Thank God she'd remembered to set her alarm last night as she was tired enough that she would have more than likely slept in otherwise. It was almost a battle to get out of bed and she groaned when she realised she'd forgotten to put her pyjama bottoms on before she'd crawled into bed. She'd only had the one glass but she had been tired enough and uptight enough that she'd forgotten completely. To top it off, she could feel a low grade headache starting.
No doubt it was from the lack of proper sleep, too much stress and too much coffee so there was nothing she could do just now apart from take a couple of paracetamol with her toast.
She was already out the door when her phone beeped it's reminder to phone Susie. She called on her headset as she drove to work in a light drizzle.
It wasn't until Susie answered half asleep that she remembered that she had only just graduated and would be having a lie in.
"Sorry, Susie, I completely forgot you'd still be asleep."
"S'alright, just give me a sec." She could hear rustling on the other end. "I'm awake now. How is he? Dad didn't say much."
This was the part she was dreading, the part where she couldn't just pretend it was an ordinary case. "He's stable just now, but the attack was," she wasn't sure what the best word to use. "Bad," which sounded weak even as she said it but Susie seemed to understand anyway.
"How's the case going?"
She sighed. "As of last night, not brilliant. I'm just on my way in."
"Are you all right?" Susie sounded concerned.
She tried to wave it off. "Just too much coffee, not enough sleep. I'll be fine once it's over." And it was true, assuming Burke woke up and recovered, she probably would be. If they managed to catch the bastard anyway. She tried not to think like that and changed the subject deliberately.
"Enjoying your last weeks of freedom?"
Susie groaned but went with it anyway. "I've only just finished with uni."
"Well you can't say you didn't know what you were getting into." She managed a small chuckle.
"Aye, aye." Susie sighed as the traffic light turned green and Jackie started off again. "I'm going to go back to sleep so go and get whoever eh? Just mind and eat something."
"Yes, Mum."
Susie laughed. "Love you."
"Love you too."
She hung up and immediately dialled the ward. By the nurse's barely hidden exasperation, she wasn't the first to phone that morning. They really should have organised a rota. It was a relief to hear that while he was still unconscious, he had been stable overnight. She hung up just as she managed to get parked not too far from the station.
She checked her watch as she stopped off at her desk. It was still a little too early to call the Met's records division so she went in search of her second cup of coffee of the day.
Robbie was already there when she walked into the small kitchen and he looked even worse than she did, though he didn't smell of alcohol when she brushed past him to get to the kettle.
He nodded a greeting over the brim of his own coffee cup. She slouched beside him as she waited for the kettle to boil. The silence was comfortable, and tired. She didn't have to wait long for the kettle to click off and she let her coffee cool for a minute to avoid scalding her tongue again like she had already done this morning.
"I take it you phoned the hospital as well?"
She turned her head to look at him and smiled slightly. "Yeah. Think the nurses are getting sick of us. You'll need to work you're charm on them."
He snorted. "Think I left it at home this morning." He gave a wry smile and took another sip of his coffee.
She knew that was as close as he would come to admitting how bad things had been for him last night unless she pushed but it wasn't worth the fallout, not when she could see it in the way he stood.
She blew across her cup then tried the coffee. Still a touch too hot but the heat was nice in her hands. "Did I tell you Susie got into the graduate scheme?"
Robbie turned. "No," He smiled. "That's brilliant. Taking after her favourite aunt after all."
It was her turn to snort. "Yeah. Though she's developed my timing as well." She could feel the question Robbie didn't ask. "She announced it at her party."
She could feel Robbie wince beside her. "I take it it didn't go well for you?"
"I got the evil eye for the rest of the night."
Robbie chuckled and it was a relief to hear the genuine tone of it.
She managed a sip now that her coffee was cool enough and she glanced at her watch again.
"C'mon. Records should be open."
It took a while on hold to get through, it seemed the world and its mother was trying to get records at the same time. She finally slammed the phone down.
Robbie looked at her questioningly.
"They're not going to send all his records up for the cases he worked there, apparently it would take too long and be against procedure." She blew out a breath and forced her shoulders to relax. "They did give me the last known contact details for his former sergeant to help narrow things down. We're welcome to phone back then." The last was said in a fake polite tone.
