Fic: A Moment in Time, Version 2
Title: A Moment in Time.
Author: Kirsteena
Fandom: Life on Mars
Spoilers: 1.07
Rating: Green Cortina.
Pairings: None
Word Count: 4594
Summary: Gene is upset. It is up to Sam to get to the bottom of it
a/n HUGE A/N ALERT!! So, I took marsorbiter bunnie of this: Increasingly under stress at work, Gene Hunt won't admit to anyone in CID that 'the missus' has left him. It's left to Sam to gently probe the wound ... and to discover that their mutual unhappiness has its roots in an unsolved case close to home, which still haunts the Guv ...
Then it mutated. What happens if a certain decision is made. So basically, I ended up with two fics. First version is here. Many thanks to tatslovetea for betaing this one.
DISCLAIMER: Life on Mars is copyright Kudos and the BBC. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended and no money is being made.
Something was wrong. Sam had been feeling it in the air for a while. There was an indefinable tension - like a string being wound up too tight. One day, it was going to shatter.
Sitting at his desk, Sam tried to work out what it was. Like a cat watching all his territory, he surveyed the room. The source was definitely here, at work. He swept his gaze slowly across the office. Annie, who had brought some files into CID, was laughing and joking with Vince. All was normal there. His gaze passed over some of the other detectives; they were as normal as ever. Ray was next, he seemed slightly distracted, but he wasn’t the source of the tension. Chris was staring into space. Nothing new there. What was it?
Gene walked into CID. Immediately Sam’s senses screamed out at him. Here was the source of the tension. He looked more closely at Gene. Same god-awful white shoes, suit, shirt... which looked like it was un-ironed. Thinking back, Sam tried to remember the last time he had seen Gene in an un-ironed shirt. The last two days, but before that - never. He carried on with his study, noting the marks where Gene had obviously cut himself shaving. Again, something new. Sam’s brain by was now yelling “Something is very wrong!”
“My Spider sense is tingling,” he muttered to himself.
“What was that, Tyler?” Hunt barked. “Something you want to share with the rest of us? More of your ‘Hyde’ methods?”
“Er, no Guv,” Sam replied. Shit, had Gene been saying something to him and he hadn’t responded?
“Well, keep your bloody thoughts to yourself, and get on with some proper police work.” Gene’s voice had been gradually getting louder throughout the speech, till he was practically shouting by the end of it. Sam looked round the office, and was shocked to see people cowering away from Gene.
“Gene?” A new voice entered into the conversation.
“What?” Gene yelled out, then spun round to face Superintendant Rathbone.
“Can I have a word? My office, now.” Gene rolled his eyes, and walked out behind Rathbone. There was stillness for a moment, then a collective sigh of relief. Apart from one man. Ray Carling just looked unhappy.
The following morning, Sam headed into CID just after daybreak. He had no idea why; he just woke up early. He whistled to himself as he wandered into the office, and headed over to make a cup of tea. Suitably happy, he sauntered over to his desk.
Suddenly, the door to Hunt’s office slammed open. “Would you keep the bloody noise down?” Gene demanded. He stood there in the clothes he had worn yesterday; hair unruly, eyes blazing.
Sam stared for a moment. “Sorry, Guv. Didn’t realise you were here so early.” Gene grunted, then lurched back into his office. Sam watched the door, thinking.
Gene’s mood got slowly but surely worse over the next couple of days. Chris seemed more and more scared, also most of the uniformed officers were avoiding CID. Ray, on the other hand, just looked sad, almost wistful. Sam was sure that Ray knew more of what was going on than he would admit to. But they didn’t have time to deal with that now. There was a crime spree going on - robberies nearly every day, more than their fair share of dead bodies, and pressure from above to get things under control. But Sam wasn’t sure how under control things could get if Gene wasn’t himself.
After work, Sam thought about heading for the pub to relax but changed his mind. Time to sort some of this mess out. He waited round a corner close to The Railway Arms. When Ray rounded it, he stepped out and stopped him.
“Boss?” Ray looked confused, but Sam could see it was an act.
“Quit the crap Ray, I don’t have time. Talk. What the hell is going on with the Guv?” Ray looked shiftily from left to right, then shook his head.
“Can’t. I promised. Please don’t ask.” Sam blinked. Ray Carling saying please? It was the first time he had ever used that word in front of Sam.
“Shit. That bad?” Ray just looked at Sam, sagged, and then nodded. “Ok - let’s work round this. If I ask questions, can you give me clues?”
Ray thought about it carefully - Sam could see the cogs turning. He then nodded. “If it helps him - then yeah. But I’m only doing it because of him.”
“Understood. OK. He is sleeping in his office. Been doing it a while?” Ray just looked at Sam. “Two weeks?” This was met with a shake of the head. “A week?” This was met with a nod. “’Kay. Wife throw him out?” Shake. “She come home from her mother’s?” Another shake. “Shit. But... that wouldn’t do it on its own, would it? There has to be something else...” Ray started to say something, but then shut his mouth. “C’mon Ray, if I am going to help him, I need to know everything!”
Ray looked directly at Sam. “I can’t. I promised. I can’t break a promise...” He sounded desperately unhappy.
“Forget it - I’ll find someone else who does know!” With that, Sam walked off, leaving Ray in the street.
“Wait - Boss!” Sam turned back to look at Ray. “Look... just... follow him. Follow him tonight.”
“What?”
“You wanna know. I can’t tell you. Can’t go back on my word. But - follow him. After work. Tonight. You’ll find out.” Sam nodded, then headed back to CID.
Sam stopped the car someway behind Gene’s. They had been driving for twenty minutes, heading someway out of town. Sam suddenly realised where they were going - the same cemetery where his grandmother was buried. Sam didn’t want to spook Gene, especially after Ray’s insistence that he had to follow him tonight. Sam slid out of the car, and looked for him. There he was, carrying something in his hand.
