Actually Thursday

"Urgh, what day is it?" Sandra dragged her tired and drained self to the breakfast table. She pulled a vain smile at Mia and Rob who were frowning in concern. This loosened her facial muscles enough to present a silly face to Bella who laughed and clapped in response.

"Thursday," Rob subtly gave a side-ways wink to Mia while Sandra was still absorbed in the spoon that Bella was pointing at her.

"Chemistry, Maths, English," Mia listed raising her eyebrow at her dad but obliging to his distraction technique. Something was definitely up. She knew that Sandra was working on a tough case; 'Brian's case' as it had been referred to. They didn't talk about work at home, but she'd heard them last night while she'd been finishing off a piece of coursework. They'd been discussing in quiet voices something that had come up while Sandra had been interviewing her colleague. Actually, she was sure that Sandra had been crying.

"Did you get that essay done alright?" Sandra asked kindly. As hard as her team were working at the moment, she was sure it was nowhere near equal to re-sitting GCSEs with a baby to care for. However simple family life ever sounded; it never was. She had seen it with her own family, if she thought about it. Her mum had been left as a single parent to a teenager when her dad had died. Sandra knew she hadn't given her mum an easy ride; but everything she'd done paled into insignificance compared to the secret her mum had had to keep from her. They'd been to see Grace last night. She'd been delighted with the biscuits. The chocolate shop in Hertfordshire and the whole weekend seemed so long in the past now. Everyday seemed longer, even though they'd been leaving work just after five most days. It was partially through design, they could only do so much in a day; and partly because the emotions that each of them (well, maybe not Steve so much) were holding down were just exhausting. She'd cried last night. Curling into Rob on the sofa after they'd said goodnight to Mia and Bella; she'd just cried. It had started as a pretend pout, because he wouldn't tell her why they'd had to go and see her mother on a Wednesday; or why Mia and Bella had been sent down to the car while she was in the toilet. Why on earth would he willingly leave himself in her mother's company alone? Apparently Bella had been fussing and he hadn't realised his error until it had happened. The simple (and highly plausible) explanation had only been offered however once the pretend pout had dissolved into real tears. She put it down to tiredness. She was hopeful they could close this case today, write the reports up tomorrow and have a relaxing weekend.

"Yes thanks," Mia replied. "Actually, Dad, do you mind if I just print it off before we go? It's first period and I can't be bothered with the library first thing."

"That's fine," Rob nodded. "I'll get Bella ready for you. Do you want any breakfast making?"

Sandra shook her head at the question directed to her, she pulled her mug towards her. She smiled. Her mug. It was Rob's favourite story about how she'd moved in and requisitioned his favourite mug for her own. She'd never had a mug before. Brian had his at work, but her, Gerry and Steve just took their caffeine fix in whatever it was proffered. As it would be in a little over an hours time. Bella would be at the childminders. Mia would be at college. Rob would be in his office. She would be contemplating going into an interview room where the outcome would either save or destroy her friend.

"'ere you are guv," Gerry put the mug in front of her on the table.

She was sitting at the round table opposite the red chairs. She couldn't see the board from there. She had her back to the door. She looked up at Gerry as he sipped from his own drink. The strain was showing. He hadn't made a wise-cracking remark all morning. She crossed herself, the morning had only just started. The point was, that he hadn't come in like his usual whirlwind self. Even Steve's bouncy-ball personality seemed deflated somewhat as he sat frowning over the top of his mug. She watched Brian as he sat serenely at his desk, pushing his glasses up his nose as he read the morning news online. It wasn't going to be a normal day.

"Good morning," came the pleasant enough if not overly familiar tones of DI Carrie Grant as she entered the offices. "Sorry I'm late, had to drop the boys off at my mum's."

Sandra glanced at their temporary intruder as she crossed the room to the table where Sandra was sat and put her handbag on the chair.

"Traffic's a nightmare this morning, isn't it?" the younger woman continued sociably.

"Traffic's always a nightmare in London," Steve observed. He enjoyed living in London to a point, however he often wondered to himself if he enjoyed moaning about it more.

Gerry laughed. He loved London. And he knew that secretly, Steve loved it a little bit too. What the hell had brought Brian down here, he realised that he still had no idea. There were a lot of things he didn't know about his mate. He'd realised that yesterday, listening to Esther talk quietly and frankly about Brian's darkest times. If today didn't go right; if they didn't find the answers they were expecting; or if they played the slightest card wrong, there was a chance that he'd go straight back there and that she'd have to go through it all again. Today couldn't go wrong.

Rob sat in his office chair just staring at the clock. It was ten o'clock. In half an hour he would be going down to the UCOS offices. The man they were interviewing was a former governor of his. He'd been the DCS who'd been with another DI when Anthony Kaye died. It might have been coincidence that Kaye's boss had been a thorn in his side for years. It might all be one big mix-up that the other DI hadn't even been in the station that night. It might even be coincidence that the CIB department already had their suspicions about the man. Maybe. The sooner he could get this case out of UCOS, the better. He'd been apprehensive about letting them take it on anyway; and rightly so if Sandra's tears last night were anything to go by; but he was also well aware that when it came to cracking a tough nut, you needed to do a decent job. You needed to do it properly. She was going to go mad when she found out.

"What time is he coming in?" Brian asked.

Sandra looked across. Neither she nor Brian had moved far in the past twenty minutes. None of them had spoken much in the past twenty minutes. Carrie had been the most active, looking through case notes and scribbling on a piece of paper. Gerry and Steve had played a game of darts.

"Eleven," Sandra said flatly. She bit her lip. "It'll be fine."

"'Course it will," Gerry said wiping the score board clean as Steve walked away smiling. "Since when did we become bloody bloodhounds for corrupt DACs? Remember Felsham?"

"Yes, Gerry, I do, thank you," Sandra grimaced. It was the second time in a week that that man's name had entered her mind. A case that had threatened to close her unit forever. At least this time, there would be no gap in the cloth that could be torn. Sadly, she remembered, the close-knit team that she'd had when they'd brought down John Felsham had already started to be unpicked by the stitches of age and fate.

"Good morning everyone," Rob joined them. "Is everything ready?"

Ten minutes later the phone rang in Sandra's office. Gerry and Rob left the office to escort the DAC who had motive, means and no alibi down to the interview room. Brian and Steve took up their posts in the observation room. Sandra and Carrie greeted the officer who'd been responsible for Brian's dismissal in the corridor and led him into the interview room. Gerry and Rob joined the others in the observation room. Sandra introduced the situation to the tape machine; the fifth observer. Then, as they had discussed, she took the lead.