Fic: Picking Up the Pieces (Taggart) 6/6
Part Five
Wednesday
She must have fallen asleep though as the next thing she was aware, light was shining in the curtains she had forgotten to close last night.
She moved to push the quilt back and stopped. She felt like she had been hit by a bus. She wasn't entirely sure if it was from the sex or the run from the day before. Either way, she lay perfectly still, trying to will herself into getting up.
God, she really needed to be more careful. She sighed.
It was just the sort of morning where she would have been more than happy to just stay were she was and curl up with a book or just doze but no, she needed to go in. Only the fact that they were so close and that there was a good chance it would all be resolved today managed to get her to overcome the stiffness and actually get out of bed.
She worked on the theory that if she stopped she wouldn't get started again so she got dressed and ready in quick time.
She was out the door before eight and fortunately Boots was open early in the mornings. The assistant behind the counter kept a blank expression as she bought the morning after pill. She sat back in the car, staring at it. She jolted out of her thoughts when a car horn sound and she looked around and saw someone impatient for her parking space.
She muttered under her breath and hastily swallowed the pill. She didn't resist the urge to pull a face at him when she reversed neatly out of the space.
Robbie was in before her and she smiled briefly in greeting. He looked better this morning, as if he had actually managed to get some sleep last night.
She almost felt guilty for the sense of relief that that would be one less thing to deal with. She glanced down at the report on the state of the CCTV footage trawling.
He spoke first. "Just off the phone to the lab, they're run the footage over night, just finishing it off now."
She nodded. "I'll try Duncan."
She could hear the exhaustion in his voice as he explained they weren't back yet and the exasperation when he said he would let them know as soon as they were. She had to laugh when he compared her to Burke, the comparison not stinging like it would have done a couple of years ago or coming from someone else.
Robbie glanced at her when he heard her laugh. She shook her head, then hung up. "Not yet. He'll let us know when." He looked askance at her for a second then shook his head slightly.
"C'mon," he kept clicking his mouse and as she walked around the desks to stand beside him, she saw he was refreshing his email inbox.
"Yes," he exclaimed and she leaned down to get a proper look.
It seemed to take an age for the pictures to load, but eventually there it was, Lewis in crystal clear glory. There was no denying it this time.
They exchanged a grin and Robbie hit print. He stuck a copy to the board as Mita walked in.
Mita looked hopeful when she saw their expressions. "Good news."
Jackie grinned. "Enhanced images just came back. There's no denying it's Lewis now."
"And the CCTV footage of him heading back down."
Jackie shook her head. "Not yet, but they managed to track him through the city centre, and he definitely didn't get on the evening bus down to London."
"So he was definitely up here the time of the attack." Mita looked as pleased as Jackie felt.
Jackie nodded. "Yeah."
"Brilliant."
"What do you want me to do?"
"Keep an eye on the CCTV and check up on the hotel's nearby where he was spotted. We've sent a couple of officers round but nothing concrete. If we could get a witness to where he was staying, that would top it off."
Mita took out her notepad. "Does he have any friends or relatives in Glasgow?"
Jackie shook her head. "Not according to the background information we've dug up, but it might do well to check out if his friends in London do."
Mita nodded. "Okay, I'll go and get started." She said as Robbie joined them.
"We're going to go wait outside his hotel to pick him up. Don't want him slipping away from us."
She grabbed her car keys and there was a brief eye fight over who was driving.
He won.
--
She should have brought another cup of coffee with her, or at least a packet of crisps, anything really to give her something to do. They'd been sitting here for half an hour already and they hadn't seen Lewis and they had managed to exhaust their light hearted small talk. The silence wasn't as awkward as it could have been, not with them focused on watching the door, but she was still completely aware that they were avoiding talking about what had happened yesterday and anything remotely connected with their feelings.
It was just as well they had been friends for so long, otherwise she would have thought the awkwardness was one-sided and felt guilty about it.
She sighed and shifted herself in the car seat. Robbie glanced at her quickly.
"You all right?"
Another sign they were getting old: he openly showed concern rather than tease her about being bored. She tried not to think too much about that.
"Just thinking about another cup of coffee."
He snorted and slumped lower into his seat. "I've had so much coffee the last couple of days, I think I've gone off it."
"You say that every case."
He didn't answer and she didn't care as they both sat up straight. "Here we go." Lewis had left the main door of the hotel and was sauntering down the steps to the pavement.
They both got out the car quickly, and she heard Robbie beep the car locked as they dodged the traffic on the way across the road.
"Mr Lewis," She called out as they caught up with him.
Lewis turned around to face them and grinned. "Inspector Reid, Inspector Ross. How can I help today?" He radiated smugness.
She managed a smug grin of her own as Robbie circled behind him and started reading Lewis his rights. The smug look on Lewis' face dropped for a second as the handcuffs went on, and he winced as Robbie was obviously a little rough with them.
It returned, though she could tell he wasn't quite as confident. It seemed he hadn't expected to get arrested. Well, that was interesting.
They didn't say anything else as they navigated their way back across the road, and Lewis was quiet until they shoved him in the back of the car.
She sat beside him in the back, and she caught sight of Robbie's expression in the rear-view mirror before he blanked it from his face.
There was a reason she'd let him drive after all.
They stayed quiet on the ride to the station, Robbie taking the quickest route possible, despite Lewis trying to wind them up. She had to force herself to breath evenly and she could see Robbie's knuckles turn white on the steering wheel.
It was something of a relief to hand him over to the Custody Sergeant, and it send a jolt of pleasure to see his face drop as he realised they were letting him stew in the cells while he waited for Silvers to arrive.
They headed to the kitchen while they waited. They really needed to get control of themselves before the interview and they needed a little more quiet than the office gave to work on that.
They sipped their tea in silence but she put her cup down when it was half empty.
