dumbblonde76 - i'm glad you updated. :D

My pleasure :0)

A Sparrow's Soul - I'm exhausted, so god damn tired, so im sorry if this lacks enthusiasum -guh cant spell- but i really did like this, really liked it.

" "Hey are you wearing lipstick?" If i was in that guys pos. I waoul either be scraed shitless, if i was Hanson i would be way beyond embarassment, but i love how you handled it. Very swave- again, tired- and funny too
"Tootsie?" Lol. That's a new one :D
Wow... I can't believe he lied to Doug either... whoa. And i believed that too...Unless this is another twist of yours:S
Wait...Sam didn't give Nikki the rocks, she took them unable to bare with the guilt of what the preist had done to her...
or have i fkd that i, far out, i need sleep.

Great chap,i enjoyed it and can't wait for more. Your humor keeps me smilin' XD

Hehehe bless you, you sound slightly drunk. I'm glad it makes you smile. Some people think my humor is a little strange ;0)

Winged Golden Tiger - Great chapter! I look forward to the angst!! Poor Hanson is soo good at it... I hope Mackenzie will try something with him, something more forceful than the last time. With that, the others would be able to jail this creep for good!
The bit with the lipstick was great, I could totally imagine Tom doing it!
Try to update soon!!

Aww poor Tommy's such an easy target isn't he. You'll have to wait and see ;0).

And thanks again to Ghostwriter xx

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"Hey I want to talk to you!" Doug yelled as he marched up to Sam Taylor

"Doug. What's up man?"

"I want you to tell me what happened the night Nikki died." he said through gritted teeth.

"You know you ask a lot of questions for someone who didn't even know she existed until a few days ago."

"I'm interested." Doug spat

"Why can't you just let it drop?" Sam said his anger rising. "You didn't even now her and it has nothing to do with you anyway."

"I did know her actually. She was Tammy's cousin and I think her family deserve to know how she died, don't you."

"They know how she died. She overdosed."

"I thought she wasn't a user."

"She wasn't. That's why she overdosed. She didn't know how much to take."

"Well why didn't you stop her?"

"I wasn't there, ok. I wish I had've been. She might still be here." he yelled.

"She was alone?" Doug asked softly

"As far as I know. I don't want to talk to you about this."

"Well you're going to."

"Why are you so interested?"

"I told you, I'm doing this for Tamara and Nikki's family. They should know."

"Cos they're cousins right?" Sam said sarcastically

"That's right"

"Funny, she never mentioned either of you" he replied glaring at the large officer.

"We're easily forgettable."

"Good. So as soon as you walk away you won't be a problem will you?"

"Oh I'm going to be a problem until I find out what happened to Nikki Stokely." Doug said as he pulled his badge out and showed it to the stunned young man in front of him.

"You're a cop!" he said stuck somewhere between panic, shock and amusement.

"I'm afraid so."

"You've been spying on me?"

"Kind of. I like to think of it as gathering intelligence."

"What, am I a suspect?"

"You got a guilty conscience?"

"You capable of answering a question without asking one?"

"Are you?" Doug said looking slightly uncomfortable.

"This is ridiculous. You can't be a cop."

"Well I am, and you are going to help me out here whether you like it or not."

"You gonna arrest me?"

"No. You're just going to tell me a few things a need to know".

"That depends on what you're asking doesn't it?"

"You said Nikki was alone the night she died."

"That's right."

"Well that's not necessarily true. You see forensics found signs of a struggle and sexual assault." Doug spat. Sam's face went pale and he looked like he was about to be sick. "So was she alone?"

"I wasn't there I've told you."

"Any idea who was?"

"No" he said sadly.

"How about how Nikki got the drugs?"

"She bought them."

"Really? That's weird because Carl Brookes says he never sold crack to Nikki. In fact, the last person he sold crack to was you on the day Nikki died.

"Well, he's lying. I wouldn't give her drugs."

"Funny. You see you gave the police his name as the guy who supplied Nikki with the drugs. So when were you telling the truth. Now or then?" Doug asked. He stood and watched as the teenager broke down, tears forming in his eyes.