Robbie held out his hand. "I'll phone."
She nodded and handed over the number. She drained the last of her coffee as Robbie dialled and she watched him as she tried to let her frustration die away.
He looked rougher than yesterday, clearly hadn't slept, but he was wearing fresh clothes and didn't smell particularly suspicious. She hated thinking that way but as worried as she was about Burke, she was worried about Robbie.
She jolted out of her thoughts when he put the phone down.
"Answering machine, but at least it's the right number." He looked as disappointed as she felt. She felt deflated, she hadn't realised quite how much she had pinned her hopes on getting the information quickly and pushing the case forward.
She resisted the urge to slump, barely, and put her hand on her phone. "I'll check what Duncan's found," she didn't get any further as CS Campbell walked into the office. The room suddenly became quieter as everyone went on their best behaviour. It was automatic when one of the top corridor came downstairs, even if they weren't doing anything they weren't supposed to.
It was a surprise to see her down here quite so early, especially on a Sunday, but given the rumours going around about the new force, she probably didn't have much spare time.
"Inspector Reid, a word." Jackie jumped up from her desk, and it felt like she was a school kid again, being called to the Rector's office. She shared a look with Robbie before she followed Campbell into Burke's office. She could feel the stares of half the office at her back as she closed the door.
Campbell was still standing, obviously keeping the meeting formal. "What's the progress so far?"
Jackie took a deep breath and tried to put a brave face on things. "Door to door and CCTV searches are still on going but have yielded nothing yet. We might have a lead though from one of Burke's cases from London." Campbell raised an eyebrow and Jackie carried on.
"One of the bruises is a fairly uniform hand-print. We worked a case a couple of years ago where Burke remembered seeing the same in a case down in London. We're trying to get the records now."
Campbell looked sceptical. "Is that the best lead?"
Jackie nodded reluctantly. "Given the severity, the attack seems personal. We're going through his files since he moved back to see if anyone was released recently that would have a motive for attacking him but nothing so far."
"And given his family is the Job," Campbell trailed off, and then nodded. "All right. Too early for forensics yet?"
Jackie nodded again. "We're just about to check if there are any preliminary results back yet."
Campbell nodded again and perched herself on the desk. She folded her hands in her lap. "And how are you and Robbie coping?"
Jackie wasn't surprised at the question, not after yesterday's meeting anyway. "We're a bit stressed, Ma'am, but we're coping."
"Really?" Campbell gave her a pointed look. "I heard there was a bit of a stooshie last night."
Jackie managed not to sigh. "Just a bit of frustration at the lack of progress bubbling over. We've had much worse." She managed a tight smile, maybe they had had worse fights in the past in the office, but the words certainly hadn't been as personal.
Campbell looked at her for a long minute. "All right, Jackie." She stood up. ""But I'll be keeping my ears open." Campbell walked back to the door, and just as she was about to turn the handle, she paused and looked back at Jackie. "Be careful." Her tone was the most sympathetic it had been but the trace quickly vanished as Campbell walked into the main office again. "I want a progress report on my desk by the end of the day."
Jackie nodded as she shut the door to Burke's office behind her. Campbell strode off out into the corridor and the noise level in the office jumped again.
She sat back down at her desk and Robbie looked at her.
"What was that all about?"
"She wanted a progress report and to check that we weren't going to go off the deep end."
Robbie groaned.
"Yeah, she heard we had a stooshie last night." Robbie looked guilty at that.
In true Robbie fashion, he moved on. "Checked on the door to door results again, still nothing."
She nodded. "I'll see if I can get Duncan this time."
She picked up the phone for what felt like the umpteenth time this morning and dialled the lab.
Duncan answered on the third ring. "Jackie, I was just about to call you."
"Good news then?"
"Unfortunately not. The blood typing results so far show that all the blood has the same type as Burke's."
"And DNA?"
Duncan gave a small laugh. "You know better than that."
"Aye, well I can live in hope."
"Well, the first results should start coming in tomorrow so there might be more luck then."
