I don't own Ashes to Ashes
No smut... just plot... and a teensy bit of fluffiness at the start... Don't get excited.
Enjoy!
----
It was, in actuality, at least twenty minutes before Gene allowed her to roll away from him, and he voiced his annoyance by repeatedly mumbling and grumbling to himself whilst Alex gathered her clothes from the floor.
Muttering incoherently, it took him a few moments to realize that, whilst she was jiggling around practically naked, unknowingly sending the blood straight back to his groin, she was also still wearing her socks. He thought back, trying to remember if she'd had them on whilst she was in bed, and tilting his head slightly to the side to admire the view. He took a few seconds to take in the stripy pink and yellow items, his eyes trailing slowly up her long legs and resting on her arse before he spoke, voice full of teasing and amusement. "Did you just shag me with yer socks on?" He laughed, smirking to himself as she glanced quickly down at her feet, then back at him with a slightly confused frown.
"I must've forgotten..." she said, blushing as his eyes drifted appreciatively over her body. Pulling her knickers on quickly, she added, "come on, get out of bed; we've got work to do." She pulled her jeans on, and then found her bra, raising an eyebrow at him when he simply lay there, propped up on his elbow, with the blanket tangled around his ankle, body bare to her eyes, and a lazy smile on his face. "Gene, I'm serious now," she said, averting her eyes as she picked her blouse up from the floor. "We're meant to be-!"
"I know, Bolly," he murmured, nodding slowly as she dragged her top back on, and shifting slightly on the bed. "I'm just enjoying the view..." He looked at her thoughtfully, then added, "Have I told you recently how nice yer tits are?"
Alex sighed, smiling despite herself as she paused, meeting his eyes easily. "Yes, Gene; you have," she assured him. "Several times in fact- but it doesn't change the fact that we're meant to be at work, and you're lying their imagining how you'd like to shag me next."
Gene chuckled, slipping from the bed and reaching for his boxers as she finished buttoning up her blouse. "You're pretty sure of yerself," he informed her, smirking when she tossed his trousers and shirt in his direction, her eyebrow raised inquisitively.
"You thinking of someone else?" She asked, slipping her shoes back on as she spoke.
"No," Gene smirked in reply, "just not thinkin' about shaggin' you..." He wasn't, either - at least not directly, although getting off between her tits was probably classed as some sort of shag if you thought about it for too long...
Alex looked at him with disbelief on her features as his eyes rested lingeringly on her breasts, before collecting his shoes, socks and tie from their place next to the wall, and chucking them at his feet with a smirk. He pulled his clothes on obediently, chuckling under her scrutiny until he'd replaced each item on his body and was stood, clothed and booted, right next to her.
"See?" He muttered, holding his arms out to her. "I'm a good boy; got dressed all by myself, an' I didn't even try to drag you back fer a quickie!" Smirking, he slipped his arms around her and nipped at her ear. "Proud of me?" He wheedled, kissing her gently on the neck. She rolled her eyes, and pushed him lightly in the chest.
"Very," she said sarcastically. "Now let's hurry back, or getting dressed won't be the only thing you'll be doing by yourself next time!" With a meaningful look downwards, she turned to leave the room, missing Gene's surprised laugh, and not seeing his arm dash out to wrap around her waist.
"Do we have to go?" He sighed, pouting against her neck and squeezing her tight against him. He already knew the answer, of course, but he was willing to put off the inevitable for as long as possible. Alex's hand found his as she nodded reluctantly, turning her face to kiss his cheek softly.
"The sooner we do, the sooner it's over..." She felt him nod at her words, felt his arms tighten even more around her waist before his lips moved to her ear, his whisper soft and intimate.
"I know," he murmured reluctantly, kissing the shell of her ear gently. "Doesn't mean I wouldn' shag you again if I could, though."
---
Once back at CID, they went to Gene's office, briefly filing a report on Benji's interview, before attempting, unsuccessfully, to decide who to interview first; the make-believe fantasy that, after having shagged her silly, she'd comply to his own wishes, crumbled into ashes almost the moment Gene opened to his mouth.
"If we don't talk to Sophia soon," he said, "we're gunna 'ave to let 'er go; can't keep her here much longer without an interview, Bolly, and I'd sooner have to collect Ellison again than that conniving little cow!"
