Sorry for my long absence from writing. Thanks for the messages of encouragement from those still reading this and Breaking Through. Sorry I haven't replied to you individually but I'll try to do that. Although I haven't had the time or headspace to write for a long time, it is nice to know there are still readers out there. I hope you enjoy this update.

Just a recap – it's the early days of the pandemic. Stuck in Toronto because of border closures, Holly has taken a job with the forensic department and on her first day back at work runs into Gail at a crime scene. The dead man, Paul, has been struck on the head, while out running.

Gail and Frankie are investigating the murder of Paul when soon after his partner Ray is found dead. Gail thinks Paul's business partner Sam might have something to do with both murders but Ray's sister Susan swears the three men were close friends. Meanwhile, it appears that Ray, who has been largely incapacitated since injuring his back at work some years ago, has been embezzling from Paul and Sam's company, putting away money for controversial back surgery in Switzerland. And it's quite possible Susan and Sam are planning to do a runner…

Meanwhile, spurred on by the urgency brought on by the pandemic, Gail and Holly have admitted they still have feelings for each other and want to be together. Then Andy and Chloe show up on Gail's doorstep with Holly, who has been hit by a car while riding her bike home.

….

'Nice place,' Chloe said, surveying Gail's apartment with the air of a real estate agent appraising it for sale.

Gail looked up from her position on the couch with a scowl. She was tending to the sizeable graze on Holly's knee, gently patting it with an antiseptic wipe to remove the dirt and grit embedded in tender flesh.

'The lair of Gail Peck,' Chloe said as she did another sweep of the room, her eyes wide and her voice portentous, like she was now a side show impresario, inviting the crowds to roll up and witness something so bizarre it was beyond earthly imagination.

This was exactly why Gail never invited anyone over. Why did her friends always treat her like some sort of weirdo? Like every choice she made was strange.

'You make me sound like a freak,' she huffed.

It was just a regular apartment. Two bedrooms, a bathroom and an open-plan living area. It was comfortably and, she would even venture to say, tastefully furnished. The apartment overlooked a small park which, through neglect rather than design, had a stand of maple trees so tall that in these summer months their green canopy seemed to stretch on endlessly. From her vantage point in living room, Gail could almost imagine she was in the country not downtown Toronto.

The park was too unkempt to be well used. Occasionally Gail noticed a dog walker on the periphery and last summer a homeless man had pitched a makeshift tent, but he was gone before the first snowfall. Late one night, drawn by the sound of whooping and hollering, she spied a bunch of teenagers darting among the trees, fuelled more by high spirits than the bottle of vodka they were passing around. Elaine would have summoned a patrol car to disperse them. Gail reached for her noise cancelling sleep buds. Every bit of defiance against her mother, no matter how small, was a source of satisfaction.

'It's a great place,' Chloe reassured quickly, as ever eager not to offend. Gail noted she didn't contradict the freak comment. 'It's got style,' Chloe then pronounced emphatically, beaming and nodding vigorously to underscore her point.

'What did you expect? Body parts boiling on the stove.'

'Dov did wonder,' Chloe said.

Gail tried to suppress her irritation. Was that an attempt at humour? She could never figure out if Chloe pretended to ignore her snark or whether, being such a Disney Princess, it actually went over her head.

'The Superintendent gave me a large stockpot as a housewarming gift,' Gail smiled saccharinely. 'A tiny little creature like you would probably easily fit.'

'Gail,' Chloe chided but in the manner of someone accustomed to this back and forth of teasing and who was long past being offended by Gail.

Was Gail just teasing? And if so, when had her relationship with Chloe morphed into this? Gail had an unnerving suspicion that Chloe, having herself never been outright rude to anyone, at least not intentionally, experienced something of a thrill whenever Gail unleashed her snark. Where once Chloe was floored by Gail's apparent disregard for social niceties, lately she only made a show of being scandalised because this apparently was part of their shtick.

While Chris and Dov and even Andy dismissed her as difficult, Gail had once overheard Chloe stoutly coming to her defence, saying 'Gail can be a sour puss but she's our sour puss and we love her for it.' Though Gail had cringed at the rebuke, it was better, she supposed, than Elaine's description of her as curmudgeonly, an epithet Gail had up to that point believed was reserved for irascible old men.