"Yeah, yeah."
"I hate to be the bearer of more bad news but," He hesitated.
"Go on, I'm not going to bite."
She heard him give a huff of laughter. "I've looked at the hairs under the microscope and they are all consistent with Burke's. I expect DNA will confirm that in a couple of days time."
"Damn. What about prints?"
"Well that's the trifecta. According to the expect, the ones analysed so far are also Burke's, though there are quite a few glove prints as well, so it doesn't appear hopeful to get a finger print I.D."
She sighed. "All right."
"How is he?"
"Stable, that's what the nurses keep saying."
"Well, he has got a hard head."
She managed a snort of laughter. "Aye, he has. Thanks, Duncan."
"I'll phone you once more of the results are in."
She slammed the phone down with more force than necessary and Robbie looked up from his paperwork.
"Not good then?"
She shook her head. "Everything so far is consistent with Burke. Whoever it was seems to have a good idea about forensics."
Robbie nodded. "Fits with the assumption that it was someone Burke put away."
"And that they planned it. Not just a spur of the moment thing." She looked at her desk then smiled. "When did you become the optimistic one?"
He smiled.
The bounce in their mood didn't last long. They got bogged down in paperwork, checking seemingly endless dead ends and after one snipe too many, she found herself heading towards the kitchen in search of her fourth cup of coffee.
She was staring out the window, it had turned into a lovely sunny day outside, and trying to let go of her frustration before she went back to her desk. She nearly jumped when Robbie appeared beside her.
"I'm sorry," He started.
"I know." She cut him off. "I am too. Just bloody sick of apologising."
That came out the wrong way. She closed her eyes for a second to avoid looking at him. "I mean I'm sick of being so wound up that we're just," she shrugged.
"Aye." He knew what she meant anyway.
She sighed and looked at the coffee cup. She was rapidly approaching the stage in the investigation where she was sick of the sight of coffee. She heard bells in the distance and realised that it was lunchtime. The lack of food probably wasn't helping matters.
"Come on, we'll go and grab a sandwich. I'm sure the sun will do us the world of good."
He snorted. "I think it's going to take more than a bit of sunshine."
She bit her cheek to avoid starting another word match and rinsed her cup out. "I'll just go and grab my purse."
She didn't wait to see if he followed.
In the end he joined her and they managed twenty whole minutes without a cross word.
She arrived back at her desk and looked at the clock. She really should pop in and see Mita, even if it was just to remind her that they hadn't forgotten about her.
"Ma'am?" She turned around to discover Alan Turner, the newest DC, smiling at her.
"Good news I hope." His happiness was contagious, though it dimmed a little when he next spoke.
"Not about the DCI's case, Ma'am, but I've just had a phone call from Lizzie Jones about her boyfriend's alibi for the last two burglaries."
"Oh?"
"It's seems they've broken up now and she doesn't want to risk him getting custody of the kids."
"Charming." She grabbed her handbag. "Right, let's interview her again then."
"You're heading out?" Robbie spoke up.
"The only reason Campbell is keeping us on the case is that we said we would keep up with our case load. Have you heard back from his sergeant yet?"
"No,"
"Well then, I might as well wrap up another case while you wade through what we've got so far." She looked at him, daring him to challenge that.
He sat down with a sour look on his face.
She took that as acceptance and left.
"Oh, and would you check how the fingertip search is going?"
She didn't have to turn around to see the glower on his face.
She let Alan hand the idiot over to the custody sergeant. She almost wanted to do it herself, but it would be such a break from the norm that she didn't want to run the gamut of looks, or the well meaning sympathy and questions about Burke's case. She left a final instruction to Alan, "Let me know when his brief arrives and I'll keep an eye on the interview," and headed back to the office.
Robbie wasn't any happier when she walked back into the office. She found him staring at the crime scene photos again.
"Any luck?"
"Broke his alibi and found him with one of the TV's. Alan's getting him booked now."
Robbie snorted. "How the heck did he manage to stay at it for so long?"
That got her back up. "I knew it was him, just didn't have the evidence till now."