Gene entered the cemetery. Sam waited a moment before following. Wandering through the lines of graves, Sam couldn’t help but look at some of the names as he passed the beautifully carved headstones. Sam kept his eye on Gene, making sure he didn’t turn round and see him, but he could tell Gene was lost in his own little world. Sam watched as Gene came to a stop next to a gravestone, knelt down, then put his hand on the grave. Sam was horrified to see Gene’s shoulders start to shake.
Sam watched Gene for a while, not wanting to disturb him. After about ten minutes, Gene left. Sam watched him go, then slowly worked his way over to where Gene had been standing. He looked down at the grave to see a single yellow rose - obviously what Gene had been carrying. He then looked at the details on the headstone - and gasped.
Andrew Charles Hunt
Born 5th October 1958
Died 26th May 1963
Much beloved son of Elizabeth and Gene
Taken cruelly from us, our thoughts are always with you
Sam stared at the grave for a while, eyes filling with tears for a friend who was still suffering. Ten years ago today. That was why Ray told him to follow him tonight. And if his wife had left as well - no wonder CID was feeling the backlash. He then thought the words ‘cruelly taken from us’. What had happened? Time to find out.
Sam rummaged through the old papers in the library, looking for the right date. It had to be there somewhe... aha.
Child killed by robbery getaway driver.
Today, in the Hale Road area of Manchester, a four-year-old child was killed as after being knocked down by a gang of thieves escaping a crime scene. Andrew Charles Hunt, of Deerbourne Street in the city, was killed instantly while walking home from shopping with his mother, Elizabeth. Police later announced that the car was carrying the four men who had successfully robbed the bookmakers on Hale Road, getting away with a total of £600. In a cruel twist, one of the officers involved in the hunt for the thieves, DS Gene Hunt, is Andrew’s father. The Hunts are said to be inconsolable at the loss of their son. DI Harry Woolf made a statement...
Carrying on his search, Sam found another article, from a few days later.
The funeral took place today for four-year-old Andrew Charles Hunt, killed six days ago by thieves escaping the Hale Road bookmaker’s robbery. Andrew was killed instantly when the getaway car ploughed straight into him while escaping the scene. His distraught parents led mourners at the funeral.
There was a picture of the procession, with a young looking Gene and a woman, presumably his wife.
Police say that the chances of catching the perpetrators are slim, as they appear to have fled the country.
“Library closing, sir.” One of the library staff came over to Sam to tell him this. Sam nodded, put the papers back, and walked away.
The next morning, Sam got in early again, with the idea of heading into the collator’s den to do a bit more investigating. But it seemed Manchester had other ideas.
“Ah, there you are Tyler, body been pulled out of the canal. Probably just another junkie, but go and check it out.” Gene looked a bit calmer today, but still had an un-ironed shirt, and looked like he hadn’t had a proper meal in a week.
“Can I take anyone with me? Or am I doing it on my own?” Sam asked. At that moment, Ray walked into the office.
“Take Carling with you,” Gene pointed at Ray. Ray looked first confused, then scared. Sam nodded, and propelled Ray out of the door.
“Another junkie dead.” Ray pronounced. “Probably high as a kite and took a jump off the bridge.”
“Yeah, most likely,” Sam replied. He wasn’t in the mood to argue. The car journey to the crime scene had been tense, with Ray obviously not wanting to be there in case Sam asked awkward questions. Sam had decided to wait till later, ideally after he had read the crime file from the time - if he could find it. “Let’s go, see what else has turned up while we have been away.” Ray nodded and walked back to the car. He then stopped, hand on the door handle, and looked at Sam.
“Did you go last night?” he blurted out.
Sam watched Ray for a bit. “Yeah, I did. I also went to the library and found out about the robbery. I take it you were there at the time, but he asked you to say nothing to anyone?”
Ray opened the car door and got in, then lit up a cigarette. Sam got into the car, and turned himself to watch Ray.
“The Guv and I were called to the robbery at Hale Road. £600 were a big haul for the robbers to get away with, but no one had seen their faces. People told us that a kiddie were knocked over by the getaway car, and had been taken to hospital, but we thought we’d check it later... Then DI Woolf turned up, bundled Gene into the car and drove off. When we found out later it were Andy who had been knocked down...”
“The whole of CID were desperate to find who did it. They had hurt one of us. Took us a while, but we eventually got names. But, they had gotten the first flight out of London - probably to Spain. We lost ‘em. I do checks once a year, but two of the gang are dead, and the other two are still missing. Gene - copes with it. That is why he is the way he is. Lizzie however...”
“She can’t accept it happened?”
“No. She doesn’t blame Gene, but I think she blames herself, y’know? She won’t let anyone touch Andy’s room, still has all his toys out. Gene would do anything to help her, but he doesn’t know how. She rang me last week, to tell me she were staying at her mother’s, an’ keep an eye on Gene for her. He - is falling apart now I guess, and I dunno what to do. I want to help, but dunno how.” Ray looked intently at Sam. “Look, boss, I know you and I don’t like each other, but we both wanna help him, right?”
“Yeah, Ray, I do.”
“Then what can we do?” Sam sat there thinking for a while.
“I need to look at the crime file on Andy. Can you get that for me? And whatever you have done to try and find those guys.” Ray nodded.
“Won’t be easy, Guv keeps it locked away, but I’ll get it.”
“I’ll have a look, then see what I can do.”
Sam was sitting back in CID, catching up on paperwork, when Phyllis brought over a file.
“Ray asked me to give you the file on that junkie, just check it is okay. He also got the file you wanted.”
“You didn’t need to bring it over yourself Phyllis, I’m sure I could have...”
“Trust me, boss, it’s no trouble.” Phyllis was waggling her eyebrows in a comical way, and Sam realised then just what she had included in the file.
“Er - thanks Phyllis, appreciate it.”
