5 July 1991

She felt herself holding her breath as the phone rang out two, three, four times. Part of her wanted to just hang up, to remain blissfully ignorant, but, at the end of the day, he was still her father and he had reached out to her, albeit because of something she could never understand. It rang out again twice more and she was about to replace the receiver, when the line crackled at the other end, and she heard his voice.

"Hello?"

"Hi Dad."

There was a slight pause at the other end. "Hello Goldilocks."

"You're not in jail then." The words came out harsher than she had intended, and she was poised to apologise when she realised that she didn't really want to.

"No, I'm not in jail, thanks for asking."

"My colleague Viv told me that you'd called. I'm sorry that I wasn't here."

"Yeah well, it's not as if you could have done much, is it?"

"No, I suppose not." There was a long silence. "So, what's the charge then?"

"Receiving stolen property."

"And?"

"And I was just doing a favour for an old mate. Someone must have grassed us up because he got lifted and all. Only, he wasn't as lucky as me and they banged him up. I got bailed for further enquiries."

"Oh, so no court date then?"

"No, not yet, but I'm sure it'll come." He paused. "I'm sorry I called you."

She felt terrible then, as though she was the worst daughter in the world and yet, deep down, she knew that there was fault on both sides. "No, I'm glad you felt you could. We didn't exactly part on the best terms earlier this year."

"No. Not that what you do in your private life is any of my business anyway."

She winced at the memory of the conversation, not proud of the things she had said. "No, I suppose it isn't. Is there anything I can do?"

"No, and even if there was, I wouldn't want you to get involved. I really only called you out of courtesy."

"Courtesy?"

"Yeah, in case it got back to you some other way. I felt that I should be the one to tell you. Of course, in the end, you had to hear it from someone else anyway." He paused. "Were you away on holiday then?"

"Oh, well, I went up to see Stewart's parents," she lied.

"Why?"

"I suppose I felt I owed it to them."

"After their son stabbed you? I don't see why."

"No, well I wouldn't expect you to," she replied hurriedly, feeling a pain starting in her head, reminded of Frank's words about what was required to be a good liar. "Listen Dad, I've got to go. I just wanted to call and make sure that…well, that you weren't in need of a prison visit."

"Not a prison visit, no, but a visit in and of itself might be nice."

"Yeah…" she trailed off, another jaunt to Brighton not exactly high on her list of things to do at that moment. "I'll see what I can do over the next few weeks. We're pretty slammed here just now."

"I'll hear from you then."

"Yeah, you will. Bye Dad."

"Bye love."

She carefully replaced the receiver and put her head in her hands. Why did everything in life have to be so difficult? Why couldn't she have been blessed with good, supportive, law-abiding parents who loved her unconditionally? Why hadn't she met someone who would never have hurt her the way Stewart had? Why had she fallen for someone like Frank?

"Everything all right?"

Kim's voice suddenly broke through her thoughts, and she snapped her head up to meet the DCI's questioning gaze. "Yes Ma'am," she replied, getting to her feet. "I was just taking the opportunity of the DI being out on enquiries to make a private phone call."

"Anything you want to talk about?"

"No Ma'am, it's fine, thank you."

"All right…" Kim nodded as though she didn't quite believe her. "I wanted to talk to you about the fraud case, the one we spoke to the DAC about at Area."

"Oh, yes Ma'am. I was wondering what was going to happen with that. It all seemed to have gone a bit quiet."

"Internal politics, I'm sure you can imagine what it's like, discussions with the Fraud Squad etc, but, anyway, we've been given the green light to take matters to the next stage. I want you to see what you can do to progress matters onto arrest stage and I'm authorising you to bring Jim on board to help out. I want this to be a top priority for the pair of you so, whatever else you're working on at the moment will have to take a back seat."

"Yes Ma'am," she replied, thinking on what Frank's reaction would be to the news.

