This is the last chapter. Thank you very much to everyone that has reviewed and favourited this story. It was wonderful to upload chapters and get back so many comments. Thank you all again!

So Help Me God

"You shouldn't have gone, you know," said Alex, swilling the wine around her glass.

"Oh, give them a break Bolls," said Gene, downing his entire glass of wine and then refilling it. "Ray and Chris don't have to verbally give evidence and most of what we've got is on paper anyway. Those overpaid dishonest wigs can just read it out and prove their fancy education wasn't a complete waste of time."

"Shaz doesn't deserve prison," said Ray definitely. "Right Chris?"

Chris took a sip of his beer. "Shaz broke the law, technically like. But she don't belong in there. She felt oppressed by an invisible force and found herself bowing to its every whim and fancy. In many ways it's a metaphor for the oppression we all feel in our everyday lives by society and what society expects of us. We are bound by the ropes of race, religion, occupation and social status. It won't be until those ropes fray, or we learn to untie them for ourselves and for others, that we will truly be free and experience happiness."

"Christ, the sooner Shaz gets back, the sooner she can put a stop to your overdosing on philosophical horseshit," said Gene, signalling to Luigi for another bottle of his house rubbish.

XXX

"Detective Inspector Alexandra Drake…"

Alex tried not panic to visibly as she confirmed that that was her, that she lived at that address, and that she swore to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth…

"So help me God," she whispered and the Bible was put away.

Exhibit A was a confidential internal memo, only for the eyes of DCI Hunt, DI Drake, DS Carling and WPC Granger, concerning the first anonymous letter and the threat to the life of DS Carling.

"Were you not concerned that your knowledge of the letters Granger was receiving was jeopardising the life of your sergeant?" asked the lawyer.

"Yes," said Alex, as calmly as she could, "hence why all memos were strictly confidential."

"Why did you choose to obey the letters?"

"Because we were concerned about the life of our sergeant," said Alex, trying to suppress the smile she could feel forming on her lips.

"Despite it being corruption, DI Drake?"

"We did not intend to mislead in the long term. We suspected- correctly it turned out- that the letters had some from someone responsible for the deaths of the sex workers. Whether it was from the murderer or an accessory, we weren't sure of at that time. We changed the transcript to protect DS- now DI- Carling and to buy us time with the case."

"Yet you lost your job over the change in the transcript?"

"That was how it appeared to the outside world," said Alex, frowning. Where was he going with this?

"To the outside world, DI Drake?" sneered the lawyer, looking knowingly at the judge, "and to those in the know, it was due to other letters. This time threatening to kill DCI Hunt?"

"Yes," said Alex because what else could she say?

"Did DCI Hunt know about the letters you received?"

"Yes," said Alex, her stomach twisting painfully.

"Yet you were reluctant to leave, weren't you, DI Drake? Rather than quitting straight away, you risked the life of your DCI by staying for a week. In fact, he nearly got shot by criminals working for the letter senders."

Shit.

"You gave in so quickly with Granger's first letter. Why not yours?"

"Part of the plan," said Alex with far more confidence than she had any right to be in possession of.

"In what way?"

"In obeying the first letter," said Alex slowly, her brain whirring all the while, "we didn't progress very far. We didn't have a way of tracing the letter. With this one, we tried to drag it out, see if the sender would get worried and see how he'd act."

"You didn't think to do this the first time?"

"DCI Hunt wouldn't allow it," said Alex, calmer now. This could have actually happened. "It was too much of a risk for Carling."

The lawyer seemed to accept this. "So what did you find out?"

"I don't follow."

"Did you manage to trace the letters? You arrested those that shot you, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"Didn't they say who they were working for?"

"No."

"Did you even interview them?"

Alex stood in terrified silence. Think, Alex, think! No they hadn't bloody interviewed them. If they had, then everything would have been sorted months ago. Ray would never have gone to prison, Chris would never have been kidnapped or cheated on Shaz… she should have told Gene. Every lie they were telling should have been a truth.

"Yes," she said, her toes curling into the floor. No they hadn't and she had just committed perjury and it could be easily proven. Easily, easily, easily.