'Only I would have thought you and Dov had better things to occupy your time than imagine what I do in the privacy of my own home,' Gail now said, sounding every bit a curmudgeon.

It's just,' Andy started and then hesitated.

'Just what,' Gail rounded on Andy. Now she was truly irritated.

'It's just you've never invited any of us over so, you know, naturally we wonder.'

'About body parts,' Gail raised an eyebrow.

'Gail,' Andy held up her hands in exasperation.

Gail sighed. Great. Were all her so-called friends talking about her? Speculating about what she did at the end of the workday when she was finally rid of their company and could get the peace and quiet she craved. Bad enough that everyone was up in everyone's business at 15. A big advantage, or so Gail had thought, of moving out of the frat house was that her private life would be just that – private.

'Wait, this is the first time you've been here?' Holly sounded surprised. She looked from Chloe to Andy.

'I'm not a hermit,' Gail protested, though in truth she had become something of one. 'And you know COVID,' she flapped her hands about, 'entertaining isn't exactly plague safety behaviour,' she added, even though this excuse was a stretch. She had bought the apartment well before COVID hit.

Holly smiled indulgently. Like she could tell Gail was deflecting.

'First time here,' Andy confirmed.

'But you knew Gail's address,' Holly puzzled. 'I mean you drove here like it was a familiar route.'

'Aww, you've got a kitty cat,' Chloe gushed.

Sometimes talking to Chloe was enough to give you whiplash such was her tendency to flick from one topic to the next. Most people put it down to Chloe's seemingly boundless enthusiasm, however in this instance it meant she avoided responding to Holly. No doubt Chloe and Andy had checked the police data base for Gail's address but when? Gail would wager it wasn't after Holly's accident this afternoon. Had they been doing drive-bys ever since Gail moved in hoping to catch her on the stoop?

'Puss, puss, puss,' Chloe said. Bent at the waist like a demented stork, she began advancing towards Hayley.

Hayley, who had just then appeared as she did whenever Gail arrived home, stiffened, her ears back and eyes wide. She turned abruptly and shot back through the cat flap to the balcony outside.

'Oh,' Chloe straightened, sounding deflated. 'Untamed?'

'Discerning,' Gail replied.

Holly bit her lip to stop herself from smiling but then hissed when Gail pressed a little too hard on the wound.

'You okay,' Gail asked, her focus completely back on Holly.

'Just stings a bit,' Holly gave a weak smile.

Although thrown by the appearance of Andy and Chloe on her front stoop with an injured Holly, Gail had quickly ushered the trio up to her apartment. Despite Holly's protests, Andy and Chloe insisted on supporting her up the stairs. Once Gail was satisfied Holly had no broken bones, she retrieved the first aid kit from the bathroom and two ice packs from the freezer.

'Are you sure you don't need to go to the ER?' Andy asked. She was hovering next to the couch, with an ice pack in one hand, and a slightly worried expression.

Holly shook her head. She had already made the very valid point that all the hospitals were swamped with COVID patients and that, given her wounds were superficial and she was in fact a doctor, she was quite capable of treating herself. 'I'll just be stiff and sore tomorrow,' she had said.

'But what if you were concussed,' Andy pressed.

'Really, I'm fine,' Holly swallowed as Gail applied more antiseptic, clearly determined not to show Andy that she was in any pain lest the officer decide that was a sign she should drag her off to the hospital.

'But,' Andy wasn't giving up, 'better to be sure.'

Gail rolled her eyes. Andy's need to follow the rules was almost pathological. It must have been Chloe who somehow convinced her that they should deposit Holly here. If it had been up to Andy, Holly would probably be sitting on some hard plastic chair in the ER weighing up whether the odds of getting COVID from the hordes in the waiting room were greater than the chances of ever seeing a doctor.

'What if Holly stays here. Then I can monitor her.' Gail said. Hospitals were germ factories at the best of times, but during a plague! She couldn't in good conscience abandon Holly to that fate.

Holly flashed her a grateful smile.

'Good plan,' Chloe butted in quickly. 'Do you have a spare room or – .'

