SO sorry for the length of time this has taken me, writers block, holidays and just general I can't do this has led to such a long gap! However now that my plan is finally sorted (apart from one final plotline) I think the updates should be quicker than this! All I can say is sorry, and for anyone still reading this hope you enjoy it and please review it =]

Chapter three

'Alright, alright, keep your knickers on' Alex sighed 'If it's bothering you that much I'll try and get something sorted…now can we focus on the case please, this murdering bastard needs to be caught today…I'm not telling someone else that their little girl is dead!'

Half an hour later Gene and Alex walked back into the CID offices, the coroner had nothing much to add to what they already knew, the girl had been beaten badly, the marks around her wrists and ankles suggested the fact she had been tied down for a substantial period of time and there were signs of sexual assault. As the other girls she had been stabbed through the heart, however one small difference was that a note had been found tangled in the girl's long curly blonde hair which was screwed into a very tiny ball which when unfolded had written a paragraph of numbers which were grouped together in different combinations of different amounts of numbers.

Opening the doors they saw Shaz looking through the pile of missing person's while Ray smoked a cigarette and Chris was just staring at Shaz 'So any look on finding out her name yet?' Alex asked the room in general.

'Not yet Ma'am' replied Shaz 'There is still a few to go through here, she pointed to a stack resting on the edge of her desk.

'Oi, dim and dimmer' Gene roared which caused Chris to jump out of his seat in shock and knock over a pile of papers in the process 'will you get some bloody work done, Shaz is the only one trying to find this girl!'

'Sorry Guv' replied Chris while trying to look like he hadn't been scared when Gene came in and trying to sort out all the papers while managing to knock more stuff over in the process.

'Get on with it, will ya! How hard can it be? That can't have been that many girls gone missed who look like the girl downstairs who is now lying on a slab and whose parents are probably worried sick!' Gene shouted, before heading into his office and slamming the door.

Alex sighed before heading over to the whiteboard to add the latest victim's details up with the other girls, she knew she had to find the pattern this killer was using if they had any chance of stopping them before another girl was attacked and killed.

Once Alex had added all the details they knew so far about the latest victim she sat back and began to read the bored again, she had done this a number of times a day since the first murder and she didn't think anything new would jump out at her but sometimes it was easier to step back and look at the whole picture.

'Ma'am?' Shaz interrupted Alex's thinking 'I think I might have found her…'

'Let's see Shaz' Alex walked over to Shaz's desk to pick up the file of a Jessica Hartley, twenty years old with the long curly blonde hair as fitted the photo of the latest victim. 'Think you're right Shaz' Alex turned and walked into Gene's office

'Don't bother knocking Bolls, the door is only there for a reason' Gene said while screwing up the piece of paper he was writing on as Alex came storming through the door.

'Guv we think we have found her'

'Well why didn't you say?' Gene jumped up as Alex passed over the file of Jessica 'Hate to say it but I think Shaz is right! Who is missing her?' he asked as he chucked the file onto his desk and reached for his Whisky.

Alex picked up the file and started looking through 'Says here her dad rung up the night after she went missing which would be six days ago…fits in with the other victims Guv'

'Right we had better pay this…' Gene looked through the file 'Mr Hartley a visit Bolls'. You three, he pointed at Ray, Chris and Shaz keep on at forensics I want to know what they have to say the moment I get back! This case needs sorting…..today!

Gene stormed out of CID and off down the corridor, Alex started to follow and stopped by the door 'Oh and can you see if you can decipher the note we found on the body please Shaz?'

'Sure Ma'am' replied Shaz as Alex walked out of the office and off to catch up with Gene, who was unsurprisingly sat in the Quattro waiting for her.

Being sat in the car with Gene concentrating on his driving gave Alex time to think about her feelings for Gene again. What was it about this man? This man she once thought of as a brute who didn't seem to care for other's feelings, what had changed? More than once now she had found herself thinking what it would be like to be more than just friends with him and her nights were filled of dreams of the two of them together.

Gene glanced over at Alex again, she was being unusually quiet for his Bolly, his Bolly….where had that come from? He wondered what was going on in that head of hers, whatever it was gave him time to take another look at her, starting with that perm she was beginning to grow out, down to her legs, today encased in one of her favourite pairs of skin tight jeans, he was sure she did it on purpose, he was sure she knew how much seeing her sway those hips in his direction turned him on.

Alex was still quiet when they pulled up outside the Hartley's house 'Earth to Bolly are you with us?' Gene called, 'or are you going to sit there all day?'

'What? Sorry, let's go' came Alex's reply as they both got out of the car are walked up the pathway. As they got to the front door, both their hands reached up to press the bell together, meaning Gene's hand came to rest on top of Alex's 'Oh god sorry' said Gene while quickly removing his hand and looking at anything but Alex. If he had he would have seen Alex blush and then a flash of disappointment across her face as he removed it.