"He's been here too long already," Alex pointed out, shaking her head slightly. "We haven't got enough to keep him here, and sitting in a cell can't be doing him any good at all! He must be terrified, Gene! He's-!"
"Don't say that he's orspasmic, or ortasmic, or whatever the hell he is!" Gene interjected quickly. "He ruddy lied to us, an' jus' because he's a bit loopy doesn't mean I 'ave to give 'im priority!"
"It's not orspasmic - it's autistic!" Alex snapped back. "And the point is, unless Joe confirms what Ciaran said, there'll be no point in interviewing Sophia anyway because-!"
"Then why the bloody hell did you let me pull her in?" Gene retorted, glowering slightly. "You were there when I got Ray to get her, so why didn't you-?"
"Because I thought we were going to interview Joe yesterday!" Alex said, stamping her foot slightly. "How was I to know you were going to bugger off to the station and leave me at home with-?"
Gene interrupted her, his eyes sparking up in anger. "Don't start on me about that, Alex!" He growled, his voice calmer than he felt, though equally as venomous in spite of it. "You were the one screwin' over the way we handled the case, not me! I am not taking your shit for that one!"
"You could've interviewed him!" She snapped.
He slammed a fist down on the table, his eyes narrow and full of anger as he answered. "I already explained why I didn't, Alex, and either way, I'd have interviewed her first! Stop being so fucking argumentative, and do something useful! I'm interviewing her for being an accomplice, and you can either join in, or go and make me some bloody tea!"
Alex stopped short, staring at him. "Make you tea?" She said with disgust. "I'm not a little house maid, Gene, so-!"
"Oh for God's sake, Bolly!" He snapped, kicking out at the nearest filing cabinet. "All I'm saying is, either be a copper, or be a bird, but don't try and do both!"
She stared at him. Gene gulped, swallowing down the lump in his throat as he realized he'd said the wrong thing. He started to fumble for an apology, to tell her he didn't mean it, but a moment later she'd walked up to him, visibly seething as she jabbed him hard in the chest, hissing her retort with venom that he knew, even through his anger, that he deserved.
"You pig-headed, arrogant, bastard!" She sniped. "You sexist, misogynistic, bitter, dogmatic, obstinate, unfair, chauvinistic, xenophobe!" She hit him in the chest hard, but not enough that it would hurt him; the annoyance that it hadn't done so only served to anger her even further, and almost instantly she'd drawn her hand back, fist clenched.
Gene caught it before she managed to connect it with his face, jerking her into his chest against all of her protest and letting out a harsh grunt as she repeatedly hammered her fists into his shoulders. "Alex, look, please, I-!"
"Let go!" She snapped, hitting him again. When he didn't, she slammed her heel down onto his foot, watching Gene's face contort with pain as his hands loosened on her wrists. She jerked herself free, body shaking angrily as she made for the door; Gene somehow got there first, despite his obvious limp, and she glowered at him, her fists still clenched. "Get out of the way, Gene," she hissed angrily, moving to walk around him. He stood firm, arms stretched to the sides and catching her when she tried to push past.
"Alex, I'm sorry," he said, attempting sincerity, although he wasn't sure she believed him; the look on her face reminded him of an evil feminist about to perform a castration, and he had no idea how to take the comment back.
"Move, Gene," she snapped. "I'd hate to litter your archaic, caveman style working place with a single drop of oestrogen! God forbid somebody actually gives a damn what happens to the people in our cells!"
Gene shook his head apologetically, trying to draw her into his arms, but received only a harsh shove in the chest for his efforts. With a sigh, he released her, though he kept his body placed firmly between her and the door as he spoke. "Alex, you know I didn't mean it!" He cracked, looking at her imploringly, though his voice was tinged with anger. "Why do you have to question every bloody thing I say? We'll interview him- you know we will! But right now, it's her that's a possible accomplice, so please just let me do my job and-!"
"I'm your DI Gene!" She snapped, shoving him once again in the chest.. "I'm part of your bloody job! Just because I'm a bird doesn't mean that I'm nothing to do with-!"
"I know!" Gene replied, voice harsher and louder than he intended. He softened slightly, stepping forward to place his hands tentatively on her shoulders, "I know..." She shrugged him off, but he took comfort in the fact that she didn't try to punch or slap him away this time, and his hands hovered briefly at her shoulders, before he dropped them to his sides.
