The dangers of Smoking

Part II

The dangers of smoking are widely known, by smokers and non smokers alike. Detective Sergeant James Hathaway knows them, accepts them and lives with them. Except one. No one thought to warn about that one did they?

Chapter 42

James looked through the window of the relatives room, what he saw saddened him, scared him a little, but more than that, made him feel protective. He checked the need to rush into the room and comfort Evie, needing the facts first.

"What happened?" he asked Laura.

"We were about to autopsy the body" Laura explained "When she caught sight of his face she realised she knew him. Had quite a reaction"

"Thank you" he said quietly, watching Evie stare out of the window. Her companion, a young woman that he recognised from the mortuary alternated between flicking through a magazine and glancing nervously at Evie.

He opened the door and Evie turned around, the relief on her face tempered by something else, guilt. He nodded to her companion as she stood.

"Do you want me to stay Evie?" the girl asked.

"No, it's fine" Evie responded with a brave smile and the girl looked between the two of them. She'd later tell the staff room that the rumours were definitely true about the little kindly assistant and the tall, silent policeman, they were an item.

The girl left and James looked at Evie. She swallowed several times and he saw tears run down her face.

"It was him James" she whispered "That man, the one who grabbed me..."

"It's OK" he whispered back, realising that he had crossed the space between them and put his arms around her gently, stroking her hair as she cried.

She stayed a few moments and then pulled back, wiping her face.

"It's not" she said, angrily "If I'd let you go after him...let you investigate, report it...he might not be dead now!"

"You can't think like that" he soothed "We don't even know what he died from Eevs, it could be natural causes..."

"But he said!" she protested "He told me I was being watched! I thought he was just old and a bit confused. I should have listened to him! And you!"

"Do you think you're being watched?" James asked sharply "Evie?!"

"I don't know" she replied, her face, her voice confused "I thought I was just being paranoid..."

"What?" he demanded, taking her upper arms gently. It terrified him more to realise how terrified he was at her statement, at her suspicions.

"My phone..." she said "Things going missing from here, from home. My car breaking all the time, the guy at the garage said that I'd put petrol in it, twice, it's a diesel. I didn't think I did but...well I must have done. And the dropped calls..."

"Calls?" James sat and made her sit with him "Evie, why didn't you tell me any of this?!"

She looked at him "Because I'm fed up of being scared!" she cried "Of jumping at shadows! These could all be normal things and here I am running to my policeman boyfriend every time I get a wrong number ring me up?!"

"Evie" James sighed with exaggerated patience "This isn't paranoia is it? You know that. Who is it? Do you have any idea?"

"Gedge" she sighed "He's out of prison"

"And he's made contact?"

"No, not directly anyway" she admitted "He wrote to me, apologised, asked my forgiveness"

James wiped a hand across his face and looked at her "I can't investigate this" he said finally "Because apart from the obvious conflict of interest, I'm going to kill the bastard when I get my hands on him"

"James..." she ventured quietly, he sat with his fists clenched, the knuckles white and looked back at her. Then something clicked and he held his hand out to her, she all but collapsed on him and he held her close.

"It's my fault..." she sobbed.

"No it's not" he replied, his tone a lot stronger than he felt "If someone, if Gedge is watching you, has been doing all this, and killed this man for trying to warn you, it's his fault, not yours"

He held onto her as she cried and he felt like crying too.

"We're going to get to the bottom of this" he promised "And you're safe, do you hear me? No one is going to hurt you Evie, because they have to get past me first"

"That poor man..." she said in a shaky voice.

"We'll get him" he promised, kissing the top of her head "I'll hunt him down myself if I have to, rules or no rules. I'll speak to my governor"

She looked up at him "Don't do anything stupid" she begged.

"I won't" he promised her "Do you think you can tell Lewis everything?"

She pulled away and wiped her cuff across her face, smiling slightly as he produced the ever present handkerchief and gave it to her.

"Thanks" she sniffed "And yes..."

"Good" he leaned over and kissed the top of her head "I'll get him to come over to my place, we'll get you some stuff on the way"

"Oh I..." she stammered.

"If you don't want to stay with me" he said, looking at his feet "I can ask Laura, or maybe one of your friends...?"

"No" she put her hand on his "I want to...I want to stay with you"

He smiled, relieved that she'd be where he could actually see that she was OK, at least for tonight.

"I'm sorry for crying all over you" she sniffed, more secure knowing that he wasn't going to leave her on her own, that he had rushed here the minute he'd known she was in trouble.

He gave a small laugh "All part of the service" he assured, putting an arm around her they left the room.

Several interested people looked on as they headed for the locker room.

"You OK Evie?" one called and James bristled immediately at the voice.

"She's fine. Thank you" he replied coldly to Gordy.

…...

They drove in silence from Evie's flat after collecting her things, heading for James'.

"I'm sorry" she mumbled through the thick silence "I should have told you"

"Yes" he agreed "You should have. But you didn't, and that doesn't matter. What matters is getting to the bottom of this now"

"You're angry" she sighed.

"Yes" he agreed again "But more than that" he sighed, waiting for traffic lights to turn he looked at her, a sad expression on his face "I thought you trusted me"

"I do" she replied sadly.

"Even if" he started, easing the accelerator down and clutch up as the lights changed "It was you being paranoid, and jumping at shadows. Your policeman boyfriend would still have liked to have known, so he could be there for you"

He changed gear and looked at her, a direct look which compounded her guilt and he saw it. He reached out the hand from the gear stick and took hers, squeezing.

"But now I do know" he added "I'm not going to start giving you a hard time. Catholic guilt is my department"

Evie squeezed his fingers back before he needed the hand again and gave a small laugh.

"What's mine?" she asked.

"Stopping me being too much of a pompous twat" he said, his voice a little lighter.

Evie laughed again, a little more like herself this time "Tall order"

"You have an obsession with my height" he observed dryly.

"No" she eyed him with amusement, but also gratitude, he seemed to know that she needed a lighter conversation, something like normality "I have an obsession with my height being so much shorter than yours, or most people's for that matter"

"Never been a problem has it?" he asked with a wicked grin "Not that I've noticed anyway"

"No" laughter bubbled again and James was relieved to see the haunted look retreat more from her face as he pulled the car over outside his flat.