Robbie sagged. "Aye, those are the worst." The fight seemed to out of him worryingly fast and they stood in silence.
"Any word from London?" She broke it when it began to drag on.
He shook his head. "Tried him again, just got his voice mail again."
"These folk that have lives outside the Job." She tried to lighten the atmosphere, though it fell flat. Robbie looked at his watch.
"Mita's not phoned yet but we'd better go check on her."
"I think the walls are just driving you crazy."
He snorted. "You think?"
"Well you can go for the next proper coffee run."
"Oh, thanks," He pulled a face but he wasn't frowning quite so much as they walked out the office.
They winced at the comparative darkness of the room Mita was watching the CCTV footage.
"Your eyes not gone square yet?"
She elbowed Robbie. "Ignore him, he's just grumpy." She aimed at Mita.
Robbie shot a growl at her but she was used to it by now and she didn't bother to hide her smile as she checked over Mita. She looked a little drawn, not surprising given she'd been staring at the screen for several hours now. She knew that Mita was sensible enough to take breaks so she didn't push things.
"What have you got so far?"
Mita handed her a pile of print outs. "Well, I've just got the latest set of camera results but they don't seem too promising at the moment. Those are cars and persons of interest who seem to be in the right area at the right time." She glanced at the photos. "I've got someone checking up on the cars and I have a couple of PC's going through the rest of the local camera's trying to figure out where the foot traffic is heading from. Not a lot to go on at the moment." Mita stood and stretched.
"It's better than nothing. We might just get lucky." Robbie spoke, obviously in one of his optimistic moods again.
She looked back at Mita. "You're in court tomorrow."
Mita nodded. "Case called at noon."
"Okay, make sure you go home on time, get a good night's sleep."
"I can stay here a lot later."
Jackie looked straight at Mita. "You'll need a good nights sleep and time to catch up on your notes. The last thing you need is to be squared eyed from CCTV."
Mita looked like she was going to argue further so she asked, "It's the Mullen case isn't it?"
Mita nodded. "Blackadder is a hell of a brief, you'll need to be on top of your game so he doesn't trick you. Besides, I'm pretty sure the Boss would rather you put some wee ned away, rather than numb your head on footage." She softened it with a smile and Mita nodded and relaxed slightly.
"I suppose he would."
She thanked her for the photos and Mita sat down again. Taking that as her cue, she followed Robbie back out.
She paused outside the door, and bit her lip. "You don't think I was too rough on her?"
Robbie looked at her like she was daft. "You would have said the same thing six months ago when you were still a sergeant." He looked closer at her and sighed. "You've nothing to be worried about. You're not exactly Burke-like with the dressing downs are you?"
She started walking again. "I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not."
Robbie laughed. "Well, it could be worse, you could be taking management lessons from me."
She chuckled. "Ach, you're not that bad." She paused. "When you're following the rules anyway."
He grinned. "Trust you to add that."
"I've known you too long to say otherwise." She said wryly.
"Smart Alec. I've still got seniority." He swaggered.
She was tempted to say something about the lengths of their clean records but she stopped herself in time. That would be taking the banter too far, and she was enjoying the brief respite from sniping at each other.
She was saved by her phone beeping.
"It's a message from Stuart." She opened it as Robbie opened the door and held it for her. "He's asking how the Boss is." She followed Robbie into the office as she replied.
"He say anything else?"
She shook her head. "It sounded like things were pretty hectic on his end when we spoke yesterday." She didn't mention when exactly she had spoken to him in case she stirred up some more resentment about last night, and Robbie seemed to pick up on that.
He didn't have a chance to say anything though, as his phone started to ring. She could hear him mutter underneath his breath as he rushed to get it.
His face changed though when he answered it and he hurriedly jotted down notes. It was her turn to twiddle her thumbs and wait for answers. She was sorely tempted to lean across and hit the speaker-phone button, but the office was just too noisy for that to be feasible. When it was clear he was on the phone for the duration, she got up and made them another cup of coffee.
She decided she was utterly sick of the stuff for now and rummaged in the cupboards for a couple of teabags.
He was still on the phone when she returned. She checked her own messages while she waited.