Before Gail could reply, Chloe nipped down the corridor leading off the living room. She was a nimble little thing – Gail had only ever seen her move that fast when chasing a perp. After a moment, they could hear Chloe oohing and aahing.

'Ah good bathroom. I like a generous shower, two of you could easily fit in here. Nice big shower head too,' Chloe's voice came from down the corridor. 'Funky tiles. Are they turquoise or teal?'

'Sea green,' Gail murmured without thinking.

'What?' Andy blinked, seemingly even more bewildered than Gail. It was hard to tell whether this was due to the way Chloe was making herself so at home in Gail's apartment (because who in their right mind would do that without an invitation) or the fact that Gail knew the exact shade of her bathroom tiles.

There came the sound of water gushing from the taps before they were abruptly turned off. 'Excellent water pressure,' Chloe called out.

Then a pause. Really Gail should get up and haul Chloe's ass out of there but for some reason she was immobilised, the hand holding the antiseptic cloth suspended above Holly's knee.

'Spacious bedroom. Good firm bed,' Chloe continued. 'Nice view from here. You should take a look Andy.'

'Don't,' Gail said with enough venom that Andy, who had taken a step toward the corridor, slunk back guiltily.

'Ah, the spare room,' came Chloe's voice again. 'Your study I guess. This a sofa bed? You'll have to make that up.' Though she lowered her voice to a stage whisper, her next words were clearly audible. 'Then again, maybe not.' Chloe giggled.

How was that even funny, Gail frowned.

A moment later Chloe reappeared in the living room. 'We done here?' she clapped her hands together and looked at Andy meaningfully.

Her sudden hurry to leave took Andy by surprise. 'Err,' was all she managed.

'Gotta get out there and protect and serve,' Chloe grinned. 'Right Gail.'

'Oh yeah, the streets are way less safe without you two,' Gail replied, only just managing not to roll her eyes. She didn't particularly want Andy and Chloe to know how relieved she was that they were going. In fact, the minute they were out the door, she planned on locking and bolting it.

She need not have worried. There was a sudden flurry as Chloe and Andy seemingly propelled themselves through the door with such alacrity that anyone would think they had just discovered Gail and Holly had the plague. Although not before Andy made Gail promise to call if she and Holly needed anything.

'Like pizza?' Gail asked helpfully.

Andy pursed her lips. 'You know if you need, if Holly, if things go, well you know.'

Somehow Andy seemed to have lost the ability to form coherent or indeed complete sentences. Perhaps it was she who had sustained a concussion.

'Downhill,' Gail suggested.

'I mean, yes but no. That's not going to happen, but if it did, and I'm not saying it will. We're here. For you and – .'

Before Andy had a chance to finish, Chloe had grabbed the back of her jacket and was steering her towards the door. 'C'mon negative Nellie,' she urged.

Gail felt a rush of gratitude toward Chloe. It was surprising and not a little disconcerting. She made a face.

'Everything okay?' Holly asked.

'It is now,' she said as the door lock clicked into place. Where a moment ago it had been frenetic, a welcome stillness descended in the room.

'Chloe really is – '

'Hyperactive,' Gail interrupted.

'A force of nature,' Holly finished.

'Too perky,' Gail countered.

Holly laughed, a bright happy laugh, not Gail suspected because she necessarily agreed with her but because she was well acquainted with Gail's aversion to perkiness.

'So' Gail drew out the word as she inextricably found herself wringing her hands.

'What do we do now,' Holly finished for her. 'I was thinking about a shower if that's okay.'

'Sure. Yep. Great.' Gail nodded vigorously, relieved to have a plan. 'We'll shower.'

'Oh,' Holly seemed a little taken aback. 'I just thought it might help me with any stiffness from the accident. I wasn't meaning –.'

'Oh shit,' Gail put a hand to her mouth as she realised how her comment could be misconstrued. 'Not with you. No, no of course not. I just meant I'm kinda gross and stinky after my run and and I need a shower too and you know what, the bathroom is totally all yours. You get the shower all to yourself to shower by yourself, all alone completely.' Gail was flustered now. In fact, the more she said, the more flustered she became.

Holly's mouth was twitching into a smirk.

'Trust me, I do not want to shower with you,' Gail added for good measure.