“Help him, boss,” she replied before walking away.
Sam had studied the file carefully, including the names of the gang members. Ray was right; two of them had died three years ago, both of cancer. The other two, the getaway driver and the alarms expert, were still unaccounted for. So Sam started ringing around. Calling up other forces, seeing if any of them knew any of the names. So far it had turned up nothing, but Sam was not going to give up.
“Tyler? What you doing?” Gene’s temper was calmer now, but still had an edge.
“Seeing if there is a link between these junkie deaths we have been seeing,” Sam lied smoothly. He already knew there wasn’t, but it was his cover story.
Gene just looked at him. “Well, is there?” he snapped.
“Not as yet, Guv.”
“So how about getting out there and looking for some criminals? Robbery at Braxton Road.”
Sam rolled his eyes, and headed for the door.
When he came back into the office three hours later, Sam was tired, and just wanted to pack up and go home. Home - he didn’t care which at this point, both 1973 and 2006 had a bed. Chris came over to him.
“Boss?”
“Yeah, Chris. What is it?” Sam couldn’t keep the weariness out of his voice.
“Phone call came in while you were out. Sommat’ about one of the guys you were looking for? The bloke wouldn’t talk to me, told me to get you to ring him.”
Sam snatched the piece of paper out of Chris’ hand. “Chris, I could kiss you...” Chris backed away, a scared look on his face.
“Urgh, right boss.” Sam giggled at the response, then picked up his phone. He quietly talked to the person on the other end, put it down, then wandered over to Ray.
“You busy tonight?”
“Erm...?” Sam held up the piece of paper he had in his hand.
“I thought you and I might like to take a little drive down to Lincoln. Welcome back to England someone who has been living in Spain these past ten years...” Ray’s eyes widened.
“Nothing that can’t wait a couple of days,” he grinned back at Sam.
The drive down to Lincoln was mostly silent due to Ray catching up on sleep. They had arranged to be at the police station early, around 7am, to get the information from Sam’s new best friend. Of course, Gene would notice they were missing and hit the roof, but both of them decided it was worth it. After a while, Sam pulled into a lay-by, about twenty miles outside Lincoln, and grabbed some sleep himself. They both woke up at about 5am, not exactly feeling refreshed. Ray bought breakfast for them from a roadside cafe, and they sat quietly eating.
“You thought about what you gonna say, boss?” Ray asked.
“Not entirely, no,” Sam confessed. Ray just rolled his eyes in response.
“Just don’t hurt him, I think the Guv will want to do that...”
At 7am, they walked into the entrance of the main Lincoln police station. A short, balding man was there waiting for them. “DI Tyler?” he asked.
Sam held his hand out and smiled as the other man shook it. “Yeah, that’s me. This is DC Carling.”
“DI Fredericks. Do you want a cup of tea while I go over things with you?” They walked through to the canteen. “I’m curious as to why two detectives would come down from Manchester to question someone who hasn’t done anything as far as we are aware. And especially as I got the impression you wanted to keep this fairly quiet.” Fredericks asked as they all sat down.
Sam and Ray glanced at each other, before Sam handed over the file they had brought. “Robbed a bookies ten years ago, got away with £600. He was the getaway driver. He also… hit a child while getting away, killed him outright.”
Fredericks looked at Sam. “You aren’t telling me everything, DI Tyler. I want to help…”
Sam took a drink, then continued. “The child that was killed was the only son of our DCI - which is why we wanted to keep it quiet. He doesn’t know of our ‘field trip’. We didn’t want to upset him, or get his hopes up, before we had a chance to talk to this guy first.”
Fredericks nodded, then stood up. “Okay, let’s go. I’ll come with you so there is no impropriety.” Sam smiled gratefully.
The three of them pulled up outside a house within view of the cathedral. Fredericks led the way to the door, and rapped smartly on it. The door opened, slowly, and the man who peered out was in his early fifties, shortsighted and gaunt.
“Yes?” he asked.
“Mr. Michael Edwards?” DI Fredericks asked.
“That’s me.”
Fredericks held up his badge. “I’m DI Fredericks. These two gentlemen are from Manchester CID. They would like to ask you a few questions.” Edwards visibly sagged, which left Sam in no doubt they had the right person in front of them.
“You had better come in.” Edwards opened the door to allow them in, then showed them into the front room. “Don’t mind all the mess, I’m still sorting things after moving back here.”
“You came back from Spain?” Sam asked.
Edwards glanced at Sam, then nodded. “My mother was ill. I came back to be with her before she died. Look, Inspector,” Edwards gestured for them all to sit down. “I know why you have come - it is about the kiddie I hit, isn’t it?”
“I’m afraid so, Mr. Edwards. When we found out you were back in the country, we had to come and talk to you.”
“I knew it wouldn’t be long. My brother told me all about it when it got out that we hit that copper’s kid. He sent all the newspapers at the time. I didn’t think about it at the time, but with mates dying, and then my mother, I have had plenty of time to think about it. It was an accident, but...” Edwards tailed off.
“It’s eating you up inside.” Ray said, simply. Edwards snapped his head up to look at Ray, then nodded.
“I see his face every day, the shocked expression as I saw him through the windscreen... And I saw his mum, the terror on her face... I wake up most nights, sweating, still remembering. Will he forgive me do you think?”
“Who?” Sam asked.
“The copper. The one whose...”
“I don’t know.” Sam answered honestly. “But we have to take you in, and you’ll have to face him.” Edwards nodded, then stood up.
“Best get it over with then.”
Home again. Sam and Ray arrived back at Manchester at about 4pm, with Edwards and Fredericks in tow. Fredericks had insisted on coming along to help them process Edwards, and Sam couldn’t say no - he would be a useful buffer against Gene if nothing else. Phyllis, as usual, was on the desk when they arrived. She looked at the cuffed man walking between Sam and Ray, and nodded.