He was smiling when he put the phone down. "That was Burke's sergeant down in London. He checked his personal records before he got back to us, that's why there was the delay."
"And?" She couldn't believe he was going to make her wait. He grinned again.
"There definitely was a spate of the same injuries in the first half of ninety seven. He can't be more specific than that because they worked about four or five cases with the same print. It should be on computer file so it shouldn't be too difficult to get ahold of copies."
She tried not to let her hopes rise too much but she couldn't help the smile that crossed her face. He handed the notepad to her.
"You phone records," He glanced at his watch, "they should still be open, and I'll get someone to organise some food."
She shook her head at him, still smiling, and picked up the phone.
The Met's record department were only slightly less grumpy now she had more specific dates for case files, and they grudgingly promised they would send electronic copies before close of business for them in an hour. She managed to finagle a promise that once they had an arrest warrant, they would send the entire physical file of the case they were after, including any evidence still left.
Of course, Robbie found her frustration funny. He shoved a bar of chocolate in her direction in apology and gave her one of his trademark charming grins.
She rolled her eyes and picked up her mobile as it beeped.
"The idiot's brief is here. Right, I'm off to make sure Turner gets on okay."
Robbie nodded. "I suppose I'd better check on my cases in case Campbell drops by again." He didn't look enamoured at the thought and she couldn't resist the snort of laughter at the look on his face.
Alan Turner was fine with the interview; he had sat in on enough by now and was more than capable of managing to stay calm. Still, it took longer than she would have liked to get the ned to crack and she jotted down a few notes to go over with him before tomorrow.
He beamed at the 'Good job,' she gave to him after she caught up with him and he didn't look fazed when she said she would talk to him later. He practically bounced down the corridor and she suddenly felt incredibly old. It seemed like a lifetime ago since she had been that enthusiastic.
The smell of pizza cheered her a little as she walked back into the office and Robbie didn't object too much when she stole a slice out of his box.
They managed a little banter as they ate, the whole office's mood more jovial now that there might be an actual lead. She kept refreshing her email though and she could see as time past, Robbie was getting more uptight as well.
Finally it arrived. Before she opened it, she forwarded a copy to Robbie so he wouldn't be looking over her shoulder for too long.
Her heart sunk a little at the number of cases but there was nothing for it but to dive in. She started at the beginning, the understanding they had acquired over the years meant she didn't have to ask but he would start at the latest date and work back. They didn't say anything as they read through the files, their half empty pizza boxes shoved to the side and forgotten about.
She picked the first one and skimmed the initial details, glancing through to the description of injuries. No mention of the glove print.
Neither did the next one but the third one did and she skipped forward to the attached photos to double check.
"Robbie," she didn't say anything else but he understood perfectly and crowded around behind her. She let him look at the photo in question, then went back to the report; it was a fight outside a club.
She sagged in disappointment when it turned out they guy had only served three years for assault. Nothing that would justify attacking Burke fifteen years later.
Robbie looked as disappointed as she felt and she flicked onto the next one. No matching glove print.
It was another three cases before it turned up again, Robbie still standing over her shoulder, clearly disappointment was better in company. It was somewhat reassuring to have him lean over her shoulder, so close she could smell him, as she searched.
She perked up as she read the details. Three bookies had been robbed, with the same method and injuries for each of them, the gloves used to knock the sole remaining occupant out. Reading between the lines she could to see Burke's frustration and against her wishes hers began to creep up as well. She wasn't too sure this case would lead anywhere, the amounts stolen weren't large and no one was permanently injured, whoever had been caught would have been out a couple of years ago.
Reading further, the feeling of being wrong again dissipated. The fourth robbery had gone wrong. Both of the owners and a last minute punter had ended up dead, each of them bearing the glove print and signs of rather brutal beatings.
The violence fit.
She tried to stop herself from counting her chickens before they had hatched. She read further. Burke and his sergeant had arrested two brothers, George and Ian Lewis, and the pair had been found guilty and sentenced to twenty years.
Her heart leaped. The timing would be right for early release. She smiled as she shifted to look at Robbie. He smiled back before he returned to his desk.