"I'm sorry, Alex," he murmured, stepping even closer, though he didn't break the touch barrier now, watching her face as he spoke. "I didn't mean it," he muttered. "You know I didn't mean it, just- just sometimes you're so bloody stubborn..." He met her eyes, his gaze soft. "Just trust me, Bolly; you aren't the only one with a brain, y'know - I'm a DCI for a reason! An' you know as well as I do that she's too smart to sit there much longer without thinkin' her way out of it - and that's if she hasn't already come up with some cock an' bull story as to where she was that night..." He reached for Alex's cheek then, and this time, to his immense relief, she didn't pull away. With gentle fingers, he tipped her chin up, meeting her eyes sincerely as he moved slightly closer.
"Sorry," he murmured, "you can be a bird an' a copper; I know that..." He tentatively leaned forwards, lips brushing against hers for a moment. He sighed with relief as she returned his kiss, gentle and soft, if only for a few moments, before she drew away and shook her head.
"I'm not the only one who's stubborn, Gene," she murmured, meeting his eyes. She saw him clench his jaw slightly, and then nod in agreement.
"I know, Alex," he answered, pulling her into his arms. "But at least I don't quote the Oxford English dictionary when I want to insult yer," he shook his head in quiet disbelief. "Don't think I understood any o' that babble 'cept the 'bitter' and 'unfair' bit..." Hand in her hair, he waited a few moments before adding, "I'll take all that misophobic, dogmanistic bollucks as compliments, shall I?"
She rolled her eyes slightly, shaking her head and pushing him gently off her. "No, Gene," she said, "and I won't pretend they were anything of the sort - you can't have expected me to take that lying down, surely?"
He sighed, shaking his head bleakly. "Unfortunately not," he muttered, glancing away and pushing his hands deep into his pockets.
"I am sorry, Alex," he said after a moment. "But I'm still the superior officer; just because I'm shag-" he paused, then quickly changed tact, correcting himself swiftly; Alex let it fall, pretending that she hadn't noticed. "Just because we're together," he corrected, "doesn't mean I'm gunna roll over on my back like some obedient, brainless mutt and let you scratch my belly 'til I do what you want."
Alex was silent for a while, but after several moments, she nodded, speaking in a soft, quiet voice as she whispered; "I know..."
He tentatively drew her back into his arms, nuzzling his nose against her hair for a few moments before he spoke again, his voice gently teasing in her ear. "Wasn't jokin' about that cuppa, though," ..." he murmured, tightening his hold and chuckling into her neck when she stiffened slightly against him. "Only if yer feeling generous, that is..."He joked lightly; he could practically feel her rolling her eyes at him then, but didn't bother to turn and check as his lips found the sensitive skin at the base of her ear, working gently and sweetly as his hand tangled in her hair. Alex sighed, nudging him lightly as she drew away, shaking her head almost regrettably the whole while, a small smile tugging at her lips. Seeing her relent, Gene smirked, pushing her towards the door and holding it open for her.
"Good girl, Soggy-knickers," he teased warmly, grinning. "Hot an' sweet, if you will... not that I need to tell you; y'know how I like it by now!" He tipped her a wink, pushing her from the room and chuckling at her surprised laughter.
"And what exactly are you insinuating, Mr Hunt?" She asked, pushing out her lower lip in a slight pout. Gene grinned, stepping out into the main office with her and smiling covertly to himself as the rest of the teams heads turned towards them, barely masking their clear surprise at the sudden resolution from the previous ranting and roaring.
"That I'd like three sugars with that?" Gene answered her innocently, closing the door behind him and smirking when Alex raised a disbelieving eyebrow in his direction.
"And where exactly do my knickers come into it?" Alex enquired sweetly, smiling up at him. He chuckled, sparing a glance in Ray's direction, seeing the look of shock on his face, before leaning down to murmur in Alex's ear, his voice low and gruff in her ear.
"Well, DI Drake... I'm sorry to say that they don't..." He grinned, and then added, voice a gentle growl. "Whip 'em off- liven the place up a bit!" He ducked away from her light slap, smirking when he saw Ray's surprised reaction to Alex's statement, and glowering swiftly when he saw the DS's eyes travel up over her jean-clad legs. He moved towards the door, grinning back at Alex as he went. "Tea, Drake," he called over his shoulder. "That's an order!"