“The Guv is looking for you pair,” she noted.
“How mad is he?”
“On the point of tearing Manchester apart. He’s pretty pissed with you.”
“So, what’s new? Where do you want him?”
“Stick him in cell three, boss.”
“No-one comes to visit without my say-so - no-one. That okay, Phyllis?”
“Understood, boss. I’ve lost me keys, you know.”
Sam grinned at Phyllis, then started up the stairs. When he got to the top, with Ray and Fredericks in tow, he took a deep breath, and walked into CID. To say Gene was mad was an understatement. He was virtually incandescent with rage. It must have been bad, as he was also carrying a cup of tea instead of the usual whisky.
“Where in the name of heaven have you pair been?” he exploded as he looked at Sam and Ray. “You sod off, leaving me to deal with seven kinds of shit here… And who the hell is that? You pair better have a good reason before I bounce you back to uniform!”
“Guv, this is DI Fredericks of Lincoln Constabulary…”
“Lincoln? Is that where you have been? May I remind you, DI Tyler, that you are a police officer in Greater Manchester constabulary, not Lincoln. No offence, Fredericks, but I’d suggest you stay out of things till I sort this pair out!”
“Feisty, isn’t he?” Fredericks muttered under his breath to Sam. Sam stifled a giggle, then turned his attention back to Gene.
“Guv, I…” he started, but Gene was on a roll.
“I’m getting all kinds of crap from upstairs, and you pair swan off without telling me…”
“Guv… we were interviewing a suspect.”
“A suspect? In Lincoln? Aren’t you, oh, I don’t know, supposed to get permission from me first?”
“Guv,” Ray tried to intervene.
“And as for you, DC Carling. I already busted your hide down to DC, give me one good reason not to throw you out of CID altogether!”
“Guv,” Ray interrupted. “The suspect we arrested has confessed to being the getaway driver at the Hale Road bookies job in ‘63.”
“You think I care about a robbery ten… what? You did what?” The change that came over Gene was fast. His face went white as the colour instantly drained out of it. He started shaking and the cup of tea he was holding fell to the ground, unnoticed. “Hale Road…”
Sam looked at Ray, then propelled Gene into his office, nodding at Fredericks to follow. Ray put himself on guard outside Gene’s office, daring anyone to go past him. Inside, Sam moved Gene over to the sofa, pushing him till he crashed down onto it. Gene hadn’t stopped shaking that whole time.
“How… how did you know?” Gene whispered.
“I followed you to the cemetery when you went to visit. After I saw the headstone, I did a little research. Pulled the file,” Gene looked at his filing cabinet where it had been safely locked away, “and did some ringing round. Fredericks here,” at this, Sam nodded at the man in the corner, “found him for us, contacted me, and we went down to talk to him. He confessed to it, Gene. It has been eating away at him, and he is sorry for it. He knows it won’t bring Andy back, but… it will bring you some closure.”
Gene stared at Sam. Sam could see tears welling up in those piercing green eyes, but watched as Gene blinked them away. Sam reached over from where he was crouching on the floor, and put his hand on Gene’s shoulder. “We got him. Well, one of them. The rest are dead.”
Gene nodded, swallowed, then asked in a shaky voice “Can I see him?”
“Are you going to beat him up?” Sam asked curiously. Gene shook his head. “C’mon, Phyllis has got him locked away.”
Gene slowly got up from where he was sitting, then looked over at the visiting DI. “Thank you” he murmured.
Fredericks smiled. “Don’t thank me, I only gave the information to your DI, he was the one who did all the talking. I’m going to head back, Sam.” and with that he shook Sam’s hand. “Good luck with everything.” He walked out of the office, leaving Gene and Sam alone. Gene was still struggling to keep hold of his emotions.
“Why?” he finally asked.
“We were sick of your moods.” Sam shrugged. “I knew something had upset you, but when I started piecing it together...”
“I should have told you.”
“You were in no mood to. I think you scared half of CID to death.” Gene flushed at this.
“Wait a minute. You and Ray worked together?” A quizzical expression crossed Gene’s face.
Sam grinned. “He was worried about you - though he will never admit it.” Gene moved to head towards the door. “Are you sure you want to do this Guv? Go see him, I mean.”
Gene looked sadly at Sam. “Not really, but I feel I have to.” With that he headed out of the door, and walked down the stairs, Sam at his side. Phyllis was at her usual position at the front desk and she nodded when she saw the pair walk down the stairs. She picked up her keys without saying a word, leading the way into the cells. She opened the door to cell three, and Gene walked in. Sam followed, keeping close to Gene. Gene didn’t say anything, just looked at Edwards. Edwards at first refused to meet Gene’s eyes, but then he glanced up and their eyes locked. The two men stood there, looking at each other for what seemed like an age. What passed between them, Sam didn’t really want to know. Eventually, Edwards spoke.
“I am so sorry.”
Gene continued to look at him. Sam could feel the tension building in the body beside him. Finally Gene nodded, then walked out of the cell. Sam was left with Edwards, who bowed his head, and sobbed gently. He quietly left the cell, leaving Phyllis to clang the door shut.
The sentencing of Edwards didn’t take long. The judge decided that although he was showing remorse for his actions, he was still guilty of manslaughter, and thus should serve a twelve year sentence. Edwards accepted his sentence silently, bowing his head as it was read out. He refused to meet anyone’s eyes as he was led away. Sam wandered out of the courtroom with Gene beside him, then spotted a woman standing by herself at one side of the lobby. The woman was in her early forties, curly brown hair, and a haunted expression on her face. He heard a sharp intake of breath beside him, and realised he was looking at Mrs Hunt. When Gene didn’t move but just stood there, watching her, Sam pushed him towards her.
“Go,” he muttered. “You need each other.” Gene looked at Sam, then headed over to his wife, enveloping her in his arms after a minute. Sam headed out the main door, leaving them to deal with their united grief.