"You phone the prison, I'll check the other cases just in case."
It was another long frustrating phone call and she was beginning to feel like the like phone was part of her.
Robbie shook his head at her as she hung up but she grinned anyway and he raised an eyebrow. She nodded and stood to walk to the front of the board, the office going quiet when she turned and faced them.
She took a brief second to note everyone was as exhausted as her but started as Robbie looked as if he was champing at the bit for more information.
"We have a new lead." She stuck a picture to the board. "Ian Lewis. Burke put him and his brother George away for a string of robberies that ended in three dead." She smiled. "George died of a heart attack in prison three years ago and Ian was released six months ago." She gestured to the photo of the glove mark. "All the attacks had the same glove mark we found on Burke, and the violence of the last robbery certainly fits." Her smile dimmed slightly. "I've tried to get in touch with Lewis' parole officer, but no success yet. I want to check the public records to see if there is any record of him coming north. It's too early to get a warrant for his bank records, but I want someone to check his family background, see if we can establish his state of mind, any one we can run checks on."
The office suddenly buzzed again and she felt revitalised at the sound.
She sat back down at her desk just as it rang again.
Answering it, she was reminded that parole officers worked just as long hours as they did.
Nothing much to confirm or deny. Lewis had so far turned up for his meetings and seemed to be grief stricken over his brother's death but he hadn't said anything about Burke or retribution. The last meeting had been three days ago and they weren't due to meet again until tomorrow morning.
She managed to hold back her deep sigh until after she had thanked him and hung up.
Robbie looked at her in question.
"Nothing to add. Hasn't talked to him since Thursday and isn't supposed to until tomorrow morning."
Robbie looked thoughtful. "The fact he's not been seen plus the history should be enough to get a warrant to check his bank and phone records."
She nodded. "I'll run it past the fiscal anyway."
She saw Robbie look a little lost for a minute but before she could do more than look concerned at him, some one in the fiscal's office picked up the phone.
They promised to look into it, though it would take a while, and she had to bite her lip when the likely time on such flimsy evidence was the morning. Not that was in fact a long time away, it was dark enough outside to remind her that in July it was after ten.
She rolled her shoulders, suddenly aware of how stiff she was. She was getting too old to sit like this all day.
Robbie was tapping his fingers again, and he looked lost in thought. She softly called his name and he jumped, his pen rolling off the desk as he let it go.
"Sorry, eh." He looked lost for words and she could see him mentally shake himself. "Phoned the hospital. He's still stable but he's not showed any signs of improvement yet."
She avoided saying something trite, knowing it would only make herself feel worse as well.
"What did the fiscal say?"
It was her turn to jolt. "Probably the morning, given it's not a great deal to go on."
Robbie scowled and normally she would have rolled her eyes at his reaction but given how close it was to hers, she didn't bother. She stood, suddenly too wound up to sit still. She did another round of the office, checking in with everyone, seeing who needed sleep and what progress had been made.
All his neighbours had had background checks now, and nothing had been flagged up on any of them. Nothing similar had cropped up elsewhere in Scotland either.
Stephens and Henderson were still checking on Burke's Glasgow cases. A few more possibilities had been identified and most of them eliminated with ironclad alibis. There were still one or two that hadn't been yet but their form suggested it wasn't them. Still, it was something to keep an eye on, especially if this Lewis lead didn't turn out.
Turner was checking into Lewis' family, most of whom it turned out were already dead, so no luck there. He had started making enquiries into Lewis' known associates, but he was still waiting to hear back about most of them. At this time of night, it wasn't likely to be any time before the morning.
She tried not to let her disappointment show, with Turner at least. It just seemed to be crawling now. She did take the chance to lower her voice and quietly have a word with Turner about his interview earlier. Just a few hints and tips really and fortunately Turner took it well, eager to learn more and improve rather than being a jaded wee know it all.
She said as much to Robbie when she walked back to him. "Though he makes me feel old."
Robbie gave a slightly strained laugh. "How do you think it makes me feel?"
She grabbed her handbag. "I'm going to grab a few hours sleep while we wait for the warrant." She paused. "Did you update Campbell?" She felt like such an idiot for forgetting until now.