"You gave her the drugs didn't you?" Doug asked softly. Sam simply nodded his head and sat down on the sidewalk.

"I didn't think she'd take all of them at once. She just wanted everything to go away. I was trying to help her."

"By giving her crack?"

"She asked me. She even gave me the money. Anyway after I bought them I changed my mind and I refused to let her have them. She must have taken them out of my pocket."

"Where did she get $2000 from?" Doug asked feeling like a Nazi pushing this poor kid who was obviously distraught.

"Father MacKenzie."

"He was the father of her baby wasn't he?" Sam nodded his head again before turning his face away from the young officer sat beside him.

"She wanted to get rid of it. I told her to talk to her parents and they'd sort everything out but she said they wouldn't understand. She said they were both so perfect and it would devastate them if they knew." Doug had to try hard not to laugh in disgust at this remark. If Nikki and Sam had known what he knew about Alison Stokely they would never have believed that for a second.

"You didn't once think that maybe your way wasn't such a good idea?"

"It was Nikki's idea. I know I'm not perfect, I do drugs and I drink and I screw up but I would never have suggested that to her, not even once. I loved her, I would never have wanted to hurt her."

"I believe you" Doug said earnestly. "So was she having a relationship with MacKenzie?"

"No!" Sam yelled. "You think she would want anything to do with him. A beautiful and loving girl like her with a disgusting pervert like him."

"Then how..."

"He raped her genius"

"Why haven't you told anyone?" Doug asked in disbelief.

"Come on. My word against his? Who would people believe?"

"Nikki isn't the first he's tried this with. Three other girls have made official complaints against him. We'd have believed you."

"Now you tell me" he said sadly

"Are you willing to testify against him?"

"What?"

"We can nail him but we need proof. If you testify we can put him away where he belongs."

"Whatever I can do to help." he said smiling weakly.

"How about Kelly, would she help us?"

"I'll talk her round."

"Then we've got a good chance. Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"Our captain has told us to get this guy so that's what we're gonna do."

"Oh my god. Your girlfriend, she's a cop too isn't she?"

"That's usually how it works, although my partners not actua..."

"Kelly was right. There was something weird about her."

"You could say that." Doug laughed.

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"Miss Heyward, there you are. I think we have to have a chat. clear up our misunderstanding" came Father Mackenzie's voice from behind as Hanson was scanning the campus for Emily Carter. He winced as he heard the voice. He had done such a good job of avoiding the principle for the past couple of days, but he supposed if they we're gonna get this guy he had to talk to him sometime.

"What might that be sir" Tom spat, unable to hide the contempt in his dark eyes. His man literally made his skin crawl.

"I hope you don't think what happened the other day is a regular occurrence."

"What, you save it for a select few? Am I supposed to be flattered? Nice to know you haven't tried it on with all your students"

"Now come on I hardly think…."

"How many?" 'Tamara' demanded

"I haven't"

"So I was mistaken, you don't hit on all your students?"

"No. I'm afraid it's been a difficult time recently and I don't seem to be myself."

"Well that's ok then. Groping your students in hallways is fine if you're under stress."

"You haven't mentioned this to anyone have you?"

"I might have. Have you met my boyfriend? Big guy and he can be quite possessive you know." Tom said relishing the panic on the priests face.

"It was a misunderstanding. Why don't we put this behind us and move on?"

"You keep your hands to yourself and we'll see. Now if you'll excuse me I have to get to class."

"Of course" he said, slightly nervous of how confident the 'young lady' seemed.

"Thank you" 'she' said and headed towards the school building.

As he walked up the stairs he saw Emily Carter watching him, obviously having witnessed the exchange between him and MacKenzie. So deciding to grab the opportunity while he could he made a show of running into the bathroom appearing as distressed as possible. As the door swung shut he caught a glimpse of Emily heading his way so he quickly splashed water on his face and ran into one of the stalls locking the door. Once inside he rubbed his eyes making them appear red and bloodshot, a trick he had learnt from his friend Russell when they were kids. He heard the door open and then a girl's voice calling out.

"Tamara? Are you ok?"

"I'm fine" he sobbed, "Please leave me alone."