"And the knickers?" Alex called after him, grinning as both Ray and Chris stared at her open mouthed, whilst Shaz sat quiet, unsuccessfully attempting to hide a smile behind her hand.
Gene looked at her, half surprised, half amused, before he shrugged, opening the door of the office as his hand flew almost embarrassedly to his hair. He ruffled the soft blonde locks slightly, a small grin playing across his lips as he saw the challenging expression written across Alex's face. Smiling to himself, he spoke. "You know I don't mind either way..." His eyebrows raised in acknowledgement, watching her look of surprise before he smirked at her. "Interview room, Bols," he told her. "Ten minutes."
Gene turned to leave, and, seeing Ray staring at Alex in what was a worrying combination of both lust and fear, he picked up a nearby pencil and tossed it firmly at the DS's head; he thought he heard Alex laugh when it caught in his perm, just as Ray rubbed his head in bewildered surprise.
"Oi, you useless tosser," Gene snapped swiftly, "put yer tongue back behind yer teeth! Now! And do some bloody work, else the new bird gets the photos!"
Ray looked confused. "What photos?"
With a grin, Gene replied, "Sam's stag do; nineteen seventy five, tied to a lamppost with yer y-fronts pulled up to yer teeth!" After waiting a few seconds to savour the unmistakeable draining of colour from Ray's cheeks, he added, "Merlot's flat; now! An' if there's nothin' there, do McKellen's house an' all!"
He left quickly, shutting the door behind him and heading down the corridor towards the cells.
---
If he'd been expecting Sophia to come quietly, he was disappointed, as five minutes later he pushed her kicking and shrieking into the interview room, rolling his eyes as she spat numerous insults in his direction and struggled against her handcuffs.
"If you were any sort of bloke at all," she snapped at him as he pushed her into the chair, her eyes angry, "you'd take these bloody handcuffs off me and get me a drink!"
Gene chuckled, cuffing her hands to the back of the chair before speaking calmly. "An' if you were any sort of lady at all, you'd keep yer gob shut an' cook us a nice Victoria sponge..." He patted her lightly and sarcastically on the shoulder, before moving to the seat opposite, raising one eyebrow in challenge. "And since the likelihood of that's right up there with me gettin' a blowjob from Brit Ekland, I'd say we can screw the formalities of 'ladies an' gents', an' get right down to the nitty-gritty 'bout how you helped yer little brother dispose of evidence in a murder investigation; how about that?"
Having not heard the door open a few seconds previously, Gene was more than a little bewildered when a familiar hand placed a steaming mug of tea in front of him, and he had to bite back a slight grimace as he turned to look at her; Alex was, thankfully, smirking, her eyebrows raised in silent query, and he managed a schoolboy grin in her direction, shrugging his shoulders lightly as if to explain himself, before Sophia spat promptly in his face. He ground his jaw briefly, and then turned his head back towards her, glowering darkly through narrowed eyes. "That'll be a 'no' then, will it?" He ground out, his teeth clenched.
"Piss off!" She hissed, visibly seething.
Gene raised his eyebrows. "Not very ladylike at all," he noted, looking over at Alex with a pointed expression. "Lady Bols?"
"I want a solicitor!" Sophia said quickly, before Alex could interject.
"Not much point in one o' them, love!" Gene retorted. "Cost you two hundred quid just for him to sit there sayin' no comment; better just to answer our questions an' be done with it."
"Well that's exactly what you're gunna say isn't it you lardy arse!" She snapped. Gene rolled his eyes, settling back in her chair.
"Course it is love," he leant forwards on his elbows and muttered, "He can't fix evidence for yer though. It's all printed up- reports, tapes, fingerprints, DNA... and once we've got into yer flat, I'm sure there'll be somethin' else to throw into the mix..." He watched as her face drained slightly of colour, although she retained a pink flush of unmistakeable anger, and he was vaguely impressed that she didn't crack immediately.
"I haven't been there for months," she said flatly, although Gene noticed the way her hands twitched, and how she gulped slightly louder than normal; from the way Alex settled herself in her chair, he knew she'd noticed it, too.