She only felt marginally better when Robbie nodded. "When you were on the phone to the PO. She wants another update at lunchtime tomorrow."
She nodded and gave a wan smile.
"See you first thing."
He nodded and looked a little forlorn and she felt a stab of guilt when he made no move to leave.
She shook it off. He would get some sleep eventually and nagging him would only make his temper flare and make him feel worse.
She stopped by Tesco on her way home, God bless twenty-four hour supermarkets, and picked up a ready meal. She almost debated with herself at the end of the wine aisle, until she saw it was closed off anyway. It was after ten, she had to remind herself. She was almost dead on her feet anyway and she still had a bit of a bottle in the fridge so she headed for the check out instead.
She kicked her shoes off the instant she got in the door and headed straight for the kitchen. Bag and coat dumped on the table, then she stuck the risotto in the microwave and checked her messages while she waited. Nothing from anyone she had to get back to so she poured herself the remains of the wine.
She couldn't face sitting alone at her kitchen table to eat tonight so she went through to her couch again and channel surfed as she ate.
She settled on Mamma Mia!, even though it was halfway through and she owned it on DVD. She half heartedly watched, badly humming along and managed to get her plate onto the coffee table before she thought back over the day. She and Robbie hadn't been this out of sorts around each other in a long while. Thinking about that would mean thinking about everything else that had happened in the last few months though and she wasn't sure she was up for that at the moment.
At least Burke was stable, and they had a viable lead now. That thought seemed to settle her, even if she knew the wait was just going to drive her crazy.
She looked at the clock and sunk deeper into the couch as she realised how tired she was. She drained the rest of her glass and picked up the handset to turn off the TV.
She jolted as the door bell rang, as if someone was leaning on the bell and she fumbled the handset in her rush. It was hard to think who would be ringing her door like that at this time of night, and none of the options she came up with were particularly pleasant.
She glanced through the peephole just as however it was, Robbie it turned out, stopped pressing the bell. She swung the door open and the sarky remark that she would have normally made died on her lips and a spike of fear ran through her as she saw how rough he looked.
She opened the door wider and stepped aside to let him in. She must have looked truly terrified as he managed to shake his head and utter, "Burke's fine," despite how godawful he looked. She sagged against the door as she shut it behind him. She took a couple of deep breaths then looked at Robbie closely now she was able to think clearly.
He was tense, his hands in fists at his sides, his tie off and shirt askew. His suit jacket looked as if he had just thrown it and he was as quiet as she'd ever seen him.
She shooed him into the living room. He didn't say anything as she directed him to the couch; another bad sign. She left him alone staring at the TV to go into the kitchen.
As the kettle boiled, she rummaged for a teabag. She swore when she put her hand in and found only a couple left. She should have got some when she was in Tesco. She couldn't hear movement in the living room and when she returned with a mug of tea in each hand, she found he hadn't moved at all.
He gave a brief nod of thanks when she handed him his mug and she curled up on the couch beside him, knees touching his leg but giving him his space otherwise.
"I take it tea's not what you're really wanting," she ventured after he stared at this mug for a minute.
He jerked his head up wards and looked apologetic. "Nah," He sighed and took a sip. "Sorry, Jackie, it's just," he leaned forward and looked into his cup again.
"Normally you would phone Burke."
He whipped round to look at her and she couldn't help the quick burst of laughter at the surprised expression on his face.
"Oh come on, Robbie, how long have I known the both of you?" He looked slightly less surprised. "And remarkably enough, reading people is what I do for a living." She grinned wryly as she took another sip of her tea.
He snorted. "Aye," and leaned back, still cradling the mug. "I'm sorry for just turning up, especially after the last couple of days."
She shrugged it off. As much as they had been annoying each other, she would rather he was here drinking tea, than out getting pissed and getting up to god knows what again.
"I hate waiting for bloody warrants."
"You don't have to tell me."
He blew out a breath. "No, I know," He sipped his tea again then put the mug down on her coffee table. He looked as if he didn't quite know what to do with himself now.
"What crap are you watching?" Apparently he was going for the create an argument approach to boredom and stress.
