Don't ask me why, but I think this is a good time to have Gene being objectionable!
(Thank you as always for all my reader and reviewers, it's great to know what you like and what you don't).
Chapter 11
"Interview commenced at-"
"Shut up Tyler." Gene barked and for a second Tony Armstrong smirked. Tyler shook his head and began again, Gene glared.
"Present, DCI Tyler, DI Hunt and Anthony, also known as Tony, Armstrong." Sam finished defiantly and Gene sighed.
"Anyway," Gene began staring down Tony who sat cooling opposite the detectives. "The charges,"
"It wasn't my idea," Tony cut in, cool exterior broken, and Gene had to resist swearing at Tony, "No, it's was a mate of mine's, I thought it was a joke, my mate's cousins car-"
"Car?!" Sam asked then nodded knowingly; Gene figured the same and smiled.
"The charges, assault on DCI Tyler." Gene finished and Tony looked up, "yeah, not a good move was it, you bas-"
"Detective!" Sam cut in and Gene glared unapologetically.
"But, I'm willing to drop the charges if you answer a few questions about you brother and Miss Lucinda Jackson." Sam continued and even as he spoke Gene wished that they could book this guy for something. He even looked like a crook, in tatty tracksuit and cap, Sam had used a word Gene didn't know to describe him, Chav.
"Oh." Tony said and with the grin that became plastered across his face Gene knew that this guy would rat out on his own grandmother, let alone his brother and deceased girlfriend.
"What do you think?" Sam asked Gene in the corridor after the interview had finished. Some revelations that had been revealed really didn't put Levin in a good light.
"Well, if Tony the creep is telling the truth then Levin, perfect boyfriend, can be in a cell by tea time." Gene intoned and Sam nodded slightly.
Sam wished it wasn't true but Levin had suddenly become suspect one as soon as Tony told them that Levin's and Lucinda's arguments where more than just talking.
"I don't know, maybe we asked the wrong question when Maya talked to Amy Howard."
"What find out if she talked to Amy about how Levin treated her?" Gene asked and Sam nodded and gestured for them to start walking.
"Well, claiming that Levin broke her arm by pushing her down the stairs, they'll be medical records. It's a bold move, why would he lie?"
"'Cos he's a git, would he care if he got done for libel?" Gene said, "Look, his brother kicked him out, why not give people a reason to suspect him."
"You think Tony did it?" Sam asked noticing the implication in what Gene said.
"I'm not sure, well, not yet. You're the Gov, what do you say Tyler?" Gene said looking at Sam.
"I say we," Sam breathed, he hated this bit of the job, he preferred guilty parties to suspects, "for now, bring Levin in."
"No you can't do this!" Levin struggled against two large Uniformed Officers. He hadn't taken Sam and Gene's appearance at his home well and Sam gained a second set of bruises of the day.
"Look mate, we don't have a 'not-quite-sure-if-they-did-it' room so a cell it is." Gene said, massaging his wrist, "And you put up a bit of a fight considering you say you're, what is it, innocent? And if you are, well, home by teatime." Gene said with a smirk.
"I've learnt from experience Gene, that it's better not to taunt suspects." Said Sam, who appeared by Gene's desk later on; Gene grunted and Sam gave a drawn out sigh to Gene's unhelpful reply.
"Y'know you can go home sometime." Sam said tapping his wrist and Gene glanced at the clock on the computer screen.
"I've just got to finish this." Gene mumbled and Sam nodded and began to walk away.
"Oh yeah," Sam said turning back to Gene, "Maya spoke to Amy again, Tony was telling the truth."
"And the arm?" Gene asked, mentally crossing his fingers.
"I checked her records, both her GP records and the post-mortem says she broke her arm within the last year." Sam said before walking out of the room.
Involuntarily Gene shook his head.
No, this was too easy, this can't be right.
Gene thought to himself, thinking about the suspect sitting in a dank cell down stairs. Gene rubbed the back of his neck in agitation, in the real world he'd have busted Tony first for assault on an officer, milked him dry, and then got him a nice cell for a few months or more for the assault charge. Not here though. No.
The phone began to ring without warning and Gene jumped. As he picked up the phone he felt his mouth go dry and he whispered through suddenly parched lips,
"Gene Hunt."
"You can drop the act for me." Came an oddly officious and, Gene thought, pompous voice from down the line.
"Who are you?" Gene spat and a sigh came from down the line.
"You always had a short fuse; clearly you fit Hunt's character well."
"Well?" Gene asked, knowing it wasn't the real question he wanted answering.
"Yes. And I've seen you're name on arrest reports already, you're doing well." The tone was matter-of-face and Gene had to bite his tongue to stop himself from making a sarcastic comment he could regret later.
"About this Hunt character," Gene said carefully, he felt like this was going to be the most intellectual thing he'd have to do all year, work out what the hell was going on. "I looked him up; it says he died, in 1973."
"Well of course, it was your idea to change the records. I think the real 'Gene Hunt' has been out of the loop for long enough for us not to worry about questions asked." The voice was laced with a tone that Gene wasn't sure he liked at all.
"Well anyway," The man continued and Gene suddenly realised he didn't know the man's name, "You seem to be doing fine where you are. I'll be in contact soon."
"No wait!" Gene exclaimed but all he could hear was the dialling tone.
Several floors below Sam Tyler reached the entrance hall of the building. As he passed the front desk he noticed a woman of about sixty, maybe younger for she held her beauty well, arguing with the desk sergeant. She had a slender figure and a gentle, yet cheeky, smile. Her hair, grey and wispy still maintained streaks of her natural tone, chocolate brown. She had a familiarity to her that Sam couldn't quite place. But she caught his eye by the envelope held in her hand, old, maybe thirty or forty years of yellowing on the white paper.
"I was told to give this to some one." The woman pressed impatiently, holding the gaze of the desk sergeant.
"Who should I say it's for?" The Sergeant asked, clearly it was more than the second time of asking.
"A man called Sam Tyler."
Right, I am drawing on an idea from Cat Yuy, have a look in the past reviews for a clue. Thank you Cat Yuy for the idea! Proper credit will be given when all is revealed. Thank you all as always.