"Good to know," Gene nodded, "we'll be searching McKellen's house as well though, just to be sure..." She shrugged, less obviously shaken now, and Alex's hand on his thigh warned him to be quiet whilst she asked her questions. With a reluctant sigh, he lit up, watching with amusement as Sophia's eyes followed the glowing path of his cigarette with unmistakeable longing.
"What was your relationship with Jeremy McKellen?" Alex asked calmly, almost rationally; Gene wanted to roll his eyes and snort with derision – he didn't.
Sophia, however, did it for him, smiling sarcastically as she answered. "I was shaggin' him; he had a big dick, and he knew where to put it..." She looked directly at Gene's face as she acidly added, "blokes like that are pretty hard to come by." She turned her gaze back to Alex; "wouldn't you agree, Inspector?"
"Well ain't you just the picture of a well mannered little girl," Gene drawled sardonically. "With talk like that, I'm bettin' he wasn't the only one with his kecks around his ankles, was he?"
Alex kicked him slightly under the table, and, having glared at her slightly, he settled back, taking a deep drag on his cigarette as Sophia retorted swiftly. "You were pretty close to droppin' them in the pub yourself; I'd go so far as to say you wouldn't have minded a go." She smiled sweetly, though her narrowed eyes contradicted it, and he could feel the venomous glint as it reverberated across the table. He saw Alex's eyebrows rise slightly as she looked at him, and he rolled his eyes, smoking smoothly on as he answered her.
"They just about stayed around me hips until I got home, if memory serves correctly..." he glanced smugly at Alex, who simultaneously glowered and flushed, causing him to chuckle softly under his breath before he spoke again. "And as far as a punt goes, love, even coppers 'ave got standards."
"Not exactly high, are they?" She asked, glancing at Alex with evident disgust. "I'd say she was punching above her weight, but then, looking at you, I suppose it's fairly equal..."
The anger roiled up immediately, and he knew instantly that if she was a bloke, he'd have punched her. Punched her, and then strung her up from the ceiling with cheese wire and coat hangers... As it was, only Alex's hand on his leg stopped him kicking the table out of the way and yelling blue murder at her. With his own hand clenched on his other thigh, he resolved to let Alex do the talking, and swiftly finished his cigarette, stubbing it out on the table leg before lighting up yet another so that he had something to occupy both his hands and his mouth.
"This isn't going to get us anywhere," Alex said rationally, glancing from one to the other of them. "We have to ask you a few questions, and it would really be better for everyone involved if you answered them honestly; if you insist on having a solicitor present, we'll find you one, but the sooner we get this done with, the sooner you can go home."
Gene made a noise of disagreement at the back of his throat which, thankfully, went ignored as Alex leant forwards on the desk. "We have reason to suspect that you may have been involved with Rosa McKellen's murder; we'd just like to ask-"
"No comment," Sophia interrupted, smiling falsely. Gene clenched his fist slightly tighter on his thigh, waiting for Alex to carry on. Just as she opened her mouth, there was a knock at the door, and she sighed in frustration as Viv stepped in, glancing worriedly at Gene before he spoke.
"Guv – there's a phone call for you."
"Tell 'em to ring back," he replied quickly. "I'm kind of busy interrogating a scummy little shit-bag with a pole shoved up 'er skirt at the moment!"
"It's DS Carling, Guv," Viv said, his brow crinkling. "He says it's urgent..." Gene glanced at Alex, then at Sophia, before standing up swiftly and nodding at Viv.
"You stay 'ere – make sure Her Royal Highness over there keeps her arse to the seat!" He nodded swiftly in Sophia's direction, briefly brushing his fingers across Alex's shoulders, before he left, hearing Viv's sigh of assent just as the door swung shut.
---
"Carling you useless sod, I'm interviewing a suspect!" Gene barked down the phone, angrily pressing it to his ear as Chris muttered something unintelligible at the other end.
"We got the gloves, Guv," Ray said, his voice quiet, as though not wanting to be overheard.
"The leathers?" Gene asked, frowning. "Thought Ciaran had 'em?"
"Nah, the yellow ones – kitchen gloves – her ones... they've got blood on 'em... Think it's blood, anyway- we bagged it up."
"Good stuff!" Gene answered, then frowned slightly. "Where were they?"
"Shoved in the back of the kitchen cupboard, along with everything else," Ray answered with distaste. "Bloody mess – didn't think 'bout it yesterday, but reckon she ain't been 'ere for months, Guv; this whole place is crawling wi' muck!"