"We need to talk about what we are going to do in the interview."
"How about to you stick to the talking and I'll stand there looking threatening."
She snorted. "Yeah, because that' going to go down well with Silvers."
He rubbed his face. "Well, you'd better stick with the questions anyway, since you're the one who manages to stay calm."
She shrugged at that. "No more rising to the bait then?"
"Easier said than done." He slammed his empty cup down.
"Just remember the evidence is stacking up, we don't need you to go all he-man on him," She said the last part dryly, only to be distracted from his reaction by her phone ringing.
"DI Reid."
"Inspector," Another one of the nurses and her anxiety kicked up a notch. "Don't worry, it's good news." She let out a breath. "He had a good night and the Doctor is pleased with his progress. He is showing signs of being asleep now rather unconscious."
"That's brilliant."
"The Doctor has relaxed the visitor restrictions, so if you or Inspector Ross want to pop in for five minutes in the afternoon, that would be okay."
"Thank you."
She hung up and Robbie relaxed when she told him.
"Bout time," He stood straighter. "Right, we go in, we lay it out, we've broken his alibi, Burke is on the verge of waking up and we've got DNA evidence."
"Yeah, we'll just need to be a bit creative about how much DNA we've actually got."
Robbie shrugged. "We've done it before and it's not like the results won't be in soon enough."
"I'm just worried it's going to well."
"Stop worrying Jackie, it'll be fine."
"I'd still rather wait until the results are in."
Robbie sighed but he didn't say anything. He didn't have a chance either.
"Jackie, Robbie," Mita walked in, on hand keeping the door propped open. "Lewis' lawyer is here. What do you want done?"
"Put him in room three and have somebody bring Lewis up in about," she glanced at her watch, "fifteen minutes."
Mita nodded and started to leave as Robbie's phone began to buzz
"Did you have any luck with his movements?" Jackie asked as Robbie answered his phone.
Mita looked back at them and shook her head. "Still trawling through the footage and the family members of friends. I've been trying hotels but,"
"It's Glasgow city centre," Jackie finished glumly. "Keep at it, the more evidence the better." Mita nodded and Jackie let her leave this time.
She turned back to Robbie as he thanked Duncan. He was grinning.
She didn't even have to ask before he spoke.
"DNA is a match to Lewis."
She grinned along with him. Perfect. The niggling worries she had vanished and she could feel herself champ at the bit, eager to get started and the whole thing done with now.
She rinsed out her mug and they practically bounced back into the office. There was a slight pause as Robbie printed out copies of the forensics report, adding a copy to the CCTV pictures, and handing her one to pin to the board.
He was every bit as eager as she was and they fussed about, passing the time until Lewis had a chance to speak to Silvers.
She paused outside the interview room and took a deep breath. Robbie looked at her strangely.
"I just don't want to get too excited and give Lewis a reason to get this thrown out."
He sobered almost immediately. "Aye," He ran a hand through his hair and she could see him try to relax. "We'll stick with the plan though."
She nodded and took one last deep breath and opened the door.
"Mr Lewis, Mr Silvers." She smiled politely at both men as she put the folder of evidence down on the desk. Robbie started the tape as she sat down.
Silvers waited until they were organised then started protesting. "This is verging on police harassment. My client has a solid alibi and there is no need for this continued investigation."
Robbie stayed quiet and she pulled the CCTV still out and laid it down in front of Lewis.
"Can you confirm this is you, Mr Lewis?" She stayed perfectly polite, though it was hard to fight the smile when Lewis and Silvers looked at each other.
"Yes, looks like me." Lewis looked a little unsure.
"So you've got a picture of my client. What is so special about it?"
Robbie spoke, and he sounded remarkably even. "Just the fact that it was taken in Buchanan Bus Station on the morning of the attack on DCI Burke, and blows your client's alibi straight out the water."
Silvers glanced at Lewis before straightening and beginning again. "Footage that can easily be faked by police out on a witch hunt."
She went for the polite smile again and looked at Lewis. He was definitely paler, definitely hadn't thought they would catch him out on that.
"There is the testimony from one of his cell mates that he was planning his revenge on Burke. As well as the fact he has been messing around with us, lying to us. I don’t think that will look to good in court, will it?" She looked pointedly at Silvers as she spoke.
"No, not really." Robbie answered for Silvers.
Lewis looked as if he was regaining some of his confidence. "Wee Charlie? He's scared of his own shadow. Could be convinced to say anything."
Silvers was looking just a smug, though that was an occupational hazard with him.
"So you're not going to confess then? For real this time?"
"Quite frankly, there is nothing here that would convince anyone, let alone a jury that Mr Lewis was guilty."
She had worked opposite Silvers enough to know when the starts were starting to appear and she could see it now. He was slightly less confident and bluffing them.
She glanced at Robbie and he nodded slightly. Might as well go ahead, the evidence was all going to come out anyway.
"Juries do tend to be swayed by DNA evidence though." She pulled out the report. "Your blood was found under his fingernails. Probably from that scratch on your wrist." She tilted her head as Lewis pulled his cuff down to cover the almost completely healed scratch on his wrist.
"We took photos when we brought you in. No point in hiding it." Robbie said and she could hear the smile he was repressing.
"It's just an old scratch." Lewis looked no where near as cocky, even a little pale.
Silvers shook his head. "I need a moment to talk to my client in private."
She and Robbie exchanged a glance and she nodded. Robbie stopped the tape and they waited outside the door.
She didn't say anything, she might not be able to contain herself if she did. Robbie appeared to feel the same way and they stood in comfortable silence.
Silvers opened the door. "We're ready to talk."
They got set up again and like before, Silvers spoke first. "Mr Lewis is prepared to admit to the assault charge."
Robbie snorted. "Not a chance. Attempted Murder."
