Chapter 22

Although Lottie loved seeing her parents again after everything that had happened, she found their visit somewhat of a trial. She thought Steve's protection mode was bad enough to handle but his was nothing compared to their parents. She couldn't leave a room without being asked where she was going and was constantly chaperoned by one of them when stepping outside the flat. The bathroom was the only place in the flat which was a parent free zone. She loved her parents, there was no denying it, but now she had realised that over the course of the past three months a change had taken place in her. She didn't hate being around them, she just saw them differently now. They weren't just her parents, they were people. They had flaws like everyone and now she could see them she couldn't ignore them anymore. She was seeing the flaws in everyone now if she wanted to or not.

To add to that, she had given up her bed for them to sleep despite Steve trying to give up his instead. She wouldn't hear of him doing so given she knew he needed the rest for work, so she had to sleep on the sofa which hurt her back. The result, she woke up on Christmas day rather irritable. Also she had begun to have dreams again about Christopher seeing him dead and now mutilated. She often woke multiple times in the night, sweat pouring down her face. She learnt not to cry when having such dreams, just to take deep breaths in the dark and carry on. No one needed to know her struggles.

Christmas dinner had been a lower key affair than usual in the Arnott household. Although as predicted, Jane Arnott arrived with Christmas day food prepped and ready for cooking, the usual traditions were missing simply because of it being so last minute. The change in such things made it even more memorable and with Steve relaxed for the first time at Christmas in twelve years it was memorable to all.

"So what is this guy Alex really like?" Jane quizzed Steve on Boxing day morning.

"I'm sure he is a perfectly fine young man, Jane. Lottie isn't one to go after someone of concern," Joe Arnott replied before Steve could say anything. Joe was sat at the table enjoying his breakfast alongside Steve who was dressed ready for work. Jane was busying herself in the kitchen, unable to turn mother mode off while Lottie was in the shower.

"I Agree. Alex is a good guy. He really looks after her and the two of them together just fits somehow. She could do much worse than that man" Steve reassured Jane but instead she stopped and turned to Steve.

"Man? How old is he exactly?"

That surprised Steve. He thought Lottie would have told them. "Nineteen."

"What? She's dating an adult? And you let her?" Jane demanded, hands on hips. Now Steve knew where he got his overprotection of Lottie from. Well that and what happened all those years ago.

"Let her? Jane, you are being unreasonable. It's three years, not thirty" Joe argued.

"Exactly what Kate said."

"Smart lady, I'd like to meet her" Joe smiled before taking a sip of his coffee.

"Look, I had issue at first too but once you get to know him you will see he is a good guy. Trust me, you will like him" Steve tried to reassure his mother.

"Besides, you are older than me" Joe chirped in causing Jane to throw him a look that said not to mess with her.

"By six months, not thirty-six." It was then that Steve realised there was a pair of eyes watching them from the bathroom door. Out the corner of his eye he spied Lottie trying to peak around the doorframe but not be seen. So he said what he was going to say and was happy Lottie was able to witness it.

"I think you need to have more faith in Lottie and what she is doing. This isn't like six months ago when she decided to go to Australia. She has followed every rule to the letter. Even when we have come to blows she hasn't missed a curfew or even let Alex into this flat. I get she is still sixteen and will have more things that she'll stumble over but I trust her. I trust she knows what she is doing and I've got her back whenever she needs it and even when she doesn't. I know your anger and frustration is because you love her so much and don't want to see her hurt, but if you hold her too tight you'll lose her forever. This whole situation with the hand, that's my fault not hers. Please don't make her uncomfortable today; she's nervous enough as it is."

"I'm not trying to make her uncomfortable" Jane retorted.

"I know that mum, but look at it from Lottie's prospective. She wants to show you how sorry she was for running off and how well she is doing now. If today is uncomfortable, she'll think that you are judging what she has achieved here as all wrong, a mistake. She'll feel worthless." Jane was too stunned to speak.

"Listen to him Jane. You know he is telling you the truth" Joe added. Steve was glad his dad had his back when speaking such way to his mother.

Lottie backed into the bathroom once more, she thought without anyone noticing, for a few seconds before opening the door and walking out fully dressed pretending to dry her hair with a towel. "Aren't you going to be late? Not good on your record for your first day back" she commented to Steve.

"I don't start for another hour."

"Well you better go then. Get back in Ted's good books. Spit, spot!" Lottie commanded putting her hands on her hips just like her mother.

"Now we know where she gets it from" Joe muttered to Steve making Steve smile.

Steve couldn't help feeling good being back in the AC-12 office. A week and a half stuck in a hotel with Lottie followed by having two days in the flat, he needed to space on his own. He headed into the office early and was surprised to find Kate already there and no one else.

"Good morning" he greeted her and she looked up from her desk with a soft smile. He could see though that she was upset. "Are you ok?" he asked coming to sit by her before she could open her mouth to speak.

"I'm fine. Just a rough morning getting up with a hangover" she explained but he wasn't buying it. He glanced down and noticed her wedding ring was gone.

"Mate, you want to try that again?" he asked. She couldn't stand lying to Steve so she took a breath. He saw tears had filled her eyes.

"Mark and I called it quits yesterday."

Steve was stunned. He had no idea that there were problems in Kate's marriage but then he had never asked. "Oh mate, I'm so sorry. Do you want to talk about it?" Kate shook her head. "Where is Josh?"

"With my mum at my house. Mark left yesterday evening. It was amicable but … I feel like such a fucking failure." Kate leant forward so her elbows were resting on the table and put her head in her hands to cry quietly. Steve reached over and put his arm around her.

"That's a load of bullshit for a start. You? A failure? That's an absolute lie."