As if reading her mind, Kim smiled at her. "Don't worry about Inspector Burnside. I'll have a talk with him about the redeployment of resources. I know we're stretched right now, but this fraud case is important and, if we crack it, it could result in a lot of kudos for the station and, by extension, you."

"Thank you, Ma'am," she said, feeling her face pink at the compliment. "I'll get on it right away."

"Good," Kim nodded, turning away. "Keep me posted."

Slowly, she came around from the side of Frank's desk and made her way back into the main office wondering, not for the first time, if Kim was grooming her for something. All the attention she paid her, the compliment she gave her, the number of times she had harped on about her taking the sergeants exam again…she couldn't help but wonder sometimes what was behind it all. Did Kim see her as someone who really did have potential to rise through the ranks as she had, or was it simply a gesture to further her own ends? Or was it an attempt to isolate her from Frank?

"I've blown out on Evans," Tosh said, breaking into her thoughts as she returned to her desk.

"What?"

"I said, I've blown out on Evans. No-one's seen him, no-one's heard from him…its's like he's just disappeared."

"Well, given how long it took us to track him down to the Cockcroft, I suppose that's not surprising," she sighed. "But the DCI's just co-opted me full time onto this fraud enquiry, so I'm afraid you're on your own with Evans now."

"Oh brilliant," Tosh moaned. "As if I haven't got enough to do."

"Oh, and Jim…?" she turned to where he was pointedly typing with two fingers, the very model of the stone age man. "You've to come on board too."

"What, the fraud case?" She nodded. "Burnside won't like that."

"Yeah, well, apparently, Burnside will just have to lump it."

XXXX

Frank drained the last of his coffee and stared at the man sat in front of him. "You sure this information's kosher, Joey?"

"Is the Pope a Catholic? Of course, I'm sure. I wouldn't be telling you this if I wasn't sure."

Frank regarding him carefully. Joey Collins had been a good informant over the years, but he'd been a bit quiet of late, something that irked him when it came to snouts, and he couldn't help but feel slightly suspicious about the sudden gold star information he was spurting. "So, run it past me again."

"Like I said, the girls are brought over in the lorries and the man on the inside at Customs just waves them through without checking."

"How does he know which lorries to avoid?"

"He gets notification in advance before the ferries leave. Then, the girls are driven to the distribution points, shifted into other vans and then deposited in various areas over the southeast but, primarily, they're brought up here."

"Where they then get held in crappy accommodation and put to work in the clubs."

"Exactly." Joey leaned back in his chair. "It's big business, Frank, I'm telling you."

"These girls, where are they from, originally?"

"Serbia, Croatia, Romania…all over the place. I mean, it's trafficking, isn't it?"

"Yeah," he mused, "yeah it is."

"So…you interested?"

"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't interested now, would I?" He paused. "Why didn't you go to Vice with this? With your connections, and your previous, I would have thought they would have been your obvious first port of call."

"Well, that's the thing, isn't it?" Joey leaned forwards again. "I don't think I can trust them."

"Why not?"

"Well, after all that business that went down a couple of years ago with that DI Driscoll."

Frank paused, "What do you mean?"

"Well, him having that undercover cop in the club, the one who went rogue, the one who tried to rape that woman you've got working for you."

The memory jarred him, but he fought to banish it from his mind. If he could turn the clock back, he have done time for Ryan. "Well, I can understand why you might be apprehensive, but there's other officers in the Vice squad who would…"

"No," Joey shook his head. "Not when it comes to Patterson."

"Patterson?"

"Yeah, Rod Patterson. It's his clubs that the girls are getting shipped to. He's the one who organises everything both here and at the other end. I mean, he's like the king, isn't it? He only got a slap on the wrist after all that business before."

Frank felt his hackles rise. In the aftermath of what had happened at Patterson's club, with Ryan in jail for attempted rape and Driscoll thrown out of the Met, Patterson had seemed to get off lightly. Despite the fact it was common knowledge he was running underage girls, there had been no evidence, and no-one prepared to stand up in court. Not to mention the fact that, given what had happened with Ryan, the Met and the CPS seemed too embarrassed to take any serious action. He'd got twelve months for living off immoral earnings and then been released to lie low.