"It was definitely not, and you don't have the evidence to back that charge up."
"Did you wear a mask?" Silvers looked a little bemused at her sudden, apparent change of topic.
He shook his head and Lewis didn't answer. "Only DCI Burke is in the process of waking up. When he wakes up and tells the jury it was your face he saw, do you honestly think they won't know you went to his flat with the intention of murdering him? After all, who goes to all the bother of planning an attack like that and letting the victim live to see his face?"
Lewis visibly deflated and Silvers looked grudgingly impressed at her.
"All right, all right." Lewis sounded utterly defeated and only years of practise stopped her for dancing for joy.
She let the smug smile loose though. "We'll start with a statement then…"
--
Everyone in the office was chatting, laughing, crime generally forgotten for the moment. The news had already reached the office by the time they had arrived after updating Campbell. There had been claps on the back, and gently mocking of what took them so long.
Everyone slowly got back to work, the calls didn't stop coming after all, and they were too drained from it all. The high of getting a proper confession and getting him thoroughly hadn't lasted long and before too long, they found themselves slumped on the edge of his desk, everyone else back at work.
She still wasn't entirely sure what to say to him so she put the conversation they really needed to have off further.
"I'll drive if you nip in and get us a sandwich."
He smiled, he knew what she was doing, but nodded anyway. "Not annoyed nurses in a while. It'll be a laugh."
She rolled her eyes.
--
The nurse tapped her watch to remind them that the visit was still restricted, and then left them alone.
It wasn't such a shock to see him this time, though if anything Burke looked worse, some of the bruises starting to yellow and the evidence of the second surgery clearly visible. Beside her, she heard Robbie's harsh intake of breath and it suddenly occurred to her that she had only assumed he'd come to visit, that she hadn't actually asked him.
She left it, it wasn't worth the bother it would cause.
They were quiet, just listening to the beep of the heart monitor and it would have been creepy if they weren't so worried about him. His leg twitched slightly and she never thought she would be so glad to see that.
"You think we should talk to him if he's just asleep?" Robbie sounded suspiciously hoarse when he spoke.
She didn't look at him as she wiped her own eyes. "Nah, wouldn't want to give him nightmares."
Robbie snorted softly and the tension eased a little. They jerked around when the door opened again.
It was the same nurse from earlier and all she had to do was raise an eyebrow. She did add that they would phone as soon as Burke woke up and that they could have a longer visit tomorrow, assuming the doctor approved.
Contrary to what he said earlier, Robbie didn't wind any of the nurses up and they made it out the building quickly.
She paused with her keys in the ignition. If Robbie hadn't been in the car, she would have probably started crying just from the relief of it all.
"Look," Robbie's voice was surprisingly gentle. "Come back to mine, we'll get a proper dinner and we can catch a crappy film. I'll even let you pick."
She looked askance at him.
He sighed. "I'm not trying anything, Jackie, I just," he paused for thought, "we both need to unwind and normally I'd buy you a drink after a case like this," he trailed off.
It was her turn to sigh. Dinner and sprawling on the couch sounded appealing but sooner or later they would have to deal with the elephant in the room. At the moment she would rather it was later.
Possibly against her better judgement she nodded and started the car.
--
The lift ride up to his flat started to get a little awkward and she flushed as she waited for him to unlock the door. She paused in the doorway, feeling a little hesitant after last time.
Robbie turned to look at her when he realised she hadn't followed. "Can't have been that bad was it?" He said jokingly but the undercurrent of hurt got her moving.
"Nah, just thinking you'd have been better off with carpets."
He laughed. "Thinking about another round?" He smirked but it dropped immediately. "Sorry, Jackie, I," he blew out a deep breath.
She was glad when he turned around and made for the kitchen area, letting the knot in her stomach unwind.
He started rummaging in his freezer and she walked over to the large plate glass window, and looked out over the city centre.
It was a stunning view and she watched the traffic on the streets below. Robbie jarred her out of her thoughts with, "Lasagne okay?"
"Only if it's not homemade."
She could hear his snort and smiled a little. He went back to faffing about and she could hear him tearing the packaging.
She watched as a bin motor emptied bins in the next street over, and had visions of reading Lewis' statement again. The planning he had put into it, buying the plain black clothing and gloves over a period of time in London, then dropping them in various bins in the City centre once he had left Burke for dead.
She shook the thoughts out of her head and slipped her phone out of her pocket.
Mita answered on fourth ring.
"Jackie, I wasn't expecting to hear from you today."
Oh, you know me, can't drag myself away from the job." Her tone was wry and Mita gave a huff of laughter. "Just checking on how his statement checks out."
"The details have matched up so far. The report will be on your desk in the morning."
"Well,"
"Jackie, I don't mean to be rude, but you need to take the rest of the day off. Everything can wait until tomorrow morning."
"Mita,"
"Look," Mita wasn't having an objections and she would have found it amusing had it not been directed at her. Mita lowered her voice as she carried on. "I know this case hasn't been easy for you or Robbie, so just let the rest of us tidy up the loose ends and come back in tomorrow when your feeling refreshed."
She was speechless for a minute. "You're turning into an opinionated sergeant, you know that?"
"I did have a good teacher." Jackie could hear the smile in Mita's voice.
"I'll let you away with it then." She was smiling slightly herself now. "Thank you, Mita,"
"It's not a problem."
She hung up and turned around to face Robbie.
The microwave was running, and he'd set the table. There were even plates.
"I take it lasagne doesn't come with its own plate then?"
He pulled another face and she couldn't help the small giggle that managed to escape. It certainly eased the atmosphere and she shrugged her jacket off and went to see what he had to drink.
She settled on a can of Irn-Bru from the fridge and they teased each other lightly as he took the lasagne from the microwave and served it up.