Author: Kirsteena
Fandom: Life on Mars
Spoilers: 1.07
Rating: Green Cortina.
Pairings: None
Word Count: 4594
Summary: Gene is upset. It is up to Sam to get to the bottom of it
a/n HUGE A/N ALERT!! So, I took marsorbiter bunnie of this: Increasingly under stress at work, Gene Hunt won't admit to anyone in CID that 'the missus' has left him. It's left to Sam to gently probe the wound ... and to discover that their mutual unhappiness has its roots in an unsolved case close to home, which still haunts the Guv ...
Then it mutated. What happens if a certain decision is made. So basically, I ended up with two fics. First version is here. Many thanks to tatslovetea for betaing this one.
DISCLAIMER: Life on Mars is copyright Kudos and the BBC. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended and no money is being made.
Something was wrong. Sam had been feeling it in the air for a while. There was an indefinable tension - like a string being wound up too tight. One day, it was going to shatter.
Sitting at his desk, Sam tried to work out what it was. Like a cat watching all his territory, he surveyed the room. The source was definitely here, at work. He swept his gaze slowly across the office. Annie, who had brought some files into CID, was laughing and joking with Vince. All was normal there. His gaze passed over some of the other detectives; they were as normal as ever. Ray was next, he seemed slightly distracted, but he wasn’t the source of the tension. Chris was staring into space. Nothing new there. What was it?
Gene walked into CID. Immediately Sam’s senses screamed out at him. Here was the source of the tension. He looked more closely at Gene. Same god-awful white shoes, suit, shirt... which looked like it was un-ironed. Thinking back, Sam tried to remember the last time he had seen Gene in an un-ironed shirt. The last two days, but before that - never. He carried on with his study, noting the marks where Gene had obviously cut himself shaving. Again, something new. Sam’s brain by was now yelling “Something is very wrong!”
“My Spider sense is tingling,” he muttered to himself.
“What was that, Tyler?” Hunt barked. “Something you want to share with the rest of us? More of your ‘Hyde’ methods?”
“Er, no Guv,” Sam replied. Shit, had Gene been saying something to him and he hadn’t responded?
“Well, keep your bloody thoughts to yourself, and get on with some proper police work.” Gene’s voice had been gradually getting louder throughout the speech, till he was practically shouting by the end of it. Sam looked round the office, and was shocked to see people cowering away from Gene.
“Gene?” A new voice entered into the conversation.
“What?” Gene yelled out, then spun round to face Superintendant Rathbone.
“Can I have a word? My office, now.” Gene rolled his eyes, and walked out behind Rathbone. There was stillness for a moment, then a collective sigh of relief. Apart from one man. Ray Carling just looked unhappy.
The following morning, Sam headed into CID just after daybreak. He had no idea why; he just woke up early. He whistled to himself as he wandered into the office, and headed over to make a cup of tea. Suitably happy, he sauntered over to his desk.
Suddenly, the door to Hunt’s office slammed open. “Would you keep the bloody noise down?” Gene demanded. He stood there in the clothes he had worn yesterday; hair unruly, eyes blazing.
Sam stared for a moment. “Sorry, Guv. Didn’t realise you were here so early.” Gene grunted, then lurched back into his office. Sam watched the door, thinking.
Gene’s mood got slowly but surely worse over the next couple of days. Chris seemed more and more scared, also most of the uniformed officers were avoiding CID. Ray, on the other hand, just looked sad, almost wistful. Sam was sure that Ray knew more of what was going on than he would admit to. But they didn’t have time to deal with that now. There was a crime spree going on - robberies nearly every day, more than their fair share of dead bodies, and pressure from above to get things under control. But Sam wasn’t sure how under control things could get if Gene wasn’t himself.
After work, Sam thought about heading for the pub to relax but changed his mind. Time to sort some of this mess out. He waited round a corner close to The Railway Arms. When Ray rounded it, he stepped out and stopped him.
“Boss?” Ray looked confused, but Sam could see it was an act.
“Quit the crap Ray, I don’t have time. Talk. What the hell is going on with the Guv?” Ray looked shiftily from left to right, then shook his head.
“Can’t. I promised. Please don’t ask.” Sam blinked. Ray Carling saying please? It was the first time he had ever used that word in front of Sam.
“Shit. That bad?” Ray just looked at Sam, sagged, and then nodded. “Ok - let’s work round this. If I ask questions, can you give me clues?”
Ray thought about it carefully - Sam could see the cogs turning. He then nodded. “If it helps him - then yeah. But I’m only doing it because of him.”
“Understood. OK. He is sleeping in his office. Been doing it a while?” Ray just looked at Sam. “Two weeks?” This was met with a shake of the head. “A week?” This was met with a nod. “’Kay. Wife throw him out?” Shake. “She come home from her mother’s?” Another shake. “Shit. But... that wouldn’t do it on its own, would it? There has to be something else...” Ray started to say something, but then shut his mouth. “C’mon Ray, if I am going to help him, I need to know everything!”
Ray looked directly at Sam. “I can’t. I promised. I can’t break a promise...” He sounded desperately unhappy.
“Forget it - I’ll find someone else who does know!” With that, Sam walked off, leaving Ray in the street.
“Wait - Boss!” Sam turned back to look at Ray. “Look... just... follow him. Follow him tonight.”
“What?”
“You wanna know. I can’t tell you. Can’t go back on my word. But - follow him. After work. Tonight. You’ll find out.” Sam nodded, then headed back to CID.
Sam stopped the car someway behind Gene’s. They had been driving for twenty minutes, heading someway out of town. Sam suddenly realised where they were going - the same cemetery where his grandmother was buried. Sam didn’t want to spook Gene, especially after Ray’s insistence that he had to follow him tonight. Sam slid out of the car, and looked for him. There he was, carrying something in his hand.
