Sorry, this has been a while. I got a little carried away with Christmas stories and real life... then had technical issues. Next chapter 2 Jan.


"Robbie, James is alive," Laura said as the trio entered his room.

"I know." Robbie used his thumb to indicate the next bed.

"I thought he'd still be in ICU," Tommy said.

"He should be, but when he woke he was asking for me. Became a bit hysterical until I spoke to him on the phone they held to his ear. He can't move properly, and his vision is blurry. They say his sight will come back when the swelling on his face goes down. The other is from bleeding on the brain. They don't know about that yet. They moved him here because they thought a familiar voice might help. He's sedated now. "

Laura gasped. "Poor James."

"He'll be fine, love," Robbie said with more confidence than his eyes showed. "I feel so useless in here. Any updates on the bombing?"

Barbara shook her head. "No, we are following leads and investigating anyone who worked in the building. Can you think of anyone you ever had any doubts about?"

"No! I can't believe it's one of us."

"Must be."

Everyone turned to the shaky voice. "James!"

"The very one."

Laura went over and squeezed his hand. "Welcome back."

"Thank you. I think. I feel like I've been hit by a tonne of bricks." His voice was faint but even.

Tommy laughed. "You were."

"Thank you," James said earnestly, "for what you did." When Tommy did not reply, James continued, "I heard you talking to that Constable. It gave me a focus."

Tommy walked across to James and tried to shake his hand. James struggled to grip him, so Tommy grasped it between both of his hands. "I'm glad. I don't suppose you remember what happened?"

"Give him a chance," Barbara said, then looked at Laura and Robbie and shrugged an apology.

"Robbie hadn't come in. I went back for him because... I can't remember. That constable was standing in front of the vending machine. Then the bomb went off. It all happened so slowly. All I remember was the look in his eyes. Like a split second before you hit an animal with your car and they know they are going to die."

Tommy sighed. "So David, the constable, was not involved?"

"No. Was he your suspect?"

Barbara walked across to join Tommy. "No, he's been very helpful, but we have to check everybody."

Tommy turned back to Robbie and Laura. "We should be going. Do you want a lift home?"

Laura propped herself up on Robbie's bed. "I'll stay for a while and keep these two out of mischief."

Tommy nodded "There's a briefing at eight tonight. We need you there. Please try and get some rest beforehand."

"I'll make sure she does," Robbie assured him.

"Take care, James," Barbara said.

"Do I have a choice?"

Lynley smiled at him. "Not with these two looking after you. We'll call back tomorrow. If either of you remembers anything, tell Laura or ring us."

Tommy and Barbara returned to the car. "I'm glad James cleared David," Barbara said.

"Should I be jealous?"

"Of David? No! Or anyone."

Tommy gave her a soft kiss. "Good. I need this case to be over so we can make love and ensure you never want another man again."

"You think you're that good?"

Tommy grinned shamelessly at her. "That wasn't quite what I meant, but I won't disappoint you."

"I'll make sure of that." Barbara gave him a saucy kiss then opened the car door. "Let's get back and see what they've found."


David and Winston had used Stuart's information to map the locations and identities of the bodies. From the damage, centred near two large photocopier/printer rooms, they were beginning to piece together what had happened.

"I think we can rule Jones out," Winston said, "he was in the downstairs bathroom when the bombs exploded."

"He may still have triggered them." Tommy stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Find out when those copiers were last serviced and who serviced them. Was there anything unusual about it? That might be how the bombs were installed."

"So not an inside job?"

"I didn't say that, Winston. It's too early to rule either way."

"Any luck with the phone records?"

David looked up from his computer. "They came through fifteen minutes ago. I'm running checks now, Sir."

"Good. Let me know when you have something. Barbara, can you run through everything we know and help Winston go through the files of all the people connected with that building? Anything suspicious, no matter how small, needs to be flagged and investigated. I also want all the CCTV footage from surrounding streets viewed. See if anyone was watching the building. I'm going to talk to the Thames Valley team and see what they have."

Tommy was concerned that they were eliminating suspects without finding new ones. A couple of remaining local detectives from Cowley were using local knowledge and some of the Chief Constable's officers from other areas to investigate local criminals with grudges. It might prove correct, but Tommy's instinct told him that it was wasted effort. Nonetheless, it needed to be done.