'Not ever?' Now Holly was teasing. 'You never used to object.'

'I'll grab you a towel,' Gail huffed, certain she heard Holly murmur adorable or was it adorkable. So much for maintaining her cool.

'Can't wait to check out those sea green tiles.'

'That was just,' Gail scrunched up her face, still annoyed at the way Chloe had drawn her in. She flapped her hand dismissively before running it through her short hair making it spike up in all directions. 'Just stupid,' she finished.

'I mean it,' Holly said, no longer teasing but smiling that lopsided smile, her gaze (which had followed Gail's hand to land on her spiky hair) now tender.

'They are cool,' Gail said, outed now as a proud homeowner. Right now, Chloe was probably saying to Andy who knew Gail cared about interior decoration.

'And of course, the water pressure,' Holly said, smirking once again. Gail groaned. Chloe would be the death of her.

….

It wasn't until much later that Gail thought to ask about the particulars of the accident itself. She had taken Holly to the rooftop of the apartment. At one end was a brick wall covered in honey suckle, next to which was a picnic table and chairs. Someone had strung up coloured solar lights, but it wasn't yet dark enough for them to work. The rest of the space was taken up by long garden beds filled with herbs and vegetables which were tended to by the residents of the building, including Gail. Holly looked surprised at this.

'Turns out I'm a green thumb,' Gail shrugged. While Holly had showered, she had come up here to pick basil and lettuce to make pesto and a salad for dinner.

'And a good cook,' Holly said as she swirled spaghetti around her fork. 'This pesto is amazing.'

Despite the mild evening, none of the other residents had ventured upstairs so Gail and Holly had the rooftop to themselves. At least they didn't have to bother about social distancing.

The building was a converted warehouse and only housed eight apartments – the realtor had gushed that it was a boutique development. Most people would have expected Gail to prefer the anonymity of a large apartment tower, but she was immediately drawn to this roof-top space and found herself not absolutely hating the idea that it was communal.

For the most part the other residents respected that she wasn't big on sharing information about herself, though there was one nosy woman called Prue who, like Chloe, never seemed to get the hint when Gail stonewalled her. At least Prue had an exuberant toddler who just about made up for her meddlesomeness.

'So, I never asked if the driver apologised.' Gail said.

'They didn't hang around.'

'What do you mean?'

'I heard the sound of the car quite close and before I could turn around, I had catapulted over the handlebars and face-planted in someone's flowerbed. They were the ones who called 911.' Holly said lightly.

'Why not an ambulance?'

'I was fine. Am fine. Just some scraps. You can see that. Anyway, the guy was convinced it was deliberate. He and his wife were out front gardening and witnessed it all. He claimed the car veered off course to hit my bike. He dialled 911 before I'd even dusted myself off.'

'Deliberate?' Gail echoed, trying to make sense of this new information. Why hadn't Andy and Chloe mentioned that?

'The guy has an overactive imagination. For someone cooped up in lockdown, it's likely the most exciting thing that's happened in weeks. Up there with finding toilet paper in the supermarket.'

Gail didn't even crack a smile. 'Did he or his wife get a look at the driver? What about the make or colour of the car.'

Holly shook her head. 'They were a bit hopeless. He thought the car was dark blue. She said grey. Neither could say if the driver was a man or a woman. I'm not even sure they witnessed anything but me face-planting in the daffodils.'

'Andy and Chloe should still look into it.'

'I suppose. It's not like I've had time to make any enemies since I returned to Toronto. Unless you've got some demented ex-girlfriends who are after me,' Holly tried to sound unconcerned. When Gail didn't laugh, she said 'Anyway, it was more like a nudge.'

'Let me get this right,' Gail tried to tamp down her growing disquiet. 'The city is in lockdown so I'm guessing it was the only car on the road so the driver would have had the whole street to themselves and yet somehow managed to hit you.'

'Nudge,' Holly corrected.

'Nudge, whatever, they still made contact.'

'Look, there are crazy people out there with a pathological hatred of cyclists. The very first solo autopsy I performed was on a cyclist who ended up under the fender of a truck in a road rage incident and –,' Holly trailed off as she noticed Gail's grim expression.

'Yeah, and that could have been you.'