"So, you're telling me that Patterson's moved on from using underage girls to trafficking foreigners?"

"Exactly. I mean, it's like he's giving you all two fingers, isn't it?" Joey looked at him curiously. "I'm sure you'd like a second crack at him." It was the understatement of the century, not just for himself but for Christina too. "So, do you want all the details or not?"

He leaned forward in his seat, well aware that this could be explosive. "Yes, I do and don't you leave one tiny bit out."

XXXX

"Well, let's be honest," Jim said, "it's not the most exciting case, is it?"

Christina folded her arms and looked at him pointedly. "No, but it is an important one, Jim. I mean, these people have been getting away with this for years and making hundreds of thousands of pounds in the process."

"Yeah, I get that but…" he sighed. "I dunno, chasing armed blaggers is just slightly more appealing than going through sheet after sheet of paper."

"Do you want me to tell the DCI you've declined to come aboard this investigation?"

"No…"

"Well, stop moaning then. I'm assuming she picked you for a reason."

"Yeah, she wants Jim buried away in a cupboard somewhere," Mike joked from across the room.

"Well, this is surely more your type of enquiry?" Jim said. "Why don't you volunteer?"

"No, no, I'd hate to be responsible for taking you away from something you're clearly going to love being part of."

Laughter rippled around the room and Christina shook her head. "You lot are terrible. No ambition."

"Unlike you who's already earmarked for the top." Mike said. "Listen to the teacher's pet."

"Who's the teacher's pet?" Frank suddenly appeared in the room. "What have I missed?"

"We're just talking about Christina being the DCI's favourite at the moment, Guv," Mike said. "And the fact that she's trying to turn Jim too."

"Very funny."

"Yeah well, forget about that for now," Frank said. "We could have a big job on. You, come with me."

"Me?" Christina said, looking at him.

"Yeah, in here, come on." He made his way into his office, and she felt powerless to do anything but follow him. "Shut the door. I want to speak to you about this first before I go to the DCI."

"Ok…"

He leaned against the edge of the desk and surveyed her carefully. "How would you feel about taking another crack at Rod Patterson?"

A shiver ran through her body at the mention of his name. In some respects, what had happened at the club seemed so long ago, a different life. So much had happened since then as to often make it feel like nothing more than a distant memory. Other times, flashes would come into her mind, and she would remember how terrified she had felt when Ryan had been on top of her and how relieved she had been that Frank had been there. "How do you mean?"

"I've just been talking to one of my snouts and he reckons that Patterson is involved in the trafficking of women from other countries into the UK for the purposes of sex work. He's got the contacts abroad and he makes all the arrangements for the girls to come here where he puts them to work in his clubs."

"And?"

"And the snout has given me enough information for us to mount surveillance and, hopefully, make appropriate arrests all round, Patterson included."

She frowned, "But what about Vice?"

"He also told me that he hadn't taken the information to Vice because he didn't trust them after what happened with Driscoll." He looked at her. "So, what do you say?"

"About what?" she asked, confused. "I'm not sure I know what you're even asking me. Are you expecting me to go undercover again?"

"No, of course not. Never mind the fact that Patterson would recognise you, I doubt your Serbian or Romania is passable enough to pull off being foreign, do you?"

"No, I suppose not."

"This will be a surveillant operation, but it's going to take manpower, time and commitment. So…?"

"Well…" she hesitated, conscious of the fact that she would love nothing more than to see Rod Patterson banged up, but also well aware of her other commitments to the DCI.

"Don't sound so keen, will you."

"It's not that, it's just that the DCI wants Jim and I to work exclusively on this fraud investigation, so the two of us wouldn't be able to help even if we wanted to."

"Some poxy fraud over potentially bringing down one of the biggest players in the illegal sex market?" he shook his head. "Come on Chris, where's your priorities? Don't you want to get one over on that slag? You leave the DCI to me. She's a practical woman, she'll understand. So, assuming it can all be sorted…are you in?"