"Mamma Mia. I can always stick the DVD in if you want to watch it from the beginning." She wasn't entirely above baiting him either.
Neither of them had much energy for it though and he shook his head and slumped. She leaned back as well and didn't say anything else.
The silence between them stretched on and it began to feel uncomfortable. She missed the days when they could sit down the pub and grumble and banter for hours after work. She tried not to blame Robbie too much for the fact they were curled up on her couch instead, it wasn't as if she wasn't drinking too much herself. Probably better for everyone all round they weren't drinking.
Especially when they were already wound up like this, it was hard to tell how much more on each others nerves they would be with a couple of drinks or hangovers in them.
She sighed, louder than she meant to and she winced when Robbie started to sit up.
"I'll leave you to get some sleep."
"Robbie," she grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "It's not you, it's everything. We can't even banter like we normally do."
He relaxed. "Yeah." He snorted. "I can just imagine the Boss having a field day with our reactions."
She managed a smile as well.
"No, I was just thinking we really need a better coping mechanism."
"You mean now that I'm on my last leg and cannae drink, shag or smoke?"
She rolled her eyes. "It's not as if my livers not enjoying the break either."
"And you broke up with Chris."
"Thanks for the reminder." It was softer than it sounded though, more back into their normal teasing.
He leaned back on the couch. "He wasn't good enough for you anyway."
She snorted. "Says you."
"I know about these things."
It was full out laughter now. "Well you would."
"What are you implying?" He put on his fake wounded expression and she smiled.
She didn't reply, just took a sip of her tea and he smiled slightly. He relaxed back into the couch, the atmosphere lighter again. She wasn't sure how they had fallen into their light hearted teasing again but she was glad of it, glad enough that when he put his arm on the back of the couch, she leaned against him and tucked herself under his oxter. His arm came around her shoulder and they sat in comfortable silence as the last part of the film played.
"What about an allotment?"
"For what?"
"A coping mechanism."
"You, in a garden? Growing veg?"
"What's so hard to believe about that?" He looked perfectly innocent.
She had to put the remains of her tea down before she splashed herself as she shook with laughter.
"It's not the sort of dirt I can see you playing in," She managed after a minute. She calmed down. "I think you would be better off learning to cook first."
"What and let you get fat from tasting it all?" He was smirking now.
She elbowed him in the ribs.
He wisely didn't say anything after that, just the occasional snigger.
The credits rolled and she knew she really should get and up head to bed. She was warm and comfortable where she was though, and Robbie had relaxed. He shifted slightly, grabbing the handset off her and randomly flicking through channels.
It would be so easy to cuddle up further, and kiss him until she forgot all about everything. It wasn't as if she hadn't thought about it before, especially recently with the way he had looked at her after her break up, and especially after that kiss when she was pretending to be his girlfriend. For the most part, she had put it out of her head, they had been friends for too long, flirted too long for it to really happen, except when she was feeling lonely and horny.
There was a reason why he had no problem getting women into bed.
She sighed and he looked down at her. She smiled lightly. "Just tired."
"Sorry, I'll just head off,"
She shook her head. "I'll get a pillow and a blanket and you can stay here."
He smiled in thanks and gave her shoulders a quick squeeze before he pulled his arm away.
As she rummaged in the airing cupboard for the spare quilt, she thought it was for the best her thoughts had been interrupted. They didn't need to complicate matters, and knowing the pair of them things would just even more strained, at least until Burke was awake enough to shout at them.
She paused picking up the quilt, trying to bite back the tears at the thought of Burke. If he woke up.
She heard the door open behind her and she quickly wiped away the tears that had escaped.
"You okay?" He was leaning against the door frame and his voice was soft.
It would be so easy to take a step and just go for it. So easy, and the concerned look he was giving her wasn't helping either.
"Just tired and eh," Her voice cracked and she had to take a deep breath.
He nodded and reached out and gently took the quilt from her. "Get some sleep." He placed a kiss on her forehead and she gave him a wobbly smile.
"You too."
He nodded and she closed the cupboard door.
She slipped into bed and cried herself to sleep instead.