Gene entered the cemetery. Sam waited a moment before following. Wandering through the lines of graves, Sam couldn’t help but look at some of the names as he passed the beautifully carved headstones. Sam kept his eye on Gene, making sure he didn’t turn round and see him, but he could tell Gene was lost in his own little world. Sam watched as Gene came to a stop next to a gravestone, knelt down, then put his hand on the grave. Sam was horrified to see Gene’s shoulders start to shake.
Sam watched Gene for a while, not wanting to disturb him. After about ten minutes, Gene left. Sam watched him go, then slowly worked his way over to where Gene had been standing. He looked down at the grave to see a single yellow rose - obviously what Gene had been carrying. He then looked at the details on the headstone - and gasped.
Andrew Charles Hunt
Born 5th October 1958
Died 26th May 1963
Much beloved son of Elizabeth and Gene
Taken cruelly from us, our thoughts are always with you
Sam stared at the grave for a while, eyes filling with tears for a friend who was still suffering. Ten years ago today. That was why Ray told him to follow him tonight. And if his wife had left as well - no wonder CID was feeling the backlash. He then thought the words ‘cruelly taken from us’. What had happened? Time to find out.
Sam rummaged through the old papers in the library, looking for the right date. It had to be there somewhe... aha.
Child killed by robbery getaway driver.
Today, in the Hale Road area of Manchester, a four-year-old child was killed as after being knocked down by a gang of thieves escaping a crime scene. Andrew Charles Hunt, of Deerbourne Street in the city, was killed instantly while walking home from shopping with his mother, Elizabeth. Police later announced that the car was carrying the four men who had successfully robbed the bookmakers on Hale Road, getting away with a total of £600. In a cruel twist, one of the officers involved in the hunt for the thieves, DS Gene Hunt, is Andrew’s father. The Hunts are said to be inconsolable at the loss of their son. DI Harry Woolf made a statement...
Carrying on his search, Sam found another article, from a few days later.
The funeral took place today for four-year-old Andrew Charles Hunt, killed six days ago by thieves escaping the Hale Road bookmaker’s robbery. Andrew was killed instantly when the getaway car ploughed straight into him while escaping the scene. His distraught parents led mourners at the funeral.
There was a picture of the procession, with a young looking Gene and a woman, presumably his wife.
Police say that the chances of catching the perpetrators are slim, as they appear to have fled the country.
“Library closing, sir.” One of the library staff came over to Sam to tell him this. Sam nodded, put the papers back, and walked away.
The next morning, Sam got in early again, with the idea of heading into the collator’s den to do a bit more investigating. But it seemed Manchester had other ideas.
“Ah, there you are Tyler, body been pulled out of the canal. Probably just another junkie, but go and check it out.” Gene looked a bit calmer today, but still had an un-ironed shirt, and looked like he hadn’t had a proper meal in a week.
“Can I take anyone with me? Or am I doing it on my own?” Sam asked. At that moment, Ray walked into the office.
“Take Carling with you,” Gene pointed at Ray. Ray looked first confused, then scared. Sam nodded, and propelled Ray out of the door.
“Another junkie dead.” Ray pronounced. “Probably high as a kite and took a jump off the bridge.”
“Yeah, most likely,” Sam replied. He wasn’t in the mood to argue. The car journey to the crime scene had been tense, with Ray obviously not wanting to be there in case Sam asked awkward questions. Sam had decided to wait till later, ideally after he had read the crime file from the time - if he could find it. “Let’s go, see what else has turned up while we have been away.” Ray nodded and walked back to the car. He then stopped, hand on the door handle, and looked at Sam.
“Did you go last night?” he blurted out.
Sam watched Ray for a bit. “Yeah, I did. I also went to the library and found out about the robbery. I take it you were there at the time, but he asked you to say nothing to anyone?”
Ray opened the car door and got in, then lit up a cigarette. Sam got into the car, and turned himself to watch Ray.
“The Guv and I were called to the robbery at Hale Road. £600 were a big haul for the robbers to get away with, but no one had seen their faces. People told us that a kiddie were knocked over by the getaway car, and had been taken to hospital, but we thought we’d check it later... Then DI Woolf turned up, bundled Gene into the car and drove off. When we found out later it were Andy who had been knocked down...”
“The whole of CID were desperate to find who did it. They had hurt one of us. Took us a while, but we eventually got names. But, they had gotten the first flight out of London - probably to Spain. We lost ‘em. I do checks once a year, but two of the gang are dead, and the other two are still missing. Gene - copes with it. That is why he is the way he is. Lizzie however...”
“She can’t accept it happened?”
“No. She doesn’t blame Gene, but I think she blames herself, y’know? She won’t let anyone touch Andy’s room, still has all his toys out. Gene would do anything to help her, but he doesn’t know how. She rang me last week, to tell me she were staying at her mother’s, an’ keep an eye on Gene for her. He - is falling apart now I guess, and I dunno what to do. I want to help, but dunno how.” Ray looked intently at Sam. “Look, boss, I know you and I don’t like each other, but we both wanna help him, right?”
“Yeah, Ray, I do.”
“Then what can we do?” Sam sat there thinking for a while.
“I need to look at the crime file on Andy. Can you get that for me? And whatever you have done to try and find those guys.” Ray nodded.
“Won’t be easy, Guv keeps it locked away, but I’ll get it.”
“I’ll have a look, then see what I can do.”
Sam was sitting back in CID, catching up on paperwork, when Phyllis brought over a file.
“Ray asked me to give you the file on that junkie, just check it is okay. He also got the file you wanted.”
“You didn’t need to bring it over yourself Phyllis, I’m sure I could have...”
“Trust me, boss, it’s no trouble.” Phyllis was waggling her eyebrows in a comical way, and Sam realised then just what she had included in the file.
“Er - thanks Phyllis, appreciate it.”
“Help him, boss,” she replied before walking away.
