Fic: The Art of Being Lost and Found (57/?), blue cortina, dakfinv
Title: The Art of Being Lost and Found (57/?)
Author: dak
Word Count: 2223 (this part); (84,132) in total, so far)
Rating: blue cortina
Warnings: none for this part
Summary: Post 2.08. When the Guv goes missing, CID is saddled with an inept "interim" DCI. To find Gene, and the truth, Ray must team up with a hated enemy.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15
Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26 Part 27 Part 28
Part 29 Part 30 Part 31 Part 32 Part 33 Part 34 Part 35 Part 36 Part 37 Part 38 Part 39 Part 40 Part 41
Part 42 Part 43 Part 44 Part 45 Part 46 Part 47 Part 48 Part 49 Part 50 Part 51 Part 52 Part 53 Part 54
Part 55 Part 56
The minutes ticked by with excruciating slowness. Ray was convinced two hours had passed since his meeting with Carter but when he checked his watch, it had been a mere two minutes. He held his wrist to his ear just to make sure the damn thing was actually ticking.
“So, erm, these cases then...” Chris waved his arms at the files on Ray’s desk.
“Can wait,” Annie interrupted, arms crossed and face firm.
Though the rest of the crowd had dispersed, Ray was still left answering to WDC Cartwright.
“Erm, right,” Chris agreed with a great lack of conviction.
“Where is Sam?” she demanded.
“He’s fine,” Ray answered, avoiding eye contact.
“Where is he?” she hissed.
“Safe.”
“That is not an answer.”
“It’s all you need to know,” Ray snapped back. “Look, far as Carter knows, he’s at Fox Hollow. So, that’s where he is,” Ray grabbed a random folder and flipped it open, pretending to read.
“What happened? What did you do to him?” Annie continued to question.
“What did I...?”
“Is he dead?” Her voice wavered. Ray looked up from the pointless folder and saw the uncertainty in her eyes. A quick glance at Chris revealed the same expression.
“Don’t be daft,” he chided, but softly. “He’s no worse off than he were before. Fact, could be a bit better. He liked being useful. Almost seemed normal, at times.”
“Then where is he?” Annie had regained the strength in her voice, but Ray could still see the uncertainty in her eyes.
“With the safest person I know. Well, least he’s safer with him than he were with me,” Ray shrugged.
“You mean...” Annie dropped her arms. Chris gulped. Ray said nothing, just gave a brief nod then glanced at the clock.
“I know you don’t want to believe me, but everything’ll be sorted by tonight. Tomorrow morning, at the latest,” he added, just to be sure. “Now, I’ve been gone for a week. Summat interesting must have happened.”
“Well, Mae got into a scrap with Gwen over the last of the tapioca pudding,” Chris said. “There were custard all over the canteen walls ‘fore Phyllis could break ‘em up.”
“Mae. Is she that cleaner with the mole on her...”
“No, that’s April. And she’s a WPC. Mae’s the one with the birthmark by her...”
“I thought that was June.”
“June had one, on the other side, but I heard she had it removed while she were in hospital.”
Annie cleared her throat, distracting the men from their conversation.
“Chris, I’m sure DS Carling was referring to our open cases.”
“Right,” Ray nodded quickly. “The cases. Sure.”
Annie sighed and grabbed a file behind her from Chris’ desk.
“James Bresson,” she announced, handing the folder to Ray. “It wasn’t a robbery. He had no known enemies. We couldn’t even find a student who disliked him. Had no debts. No gambling or drug problem. No one who would want him dead,” Annie perched her hands on her hips as Ray skimmed through their notes on the case.
“What about the car accident? One that killed his family? Anyone else involved?”
“No,” Annie shook her head. “I looked up the case. It was a one vehicle accident. That awful rain storm we had last Spring? James was driving home in it. Lost control of the car. Hit a tree. His wife and daughter...” Annie didn’t bother to finish the sentence.
“Poor bastard,” Ray sighed. “No wonder he went cuckoo.”
“We’ve been checking with Fox Hollow,” Chris cut in. “According to them, there hasn’t been another attack since Tyler’s...” (Annie shot him a look), “Sorry. Williams’,” he lowered his head.