They ate mostly in silence, both of them hungry after they way they had been eating haphazardly for most of the last week.
He even tidied up afterwards, which she had to raise an eyebrow at, but it was a relief to know he was just as nervous and unsure as she was.
He gestured towards the TV. "You pick what ever and I'll go phone Stuart, let him know."
She nodded and picked up the handset. She heard him greet Stuart and then he moved into his bedroom.
She stared at the closed door for a minute and then rolled her eyes. Clearly he wasn't just going to talk to Stuart about the case.
She sighed as she wished she had thought of it first. No doubt Stuart would be on the phone to her first thing anyway.
She hummed and hawed over his collection of films and the guide on his Sky box. She eventually settled on Die Hard, and got the film to the beginning, then sat curled up on the sofa, shoes slipped off and lying neatly beside her.
She startled to wriggle the longer Robbie took. After what felt like an hour, he finally came out and nodded at her.
"Stuart says hi and he'll phone you in the morning."
She raised an eyebrow for further detail but that was all he said.
He settled down on the other end of the couch and she pressed play.
They sat in silence again, though she could feel it get awkward again, especially when Robbie started tapping the arm rest.
She gave up and pressed pause. There was no use in putting off talking about them any longer.
"Look," she lost her nerve and bit her lip. Robbie looked at her, looking incredibly unsure and that wasn't helping either. She took a deep breath and steeled herself. "You're one of my best friends and I don't want things to get awkward."
"Neither do I, Jackie." His tone was tight.
Great, he was starting out on the offensive. What exactly had he been saying to Stuart?
He seemed to realise and he slumped. "So we just write it off as stress then?" He wasn't looking at her and hell, why was he leaving this all up to her.
"I don't know." She honestly didn't, and he heard it in her voice and he looked at her again.
"Would it be so bad if we didn't?"
She felt her mouth open and close, unsure what to say.
"Would it?" She went for instead, directing it back to him.
The expression on his face softened and he glanced away quickly. "You're my best mate as well."
Oh God, they were just going to go round in circles weren't they? She sighed.
"I don't want to fuck things up." He said.
"Neither do I." Now she was on edge. Great. She forced her fingers to unclench and sat up properly on the couch. She properly looked at him for a minute, on the verge of staring again before she turned her head back to the screen. He looked scared, more so than she'd ever seen him.
One of them was going to have to make the first move.
Would it be so bad? They already knew everything about each other, and had managed to survive working together for the last fifteen years. It wasn't as if they hadn't flirted before, or had some serious moments between them. She thought back to her Dad's words the other day and burst out laughing.
"What?"
She managed to shake her head through the laughter to tell him it was nothing he had done, and the laughter might have been a touch hysterical.
He was looking completely bewildered by the time she managed to calm herself.
"Just something Dad said at Susie's party."
He looked questioningly at her. She shook her head.
"Nothing much." She avoided that for the moment and looked at him.
Trying for something with him wouldn't be difficult. Burke wouldn't be pleased at the idea of an office romance, but as long as they kept it mostly out of the office then he wouldn't kick up a fuss. Well, no more than he normally did anyway.
They already knew the difficulties the job brought to a relationship, worked similar hours and they were on equal footing with their ranks now.
It wasn't as if she wasn't attracted to him either, though she had shoved that thought to the back of her mind a long time ago.
She could see his fist clenching as the silence carried on, though he wasn't making any move to rush her.
The only things that had held her back before, he was working on.
Okay, she could admit to the fact she was terrified.
She took a deep breath. "You know that if you hurt me I'd kill you?" Just like that though, it seemed she'd made her decision.
It was his turn to laugh and she had to wait until he stopped.
"Like you wouldn't the now?" He was still smiling.
She shrugged. It was true enough and it wasn't as if he did know what buttons to press if she hurt him.
"So," Robbie looked at her again.
She paused. "Well, we don't write it off as just stress then."
"And?" He looked like he didn't know what to think. She was pretty sure she must have looked almost as unsure as him.
"We see how things go."
He looked like he wanted to argue with her but she cut him off. "We've been stressed up to the eyeballs, and with everything still going on, I don't know if I can think about much more than that, Robbie." She almost pleaded and there was silence for another minute.
"You always have to be the sensible one don't you?"
"Yeah, well,"
"One of us has to be," He finished.
She smiled softly but he didn't say anything else. He relaxed back against the couch though and he held out his arm as she started to curl back up.
She hesitated for a second then shifted over a bit and ducked under his arm, head resting on his shoulder. It felt easier now they had sort of come to a decision.
She pressed play and the screen flickered to life. She felt herself drifting off, dimly aware of Robbie shifting slightly. She didn't fight it, for the first time in a week everything was comfortable and things were back on the right track. Anything else could wait until tomorrow.
--
Epilogue:
They were both sitting at their desks when Burke walked in for his first morning back at work. After everyone had welcomed him back, they gathered in his office for a catch up briefing, and things were going fine, even if she felt a little bit antsy around both Burke and Robbie. They'd been going to see him separately to keep things under wraps while they got their heads around their new relationship.
Five minutes into the meeting proved that had been a good idea.
Burke had been watching them the whole time and he groaned when there was a pause in the conversation. "Tell me you didn't."
She exchanged a look with Robbie and smiled.
Burke groaned again.
"If it helps, Sir, no one else has noticed."
"And we've not killed each other." Robbie added.
"Yet." She amended and God help her, Robbie smiled like he was looking forward to the challenge.
Burke rolled his eyes and sighed. "Well, are the pair of you going to stand about making eyes all day or are you going to carry on with what else I've missed?"
She couldn't help it and she had to turn her laughter into a cough at both of their expressions. She still wasn't entirely sure if everything was going to turn out okay but for the moment everything was more or less back to normal.