"I saw you talking to Father MacKenzie, are you in trouble? Did he do anything to upset you?" This was met by desperate sobbing from behind the door.

"What did he do?" Emily asked sounding both concerned and panicked. "Come out please". Emily heard the sound of the lock sliding back and the door opened revealing the distressed young lady on the other side.

"Oh my god, what happened?" Emily asked seeing the state of her 'classmate'.

"He...he" Hanson stammered, apparently to traumatised to talk of 'her' ordeal.

"Did he try anything with you?" the young girl asked kindly as she put her arm around him. Hanson sobbed and nodded his head. "Just now?" Tom shook his head.

"The other day in the hallway" he managed to say through his very convincing tears. "He was just making sure I wasn't going to say anything" he said before resuming his wailing.

"You have to say something."

"Who would believe me" he said nearing hysterics now "I'd like to thank the academy, my parents.." he thought bitterly to himself.

"I believe you. Look this isn't the first time he's done this, we can stop him if enough of us come forward."

"He did it to you too?" Tom asked making a show of taking deep breaths to regain his composure.

"Yes, my cousin too, and Nikki."

"The girl who died?"

"Yes." she said coldly.

"What did he do?" he asked her wiping at the 'tears' on his face.

"What do you think he did? You must have heard the stories and he's tried it with you too."

"When?"

"Last year. I was in the school office waiting to use the photocopier for work I was doing on my college application." she began. "Just came up behind me, I could feel his breath on the back of my neck. He pinned me up against the wall, told me not to make a sound and put his hand up my skirt. When I tried to stop him he put his hands round my neck, I couldn't breathe and I couldn't stop him." she said quietly. Hanson stared at the dark-haired girl, her equally dark eyes showing no emotion. He couldn't believe how calm this girl was and was sickened by what she was telling him. This girl had been raped right here on the school campus. How could she stand to stay here? Was this how it happened with Nikki? He suddenly felt intense hatred for MacKenzie, also for himself and what he was doing here. Messing with these kids always made him feel like the Gestapo, but usually he was able to tell himself if was for the greater good. This time however it wouldn't wash and he felt totally ashamed.

"We can't keep this quiet, not this time. He'll just keep getting away with it." he said eventually studying the young girls face.

"You'll back me up? Really?"

Tom nodded his head. "I heard they left contact numbers for the police liaison officer with Sister Margarite in case anyone knows about Nikki. She could help." he said hopefully

"I've been to the police about this before but they didn't believe me."

"They will if all the others come forward like you said"

"But I'd have to tell them everything. I'd have to tell them how that disgusting pervert..." she said becoming distressed.

"Do you want him to get away with and go and do it to someone else?" he said quietly again pretending to wipe away distressed tears.

"No."

"Well then we have to tell someone"

Hanson studied the girl for a moment before sighing theatrically and getting to his feet.

"Ok then." Emily said, "I'll do it."

As they stepped out into the hall Sister Margarite was coming the other way and catching sight of the young girl with the tear streaked face and bloodshot eyes hurried over looking very concerned.

"Miss Heyward are you alright?"

"She'll be ok." Emily answered, "She's had some trouble with one of the staff and she's a bit upset."

"Father MacKenzie?" the nun asked.

"Yes" Emily said sadly.

"Oh dear, not again." Tom couldn't hide his shock as he heard this. Had the teachers known about Mackenzie's antics the entire time and done nothing about it?

"It's ok Tamara. Emily why don't you take her outside for some air and then when you come back in we can have a chat. Ok?" Hanson smiled weakly and allowed Emily to lead him out to the front of the building where they sat on the steps.

"Do they all know what he's doing?" Hanson asked in disbelief.

"They suspect, but they can't prove anything, they've tried. You see he could make life quite difficult for some of the people in there. But don't worry if enough of us come forward they'll have to listen."

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Doug and Sam had made their way over and were scanning the campus for any sign of Hanson. When they spotted him sat beside a very serious looking girl Doug said to Sam in hushed tones "They don't know about us here so keep it shut ok?"

"Ok. You can trust me."

"Thanks."

"I don't know how I fell for it."

"What"

"I should have known you could never pull a girl like that."