“That has to be the connection, then. Sam. If the funny farm ain’t lying, of course.”
“I don’t think they are,” Annie said. “I made friends with one of the nurses in that ward. She’s worked there longer than Dr. Wynton and I got the impression she doesn’t care for her much. She promised to ring me if something else happened. Spoke to her yesterday. She said it was dull as ever.”
“So, say it is Sam,” Ray pondered. “If someone wanted Tyler dead,” (Ray ignored Annie’s sharp glance), “why go after Bresson?”
“We’ve been wondering the same thing,” Annie answered.
“Thought maybe it were mistaken identity. They were roommates,” Chris shrugged. “Could’ve killed Bresson thinking it were DI Ty...er, Will...er, the Boss. Realized they’d buggered it up and went back to fix it.”
“But Bresson was killed at home,” Ray argued. “If the killer knew anything about Sam, should of known it was the wrong bloke. I mean, that house, weren’t nothing could be bought on a copper’s pay. And the two looking nothing alike. Different height, weight, hair.”
“We thought of that, too,” Annie said. “So then we thought maybe Bresson’s death was intentional but still connected to Sam. That maybe Sam told him something about a case, or something he had witnessed. Something someone wouldn’t want known.”
“Like what? Tyler weren’t working any big cases when he...went off.”
“It could’ve been a case from Hyde,” Annie interjected.
“Give over,” Ray scoffed. “He knows nowt about Hyde. Couldn’t even tell you his address there, let alone owt ‘bout a case.”
“Maybe it were summat he saw at hospital. Summat bad. He tells his roommate, they find out. Try to shut ‘em up, like,” Chris said.
“An inside job?” Ray asked. “He didn’t mention owt to me. And we talked about sending him back there. He didn’t want to go back, but he didn’t seem...scared about it.”
“Did he remember anything about the attack?” Annie asked. Ray chewed his gum, thinking back to the conversation he’d had with Sam on the steps of the Eros statue.
“Only that there was a struggle, and he fought back. Nothing useful. What about evidence? Any prints?”
“Nothing at Bresson’s house,” Chris told him. “They found one on the fire escape at Fox Hollow. ‘S not the orderly’s. Print’s down at Scotland Yard now. Being looked over.”
“Any other leads?”
“That’s all we’ve got,” Chris sighed.
Ray checked his watch. Another five minutes had passed. That was all.
“Alright. What’re our other cases, then?”
Chris began filling him in on a recent post office blag. Ray looked at the clock. The damn hour hand would have to move eventually.
*
Against all odds, the hour finally struck five. Beer o’clock. Ray was almost grinning as he gathered up his coat. The Guv would be on the train. The train should be right outside Manchester. Ray looked round the room. The rest of the team was also preparing to leave. Gene wouldn’t be coming to the station tonight.
As Ray looked at the other men, the other men looked back. Ray remembered he had promised to speak to them at the pub tonight. What could he tell them though? Certainly not everything. Gene wouldn’t want them to know everything. He could tell them the Guv was alive and on his way home.
A pit formed in his stomach as Ray realized those answers wouldn’t be enough. They would want to know everything. Of course they would. Ray himself had wanted to know everything. But what could he tell and what shouldn’t he?
It was five o’clock. Another half hour or so and the train would be pulling into the station. Gene might ring him at home, let him know they arrived. Gene might be planning on dropping Tyler off at Ray’s house. After all, the Missus didn’t know about Sam’s condition. Gene hadn’t told her, hadn’t wanted her to know. Of course he wouldn’t bring Sam home with him. Gene would have to answer enough questions about his disappearance and Dorothy, let alone handle questions about Tyler.
Ray should go home and wait for the call and the doorbell.
He evaded Chris while the lad was in the bogs and Annie while she was chatting with a WPC. He hurried ahead of the rest of the team, nearly running to his car. He grabbed a bit of take away on his way home, knowing he had nothing to eat there. Locking himself in at home, he settled in the sitting room (in the chair by the phone), after switching on the telly.
Time moved quickly now. The Guv would be ringing any minute. As soon as Ray was finished his fish and chips, the Guv would call.