She could live with that.
The sex wasn't bad either.
Wednesday
She must have fallen asleep though as the next thing she was aware, light was shining in the curtains she had forgotten to close last night.
She moved to push the quilt back and stopped. She felt like she had been hit by a bus. She wasn't entirely sure if it was from the sex or the run from the day before. Either way, she lay perfectly still, trying to will herself into getting up.
God, she really needed to be more careful. She sighed.
It was just the sort of morning where she would have been more than happy to just stay were she was and curl up with a book or just doze but no, she needed to go in. Only the fact that they were so close and that there was a good chance it would all be resolved today managed to get her to overcome the stiffness and actually get out of bed.
She worked on the theory that if she stopped she wouldn't get started again so she got dressed and ready in quick time.
She was out the door before eight and fortunately Boots was open early in the mornings. The assistant behind the counter kept a blank expression as she bought the morning after pill. She sat back in the car, staring at it. She jolted out of her thoughts when a car horn sound and she looked around and saw someone impatient for her parking space.
She muttered under her breath and hastily swallowed the pill. She didn't resist the urge to pull a face at him when she reversed neatly out of the space.
Robbie was in before her and she smiled briefly in greeting. He looked better this morning, as if he had actually managed to get some sleep last night.
She almost felt guilty for the sense of relief that that would be one less thing to deal with. She glanced down at the report on the state of the CCTV footage trawling.
He spoke first. "Just off the phone to the lab, they're run the footage over night, just finishing it off now."
She nodded. "I'll try Duncan."
She could hear the exhaustion in his voice as he explained they weren't back yet and the exasperation when he said he would let them know as soon as they were. She had to laugh when he compared her to Burke, the comparison not stinging like it would have done a couple of years ago or coming from someone else.
Robbie glanced at her when he heard her laugh. She shook her head, then hung up. "Not yet. He'll let us know when." He looked askance at her for a second then shook his head slightly.
"C'mon," he kept clicking his mouse and as she walked around the desks to stand beside him, she saw he was refreshing his email inbox.
"Yes," he exclaimed and she leaned down to get a proper look.
It seemed to take an age for the pictures to load, but eventually there it was, Lewis in crystal clear glory. There was no denying it this time.
They exchanged a grin and Robbie hit print. He stuck a copy to the board as Mita walked in.
Mita looked hopeful when she saw their expressions. "Good news."
Jackie grinned. "Enhanced images just came back. There's no denying it's Lewis now."
"And the CCTV footage of him heading back down."
Jackie shook her head. "Not yet, but they managed to track him through the city centre, and he definitely didn't get on the evening bus down to London."
"So he was definitely up here the time of the attack." Mita looked as pleased as Jackie felt.
Jackie nodded. "Yeah."
"Brilliant."
"What do you want me to do?"
"Keep an eye on the CCTV and check up on the hotel's nearby where he was spotted. We've sent a couple of officers round but nothing concrete. If we could get a witness to where he was staying, that would top it off."
Mita took out her notepad. "Does he have any friends or relatives in Glasgow?"
Jackie shook her head. "Not according to the background information we've dug up, but it might do well to check out if his friends in London do."
Mita nodded. "Okay, I'll go and get started." She said as Robbie joined them.
"We're going to go wait outside his hotel to pick him up. Don't want him slipping away from us."
She grabbed her car keys and there was a brief eye fight over who was driving.
He won.
--
She should have brought another cup of coffee with her, or at least a packet of crisps, anything really to give her something to do. They'd been sitting here for half an hour already and they hadn't seen Lewis and they had managed to exhaust their light hearted small talk. The silence wasn't as awkward as it could have been, not with them focused on watching the door, but she was still completely aware that they were avoiding talking about what had happened yesterday and anything remotely connected with their feelings.
It was just as well they had been friends for so long, otherwise she would have thought the awkwardness was one-sided and felt guilty about it.
She sighed and shifted herself in the car seat. Robbie glanced at her quickly.
"You all right?"
Another sign they were getting old: he openly showed concern rather than tease her about being bored. She tried not to think too much about that.
"Just thinking about another cup of coffee."
He snorted and slumped lower into his seat. "I've had so much coffee the last couple of days, I think I've gone off it."
"You say that every case."
He didn't answer and she didn't care as they both sat up straight. "Here we go." Lewis had left the main door of the hotel and was sauntering down the steps to the pavement.
They both got out the car quickly, and she heard Robbie beep the car locked as they dodged the traffic on the way across the road.
"Mr Lewis," She called out as they caught up with him.
Lewis turned around to face them and grinned. "Inspector Reid, Inspector Ross. How can I help today?" He radiated smugness.
She managed a smug grin of her own as Robbie circled behind him and started reading Lewis his rights. The smug look on Lewis' face dropped for a second as the handcuffs went on, and he winced as Robbie was obviously a little rough with them.
It returned, though she could tell he wasn't quite as confident. It seemed he hadn't expected to get arrested. Well, that was interesting.
They didn't say anything else as they navigated their way back across the road, and Lewis was quiet until they shoved him in the back of the car.
She sat beside him in the back, and she caught sight of Robbie's expression in the rear-view mirror before he blanked it from his face.
There was a reason she'd let him drive after all.
They stayed quiet on the ride to the station, Robbie taking the quickest route possible, despite Lewis trying to wind them up. She had to force herself to breath evenly and she could see Robbie's knuckles turn white on the steering wheel.
It was something of a relief to hand him over to the Custody Sergeant, and it send a jolt of pleasure to see his face drop as he realised they were letting him stew in the cells while he waited for Silvers to arrive.
They headed to the kitchen while they waited. They really needed to get control of themselves before the interview and they needed a little more quiet than the office gave to work on that.
They sipped their tea in silence but she put her cup down when it was half empty.
