Chapter Twenty-One;
Trent

Maybe it was copper's intuition, or the feeling of guilt in his stomach that Millie had stormed away from him for putting his foot in his mouth again, but Max felt he was missing something. Millie's words from the phone call a bit earlier played in his mind as he started back to Sun Hill. 'Oh, sorry sarge. Just, will DC Spark be with you?'. There was something so odd about not just the words but the tone. He analysed it properly in his head now and heard not just distrust in Millie's voice but something else. She sounded, could he even say it; afraid of Hayleigh? It sounded so stupid in his head but he couldn't help but feel that was what was in her tone. Not terrified, not even afraid was the right word, just wary. Maybe wary was it.

But why?

Just a few days earlier they'd been getting along so well. Something had changed since Millie had turned up at Max's door and he was arrogant but not enough to simply pass it off as Millie reading too much into a situation, a crush gone too far. It had taken a bit to convince Max that Millie's prowess as an officer was that she had a lot more going on below the surface than anyone saw, and now he knew that he didn't doubt her abilities, he just wished he didn't feel so out of the loop.

When he arrived back at the station, starting up the stairs to CID, he was waylaid by a voice. He turned when he spotted Stevie hurrying up behind him. She handed him the pieces of paper she was holding without a word and he glanced down at them with a soft sigh. "Trent was killed the same way as Bolt."

"So, it was him?" Stevie asked, her voice always going a tad softer when she was afraid to voice something.

Max nodded. "Parents identified the markings and it was confirmed off his dental." Her head hung a little. "His time of death was about midday." He glanced at Trent's report. "Trent's was just after 11." He frowned. "Either Bolt's been a busy boy today or we have two different culprits." Max handed back the report. "Either way, they were found because Bolt wanted us to find them."

As he started into the CID room Stevie followed. "How are the family?"

Max shrugged. "I didn't stick around to find out. Millie was with them," of course he hadn't seen Millie after she'd gone after Eleanor but he knew enough about the PC to know she avoided conflict whenever she could. She likely came in through another entrance with the teenager. He didn't think about checking on the parents either. After the 'Roxy Andrews' business he didn't feel like facing Andrea. "Roger's taking them home when it's done." He didn't stop at his own desk, moving to the desk PC Brown worked on now, sitting down in her chair he glanced at her piles of notes. They were neatly ordered as he expected. His piles were a mess. "Go tell the guv weren't going to need a debrief about this. Everyone," he glanced back at Stevie. "Okay?"

Nodding, seemingly about to ask him what he was searching for but stopped when Max spoke again, she just put the report down on her desk and started towards DI Manson's office as Max started going through Millie's notes. When he found nothing significant his eyes moved to her computer, nothing there either, and then he noticed the notepad. His fingers brushed over the top sheet and he felt the indents. Grabbing the notepad he moved to try and reveal the words when the door of CID opened again and Hayleigh walked in. She gave him a brief smile but the uneasiness Millie had instilled settled in the pit of Max's stomach and stopped him even trying to return one. He just gave her a nod then, taking the notepad, he walked briskly from the room.

...

Andrea finally stopped crying as they reached home. David had been silent the whole way back and Nate kept glancing back at them, making sure they were okay. He couldn't help it – he was genuinely worried that with Andrea's fragile state she was going to do something stupid. She'd already claimed that without Samuel she was nothing, seemingly undeterred by David's mention of staying strong for Eleanor, who failed to show up for the ID (not that Nate or Roger blamed her). Nate was hesitant about taking her home and leaving her there with only David to watch her but Samuel's father was sure he'd do okay so they'd taken the couple back to their Witness Protection flat and ushered them upstairs. Under the watchful eye of two suited WP detectives Roger took David's door keys and opened the door, frowning as his eyes fell quickly to the piece of paper, laying words-side down in the hallway, evidently pushed through the letterbox. Worried it might be someone, namely Craig Bolt, taunting Andrea and David, he picked it up while pretending he'd dropped the keys and pocketed it. Andrea and David didn't notice, heading inside, David mentioning tea. Roger shook his head at the offer. "We have to get back but, thank you." He held out his card. "If you need anything." David gave a light smile as he took the card and held the door open for them. Once they were outside and the door shut behind them Roger pulled out the note.

"Is this why you were out of there like a bat out of hell?" Nate commented, craning his neck to read the letter.

Roger nodded. "Pushed through the letterbox." He unfolded it and straightened it out between his palms. "'Mr Mrs Bolt. I have understanding. They got my sister. I will get them.'" Roger read aloud. Nate frowned deeply. "That doesn't sound like Bolt."

"That sounds more like someone who doesn't speak English as a first language." He motioned to the letter. "And has a common enemy with Andrea and David."

Roger slipped the note into an evidence bag. "Not just that but they seemed to understand. They know about Samuel?" He glanced back at the flat. "Let's get this back to the station. I can't make heads or tails of this on my own."

"It's not like you not to try though?" Nate teased.

Roger just wiped a hand over his eyes. "It's been a long week."