She looked up from hands and he saw silent tears fall from her eyes. He had never seen her cry before. He reached over and wiped away her tears. "Really?" she asked.

"Well let's think about this. You do a job that others wouldn't and pale in comparison. You put up with so much stuff without breaking or showing any signs of being effected by. You're a great mum, a great friend to me and Lottie. If it wasn't for you, I no doubt wouldn't be able to handle Lottie or she would have run the hell away from me months ago. Plus on top of all that you have managed to put up with me as a partner without killing me because of my annoying habits and how you have managed to do that I'll never know." That made Kate smile which was a lovely sight.

"I take it on an hour by hour basis" she retorted.

"That's what the gaffer said about me so you can't use that line too."

Something in her mind told her it was time to be more honest, be brave. "Steve, I don't put up with you. That sounds like you are someone not to be liked. I don't dislike you … for the record" she said with a sniff making him smile.

"Likewise, on both accounts. You and Josh are welcome to come and stay with me and Lottie whenever you like. It'll be a bit of a squeeze but we can manage. We are managing with my parents right now so we can cope."

Kate shook her head. "No my mum is happy to have Josh, and besides Mark and I need to develop a plan of what will happen. I don't want to uproot Josh's routines and such. But thank you for the offer."

Steve nodded. "Door is always open, just say the word. Come here." The two hugged and he felt her cling onto him a bit tighter than he was to her. They only parted when the sound of the lift opening disturbed them.

"I'm going to get cleaned up" Kate quickly said and zipped across the office to the ladies toilets before Ted appeared at the gate.

"Morning Steve. Good to be back?" he asked as he stepped through the open gate.

"Yeah" was all he could reply.

Steve caught up on everything he missed and found that the person who identified the ring was Liz. She had given it to Chris as a birthday present and instantly knew it. He also found out that there were no fingerprints found inside the box and on the outside were Lottie's, the postman and a variety of others not yet identified which most likely were from the postal system. When compared to all those questioned, none matched. He also found out that Ted had been the one to break the news to Gwen about the hand. Steve wished it had been him. Even he acknowledged that sounded odd, but given his connection with Gwen he wondered if he had been the one to tell her it would have been easier for her to process.

As if by magic, his newly returned phone rang and he saw Gwen's name on the screen.

"Hello?"

"Steve? Is that you?" he heard Gwen's familiar voice. He had missed hearing her voice but she didn't sound like her usual warm self. Something was wrong.

"Yes, Gwen, it's good to hear your voice. I would ask how you are but given what has happened …" he didn't know how to end that sentence.

"I am well, thank you. It's been a rough couple of weeks as you can imagine ... How are you and Lottie? I've been thinking of the two of you every single day."

"That's so kind of you. We are well and now back home. Lottie is … doing the best she can. Same as you I imagine."

"I am glad you are both home. When Ted told me you were under protection I was devastated to think you both under threat."

"We are fine Gwen, really. I can tell from your voice that there is something you want to talk about."

Gwen paused a few seconds. "Charles has been in contact with me."

"When?" Steve asked. He checked the record of the investigation from his time off and there was no reference to him being further questioned or Gwen having told them of this sooner.

"Yesterday evening. We haven't spoken in so many years I didn't recognise his voice at all. He rang to wish me a Happy Christmas and to say he was sorry for what happened. I was so taken aback it didn't hit me until after he hung up. Granted the press knew that a hand was discovered but papers didn't print Christopher's name or mention that it was of someone from the force. So how could he have known?"

"Did you tell him anything?" Steve asked.

"No, at least I don't think so. It was a bit of a blur, sorry. I wasn't expecting it. I thought he was saying he was sorry for our loss because we didn't really talk back in the 70s. I managed to find the card he sent on hearing that Christopher was missing addressed to my mother expressing his sadness but I can't find anything else. He didn't mention recent events specifically so I didn't mention it either. I just thanked him for the call. I did the right thing didn't I?"

This gave Steve a bit of relief. It was something Charles could be quizzed about in a second interview. "Yes, you did. For certain. Did he ask for any details, or anything of interest?"

"Not details but he asked about the diaries."

Steve sat up straight. "How did he know about the diaries?"

"I have no idea. I pretended they didn't exist out of panic. Dumb right?"

"No not at all."

"Good I'm glad. I didn't want to possibly mess up an investigation. There is something else though. After he hung up I couldn't get the diaries out of my mind. So I read my scanned copies of them, all night and I think … I think Christopher was being drugged."

"What makes you say that?"

"Read the 1974 diary. From April up until the end, he talks about headaches all the time. He writes also about nightmares and seeing odd things. It's just a sentence or two scattered through each of the entries but they are there. It's been so long since I read the dairies I forgot these were mentioned … there is a mention of Holly giving him pills. I think Holly did something to him though I don't know why."

Steve pulled up the scan of the 1974 diary on his screen and did a search for 'pill' there were three mentions and as Gwen said there was an entry in early April 1974 of Holly giving him pills to help his sore head. When Steve changed the search to 'headache' the total result was 72, the first one beginning in April 12th 1974. It was a passage he had read before and had spoken to Gwen about. It was the passage where Gwen had told Steve she had been raped.

"Look, I read online that you can do bone marrow testing for drugs or at least that's what the internet said. I don't know even if the tissue from Christopher's hand can tell you anything. But I want to know if someone was hurting him. I give my full consent for any testing that you need to do and anything I can do to assist I will. As far as I am aware he wasn't on any medications or anything that might appear in his system but I will check what I can from here. The thing about being in a close community, not even your medical records are private! If I find anything I will let you know. Please Steve?"

"Leave it with me."

"I knew you were a good man the moment I saw you. God bless you and your family Steve."

As soon as he hung up the phone Steve went straight to Ted's office and ordered the drug testing.