"We need to talk about what we are going to do in the interview."
"How about to you stick to the talking and I'll stand there looking threatening."
She snorted. "Yeah, because that' going to go down well with Silvers."
He rubbed his face. "Well, you'd better stick with the questions anyway, since you're the one who manages to stay calm."
She shrugged at that. "No more rising to the bait then?"
"Easier said than done." He slammed his empty cup down.
"Just remember the evidence is stacking up, we don't need you to go all he-man on him," She said the last part dryly, only to be distracted from his reaction by her phone ringing.
"DI Reid."
"Inspector," Another one of the nurses and her anxiety kicked up a notch. "Don't worry, it's good news." She let out a breath. "He had a good night and the Doctor is pleased with his progress. He is showing signs of being asleep now rather unconscious."
"That's brilliant."
"The Doctor has relaxed the visitor restrictions, so if you or Inspector Ross want to pop in for five minutes in the afternoon, that would be okay."
"Thank you."
She hung up and Robbie relaxed when she told him.
"Bout time," He stood straighter. "Right, we go in, we lay it out, we've broken his alibi, Burke is on the verge of waking up and we've got DNA evidence."
"Yeah, we'll just need to be a bit creative about how much DNA we've actually got."
Robbie shrugged. "We've done it before and it's not like the results won't be in soon enough."
"I'm just worried it's going to well."
"Stop worrying Jackie, it'll be fine."
"I'd still rather wait until the results are in."
Robbie sighed but he didn't say anything. He didn't have a chance either.
"Jackie, Robbie," Mita walked in, on hand keeping the door propped open. "Lewis' lawyer is here. What do you want done?"
"Put him in room three and have somebody bring Lewis up in about," she glanced at her watch, "fifteen minutes."
Mita nodded and started to leave as Robbie's phone began to buzz
"Did you have any luck with his movements?" Jackie asked as Robbie answered his phone.
Mita looked back at them and shook her head. "Still trawling through the footage and the family members of friends. I've been trying hotels but,"
"It's Glasgow city centre," Jackie finished glumly. "Keep at it, the more evidence the better." Mita nodded and Jackie let her leave this time.
She turned back to Robbie as he thanked Duncan. He was grinning.
She didn't even have to ask before he spoke.
"DNA is a match to Lewis."
She grinned along with him. Perfect. The niggling worries she had vanished and she could feel herself champ at the bit, eager to get started and the whole thing done with now.
She rinsed out her mug and they practically bounced back into the office. There was a slight pause as Robbie printed out copies of the forensics report, adding a copy to the CCTV pictures, and handing her one to pin to the board.
He was every bit as eager as she was and they fussed about, passing the time until Lewis had a chance to speak to Silvers.
She paused outside the interview room and took a deep breath. Robbie looked at her strangely.
"I just don't want to get too excited and give Lewis a reason to get this thrown out."
He sobered almost immediately. "Aye," He ran a hand through his hair and she could see him try to relax. "We'll stick with the plan though."
She nodded and took one last deep breath and opened the door.
"Mr Lewis, Mr Silvers." She smiled politely at both men as she put the folder of evidence down on the desk. Robbie started the tape as she sat down.
Silvers waited until they were organised then started protesting. "This is verging on police harassment. My client has a solid alibi and there is no need for this continued investigation."
Robbie stayed quiet and she pulled the CCTV still out and laid it down in front of Lewis.
"Can you confirm this is you, Mr Lewis?" She stayed perfectly polite, though it was hard to fight the smile when Lewis and Silvers looked at each other.
"Yes, looks like me." Lewis looked a little unsure.
"So you've got a picture of my client. What is so special about it?"
Robbie spoke, and he sounded remarkably even. "Just the fact that it was taken in Buchanan Bus Station on the morning of the attack on DCI Burke, and blows your client's alibi straight out the water."
Silvers glanced at Lewis before straightening and beginning again. "Footage that can easily be faked by police out on a witch hunt."
She went for the polite smile again and looked at Lewis. He was definitely paler, definitely hadn't thought they would catch him out on that.
"There is the testimony from one of his cell mates that he was planning his revenge on Burke. As well as the fact he has been messing around with us, lying to us. I don’t think that will look to good in court, will it?" She looked pointedly at Silvers as she spoke.
"No, not really." Robbie answered for Silvers.
Lewis looked as if he was regaining some of his confidence. "Wee Charlie? He's scared of his own shadow. Could be convinced to say anything."
Silvers was looking just a smug, though that was an occupational hazard with him.
"So you're not going to confess then? For real this time?"
"Quite frankly, there is nothing here that would convince anyone, let alone a jury that Mr Lewis was guilty."
She had worked opposite Silvers enough to know when the starts were starting to appear and she could see it now. He was slightly less confident and bluffing them.
She glanced at Robbie and he nodded slightly. Might as well go ahead, the evidence was all going to come out anyway.
"Juries do tend to be swayed by DNA evidence though." She pulled out the report. "Your blood was found under his fingernails. Probably from that scratch on your wrist." She tilted her head as Lewis pulled his cuff down to cover the almost completely healed scratch on his wrist.
"We took photos when we brought you in. No point in hiding it." Robbie said and she could hear the smile he was repressing.
"It's just an old scratch." Lewis looked no where near as cocky, even a little pale.
Silvers shook his head. "I need a moment to talk to my client in private."
She and Robbie exchanged a glance and she nodded. Robbie stopped the tape and they waited outside the door.
She didn't say anything, she might not be able to contain herself if she did. Robbie appeared to feel the same way and they stood in comfortable silence.
Silvers opened the door. "We're ready to talk."
They got set up again and like before, Silvers spoke first. "Mr Lewis is prepared to admit to the assault charge."
Robbie snorted. "Not a chance. Attempted Murder."