"Sir," David said as he returned, "there were seven calls around the time the emergency relay to all officers was made. Two were routine from Cowley station. One was from CS Moody's wife. One came from a mobile phone registered to a Jackson Higgins, another was from a number in Abingdon registered to a Chinese restaurant, one was from a public phone near the market, and the last was made by a phone registered to a Peter Spendling."

"Good work. Do we know anything about Higgins or Spendling?"

"Hang on." Winston keyed furiously into his computer. "I thought I recognised that name. Spendling works for Oxford Office Supplies, the people who service the photocopiers."

"Barbara, you and I will go and pick up Spendling. David, take Winston through the other callers. Look at the connections and match the public phone call with CCTV footage. There are plenty of officers over in the other tent to help you. We can't assume anything."

"Might be our first real lead," Barbara said with relief. "Did the others have anything?"

"No, they're talking to informants and going through old cases, but no one knows anything. It seems to be someone outside of Oxford's usual criminal set."


Spendling proved elusive. He was not at home when the detectives arrived at the modest red-brick, semi-detached in one of the poorer areas of Cowley. A frail woman in her sixties opened the door. "Mrs Spendling?"

"Yes."

"I'm Detective Superintendent Lynley and this Detective Inspector Havers. We are looking for Peter Spendling. Is he home?"

"Peter's me son. He's not here."

"Do you know where your son is?" Tommy asked.

The thin woman lifted her cane to point. "He'll be over in the park. He's taken my assistance dog for a walk. I don't get out much now with me cancer. Roxy needs more exercise or she'll get too fat."

"I'm sorry to hear you've been unwell," Tommy said politely.

"I'm not unwell. I'm dying. Peter's taking it badly. Made his health problems worse."

"Health problems?" Barbara prodded gently.

"Overeating. Since he was discharged from the Army, he's had trouble with his nerves. He developed an eating disorder. He's put on nearly 100 pounds. That's one reason I make him walk Roxy. What's this about?"

Tommy glanced at Barbara, who nodded. "The police station bombing. We are interviewing everyone who may have been connected to the building."

"Peter has nothing to do with the police."

Barbara now took the lead. "Your son works for Oxford Office Supplies. Do you know what he does there?"

"He services photocopiers."

"We believe he serviced those in the station recently and we need to see if he saw anything suspicious. It's just routine."

"Oh, okay. He could do better, but he likes it."

"What did your son do in the Army?" Tommy asked as if it was general conversation.

"Infantry. He was in Afghanistan, before his accident."

Barbara looked up from her notebook. "Accident?"

"He lost part of his leg when his best mate stood on an IED."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Tommy said.

"You're sorry for a lot of things, aren't you! Well, I'm sorry, but I can't be of any more help." She closed the door in their faces.

They walked towards the park. "Ring Winston and get a check made of his Army history. I wonder if he has explosives experience."

Barbara made the call. "They traced the phone box caller. A Missus Maddern apparently. She rang to report a fight at the market. Checks out on the CCTV. Winston sent one of the local boys around to take her statement. The Chinese restaurant call was about catering a function in a few weeks. They are still tracing Jackson Higgins."

"Thanks, Barbara. At the moment my money is on Spendling. He had the opportunity, potentially the knowledge or access to those who did, but what was his motive?"

"Some sort of reaction against the establishment? Maybe he couldn't blow up the Army, so this is the next best thing."

"That's possible, but this feels more personal, more targetted. And no one could know that there'd be an act of terrorism in Europe to create a reason to recall everyone."

"Opportunistic? There have been so many terror incidents lately. All he'd have to do was wait."

"And risk the bombs being discovered?"

"Photocopiers these days are big. You open some doors to unblock paper jams of refill them, but most of it is sealed off. I doubt anyone would find anything."

"You may be right. Forensics should tell us more."

They searched the park for ten minutes. Tommy looked annoyed. "There's no one here except that woman and her children on the playground. Either he's lied to his mother, or she's lied to us."

"I think she's lied," Barbara said.

"So do I, which makes me believe she knows a lot more than she's telling us."