Well, as soon as this program was over, Gene would call. The train should here by now. Gene would call by seven, surely.
Ray would have a beer. When he had finished his beer, Gene would call.
The train could have been delayed. That was a distinct possibility. Gene would call by nine.
The food, beer, and stress caused him to fall asleep in his chair. He woke to the sounds of the national anthem. He rose from his chair and switched off the test card. It was too late for him to ring Gene’s house. He wouldn’t want to wake Vera.
Ray decided to go back to sleep in the chair. The phone would wake him - the phone or the doorbell.
He woke the next morning to the sounds of the bin men outside banging the metal cans about.
He could have missed the call, surely. Absolutely. Ray showered quickly and got dressed. He could call the Hunt house now - Vera would be up and about - but Ray was running late for work. If Gene were to show up at the station, he would get there early.
Ray nearly broke speed records getting to work. He ran up the steps and inside the building, hoping to see signs of Gene’s arrival. Phyllis was her usual, surly self. No change there. He hurried up to CID. The detectives were milling about slowly, sipping their coffee in an effort to wake. Ray could see Carter sitting in the Guv’s office. Everything was dull and normal.
Gene was not here.
Ray hurried to a phone.
“I thought you were going to the pub last night?” Chris yawned, walking towards Ray.
“Not now,” Ray snapped as made the call. “Pick up. Pick up,” he ordered as he listened to the ringing on the other end. No one answered. “Dammit,” he cursed, slamming down the receiver.
“Ray, what is it?” Chris yawned again.
“Nothing. It’s nothing,” he ran a hand through his hair. “Shit.”
“Don’t sound like nothing.”
“It is what it is, alright?” he shouted. Chris stepped back. Ray ran through all the possibilities he could think of.
Gene had to be somewhere. He had to. He could ring the train station. See if the 3:07 from London had actually arrived. It could have been cancelled. Or maybe Tyler hadn’t been released from the hospital in London. There could have been complications. The doctors could have kept him in another night. Gene and Sam and Dorothy could be getting on a train this morning.
Or they could not be getting on a train at all. Gene could have tossed out the tickets. Instead of heading north, he could’ve gone south. Brighton. Portsmouth. Spain. Who knows how much money Gene could have saved? He’d been taking backhanders for years. He certainly hadn’t spent it all.
“Shit,” he cursed again. Without even removing his coat, Ray headed straight back to the door. Chris called after him.
“Ray, where are you...”
Before he could push his way out, Litton and the rest of his RCS goons pushed their way in.
“Bonjour, mes amies,” Litton called as he and his team stormed into the office. “Gather round. DCI Carter! We have an announcement to make to your team.”
Carter slowly emerged from the office.
“Ah, morning, Chief Inspector,” he smiled. “Good to see you. Though I dare say, it is a bit early, isn’t it? I haven’t even had my own morning meeting with the lads and lady.”
“I’m afraid this cannot wait. But, we’ll be out of your hair in a moment.”
“Well, come on, chaps,” Carter ordered. “Gather round like Mr. Litton said.”
With a grumble, the whole of CID stepped forward. Ray kept to the back, Chris and Annie just in front of him.
“Now then,” Litton straightened up. “We have an announcement to make.”
The crowd groaned again.
“I’m afraid we have the unfortunate task of informing you that we are closing the case concerning DCI Hunt.”
There was a chorus of “what, you can’t’s, you bastards” from the immediately agitated CID crowd. Ray kept silent.
“I know. It is a very...sad situation. But, having exhausted every possible lead, it seems we have come to a dead end. While we would all love to see this matter resolved, it has reached the point where we must retire this case - unsolved.”
There was a brief moment of silence. Ray watched as CID mentally debated the best way to murder the whole of RCS.
“I’m not surprised, Litton, seeing’s how your team couldn’t find a whore in a brothel. Though, I’m sure it’s the boys you prefer anyhow.”
All necks snapped round. Chris choked on his gum.
“Now, Carter, was it? If you wouldn’t mind getting the hell out of my office.”
Ray was the last turn. There in the doorway, arms crossed, stood Gene, tall and proud as ever.