"It was definitely not, and you don't have the evidence to back that charge up."
"Did you wear a mask?" Silvers looked a little bemused at her sudden, apparent change of topic.
He shook his head and Lewis didn't answer. "Only DCI Burke is in the process of waking up. When he wakes up and tells the jury it was your face he saw, do you honestly think they won't know you went to his flat with the intention of murdering him? After all, who goes to all the bother of planning an attack like that and letting the victim live to see his face?"
Lewis visibly deflated and Silvers looked grudgingly impressed at her.
"All right, all right." Lewis sounded utterly defeated and only years of practise stopped her for dancing for joy.
She let the smug smile loose though. "We'll start with a statement then…"
--
Everyone in the office was chatting, laughing, crime generally forgotten for the moment. The news had already reached the office by the time they had arrived after updating Campbell. There had been claps on the back, and gently mocking of what took them so long.
Everyone slowly got back to work, the calls didn't stop coming after all, and they were too drained from it all. The high of getting a proper confession and getting him thoroughly hadn't lasted long and before too long, they found themselves slumped on the edge of his desk, everyone else back at work.
She still wasn't entirely sure what to say to him so she put the conversation they really needed to have off further.
"I'll drive if you nip in and get us a sandwich."
He smiled, he knew what she was doing, but nodded anyway. "Not annoyed nurses in a while. It'll be a laugh."
She rolled her eyes.
--
The nurse tapped her watch to remind them that the visit was still restricted, and then left them alone.
It wasn't such a shock to see him this time, though if anything Burke looked worse, some of the bruises starting to yellow and the evidence of the second surgery clearly visible. Beside her, she heard Robbie's harsh intake of breath and it suddenly occurred to her that she had only assumed he'd come to visit, that she hadn't actually asked him.
She left it, it wasn't worth the bother it would cause.
They were quiet, just listening to the beep of the heart monitor and it would have been creepy if they weren't so worried about him. His leg twitched slightly and she never thought she would be so glad to see that.
"You think we should talk to him if he's just asleep?" Robbie sounded suspiciously hoarse when he spoke.
She didn't look at him as she wiped her own eyes. "Nah, wouldn't want to give him nightmares."
Robbie snorted softly and the tension eased a little. They jerked around when the door opened again.
It was the same nurse from earlier and all she had to do was raise an eyebrow. She did add that they would phone as soon as Burke woke up and that they could have a longer visit tomorrow, assuming the doctor approved.
Contrary to what he said earlier, Robbie didn't wind any of the nurses up and they made it out the building quickly.
She paused with her keys in the ignition. If Robbie hadn't been in the car, she would have probably started crying just from the relief of it all.
"Look," Robbie's voice was surprisingly gentle. "Come back to mine, we'll get a proper dinner and we can catch a crappy film. I'll even let you pick."
She looked askance at him.
He sighed. "I'm not trying anything, Jackie, I just," he paused for thought, "we both need to unwind and normally I'd buy you a drink after a case like this," he trailed off.
It was her turn to sigh. Dinner and sprawling on the couch sounded appealing but sooner or later they would have to deal with the elephant in the room. At the moment she would rather it was later.
Possibly against her better judgement she nodded and started the car.
--
The lift ride up to his flat started to get a little awkward and she flushed as she waited for him to unlock the door. She paused in the doorway, feeling a little hesitant after last time.
Robbie turned to look at her when he realised she hadn't followed. "Can't have been that bad was it?" He said jokingly but the undercurrent of hurt got her moving.
"Nah, just thinking you'd have been better off with carpets."
He laughed. "Thinking about another round?" He smirked but it dropped immediately. "Sorry, Jackie, I," he blew out a deep breath.
She was glad when he turned around and made for the kitchen area, letting the knot in her stomach unwind.
He started rummaging in his freezer and she walked over to the large plate glass window, and looked out over the city centre.
It was a stunning view and she watched the traffic on the streets below. Robbie jarred her out of her thoughts with, "Lasagne okay?"
"Only if it's not homemade."
She could hear his snort and smiled a little. He went back to faffing about and she could hear him tearing the packaging.
She watched as a bin motor emptied bins in the next street over, and had visions of reading Lewis' statement again. The planning he had put into it, buying the plain black clothing and gloves over a period of time in London, then dropping them in various bins in the City centre once he had left Burke for dead.
She shook the thoughts out of her head and slipped her phone out of her pocket.
Mita answered on fourth ring.
"Jackie, I wasn't expecting to hear from you today."
Oh, you know me, can't drag myself away from the job." Her tone was wry and Mita gave a huff of laughter. "Just checking on how his statement checks out."
"The details have matched up so far. The report will be on your desk in the morning."
"Well,"
"Jackie, I don't mean to be rude, but you need to take the rest of the day off. Everything can wait until tomorrow morning."
"Mita,"
"Look," Mita wasn't having an objections and she would have found it amusing had it not been directed at her. Mita lowered her voice as she carried on. "I know this case hasn't been easy for you or Robbie, so just let the rest of us tidy up the loose ends and come back in tomorrow when your feeling refreshed."
She was speechless for a minute. "You're turning into an opinionated sergeant, you know that?"
"I did have a good teacher." Jackie could hear the smile in Mita's voice.
"I'll let you away with it then." She was smiling slightly herself now. "Thank you, Mita,"
"It's not a problem."
She hung up and turned around to face Robbie.
The microwave was running, and he'd set the table. There were even plates.
"I take it lasagne doesn't come with its own plate then?"
He pulled another face and she couldn't help the small giggle that managed to escape. It certainly eased the atmosphere and she shrugged her jacket off and went to see what he had to drink.
She settled on a can of Irn-Bru from the fridge and they teased each other lightly as he took the lasagne from the microwave and served it up.