'It was just a nudge.' Holly insisted. 'If it makes you feel better, Andy and Chloe have asked Dov to review the CCTV footage.'

'So, they're not completely useless.'

'Gail,' Holly chided but there was no bite to the words. 'They brought me here at least.'

Gail sighed. Hard to deny that was not a good thing.

'So, this place,' Holly swept her arm to indicate the rooftop and apartment, keen to change the subject. 'It's really great.'

'A step-up from the frat house.'

'And some,' Holly nodded. 'Chloe said you own it.'

'Technically. I have a mortgage.'

'It must have set you back.'

'What are you asking Holly? Am I on the take like my brother? One in a long line of crooked Pecks?'

While the gang from 15 had never once doubted her integrity after Steve was arrested, Gail was aware that this was far from a universal belief in law enforcement. At least half of the Toronto force thought it only a matter of time before she and Elaine were charged – Gail had heard Luck was running a betting pool at 27 – and the remainder gave her the benefit of the doubt, but only just.

People talked. On patrol, over drinks in the Penny, in the big building, down at the defender's office and at the morgue. Every time she sat outside a court room waiting to give evidence, criminal lawyers would slip their cards to her. The first time it happened Gail felt affronted – now she just held out her hand and, once their backs were turned, tossed the card.

'That's the last thing I would suspect of you.'

There was a tenderness in Holly's voice but also a fierceness that made Gail immediately regret snapping at her. It was a knee-jerk reaction. One that Gail had worked hard to stop – this lashing out at the very people who had faith in her.

'Sorry, I'm being an asshole,' she said looking down at her hands. 'My mother paid the deposit and then some. Guilt money.' Gail looked up now to meet Holly's gaze, her expression as flat as her voice.

'Guilt money?'

'For being the family outcast. Plus, she didn't like that my father told me to provide a false alibi for Steve. Turns out that while Elaine is happy to use manipulation and coercion to get her way, she draws the line at breaking the law.'

'Oh,' was all Holly said. She was very still. Like she was processing information that was difficult to make sense of.

'My father passed it off as the lesser of two evils. Just before I took the stand, he asked me how long I thought Steve would last in prison. Steve put away a lot of people when he was in Guns and Gangs. Not exactly ideal cell mates.'

'Jesus,' Holly blew out an angry breath.

'But it's okay Holly. I didn't perjure myself because Steve confessed when I was on the stand. So, no one will ever know if I would have lied for him.'

'Wait. He admitted his guilt but you're the outcast?'

'Go figure,' Gail laughed hollowly. 'Actually, if you know the Pecks it makes sense. Loyalty to family first. No exceptions. Though it was a surprise to find out Elaine hadn't drunk the Kool-Aid. Still, she and my dad made Steve out to be some sort of hero, sacrificing himself to save me from my delicate sensibilities. My father thinks I'm the the real reprobate, not Steve.'

'Oh honey,' Holly reached across the table and took Gail's hand. 'You're a good person. You know that right.'

'But Holly, I wanted to lie for Steve. Then on the stand, I couldn't get the words out.'

It was as though her brain had seized up, and try as she might, Gail just couldn't bring herself to say she'd been with Steve when the bomb was planted in the evidence room at 15. No matter the murderous look on Bill's face or how much the defence lawyer prodded, all Gail could do was stutter until finally Steve had rescued her. Could you be a good person if you were a lousy sister? It was a question she always came back to on those sleepless nights that seemed to visit her with irritating regularity.

'It was unfair, no it was wrong, to put you in that position.' Holly stood abruptly.

For the wildest of moments Gail imagined Holly was about to walk out, that the knowledge of Gail's near treachery – and wasn't the failure to lie for Steve to protect him from harm, even death, also treacherous – was too much, even for Holly.

Instead, Holly made her way around the table to sit on the bench seat beside Gail and wordlessly drew her into a hug. And Gail, who a moment ago had felt prickly and withdrawn and deserving of rejection, found herself leaning into Holly.

It was only as she relaxed that Gail realised how rigidly she had been holding her body. She and Holly stayed like that, motionless and not speaking, for some minutes. And it didn't feel weird or uncomfortable and Gail didn't immediately wonder, as she had in the past when subjected to hugs by well-meaning friends or partners, how soon she could wriggle out of the arms encircling her.