Ray was infuriated.
Author: dak
Word Count: 2223 (this part); (84,132) in total, so far)
Rating: blue cortina
Warnings: none for this part
Summary: Post 2.08. When the Guv goes missing, CID is saddled with an inept "interim" DCI. To find Gene, and the truth, Ray must team up with a hated enemy.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15
Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26 Part 27 Part 28
Part 29 Part 30 Part 31 Part 32 Part 33 Part 34 Part 35 Part 36 Part 37 Part 38 Part 39 Part 40 Part 41
Part 42 Part 43 Part 44 Part 45 Part 46 Part 47 Part 48 Part 49 Part 50 Part 51 Part 52 Part 53 Part 54
Part 55 Part 56
The minutes ticked by with excruciating slowness. Ray was convinced two hours had passed since his meeting with Carter but when he checked his watch, it had been a mere two minutes. He held his wrist to his ear just to make sure the damn thing was actually ticking.
“So, erm, these cases then...” Chris waved his arms at the files on Ray’s desk.
“Can wait,” Annie interrupted, arms crossed and face firm.
Though the rest of the crowd had dispersed, Ray was still left answering to WDC Cartwright.
“Erm, right,” Chris agreed with a great lack of conviction.
“Where is Sam?” she demanded.
“He’s fine,” Ray answered, avoiding eye contact.
“Where is he?” she hissed.
“Safe.”
“That is not an answer.”
“It’s all you need to know,” Ray snapped back. “Look, far as Carter knows, he’s at Fox Hollow. So, that’s where he is,” Ray grabbed a random folder and flipped it open, pretending to read.
“What happened? What did you do to him?” Annie continued to question.
“What did I...?”
“Is he dead?” Her voice wavered. Ray looked up from the pointless folder and saw the uncertainty in her eyes. A quick glance at Chris revealed the same expression.
“Don’t be daft,” he chided, but softly. “He’s no worse off than he were before. Fact, could be a bit better. He liked being useful. Almost seemed normal, at times.”
“Then where is he?” Annie had regained the strength in her voice, but Ray could still see the uncertainty in her eyes.
“With the safest person I know. Well, least he’s safer with him than he were with me,” Ray shrugged.
“You mean...” Annie dropped her arms. Chris gulped. Ray said nothing, just gave a brief nod then glanced at the clock.
“I know you don’t want to believe me, but everything’ll be sorted by tonight. Tomorrow morning, at the latest,” he added, just to be sure. “Now, I’ve been gone for a week. Summat interesting must have happened.”
“Well, Mae got into a scrap with Gwen over the last of the tapioca pudding,” Chris said. “There were custard all over the canteen walls ‘fore Phyllis could break ‘em up.”
“Mae. Is she that cleaner with the mole on her...”
“No, that’s April. And she’s a WPC. Mae’s the one with the birthmark by her...”
“I thought that was June.”
“June had one, on the other side, but I heard she had it removed while she were in hospital.”
Annie cleared her throat, distracting the men from their conversation.
“Chris, I’m sure DS Carling was referring to our open cases.”
“Right,” Ray nodded quickly. “The cases. Sure.”
Annie sighed and grabbed a file behind her from Chris’ desk.
“James Bresson,” she announced, handing the folder to Ray. “It wasn’t a robbery. He had no known enemies. We couldn’t even find a student who disliked him. Had no debts. No gambling or drug problem. No one who would want him dead,” Annie perched her hands on her hips as Ray skimmed through their notes on the case.
“What about the car accident? One that killed his family? Anyone else involved?”
“No,” Annie shook her head. “I looked up the case. It was a one vehicle accident. That awful rain storm we had last Spring? James was driving home in it. Lost control of the car. Hit a tree. His wife and daughter...” Annie didn’t bother to finish the sentence.
“Poor bastard,” Ray sighed. “No wonder he went cuckoo.”
“We’ve been checking with Fox Hollow,” Chris cut in. “According to them, there hasn’t been another attack since Tyler’s...” (Annie shot him a look), “Sorry. Williams’,” he lowered his head.