"Everything else?" Gene asked, ignoring the latter comment as he glanced down the corridor, waiting until the pacing plod had hurried past before he said, "what's that mean?"
"The blanket, the pillow, the shirt, the water bottle, the pill bottle, a pink handbag... All of it, Guv, just like he said..." He heard Rays gulp before he added, "it's all covered in blood. Still in the bin bag; don't reckon she ever meant to burn it; yer don't leave that sort of shit around by accident..."
"How'd she forget about the gloves though?" Gene mused thoughtfully. After a second, he nodded to himself, running a hand through his hair. "Get it all down to forensics; tell Bronson I want it done by five an' that I don't care what else he's doing."
"Yes Guv," Ray murmured, his voice soft.
"An' tell Chris not to shove his poxy little fingers in any o' it!"
The DS answered quickly, his voice amused, "Sure, Guv... Anything else?"
"Just get all that buggering evidence down to forensics, sharpish," Gene sighed wearily, running a hand loosely through his hair. "With any luck, we can shove 'em both off to court by tomorrow night an' be done wi' the bastards."
----
He pulled Alex from the interview room a few minutes later, drawing her well down the corridor before he said anything. She looked at him with inquisitive eyes, but knew better than to ask anything until he decided to disclose it; she would only end up being snapped at, and from the lines of his face and the set of the jaw, she could tell that, whatever the reason for leaving Viv alone with the sour-faced Sophia Merlot, it was an important one.
"Ray found everything," he told her eventually, smoking deeply and looking wholly as though he intended to inhale fifteen gas canisters of nicotine by the end of the day. His eyes were carefully fixated on the door to the interview room, and he barely glanced at her once as she answered him.
"Everything?" She asked, frowning. "What do you mean, everything?" Alex stared, confused, her eyebrows crinkling.
"I mean everything - everything Ciaran thought she was gunna burn; the pillow, the blanket, the top, the bottle, the bag... Everything, Bolly; even her own bloody gloves!" He took another deep drag, his breath shaky and his jaw clenched. "Ray's sending it to forensics now, but something don't smell right, Alex; you don't leave murder evidence lyin' in yer kitchen cupboard!"
Alex bit her lip, her eyes flitting between Gene and the interview room. "You might if you're not the one who'll get found out," she pointed out.
"Yeah, that's what I thought at first," he muttered, shaking his head. "But the gloves? If she was pissed at her brother, maybe all the other bollucks would make sense, Bolly, but you don't leave the gloves you wore to bloody help out right along with it!"
"Well, I admit that if she was clever enough to fish out the fibres beneath the nails, she'd be unlikely to be stupid enough to leave her gloves in the cupboard, but-"
"I'd say stickin' any evidence in the cupboard's pretty stupid," Gene muttered, stubbing his cigarette end out on the wall and reaching for another. "Especially in yer own home; it'd be like stickin' a dead body in yer shower an' claimin' yer didn't know it was bloody there when yer hopped in fer a scrub!"
Alex rolled her eyes, watching as he lit up again before she spoke. "Given that Ray found her at Jeremy McKellen's flat, it seems unlikely she's been sticking around and calling it 'home'." She waggled her fingers at him; despite his frustration with the case, he couldn't help glowering in her direction as she carried on talking. "Not to mention the fact that Ciaran hadn't been there either... If she didn't think he was going back, and she really wanted to put him in the frame, where better than the place put down as his permanent address? If ever the investigation turned to him, they'd search the flat, and then-"
"And the gloves?" Gene interrupted, raising an eyebrow. "While she was busy tryin' to fuck up her brother's life, they just slipped 'er mind did they? She just forgot about 'em while she was makin' erself a cuppa? It's bloody murder evidence, Bolly; she's a tart and a right royal bitch, but she ain't thick enough to leave a ruddy great pair of incriminating, blood covered marigolds next ter the breakfast cereals an' not bloody know about it!" He kept smoking, a thick fog of dirty air surrounding him, making it difficult for Alex to breathe without tasting the nicotine at the back of her mouth. Waving her hand in a vain attempt to clear the muggy air in front of her face, she spoke with difficulty, clearing her throat several times in the process.