They ate mostly in silence, both of them hungry after they way they had been eating haphazardly for most of the last week.
He even tidied up afterwards, which she had to raise an eyebrow at, but it was a relief to know he was just as nervous and unsure as she was.
He gestured towards the TV. "You pick what ever and I'll go phone Stuart, let him know."
She nodded and picked up the handset. She heard him greet Stuart and then he moved into his bedroom.
She stared at the closed door for a minute and then rolled her eyes. Clearly he wasn't just going to talk to Stuart about the case.
She sighed as she wished she had thought of it first. No doubt Stuart would be on the phone to her first thing anyway.
She hummed and hawed over his collection of films and the guide on his Sky box. She eventually settled on Die Hard, and got the film to the beginning, then sat curled up on the sofa, shoes slipped off and lying neatly beside her.
She startled to wriggle the longer Robbie took. After what felt like an hour, he finally came out and nodded at her.
"Stuart says hi and he'll phone you in the morning."
She raised an eyebrow for further detail but that was all he said.
He settled down on the other end of the couch and she pressed play.
They sat in silence again, though she could feel it get awkward again, especially when Robbie started tapping the arm rest.
She gave up and pressed pause. There was no use in putting off talking about them any longer.
"Look," she lost her nerve and bit her lip. Robbie looked at her, looking incredibly unsure and that wasn't helping either. She took a deep breath and steeled herself. "You're one of my best friends and I don't want things to get awkward."
"Neither do I, Jackie." His tone was tight.
Great, he was starting out on the offensive. What exactly had he been saying to Stuart?
He seemed to realise and he slumped. "So we just write it off as stress then?" He wasn't looking at her and hell, why was he leaving this all up to her.
"I don't know." She honestly didn't, and he heard it in her voice and he looked at her again.
"Would it be so bad if we didn't?"
She felt her mouth open and close, unsure what to say.
"Would it?" She went for instead, directing it back to him.
The expression on his face softened and he glanced away quickly. "You're my best mate as well."
Oh God, they were just going to go round in circles weren't they? She sighed.
"I don't want to fuck things up." He said.
"Neither do I." Now she was on edge. Great. She forced her fingers to unclench and sat up properly on the couch. She properly looked at him for a minute, on the verge of staring again before she turned her head back to the screen. He looked scared, more so than she'd ever seen him.
One of them was going to have to make the first move.
Would it be so bad? They already knew everything about each other, and had managed to survive working together for the last fifteen years. It wasn't as if they hadn't flirted before, or had some serious moments between them. She thought back to her Dad's words the other day and burst out laughing.
"What?"
She managed to shake her head through the laughter to tell him it was nothing he had done, and the laughter might have been a touch hysterical.
He was looking completely bewildered by the time she managed to calm herself.
"Just something Dad said at Susie's party."
He looked questioningly at her. She shook her head.
"Nothing much." She avoided that for the moment and looked at him.
Trying for something with him wouldn't be difficult. Burke wouldn't be pleased at the idea of an office romance, but as long as they kept it mostly out of the office then he wouldn't kick up a fuss. Well, no more than he normally did anyway.
They already knew the difficulties the job brought to a relationship, worked similar hours and they were on equal footing with their ranks now.
It wasn't as if she wasn't attracted to him either, though she had shoved that thought to the back of her mind a long time ago.
She could see his fist clenching as the silence carried on, though he wasn't making any move to rush her.
The only things that had held her back before, he was working on.
Okay, she could admit to the fact she was terrified.
She took a deep breath. "You know that if you hurt me I'd kill you?" Just like that though, it seemed she'd made her decision.
It was his turn to laugh and she had to wait until he stopped.
"Like you wouldn't the now?" He was still smiling.
She shrugged. It was true enough and it wasn't as if he did know what buttons to press if she hurt him.
"So," Robbie looked at her again.
She paused. "Well, we don't write it off as just stress then."
"And?" He looked like he didn't know what to think. She was pretty sure she must have looked almost as unsure as him.
"We see how things go."
He looked like he wanted to argue with her but she cut him off. "We've been stressed up to the eyeballs, and with everything still going on, I don't know if I can think about much more than that, Robbie." She almost pleaded and there was silence for another minute.
"You always have to be the sensible one don't you?"
"Yeah, well,"
"One of us has to be," He finished.
She smiled softly but he didn't say anything else. He relaxed back against the couch though and he held out his arm as she started to curl back up.
She hesitated for a second then shifted over a bit and ducked under his arm, head resting on his shoulder. It felt easier now they had sort of come to a decision.
She pressed play and the screen flickered to life. She felt herself drifting off, dimly aware of Robbie shifting slightly. She didn't fight it, for the first time in a week everything was comfortable and things were back on the right track. Anything else could wait until tomorrow.
--
Epilogue:
They were both sitting at their desks when Burke walked in for his first morning back at work. After everyone had welcomed him back, they gathered in his office for a catch up briefing, and things were going fine, even if she felt a little bit antsy around both Burke and Robbie. They'd been going to see him separately to keep things under wraps while they got their heads around their new relationship.
Five minutes into the meeting proved that had been a good idea.
Burke had been watching them the whole time and he groaned when there was a pause in the conversation. "Tell me you didn't."
She exchanged a look with Robbie and smiled.
Burke groaned again.
"If it helps, Sir, no one else has noticed."
"And we've not killed each other." Robbie added.
"Yet." She amended and God help her, Robbie smiled like he was looking forward to the challenge.
Burke rolled his eyes and sighed. "Well, are the pair of you going to stand about making eyes all day or are you going to carry on with what else I've missed?"
She couldn't help it and she had to turn her laughter into a cough at both of their expressions. She still wasn't entirely sure if everything was going to turn out okay but for the moment everything was more or less back to normal.
She could live with that.
The sex wasn't bad either.