but a Madam? Was that going a little too far?

There was a knock on the door after a few minutes, surely the taxi driver hadn't arrived already, and if he had he would just slam his hand on the hooter. She opened the door and there stood Gene.

'Look' he began.

She rammed her keys into her pocket and pushed past him, ignoring him. She would wait for the taxi in the street.

'Coming down for a drink?' he asked, trailing her. 'I owe you a large one.'

She could smell him, and already he was affecting her, like a human magnet, drawing her to him; she was breathless, her legs unsteady, this damn stupid unfathomable addiction, attraction, why did it have to be him? Why couldn't it be chocolate?

As they reached the entrance to Luigi's he turned to go down the steps, and then realised she was heading into the street, so doubled back after her.

'Where are you going?' he asked.

She ignored him.

'Christ Sake!' he said crossly, 'I'm sorry, I've told you- what the hell do I have to do?'

'Keep away from me!' she hissed.

The taxi appeared, and she put her hand up.

'Where are you going ? Can I come?' he touched her arm and she shrugged him off .

'Leave-me-alone!' she said, getting into the taxi, and almost slamming his hand in the door.

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The taxi dropped her at a shabby looking Victorian terrace house with huge pots of lilies lining the path to the flaking green painted front door. She pulled on the old fashioned doorbell and a few seconds later a pale and not very interesting girl with scrappy blonde hair opened the door.

She was relieved to smell sausages as she walked in; not a ruse to get her to an orgy then, she thought, berating herself for her preconceptions .

Chessie was in the large warm spicy smelling kitchen, pulling dishes from an oven, dressed in torn faded jeans and a baggy sweatshirt, with her hair washed and air dried, no make-up, and flip-flops on her feet, she was almost unrecognisable as the woman Alex had interviewed.

A mix of people were chatting and laughing at the table.

'This is Alex' Chessie waved a spatula about, 'Budge up and let 'er sit down.'

'Hi Alex!' they chorused, making room for her.

'Bloody starving' said a beautiful west Indian boy with deep brown slanting eyes, 'So what do you do Alex?'

Alex hesitated, 'I work for the Met.' she said.

'She's a Detective Inspector' Chessie informed the group.

There was a mixed reaction, but Alex was used to it, a few of the women scowled, most of the others smiled, and a couple of people seemed to find it hilarious.

'High court judge next Chesty?' giggled a plump man in a hideous brown nylon track suit.

'If I like someone I invite them' Chessie plonked a dish of sausages on the table and deftly poured Alex a glass of red wine, 'Don't have a fuckin' list Jake.'

'So you must be the one that got away?' said an incredibly good looking man at the far end of the table.

Alex peered at him; jet black hair and emerald green eyes, impeccably groomed, white linen shirt. 'Sorry?'

'I'm Damien Dark.' he smiled.

Oh goodness thought Alex, he was nothing like she had expected. She didn't know quite what she had expected, some flashy yuppie type dripping thick gold jewellery maybe. She raised her glass of wine, 'Pleased to meet you.'

He raised his glass back to her, 'Likewise.'

It was midnight before she knew it, she had stayed for the book group even though she hadn't really participated. She had read the book they were discussing, 'Our Spoons came from Woolworths' but couldn't remember much about it. While Chessie and her friends furiously debated the novel, Alex was curled up comfortably on a huge squashy sofa chatting to Damien.

'So you're completely off men- full stop?' he asked after a while.

'I always make a bee-line for the WRONG one' she said, 'Why? Why do I always fall for utter bastards?'

'Well you're the psychologist, you tell me' Damien smiled, getting up and pouring her more coffee.

'See, you get it right first time' Alex said, 'You show enough interest in me as a person to know it's psychology not psychiatry - so why can't he!'

'You wanna know what I think?' Damien asked, his eyes twinkling merrily, 'I think you've got him bad.'

'I haven't got him at all.' Alex said, 'He's messing about with another woman.'

'Look' Damien said, 'I like you Alex, so I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll give you a freebie- no- don't look like that- I mean a free escort- we'll go to his usual hang out, do you know where that is?'

'Yes of course.' Alex looked unsure, 'But I don't know if…'

'I can soon tell you' Damien said, 'I'm an old hand at this stuff, but until I see his reaction to you with me, I can't help you.'

Alex nodded, 'Ok'

'Good- that's settled then' he whipped out a diary that looked filled to bursting point, 'Had a cancellation Friday evening, how about then?'

Alex nodded.

'He must be cracked in the head to be messing about with another woman.' Damien said kindly.

'She looks like bloody Joanna Lumley.' Alex said.

'Still think there's something wrong with him to be pissing you about.' Damien said.

'Yes there is something wrong with him' Alex replied, 'there's everything wrong with him.'

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The atmosphere in CID for the rest of the week was frosty to say the least. Gene shouted more than ever, Alex rolled her eyes every five seconds, and Shaz, Chris and Ray were caught in the crossfire. But Gene did as he was asked and kept away from her. It was as if they working on separate teams.