"Do you want to take her in for questioning?"

"No, not yet. We'll go back and ask her to tell her son to report to us. Let's just make it sound routine to eliminate him from our enquiries. I don't want to tip our hand."

"You think he's our prime suspect?"

"At the moment, yes. I'll arrange for surveillance on the house. If he doesn't come in voluntarily, we'll pick him up."


Laura arrived well before the eight o'clock briefing. Tommy looked up and smiled. "Evening Laura."

"Robbie sent me back early."

"Have you had any sleep?"

"Yes, at the hospital," she replied dismissively. "Listen, James remembered that he had smelt gas when he had been walking upstairs. He thinks that explains why the bomb did so much damage."

"Have you spoken to forensics or Stuart?"

"I'm just on my way there now. We thought you should know. If the gas was turned on..."

"Then the perpetrator had been inside the building recently," Barbara finished her sentence.

Tommy pursed his lips in thought. "Why didn't anyone else react or notice?"

"If it was a slow leak, then it's like a frog in a frying pan. The nose gets used to it before the warning levels are reached. That's why so many gas leaks kill people. If you walk into a heavy concentration, you notice. If the exposure is gradual, you don't."

"Is that why he went back downstairs?" Barbara asked.

"He thinks he wanted to see what was delaying Robbie, but he can't really remember."

"Thanks, Laura," Tommy said, "keep us informed about forensics."

Winston wandered over and yawned. "I sent David home to get some sleep. He's done a good job."

"Good idea. You need to rest too. Any updates?"

"No sign of Spendling, but we found Jackson Higgins. He's the brother of one of the civilians killed in the building. His call was traced to Birmingham. He works up there as a teacher. The local boys said he was shocked and devastated when they informed him."

"Doesn't mean he wasn't involved. Maybe his sister was supposed to get out."

Barbara tutted. "It's possible but unlikely. I think we should spend more effort on Spendling."

"I agree with Barbara," Winston said.

Tommy sighed heavily. "So do I. I just don't want to leave any question unasked. Get him down here for questioning. He might have heard something in the background, or his sister may have said something. Organise that please Winston, then get some sleep."

"Sure. David's coming back at midnight. I will too and help him go through the backgrounds."

Tommy and Barbara reviewed their notes and discussed what they would present at the briefing. Spendling was still their main suspect even though his Army record was unremarkable. There was no suggestion explosives training and no history of poor attitude or behaviour.

"Could he be angry enough to blow up a police station?" Barbara asked.

"Anger isn't rational. We have to find him."

The briefing went well. ACC Innocent agreed with their analysis, and although she was impressed with the amount of work the team had done, she urged them to push harder and find Spendling.

"We are pushing as hard as we can ma'am. We have surveillance teams at his mother's house. We have men checking buses, train stations and car companies and nearby CCTV. Tomorrow I will obtain a warrant to search their house. I have two men sleeping now. They'll be back on at midnight to go through more background checks. We can then see if we can eliminate suspects or if we find more. Barbara and I will work through..."

"No, you're both exhausted too. We need you both fresh. You live in town I believe?"

"Yes, ma'am," Tommy answered.

"Then both of you go home, get some sleep and come back in the morning. You too Laura."

"Thank you, ma'am," Barbara said before Tommy could object.

"She's right," Laura said after the entourage left. "We all need sleep."

Tommy looked at his watch. "It's only nine o'clock. We can work until eleven."


It was nearly one in the morning before Tommy and Barbara arrived at his townhouse. "Do you want a nightcap?" he asked.

"No, thanks anyway. I'm knackered. I just want to sleep. I guess I should say goodnight."

Barbara stood in front of him clearly expecting a kiss. Instead, he folded her in his arms and held her tightly. "I love you. When this case is over..."

"I know. Goodnight, Tommy."

Barbara moved towards the stairs and began to ascend. Tommy followed, reluctant to let her go. She stopped on the step above him so that she was almost level with him then leant forward and kissed him. It was slow and loving.

"Sleep with me," he whispered.

Barbara looked up at him and frowned. "I..."

"Just to sleep, nothing more. Not until the case is over and we can relax. I just want to feel you next to me."

Barbara took his hand and started to move towards his bedroom.