“That has to be the connection, then. Sam. If the funny farm ain’t lying, of course.”
“I don’t think they are,” Annie said. “I made friends with one of the nurses in that ward. She’s worked there longer than Dr. Wynton and I got the impression she doesn’t care for her much. She promised to ring me if something else happened. Spoke to her yesterday. She said it was dull as ever.”
“So, say it is Sam,” Ray pondered. “If someone wanted Tyler dead,” (Ray ignored Annie’s sharp glance), “why go after Bresson?”
“We’ve been wondering the same thing,” Annie answered.
“Thought maybe it were mistaken identity. They were roommates,” Chris shrugged. “Could’ve killed Bresson thinking it were DI Ty...er, Will...er, the Boss. Realized they’d buggered it up and went back to fix it.”
“But Bresson was killed at home,” Ray argued. “If the killer knew anything about Sam, should of known it was the wrong bloke. I mean, that house, weren’t nothing could be bought on a copper’s pay. And the two looking nothing alike. Different height, weight, hair.”
“We thought of that, too,” Annie said. “So then we thought maybe Bresson’s death was intentional but still connected to Sam. That maybe Sam told him something about a case, or something he had witnessed. Something someone wouldn’t want known.”
“Like what? Tyler weren’t working any big cases when he...went off.”
“It could’ve been a case from Hyde,” Annie interjected.
“Give over,” Ray scoffed. “He knows nowt about Hyde. Couldn’t even tell you his address there, let alone owt ‘bout a case.”
“Maybe it were summat he saw at hospital. Summat bad. He tells his roommate, they find out. Try to shut ‘em up, like,” Chris said.
“An inside job?” Ray asked. “He didn’t mention owt to me. And we talked about sending him back there. He didn’t want to go back, but he didn’t seem...scared about it.”
“Did he remember anything about the attack?” Annie asked. Ray chewed his gum, thinking back to the conversation he’d had with Sam on the steps of the Eros statue.
“Only that there was a struggle, and he fought back. Nothing useful. What about evidence? Any prints?”
“Nothing at Bresson’s house,” Chris told him. “They found one on the fire escape at Fox Hollow. ‘S not the orderly’s. Print’s down at Scotland Yard now. Being looked over.”
“Any other leads?”
“That’s all we’ve got,” Chris sighed.
Ray checked his watch. Another five minutes had passed. That was all.
“Alright. What’re our other cases, then?”
Chris began filling him in on a recent post office blag. Ray looked at the clock. The damn hour hand would have to move eventually.
*
Against all odds, the hour finally struck five. Beer o’clock. Ray was almost grinning as he gathered up his coat. The Guv would be on the train. The train should be right outside Manchester. Ray looked round the room. The rest of the team was also preparing to leave. Gene wouldn’t be coming to the station tonight.
As Ray looked at the other men, the other men looked back. Ray remembered he had promised to speak to them at the pub tonight. What could he tell them though? Certainly not everything. Gene wouldn’t want them to know everything. He could tell them the Guv was alive and on his way home.
A pit formed in his stomach as Ray realized those answers wouldn’t be enough. They would want to know everything. Of course they would. Ray himself had wanted to know everything. But what could he tell and what shouldn’t he?
It was five o’clock. Another half hour or so and the train would be pulling into the station. Gene might ring him at home, let him know they arrived. Gene might be planning on dropping Tyler off at Ray’s house. After all, the Missus didn’t know about Sam’s condition. Gene hadn’t told her, hadn’t wanted her to know. Of course he wouldn’t bring Sam home with him. Gene would have to answer enough questions about his disappearance and Dorothy, let alone handle questions about Tyler.
Ray should go home and wait for the call and the doorbell.
He evaded Chris while the lad was in the bogs and Annie while she was chatting with a WPC. He hurried ahead of the rest of the team, nearly running to his car. He grabbed a bit of take away on his way home, knowing he had nothing to eat there. Locking himself in at home, he settled in the sitting room (in the chair by the phone), after switching on the telly.
Time moved quickly now. The Guv would be ringing any minute. As soon as Ray was finished his fish and chips, the Guv would call.