Only once did she catch him gazing at her, and he looked away rapidly, but not before she had seen the bewilderment in his eyes. She felt lost in an alien world, and wished she was back in 2008. It only dawned on her, as she spent her free time alone in her flat, just how much those evenings drinking and chatting in Luigi's with Gene kept her sane. She missed him; not just the sex, but the other stuff too, the chewing over of the day's events, the times when their two heads put together over a glass of house rubbish would come up with answers and solve stuff they probably never would have otherwise. He had seemed to spend an awful lot of time on the phone that week, and looked mightily stressed, and sometimes he grabbed his coat and flew out of the incident room, not even taking Ray or Chris with him, and deep down it hurt not to hear him yelling 'Drake!' and expecting her to be at his heels like an eager puppy.

When Friday evening arrived she had severe doubts that she was doing the right thing taking Damien into Luigi's to eat, but he had reserved a table for nine o'clock, taking it out of her hands. Her only hope that Gene wouldn't be there, or maybe he would be there with the Joanna lookalike , or maybe…she tried to stop all the thoughts whizzing around her tired brain, and dressed conservatively in a navy blue dress with matching shoes.

Damien arrived at her flat at 8.30, looking dashing and understated in an expensive dark grey suit, and a cornflower blue shirt, open at the neck.

'You look gorgeous' he said. 'Chessie's given me no end of instructions, you'd think I'd never done this before.' he thought for a bit, 'Come to think of it, I've never given anyone a freebie before.'

'I'll pay for the meal.' Alex said immediately.

He shook his head, 'No- I want to feel like an unkept man for once.'

'Drink?' she said nervously.

'Thanks' he nodded as she held up a bottle of vodka, and moved nearer to her, noticing her hand shake as she sloshed some tonic into the glass on top of the vodka, 'Don't drown it honey.'

'Sorry, didn't want to be legless before we even get down there.' she gabbled.

'So- who is he? Who do I have to keep my eye on?' he said.

She hung her head, 'He's my DCI.'

'Chessie was convinced that's who it was.' Damien said gently, 'I hate it when that woman's always right.'

'Please don't tell her.' begged Alex.

'Promise I won't, it's your business, no-one else's ' Damien replied. 'So what does he look like?'

'Tall, dark blond hair, a bit overweight , world weary, you'll know him when you see him, he's usually at a table in the corner, smoking and brooding.' Alex said.

'Sounds delightful.' Damien laughed.

'Hmm' Alex looked terrified, 'he'll know what we're doing, he's not stupid.'

'I'm very convincing.' Damien said, 'And with you I won't be pretending either.'

As they entered Luigi's she felt as shy as she did the on first day after putting on the second hand clothes Shaz had given her.

Luigi greeted them over-excitedly, and rushed them to a prominent table. 'The most beautiful signorina !- Bella! Bella!' he said to her, his eyes out on stalks at Damien.

They sat down and ordered champagne cocktails, Damien leaned forward looking into her eyes and grabbing her hand, 'Intense interest at one o'clock' he told her, 'He looks absolutely furious.'

'Bulldog chewing a wasp?' Alex asked, 'that's his normal look.'

Damien grinned and spoke through a barely open mouth, 'Right we speak of him no more- he may lip read.'

.

Gene wasn't surprised that Bolly had a new man in tow. He was surprised she felt the need to bring him to Luigi's, but the thought that she may be trying to provoke a jealous reaction didn't even occur to him. He had known right from the first day when he had pulled the stunt with the WPC's uniform that he was on borrowed time. A woman like her and a man like him? No- no way. But when he had tasted a little, he had to have more, and had gotten greedy, tried to gorge himself, make the most of it, leaping on her at every available opportunity. Except there hadn't been enough opportunities, not nearly enough for his ravenous appetite; but three times, that was three times more than he'd ever hoped for or expected. It had been fantastic too, until he had locked her in that damned stationery cupboard, and bloody Felicity had rung again, preventing him from getting back to Bolly in decent time and letting her out. He felt an empty coldness in the pit of his stomach. He should have done that! Taken her out, wined and dined her, ordered champagne cocktails and casually grabbed her hand and looked into her eyes- but no- the best, the very best he could come up with was Love the way your arse twitches when you're cross. He was useless, totally, shittily useless.

He waved an arm at Luigi and the little Italian scuttled over with another large scotch, 'The signorina is falling on her feet tonight.' he told Gene excitedly 'A perfect match! She is radiant - so 'appy!'

Gene took a drag on his cigarette, exhaled thoughtfully, and nodded, 'Yeah, you're right there, Luigi, she is very bloody 'appy.'

'And you are always missing the boat' Luigi, as usual not knowing when to stop twisting the knife, lectured, 'You could 'ave been there, at that table, looking into those shining eyes….'

'Put a ruddy bloody sock in it for Christ's Sake!' Gene grunted, downing his Scotch and standing up.

'Where you go?' Luigi saw too late the profit on several double Scotches vanishing into thin air and panicked.

'I go home' Gene said quietly.

oxxo