Sam had studied the file carefully, including the names of the gang members. Ray was right; two of them had died three years ago, both of cancer. The other two, the getaway driver and the alarms expert, were still unaccounted for. So Sam started ringing around. Calling up other forces, seeing if any of them knew any of the names. So far it had turned up nothing, but Sam was not going to give up.
“Tyler? What you doing?” Gene’s temper was calmer now, but still had an edge.
“Seeing if there is a link between these junkie deaths we have been seeing,” Sam lied smoothly. He already knew there wasn’t, but it was his cover story.
Gene just looked at him. “Well, is there?” he snapped.
“Not as yet, Guv.”
“So how about getting out there and looking for some criminals? Robbery at Braxton Road.”
Sam rolled his eyes, and headed for the door.
When he came back into the office three hours later, Sam was tired, and just wanted to pack up and go home. Home - he didn’t care which at this point, both 1973 and 2006 had a bed. Chris came over to him.
“Boss?”
“Yeah, Chris. What is it?” Sam couldn’t keep the weariness out of his voice.
“Phone call came in while you were out. Sommat’ about one of the guys you were looking for? The bloke wouldn’t talk to me, told me to get you to ring him.”
Sam snatched the piece of paper out of Chris’ hand. “Chris, I could kiss you...” Chris backed away, a scared look on his face.
“Urgh, right boss.” Sam giggled at the response, then picked up his phone. He quietly talked to the person on the other end, put it down, then wandered over to Ray.
“You busy tonight?”
“Erm...?” Sam held up the piece of paper he had in his hand.
“I thought you and I might like to take a little drive down to Lincoln. Welcome back to England someone who has been living in Spain these past ten years...” Ray’s eyes widened.
“Nothing that can’t wait a couple of days,” he grinned back at Sam.
The drive down to Lincoln was mostly silent due to Ray catching up on sleep. They had arranged to be at the police station early, around 7am, to get the information from Sam’s new best friend. Of course, Gene would notice they were missing and hit the roof, but both of them decided it was worth it. After a while, Sam pulled into a lay-by, about twenty miles outside Lincoln, and grabbed some sleep himself. They both woke up at about 5am, not exactly feeling refreshed. Ray bought breakfast for them from a roadside cafe, and they sat quietly eating.
“You thought about what you gonna say, boss?” Ray asked.
“Not entirely, no,” Sam confessed. Ray just rolled his eyes in response.
“Just don’t hurt him, I think the Guv will want to do that...”
At 7am, they walked into the entrance of the main Lincoln police station. A short, balding man was there waiting for them. “DI Tyler?” he asked.
Sam held his hand out and smiled as the other man shook it. “Yeah, that’s me. This is DC Carling.”
“DI Fredericks. Do you want a cup of tea while I go over things with you?” They walked through to the canteen. “I’m curious as to why two detectives would come down from Manchester to question someone who hasn’t done anything as far as we are aware. And especially as I got the impression you wanted to keep this fairly quiet.” Fredericks asked as they all sat down.
Sam and Ray glanced at each other, before Sam handed over the file they had brought. “Robbed a bookies ten years ago, got away with £600. He was the getaway driver. He also… hit a child while getting away, killed him outright.”
Fredericks looked at Sam. “You aren’t telling me everything, DI Tyler. I want to help…”
Sam took a drink, then continued. “The child that was killed was the only son of our DCI - which is why we wanted to keep it quiet. He doesn’t know of our ‘field trip’. We didn’t want to upset him, or get his hopes up, before we had a chance to talk to this guy first.”
Fredericks nodded, then stood up. “Okay, let’s go. I’ll come with you so there is no impropriety.” Sam smiled gratefully.
The three of them pulled up outside a house within view of the cathedral. Fredericks led the way to the door, and rapped smartly on it. The door opened, slowly, and the man who peered out was in his early fifties, shortsighted and gaunt.
“Yes?” he asked.
“Mr. Michael Edwards?” DI Fredericks asked.
“That’s me.”
Fredericks held up his badge. “I’m DI Fredericks. These two gentlemen are from Manchester CID. They would like to ask you a few questions.” Edwards visibly sagged, which left Sam in no doubt they had the right person in front of them.
“You had better come in.” Edwards opened the door to allow them in, then showed them into the front room. “Don’t mind all the mess, I’m still sorting things after moving back here.”
“You came back from Spain?” Sam asked.
Edwards glanced at Sam, then nodded. “My mother was ill. I came back to be with her before she died. Look, Inspector,” Edwards gestured for them all to sit down. “I know why you have come - it is about the kiddie I hit, isn’t it?”
“I’m afraid so, Mr. Edwards. When we found out you were back in the country, we had to come and talk to you.”
“I knew it wouldn’t be long. My brother told me all about it when it got out that we hit that copper’s kid. He sent all the newspapers at the time. I didn’t think about it at the time, but with mates dying, and then my mother, I have had plenty of time to think about it. It was an accident, but...” Edwards tailed off.
“It’s eating you up inside.” Ray said, simply. Edwards snapped his head up to look at Ray, then nodded.
“I see his face every day, the shocked expression as I saw him through the windscreen... And I saw his mum, the terror on her face... I wake up most nights, sweating, still remembering. Will he forgive me do you think?”
“Who?” Sam asked.
“The copper. The one whose...”
“I don’t know.” Sam answered honestly. “But we have to take you in, and you’ll have to face him.” Edwards nodded, then stood up.
“Best get it over with then.”
Home again. Sam and Ray arrived back at Manchester at about 4pm, with Edwards and Fredericks in tow. Fredericks had insisted on coming along to help them process Edwards, and Sam couldn’t say no - he would be a useful buffer against Gene if nothing else. Phyllis, as usual, was on the desk when they arrived. She looked at the cuffed man walking between Sam and Ray, and nodded.
“The Guv is looking for you pair,” she noted.