In this stillness, Gail felt her mind also quieten. All those intrusive thoughts about her self-worth, her anxieties about who to trust and just how much she could take peoples' words at face value, that background chatter that seemed to have taken up permanent residence in her head, receded. It wasn't as though all her doubts suddenly dissolved, but instead of an insistent clamour they became a barely audible whisper.

Gail had never put any store in the romantic notion that if you met the right person all your problems would melt away and your life would suddenly be full of starbursts and sunshine. But now, in Holly's arms, she felt as though she was blanketed in something she could only describe as warmth and security. It was such an unfamiliar sensation that Gail almost jerked away but in the next moment she understood that this was what unconditional love felt like.

….

Dov called just before 8 am, waking Gail from a deep sleep. She groaned into the phone as Holly stirred beside her. They hadn't planned to share a bed but when it came time to make up the sofa in the spare room, Holly had demurred. 'I feel bad about kicking you out of your own room,' she had said, adding, 'sofa beds are always uncomfortable.' Gail claimed this sofa bed was different but when pressed by Holly admitted she had never slept on it. In fact, no one had.

She hadn't needed a lot of persuading. Once they had come downstairs and Gail had bustled about in the kitchen cleaning up after dinner, she had immediately missed that physical closeness with Holly. So, she had shrugged and said, 'I guess it makes it easier for me to do the concussion checks.'

Holly laughed. 'Absolutely. Andy might think you negligent otherwise.'

There was no question of sex. While they had agreed that in this uncertain time there was nothing to be gained by taking it slowly, Gail knew that for both of them it was too soon. Besides Holly was more shaken up – physically and emotionally – by the bike accident than she was admitting (Gail had caught her wincing each time she rose from a chair).

When they got into bed, it was Gail who held Holly close, one arm protectively around her waist. Holly fell asleep quickly. Even though Gail wasn't in the habit of sharing her bed – if sleep rather than just sex was involved – her breathing soon fell into the same even rhythm as Holly's.

Now Dov was saying something about the plate number of the car that hit Holly.

'Wait, it's registered to who?' Gail said, not certain she'd heard correctly.

'Susan Crispin.'

'You sure?'

'The plate is as clear as day on the footage. Only car on the street. The witnesses were right. It deliberately veered to the right to hit Holly.'

'Shit?' Gail sat up completely, wide awake now. 'Can you see if Susan's driving the car?'

Holly shifted in the bed to face Gail. Her eyes were still heavy with sleep but her brow puckered as she tried to make sense of what Gail was saying.

'Nope but we'll look at other footage from cameras in the area. If we're lucky we might get clearer vision of the car.' Dov said.

'Is it a grey or silver Toyota?'

'Silver Camry. Yeah. How did you know?'

'According to Sam Ramirez's neighbour, two days ago Sam left home with a suitcase and got into a grey or silver Toyota possibly driven by a woman who like Susan has brown hair. And yesterday afternoon when Frankie and I went around to Susan's house, she either wasn't home or was pretending to be out, but we could see a suitcase inside by the front door.'

'Do you think she and Sam are involved in the murders?' Dov asked. 'Would she be capable of murdering her own brother?'

'I had a bad feeling about Sam from the start but Susan seemed genuinely upset by Ray and Paul's deaths but maybe that's an act,' Gail mused. 'Maybe she and Sam are in this together or she's covering for him. Yesterday she turned up at Ray and Paul's apartment supposedly to clean it and was surprised it's still an active crime scene.'

'You think she was trying to destroy evidence?' Dov asked.

'It's possible. Regardless we need to bring her in for questioning.'

'I'm way ahead of you. I've sent Andy and Chloe around to Susan's house.'

'I better get down to the station,' Gail was already pulling back the bed covers as she rung off.

'Was Susan driving the car?' Holly asked.

Before Gail could reply, her phone rang again, and Frankie's name flashed on the screen.

'Bad news,' Frankie said by way of greeting.

'You heard about the car then.'

'What? No. I've tested positive for COVID. You're a close contact. You have to quarantine for two weeks. Holly too. Thought I should call you before HR does.'