"Do I have a choice, Guv?"

"Yes, of course you do. After what happened before, I would never force you to get involved if you felt you couldn't handle it. Truth be told, I wish I'd never let you get involved the first time, but I suppose that's my burden to carry."

She felt her gaze lower under the weight of his, a thousand feelings rushing through her. His concern for her had always been something that she had appreciated, before and after they had started their relationship, and yet she was also aware that he would react in the same way for any of them. "Thanks, but I reckon I could. Handle it, that is."

"All right then." He paused. "Did you ever speak to your dad?"

"Yeah, I called him this morning actually. He got nicked for receiving but bailed for further enquiries so…"

"Well, let's hope nothing comes of it."

"Yeah…listen, Frank…"

"What?"

"I understand," she looked up again. "I do. I don't want…bad feelings between us. There's been enough of that to last us a lifetime."

His gaze softened. "I don't want that either."

"All right then." She wanted to kiss him, wanted to put her arms around him and feel his around her, wanted him to say all the things that she knew he felt and reciprocate in kind. She wanted everything to be different. "Well, I suppose until I hear otherwise, Jim and I should get on with our fraud case."

He made a face, "Reckon I'd rather stick hot pins in my eyes."

She smiled tentatively, "Don't do that. I've always thought you had lovely eyes." It sounded like the most ridiculous sentiment, and she expected him to laugh and ridicule her for it, but instead he simply looked at her, his gaze flitting across her face.

"Yours are pretty special too."

"Yeah, yeah…" she backed away from him. "Good luck with Reid."

"What was that all about?" Jim asked as she re-joined him, the papers from her work so far on the case sprawled on the desk in front of him.

"Nothing," she replied.

"Nothing?"

Glancing back towards his office, she caught Frank's gaze again and shot him a small smile. "Well, let's just say, you might get out of this case after all."

XXXX

"And what exactly do you expect me to do with this information?"

Frank stared at Kim across the expanse of her office, unsure if he had heard her correctly or not. "Do? What do you mean?"

"Well, you've had this information from your informant and come in here all guns blazing wanting to mount a substantial surveillance operation. I'm assuming you want me to authorise it."

"Well, yes Ma'am, I would have thought that was obvious."

"Mmmm…have you drawn up a plan as to how you see this working on the ground? What about a cost analysis?"

"No, not yet. I wanted to float the idea past you first. Besides, according to Joey Collins, the next lorry load of poor cows is due to arrive tomorrow night. So, if we're going to move, we're going to have to be quick."

Kim sat back in her chair. "I don't like being put under pressure like this, Frank. As you say, this is a major enquiry and, quite frankly, I'm not sure Sun Hill is equipped to handle it. It needs multi agency organisation and operations like this are usually the provenance of the Vice Squad, surely?"

"Collins didn't want to take it to Vice because of what's happened in the past. I know it was before your time, Ma'am, but I'm sure you're aware that Chris Lewis went undercover in one of Rod Patterson's clubs for Vice, only to find herself halfway to being raped by a rogue fellow undercover officer."

"Yes, I am aware of what happened. But just because there was an issue two years ago doesn't mean we write the entire squad off. I mean, the manpower that would be required alone is beyond our capabilities at the present time. Ted's on leave, Alistair's off sick and Christina and Jim are working on a complex enquiry of their own."

"What, fraud?" he sneered. "Some poncy, white-collar crime? With respect, it's hardly the same thing, Ma'am."

"No?"

"Of course not. There are women here, vulnerable women, being exploited into prostitution for no other reason than to line Rod Patterson's pockets. Not to mention the fact that AMIT are still interested in him for those murders back in the 80s. That's not something we can, or should, turn a blind eye to."

"I'm not suggesting we turn a blind eye, Frank, I'm merely suggesting that Sun Hill is not the best place to undertake such an operation."