“How mad is he?”
“On the point of tearing Manchester apart. He’s pretty pissed with you.”
“So, what’s new? Where do you want him?”
“Stick him in cell three, boss.”
“No-one comes to visit without my say-so - no-one. That okay, Phyllis?”
“Understood, boss. I’ve lost me keys, you know.”
Sam grinned at Phyllis, then started up the stairs. When he got to the top, with Ray and Fredericks in tow, he took a deep breath, and walked into CID. To say Gene was mad was an understatement. He was virtually incandescent with rage. It must have been bad, as he was also carrying a cup of tea instead of the usual whisky.
“Where in the name of heaven have you pair been?” he exploded as he looked at Sam and Ray. “You sod off, leaving me to deal with seven kinds of shit here… And who the hell is that? You pair better have a good reason before I bounce you back to uniform!”
“Guv, this is DI Fredericks of Lincoln Constabulary…”
“Lincoln? Is that where you have been? May I remind you, DI Tyler, that you are a police officer in Greater Manchester constabulary, not Lincoln. No offence, Fredericks, but I’d suggest you stay out of things till I sort this pair out!”
“Feisty, isn’t he?” Fredericks muttered under his breath to Sam. Sam stifled a giggle, then turned his attention back to Gene.
“Guv, I…” he started, but Gene was on a roll.
“I’m getting all kinds of crap from upstairs, and you pair swan off without telling me…”
“Guv… we were interviewing a suspect.”
“A suspect? In Lincoln? Aren’t you, oh, I don’t know, supposed to get permission from me first?”
“Guv,” Ray tried to intervene.
“And as for you, DC Carling. I already busted your hide down to DC, give me one good reason not to throw you out of CID altogether!”
“Guv,” Ray interrupted. “The suspect we arrested has confessed to being the getaway driver at the Hale Road bookies job in ‘63.”
“You think I care about a robbery ten… what? You did what?” The change that came over Gene was fast. His face went white as the colour instantly drained out of it. He started shaking and the cup of tea he was holding fell to the ground, unnoticed. “Hale Road…”
Sam looked at Ray, then propelled Gene into his office, nodding at Fredericks to follow. Ray put himself on guard outside Gene’s office, daring anyone to go past him. Inside, Sam moved Gene over to the sofa, pushing him till he crashed down onto it. Gene hadn’t stopped shaking that whole time.
“How… how did you know?” Gene whispered.
“I followed you to the cemetery when you went to visit. After I saw the headstone, I did a little research. Pulled the file,” Gene looked at his filing cabinet where it had been safely locked away, “and did some ringing round. Fredericks here,” at this, Sam nodded at the man in the corner, “found him for us, contacted me, and we went down to talk to him. He confessed to it, Gene. It has been eating away at him, and he is sorry for it. He knows it won’t bring Andy back, but… it will bring you some closure.”
Gene stared at Sam. Sam could see tears welling up in those piercing green eyes, but watched as Gene blinked them away. Sam reached over from where he was crouching on the floor, and put his hand on Gene’s shoulder. “We got him. Well, one of them. The rest are dead.”
Gene nodded, swallowed, then asked in a shaky voice “Can I see him?”
“Are you going to beat him up?” Sam asked curiously. Gene shook his head. “C’mon, Phyllis has got him locked away.”
Gene slowly got up from where he was sitting, then looked over at the visiting DI. “Thank you” he murmured.
Fredericks smiled. “Don’t thank me, I only gave the information to your DI, he was the one who did all the talking. I’m going to head back, Sam.” and with that he shook Sam’s hand. “Good luck with everything.” He walked out of the office, leaving Gene and Sam alone. Gene was still struggling to keep hold of his emotions.
“Why?” he finally asked.
“We were sick of your moods.” Sam shrugged. “I knew something had upset you, but when I started piecing it together...”
“I should have told you.”
“You were in no mood to. I think you scared half of CID to death.” Gene flushed at this.
“Wait a minute. You and Ray worked together?” A quizzical expression crossed Gene’s face.
Sam grinned. “He was worried about you - though he will never admit it.” Gene moved to head towards the door. “Are you sure you want to do this Guv? Go see him, I mean.”
Gene looked sadly at Sam. “Not really, but I feel I have to.” With that he headed out of the door, and walked down the stairs, Sam at his side. Phyllis was at her usual position at the front desk and she nodded when she saw the pair walk down the stairs. She picked up her keys without saying a word, leading the way into the cells. She opened the door to cell three, and Gene walked in. Sam followed, keeping close to Gene. Gene didn’t say anything, just looked at Edwards. Edwards at first refused to meet Gene’s eyes, but then he glanced up and their eyes locked. The two men stood there, looking at each other for what seemed like an age. What passed between them, Sam didn’t really want to know. Eventually, Edwards spoke.
“I am so sorry.”
Gene continued to look at him. Sam could feel the tension building in the body beside him. Finally Gene nodded, then walked out of the cell. Sam was left with Edwards, who bowed his head, and sobbed gently. He quietly left the cell, leaving Phyllis to clang the door shut.
The sentencing of Edwards didn’t take long. The judge decided that although he was showing remorse for his actions, he was still guilty of manslaughter, and thus should serve a twelve year sentence. Edwards accepted his sentence silently, bowing his head as it was read out. He refused to meet anyone’s eyes as he was led away. Sam wandered out of the courtroom with Gene beside him, then spotted a woman standing by herself at one side of the lobby. The woman was in her early forties, curly brown hair, and a haunted expression on her face. He heard a sharp intake of breath beside him, and realised he was looking at Mrs Hunt. When Gene didn’t move but just stood there, watching her, Sam pushed him towards her.
“Go,” he muttered. “You need each other.” Gene looked at Sam, then headed over to his wife, enveloping her in his arms after a minute. Sam headed out the main door, leaving them to deal with their united grief.