Chapter Two

"This is absurd!" came as a chorus from round the room once Catherine had left.

"Catherine didn't even have a relationship with Marc Weston," Nick argued.

"Yeah, just tell them the truth," Warrick added, "And let her get back to work."

Ecklie shook his head, slowly. "The truth would seem far too convenient right now. After two years we admit that whole story was an undercover operation? His lawyers would never accept it; there'd be cries of cover up aimed at the whole department."

"So instead you let Catherine take the fall?" Nick groused.

"We know Catherine hasn't done anything wrong. She'll stay home for a few days and day shift will find evidence that either exonerates Marc Weston, or implicates him – that Catherine hasn't been anywhere near."

"Day shift?" Warrick asked.

Ecklie nodded. "You're all too close to this. Leaving you on the case would complicate things further."

"Catherine was all over the crime scene, Conrad," Gil contributed now. "They can argue that she could have planted any evidence that days find."

"She was all over the scene, but not the body. From Catherine's report, David was already with the body when she arrived; there was no opportunity for her to have planted evidence on the body. So we're hoping there's something there."

"It would be a whole lot simpler to tell the truth about Catherine and Marc," Nick reiterated.

Ecklie sighed, as if disappointed that he couldn't agree. "I know it seems that way, but we're dealing with lawyers who clearly aren't against lying to get this case thrown out. They'd twist the truth around and we'd end up in a far bigger mess."

"Ecklie's right," Gil agreed. "We've got to play along for now. Otherwise we'll end up with the case taken off us, and whoever is trying to frame Marc Weston will likely get away with it."

"The case has been taken off us," Nick stated.

"It would be taken off the lab," Gil explained to him. "We'll end up with internal investigations all over the place and James Howard's murder will become insignificant. We need to play along and let days bring the killer in."

Ecklie nodded to Gil, obviously appreciating his understanding. "Thank you… For now, your shift's over, so you should head home and get some sleep. I'll keep you all informed of what's going on."

With that, Ecklie left the other three men alone.

"This is crazy!" Nick exclaimed.

"All this mess because of one little undercover operation two years ago," Warrick muttered.

"That's why I don't like sending my people in undercover," Gil remarked.

"Surely it doesn't need to be this complicated though," Nick said, "Marc can tell the truth about his relationship with Catherine."

"Evidently what Marc wants is not getting through. His lawyers are controlling this."

"But it's making him look even more guilty," Warrick observed, "If they're lying to get him off this."

"It seems they don't care about that. This is the tactic they've chosen – and they're relying on the fact that most people don't know it's a lie: Particularly the press."

"And their stories from two years ago will help them support what they're hearing now," Warrick added.

"Exactly… But Ecklie's right. We should go and get some sleep. I'll see you tonight."

"Make sure Cath knows we're on her side," Nick said as Gil was leaving.

He stopped and turned back, saying, "I will," before leaving the room.

-----

Catherine was in the kitchen when Gil arrived at her house. He called to her when he came through the door so that she would know it was him, and then removed his jacket before moving through the house to join her.

She was wiping down the counters beneath the window; her back to him.

"Are you okay?" he asked her, softly, watching her to see if he could judge her mood from her body language.

"Oh, I'm just fine," she replied, scrubbing harder at something on the surface.

Gil crossed the kitchen, commenting gently, "But will that surface be when you're finished with it?"

Catherine dropped the cloth and turned on him. "Well of course I'm not okay, Gil! One of my friends is accused of murder, and I can't do anything to help him because I have to sit at home!"

"Catherine, I know you don't want to hear this, but – "

"Then don't say it!" she said, pulling away from him. "If I don't want to hear it then it's probably best you don't say it."

"Catherine, I'm not the bad guy here," he remarked, with a small frown of concern.

She turned back to face him, opening her mouth as if to speak, but closing it again without actually having said anything. Her shoulders dropped and her voice now reflected this reduction in tension. "I know."

"I'm on your side."

She nodded. "But you believe this is the right thing to do?"

"It's the only thing to do, Catherine… Day shift has the case. We'll just have to see what they find."

"Day shift?"

Gil nodded. "We're too close to it. It wouldn't be wise for our team to investigate it."

Catherine let out a frustrated sigh. "This is absolutely ridiculous! I didn't even have a relationship with Marc and it's turned everything upside down."

"You know releasing that fact now won't change anything."

"I just can't believe they're doing this. Attacking the lab because - … Hell why are they attacking the lab? Marc didn't do it! They shouldn't need a farcical defence."

"I don't know why they're doing this," Gil said, seriously, but calmly, slowly stepping towards Catherine. "We'll have to wait and see what happens. I can't see Marc going along with this."

"He mustn't know what they're doing," she said, looking up at Gil as he stopped in front of her.

Gil placed his hands on her waist and encouraged her closer to him. She stepped forward and rested her own hands on his arms. "The evidence will sort this out," he told her confidently.

She gave a sad sigh. "What if it doesn't?"

"We have to believe that it will… Even if it is day shift finding it."

Catherine gave a small laugh at this. "Okay, I get it. I have to trust other people. They're just as skilled as I am."

He smiled back and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "Everything will be fine."

He knew she didn't fully believe him, and if he was honest, he didn't entirely believe himself. They were dealing with lawyers and the press: there was no predicting what might happen next.

TBC…