"I could if I wanted. She's been chasing after me since day one man"

"And you said no?"

"Hey, I'm a professional!" Doug said trying his best not to laugh

"Yeah well, cop or no cop I wouldn't say no."

"I'll remind you of that later." Doug said with a smile. They reached the bottom of the steps where Hanson and Emily were sitting and taking his cue from his partners tear streaked face he sprang into concerned boyfriend mode.

"Tammy what's wrong?" he said running up them.

"MacKenzie." he sniffed.

"Has he been hassling you again? I'll kill him!"

"No it's ok" Emily said as she jumped up and blocked his way. "There's better ways of sorting it out."

"You go back in Emily, I'll be ok now. We'll talk later I promise."

"As long as you're sure."

"I'm sure. Don't worry, we'll get him". he said, his eyes strangely intense. Emily nodded and after looking Doug over nervously she ran back inside.

"Jesus Doug, they all know what Mackenzie's been doing all this time. They've just been letting him get away with it." he said in hushed tones to his partner.

"You're kidding?"

"I wish I was. Even the teacher's have an idea what's been going on. They just don't have enough proof."

"What about her?" Doug said signalling towards Emily Carters retreating form.

"She seems pretty keen to testify again."

"Well we've got him this time. Sam here has just told me who the daddy is." he said.

"Hey, we're meant to be keeping this quiet."

"Don't worry, you know all about us don't you Sammy?" The boy nodded his head looking slightly pale and worried.

"So you..." Hanson began before he was interrupted by a voice from behind them.

"Well isn't this nice."

"Kelly. Where have you been?" Sam asked

"Could ask you the same thing. I was trying to call you all last night. I've been doing some snooping of my own actually, and I've come across something you might be interested in."

"Yeah?"

"Absolutely. So I'll do you a deal Tamara. I'll tell you about Nikki if you tell me about Tommy Hanson." Tom and Doug both went white as sheets as the young girl smiled up at them. Tom smiled nervously and groped desperately for an explanation.

"It's Tom actually" Hanson said through gritted teeth. "What do you want to know?"

"Well who is he? I'm slightly confused you see because Nikki's mom says he's her nephew, her sister's only child."

"He's my brother."

"She said he was an only child."

"She hasn't seen my mom for 20 years so how would she know?" he replied trying to sound bitter.

"Why do you have different last names?" Kelly asked smugly looking up into the face of the young officer.

"Ever heard of adoption?" Hanson asked sarcastically

"So your step dad didn't want to adopt Tommy?"

"Tom was old enough to tell them where to stick their adoption, I wasn't and didn't get a choice."

"Wow you're really good!" she said grinning, "How are you going to explain the Adams apple Tommy?"

"Swollen glands?" Tom said uncertainly

"His mom's from Russia" Doug quickly chimed in. "You know all those steroids they made the Olympic team take? Well there are certain side effects."

"Please don't talk about my mom like that. It wasn't her fault" Hanson replied. Kelly burst into hysterics while Sam stood watching all this in confused silence.

"You guys are amazing" Kelly said as she regained her composure.

"Thanks" Doug said with a smile.

"I don't think it was a compliment Doug" Tom said, still speaking in a higher voice trying to keep up the pretence.

"I thought she liked me."

"Don't bet on it. She actually called you an ape."

"That hurts. I'm quite sensitive you know."

"You!" Tom burst out laughing unaware that he had let his voice slip back to normal. "You're about as sensitive as recycled toilet paper!" Sam's mouth hit the ground and he looked dumb struck as he listened to the two police officers.

"Firstly, please don't call me an ape" Doug said, "And secondly, that wasn't very nice Thomas."

"You're a guy!?" Sam blurted out looking at Hanson.

"Of course he's a guy" Kelly said impatiently before reaching out and snatching away Hanson's wig. "Why don't you tell him why you're here Tommy?"

"Ok, you may want to wait till he loses the nails before you call him that again. He'll scratch your eyes right out!" Doug advised.

"I know why they're here" Sam said quietly.

"How long have you known?" Kelly asked angrily

"I only told him 20 minutes ago. Back off him". Doug said noticing how ill Sam looked all of a sudden.

