The end of chapter 12 seems to have shocked a few people. Shall we continue?

Tears

"That's not possible," Alex gasped.

Gene turned away from Alex to face the window. Alex knew that he was trying to hide his emotions from her and ordinarily she would have looked the other way and let him compose himself. But Ray was her friend too and she didn't care if Gene was upset. She ran up to Gene and wrenched him around to face her.

"It can't be," she whispered. Gene reached out and clutched her arms, pinning them to her sides.

"Do you think I would lie about something like this?"

"NO!" Alex shouted and Gene dropped his hands in shock at the volume of her exclamation.

"I know you would never lie to me," Alex said, quieter now, "But Ray would never kill anyone."

Gene looked away from Alex and she felt her stomach plunge.

"Oh my God."

"There was an… incident in Manchester…" Gene briefly described what had happened.

"That doesn't mean that this time it was him! Gene, there must be some mistake, something's wrong. It wasn't Ray!"

Gene looked at Alex sadly. He knew that what he would say next would upset her. It had upset him.

"His DNA was found at the scene. His hair was found all around the place and under the girl's fingernails."

A tear fell slowly down Alex's cheek. She made no attempt to brush it away.

"Alibi?"

"None," said Gene heavily, "Says he was drinking beer and watching telly. Can't remember what he was watching, obviously."

Alex stared at him in shock. "You think he did it, don't you?"

Gene looked at his feet. "If we found someone else's DNA at the scene of a murder, very similar to other murders and the owner had no alibi for any of the murders, what would you think?"

"I know Ray!"

"So do I! He's like my brother. I've known him longer than I've known almost anyone else in the force!"

"Then why do you think he did it?"

"Don't you see, Alex?" Gene cried, grasping her arms again and pushing his face close to hers, "It doesn't matter what I think. There is overwhelming evidence to pin the deaths on Ray and no jury in the land will hesitate in sending him down!"

Gene's voice broke on the last word and he rested his forehead against Alex's. She felt tears streaming down her face, but she couldn't be sure they were all hers.

She noticed that Gene hadn't denied believing that Ray was the killer.

"Tell me it wasn't him," Gene whispered into her hair as she moved her head so her cheek rested against his chest, trying to soothe herself with the beating of his heart, "Tell me there's a way for this to be a mistake, that Ray's DNA could have got to a crime scene he had never visited. Please Alex."

Alex said nothing.

Finally they broke apart and Gene muttered something about going home but Alex stopped him. Something about the thought of Gene all alone wherever he lived having to deal with one of his officers being a murderer sickened her. She also didn't think she'd be able to sit in her flat alone all night either.

As Alex put the kettle on, Gene started pacing by the window, like a lion in a cage.

"How are Shaz and Chris taking it?"

"About as badly as you'd expect. Chris refused to interview him, had to get some of the Fenchurch West twats to help. Shaz is a bit tougher but she keeps asking if Ray's alright. I don't know how she thinks he is!"

Gene aimed a viscous kick at Alex's coffee table, almost turning over. "Shit, sorry," he grunted as a shoebox went flying, emptying its contents on the floor. Alex looked round in horror as Gene crouched down to pick up the shoebox and replace its contents. She saw him freeze as something on the yellow cards caught his eye. She watched him mouth his own name and look up at her, accusation in his eyes.