"I've already spoken to Christina and she's on board for this one. Not to mention, I'm sure everyone else would be and we could get uniformed back up if you speak to Inspector Monroe."

Kim eyed him critically, "You've already spoken to Christina?"

"Well, I told her about it, yes. I felt it was only fair under the circumstances given what she went through before."

"I see…and she said she was on board, did she?"

"Yes, within reason."

"Within reason?"

He internally chastised himself for ever mentioning her, well aware that he had now skewed his whole position. "Within reason of you releasing her for the purposes of this enquiry, Ma'am, yes." Kim looked thoughtful. "Look Ma'am, if we pull this off it'll be a coup for us and one in the eye for Patterson. The brownie points alone could sustain us for the rest of the year, and I'm sure Assistant Commissioner Renshaw and DAC Hicks would be impressed with your leadership on it." She eyed him carefully, her expression clearly indicating that she knew he was bull-shitting her.

"All right, draw up a proper plan and get it to me asap. I'll consider matters and come back to you."

It wasn't a complete yes, but it wasn't a complete no either and, under the circumstances, he knew he would have to take it. He turned for the door. "Thank you Ma'am."

"Frank?" He turned back. "No promises."

"No Ma'am."

Once outside of her office, he felt the frisson of excitement that always came with the prospect of action start to build inside him. She was going to agree to it, she had to, and when she did and they pulled it off, he was going to be the one to slap the cuffs on Patterson. It would be one of the most satisfying things he would have done all year. Or maybe, he thought, he should let Christina do it. After all, she probably deserved it more than most.

"Guv?" Turning, he saw Tosh coming out of the toilets. "Can you speak to the DCI about Chris and Jim being on this fraud case full time? I've been left in the shit trying to deal with everything else and, quite frankly, it's not on."

"Don't worry Tosh, I reckon we'll be starting an even bigger operation shortly, one that's going to take priority over everything else."

"Oh, well that's just marvellous," Tosh replied, following him into his office. "Meanwhile, everything else is still sitting once the 'big operation' is over. We can't sustain this Guv, at least I can't. I've barely seen my wife and kids these last few weeks."

"Don't worry about it," he replied, his mind already on the operation ahead. "I'll sort it. Once Ted and Alistair are back, things will even out again."

"Well, I hope they do."

As Tosh turned for the door, a thought suddenly come back into Frank's head, one that stopped him in his tracks and made him remember a bollocking long overdue. "Oh Tosh?"

"What?"

He moved past the other man and closed the door over. "I hear you had a little conversation with Christina the other week, something about how you think I might feel about her." Tosh shifted uncomfortably. "And something else, what was it again…?" he pretended to search his memory. "Oh yeah…something about how much I like to put it about."

"I'm sorry Guv, I only meant…"

"When it comes to me, and when it comes to her, you don't know what you're talking about, all right? Now, I'm your guvnor and I don't appreciate you telling tales about me or my private life and if you ever say anything like that about me again, or her, I'll have you bounced out of here so fast your feet won't touch the ground, do you understand me?"

Tosh paused and met his gaze with a defiant one of his own. "I don't want to see her get hurt, that's all."

"And you think I do?"

"No Guv but…well…"

"But what?"

"Sometimes, when you love someone, it's best to leave them be. Some fires are best left unstoked."

It was one of the most profound things he had ever heard Tosh say and, for a moment, Frank found himself completely taken aback, not least because the other man had, seemingly unwittingly, hit the proverbial nail right on the head.

"I couldn't agree with you more, Tosh. Now, can we leave it at that?"

"Yes Guv."

"Good." He watched as the other man made his way back to his desk, Christina lifting her head from where she was talking to Jim and meeting his gaze once more through the open door. He felt his stomach turn over and his body respond just looking at her. It was torture sometimes how much he wanted her, even more so than it had been in days of old before he had known what it would be like to be with her.

Tosh was right. Leaving her be was the best thing he could do for her right now and yet, it was still one of the hardest things he knew he had ever done.