"Get over here both of you" Tom said angrily stuffing his wig back on his head and dragging the teenagers round the corner, Doug following behind.

"So" he said, "Now you know, what are you going to do? You know it's a serious offence to interfere in an ongoing police investigation."

"What do you take me for? Nikki was my best friend, why would I want to stop you punishing who did this to her."

"I was hoping you'd say that." Tom said with a slight smile.

"What can we do to help?"

"Would you be willing to testify against MacKenzie?"

"I didn't see anything. All I know is what Nikki told me."

"That he was her baby's father?" Tom asked. She nodded her head. "We're they together?"

"No!" Sam spat angrily.

"Sorry, I had to ask." Tom said softly. "Did he rape her?"

"What do you think?" he replied angrily.

"I thought you'd already told the police." Kelly said shocked as she rounded on her friend.

"I couldn't."

"Why? That's what we agreed. You said you would tell them."

"They would never have believed me!"

"That's a pathetic excuse!" she yelled.

"Hey!" Doug yelled. "It's ok. We know now."

"What happened" Tom asked, his eyes urgent and intense.

"He was obsessed with her." Kelly began. "It started off just talking to her when he saw he around school. Her mom had been ill for a while and her dad was always away working, she just needed someone to talk to. She should have been able to trust him right?"

"Yeah she should" Tom said.

"Anyway, he told her if she needed to talk she could go to one of bible group meetings. She didn't want to go alone so we went along with her. The first few times were fine, but then he started hugging her and touching her and it made her really uncomfortable. We heard people talking about what he was meant to have done to Emily but we didn't really believe it until it was too late. He asked her to go into office one day, after she didn't come back for a while sister sent me to check on her. When I got into the hallway she was on the floor in tears shaking."

"He raped her in his office?" Doug asked in shock.

Kelly nodded. "When she tried to stop him he beat her."

"No one noticed any bruises?" Tom asked

"No. He's careful not to bruise where it will show." Sam said bitterly.

"After she found out she was pregnant she told him that if he didn't give her money for an abortion she was going to tell the police everything. He was frightened you see anymore complaints against him might be a bit suspicious. He hassled her for weeks afterwards. Pulling her out of classes begging her to give him a chance, telling her he loved her and they could be a family. Anyway, he gave up in the end and gave her money"

"That will be the ten grand" Doug said to Tom

"Yeah" he sighed "Would you both be willing to tell the courts what you know?"

"Whatever it takes so he gets what's coming to him." Kelly said intensely.

"Did he kill her?" Doug asked

"We don't know." Sam replied still looking like he'd seen a ghost.

"What we're you two arguing about in his office?" Hanson asked.

"I was telling him I was going to tell the police about him getting Nikki pregnant and what he did to the other girls."

"Anything else? You seemed pretty upset."

"He was just pointing out that no one would believe me, just like they didn't believe the others."

"We believe you" Tom said seriously.

"Thanks." then she said "So you really are Nikki's cousin?" Tom nodded. "Shame" she said sadly.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. We could have come to you at the beginning."

"He should never have been allowed to get away with this for so long." Doug said bitterly.

"So, what happens now? Are you going to arrest him?"

"Now we try and catch him in the act" Doug said with a smile.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked

"Well he's taken quite a shine to my girl here" Penhall said placing his arm round his partner's shoulders.

"You're kidding. He didn't..." Kelly began. Hanson grimaced and nodded his head. "Well you make quite a convincing girl." she said smiling. "Just one thing though?"

"What?"

"How did no one notice the big lump in your throat?" Kelly asked smiling slightly. Hanson opened his mouth to reply but stopped before he even got a word out.

"Actually, I had wondered about that" Doug said thoughtfully.

"Yeah me too" Hanson said turning to look at him. "Kind of convenient wasn't it?"

"So we get you dressed up all pretty again and check out one of these bible bashes huh?"

"I know just the person who can get us in" Tom said smiling as he saw Helen and her friends headed out of the building, classes seemingly finished for the afternoon.

"Oh my god" Sam said suddenly looking even paler.

"What?" Tom asked a worried expression on his face.

"What is she doing here?"

"Who?"

"It's Nikki's mom!"