"I'm not suggesting that she 'forgot they existed'!" Alex protested, waggling her fingers again; Gene gave no reaction this time, and for a fleeting second she wondered if his eyes could even permeate the cloud of filthy air around him enough to make her actions clear, but a moment later, the thought slipped away. "But she might not know they were there!"
Gene looked at her in bewilderment. "It's her frigging kitchen cupboard, Alex! If I stuck a load of blood-smeared shirts in ours, do you not think you'd notice? 'cause if you stick yer bloody knickers in there it'll put me right off me blinkin' sandwiches, I'll tell you that!"
"Oh for God's sake, Gene!" She snapped exasperatedly, waving her hand around as if for emphasis. "We are not talking about my period pants! We've already established that she probably wasn't even there! She might have put the other stuff there straight away, thought she'd disposed of the gloves and then not known that someone else put them back! All I'm suggesting is that maybe it's not so clear cut as-!"
"And I'm suggesting that she'd have to be bloody Louis Braille 'imself to miss a sack of stinking, bloody, dirty murder evidence!" Their voices were charged now, angry, but deliberately hushed in the corridor, echoing around them slightly as Alex stood up to him, meeting his eyes squarely as she jabbed him viciously in the chest.
"Did you listen to a word I just said?" She snapped angrily, glowering up at him as he continued to ignore her suggestions. "Because if you did, instead of shouting about like some pre-historic ape with an attitude complex, you'd have heard me say she probably wasn't at the bloody flat to find them! It's not exactly coincidental that Ray and Chris found her holed up in Jeremy's house – maybe they were living together and she never moved out!" She pushed Gene again, sharply, moving to pull away, but his arms shot out of nowhere, hands instantly cupping her elbows as he jerked her into his chest, his cigarette falling to the floor as he pushed his face to within an inch of her own.
"I might be a little old fashioned Alex, but I can sniff a rat a mile off - if she's been at McKellen's since before Rosa died, then where the bloody hell was she when Amanda topped him? 'cause where I come from you don't wait around in the house while yer fella shags his ex-Missus!" His voice was practically a growl, angry and challenging as she stared stubbornly up at him, refusing to blink as she answered.
"It wasn't her," she said decisively, ignoring his question.
"I bet you my left bolluck she's involved!" Gene replied, glowering down at her. "Maybe the gloves weren't her, but she knew something about it, or I'm as bent as Elton John with a knotted poker shoved up his arse!"
"Well there's definitely something stuck up there!" Alex hissed, shrugging him off and stepping firmly away. Gene glared for several moments, before grinding his teeth and replying.
"Put her back in the cells," he muttered, stomping out the cigarette that had fallen to the floor, and cringing visibly when he realized he was down to his very last one. "We've got work to do."
Alex looked up at him in surprise. "We're talking to Joe?" She asked, her stern expression faltering slightly.
"No," he retorted swiftly. "We're talking to Bronson."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Of course we are," she drawled. "Because listening to anything that Alex has to say would be tantamount to female domination, and letting-!"
"We're talking to Bronson," Gene interrupted swiftly, his voice angry, "because he's a bloody forensic whiz and he'll be able to tell us if the buggering fingerprints on all that shit match with any of the stuff we've got on file! Then you can talk to the bloody nutcase all you want, for all the good it'll do you! He's a useless tosser, an' all he'll do is tell yer the alphabetical list of fishing gear and sob about how sore his arse is from all that shit-pokin' he's been 'aving!" He lit up the final cigarette, turning on his heel and heading back towards the main office without a backward glance. Alex made a loud noise of frustration, stamping her foot on the floor until Gene had disappeared from sight, before turning back to the interview room and slamming the door in anger.
"Put her back in the cells, Viv," she snapped, more fiercely than she intended.
He blinked, nodded, and obeyed; she vaguely considered apologising, but by the time she had calmed herself enough, he'd man-handled Sophia from the room, and the door had closed in his wake.
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So, following the smut from last chapter, I think someone hit the angst button, so they started yelling and I couldn't stop them! You know what they're like – they're just both so stubborn :P
Big thank you to Feline for beta-ing this one, but also just a reinforced thank you to Vintage for standing in for the last few updates, too :-)
Not sure how long the next update will be – got an update for Enduring Hope waiting in the wings so will be sometime after that.
Thank you as ever for all of your feedback, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter :-)
Mage of the Heart