Well, as soon as this program was over, Gene would call. The train should here by now. Gene would call by seven, surely.
Ray would have a beer. When he had finished his beer, Gene would call.
The train could have been delayed. That was a distinct possibility. Gene would call by nine.
The food, beer, and stress caused him to fall asleep in his chair. He woke to the sounds of the national anthem. He rose from his chair and switched off the test card. It was too late for him to ring Gene’s house. He wouldn’t want to wake Vera.
Ray decided to go back to sleep in the chair. The phone would wake him - the phone or the doorbell.
He woke the next morning to the sounds of the bin men outside banging the metal cans about.
He could have missed the call, surely. Absolutely. Ray showered quickly and got dressed. He could call the Hunt house now - Vera would be up and about - but Ray was running late for work. If Gene were to show up at the station, he would get there early.
Ray nearly broke speed records getting to work. He ran up the steps and inside the building, hoping to see signs of Gene’s arrival. Phyllis was her usual, surly self. No change there. He hurried up to CID. The detectives were milling about slowly, sipping their coffee in an effort to wake. Ray could see Carter sitting in the Guv’s office. Everything was dull and normal.
Gene was not here.
Ray hurried to a phone.
“I thought you were going to the pub last night?” Chris yawned, walking towards Ray.
“Not now,” Ray snapped as made the call. “Pick up. Pick up,” he ordered as he listened to the ringing on the other end. No one answered. “Dammit,” he cursed, slamming down the receiver.
“Ray, what is it?” Chris yawned again.
“Nothing. It’s nothing,” he ran a hand through his hair. “Shit.”
“Don’t sound like nothing.”
“It is what it is, alright?” he shouted. Chris stepped back. Ray ran through all the possibilities he could think of.
Gene had to be somewhere. He had to. He could ring the train station. See if the 3:07 from London had actually arrived. It could have been cancelled. Or maybe Tyler hadn’t been released from the hospital in London. There could have been complications. The doctors could have kept him in another night. Gene and Sam and Dorothy could be getting on a train this morning.
Or they could not be getting on a train at all. Gene could have tossed out the tickets. Instead of heading north, he could’ve gone south. Brighton. Portsmouth. Spain. Who knows how much money Gene could have saved? He’d been taking backhanders for years. He certainly hadn’t spent it all.
“Shit,” he cursed again. Without even removing his coat, Ray headed straight back to the door. Chris called after him.
“Ray, where are you...”
Before he could push his way out, Litton and the rest of his RCS goons pushed their way in.
“Bonjour, mes amies,” Litton called as he and his team stormed into the office. “Gather round. DCI Carter! We have an announcement to make to your team.”
Carter slowly emerged from the office.
“Ah, morning, Chief Inspector,” he smiled. “Good to see you. Though I dare say, it is a bit early, isn’t it? I haven’t even had my own morning meeting with the lads and lady.”
“I’m afraid this cannot wait. But, we’ll be out of your hair in a moment.”
“Well, come on, chaps,” Carter ordered. “Gather round like Mr. Litton said.”
With a grumble, the whole of CID stepped forward. Ray kept to the back, Chris and Annie just in front of him.
“Now then,” Litton straightened up. “We have an announcement to make.”
The crowd groaned again.
“I’m afraid we have the unfortunate task of informing you that we are closing the case concerning DCI Hunt.”
There was a chorus of “what, you can’t’s, you bastards” from the immediately agitated CID crowd. Ray kept silent.
“I know. It is a very...sad situation. But, having exhausted every possible lead, it seems we have come to a dead end. While we would all love to see this matter resolved, it has reached the point where we must retire this case - unsolved.”
There was a brief moment of silence. Ray watched as CID mentally debated the best way to murder the whole of RCS.
“I’m not surprised, Litton, seeing’s how your team couldn’t find a whore in a brothel. Though, I’m sure it’s the boys you prefer anyhow.”
All necks snapped round. Chris choked on his gum.
“Now, Carter, was it? If you wouldn’t mind getting the hell out of my office.”
Ray was the last turn. There in the doorway, arms crossed, stood Gene, tall and proud as ever.
Ray was infuriated.