"The transcript isn't here."

I bloody know! "You didn't ask for it," she said innocently.

Shaz's lawyer made an objection. There was no need for this, the investigations into another crime (namely the jewellery robbery) had no bearing on this case. The prosecution, rather predictably disagreed, but the judge was on Shaz's side. Alex glanced at the jury for as long as she dared. Did they notice? Had anybody worked out that she had broken an oath made on the Bible, that she had lied in court?

XXX

"For God's sake, Bolly, look a little more cheerful. You look like someone just told you champagne causes hair straightening."

Alex took the glass of wine from Gene and looked thoughtfully across the bar. Chris and Ray were loitering by the door, a pint each. Chris caught her eye.

"I thought-" she began, "The judge… the jury… how did they come to that decision?"

She ran a finger around the rim on her wine glass without being fully aware of what she was doing. "I cocked it up, Gene. I know I did. How can they ignore that? How come I haven't been arrested myself?"

Gene took a swig of wine from the bottle. Alex turned to look at him. There was a guilty silence.

"It was you!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide in shock. "I can't believe… are you mad, Gene?"

"Keep your voice down, Drake!" Gene hissed, "And you've got some bloody cheek being all judgemental. Corruption was your bloody idea. I just went along with it."

"You bribed them!" Alex whispered through gritted teeth, "Or threatened them. Which was it?"

"Bribery. Not my first instinct but it worked." Alex continued to shoot daggers at him and he rolled his eyes. "Look over there," he said indicating the doorway. "Look at her, how happy she is and tell me I didn't do the right thing. That we didn't do the right thing."

Alex turned around to look and, sure enough, Shaz had just entered, a free woman.

"Signorina Granger!" Luigi beamed as he took Shaz's face in his hands and kissed her profusely on each cheek many times. "How lovely to have you back here! I give you a bottle of white wine, on the house eh?"

Shaz beamed and turned to face her colleagues. To her relief they smiled back and took it in turns to hug her- Ray even whispered in her ear, "Thank you for saving my life."

Then Chris stepped forward. Shaz watched his face nervously- would they ever get back to how they were? But he threw his arms around her and held her tightly.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, "I'm sorry for everything."

"I know," Chris said back, "And I was so angry with you at first Shaz."

"Aren't you still?" she asked as they broke apart.

"A little bit yeah," said Chris seriously and Shaz felt her hear break a little. It must have shown because Chris stroked her cheek gently.

Maybe they would get back to how they were, in time.

XXX

Alex sat on the sofa in her flat and removed her boots, wriggling her toes in relief. Gene watched her toes and suddenly felt a strange urge to… never mind. He subconsciously poked the inside of his cheek with his tongue and tried to concentrate on what Alex was saying.

"Thank you," she said, "for what you did. For Shaz."

"I should be thanking you," he said, "Was your idea after all, Bolls."

"But I needed you," she replied and Gene had to look away. The intensity of her gaze had made him catch his breath. But she was still talking.

"And for what you said before. About me seeing the best in people." Gene looked back as she giggled softly, a wicked glint in her eye. "I had no idea you were so perceptive."

"What do you see when you look at me, Bolly?" Gene whispered and the smile fell from her face, the glint in her eye softened.

"I think-" she began cautiously, "I think I see everything. You are rude, sexist and a thug. You drink too much, smoke too much and you are frequently violent against people who violate your moral code."

Alex stood up. Was it him or was she coming closer to him?

"But you make me feel safe. You protect us, all of us. You care when we get into trouble, even if it's a result of our own actions. If Fenchurch East is your kingdom, then you are a noble king."

Suddenly, he felt her hand on his chest and her breath on his face. He ran a finger along her jaw and across her lips.

"Juxtapositions," she breathed against his fingertips, "I know you are capable of cruelty. I know you are capable of kindness."

Involuntarily, she moved her head and he moved his. Their lips were millimetres apart.

"Gene," she whispered.

"Alex," he whispered back. He closed his eyes as their mouths met and their lips juxtaposed. He moved his hands down her back and could feel his hair tangling around her fingers.

All he could think about was her.