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It was pretty much all over by the time Hastings arrived on scene, the ambulance long gone, and the police tape already strung to keep the onlookers back. Still though, he’d need to see it with his own eyes.
The black Range Rover still sat where it crashed, the red splatter on the windscreen drying in the afternoon heat. AFO’s still patrolled the perimeter, aware of the potential threat. Forensics were just beginning to turn up, ready to photograph and swab and print everything in sight.
In the middle of the activity his eyes were drawn to Kate, sat so very still. He had expected her to have been taken off in an ambulance, to have been given a thorough check over before forensics collected her clothes and did their thing. Instead, she was sat in the grass, arms resting on bent knees and her head hung low, an AFO standing guard beside her.
Ducking under the tape he headed over, daring any officer to try and stop him. When the AFO saw him coming he stepped towards him, ready to answer questions and let woman in his care be. “Son, what’s she still doing here?” There was worry in his voice he knew. He’d already almost lost Steve thanks to Dot, he’d be damned if he weren’t allowed to worry at this point.
“DC Fleming hasn’t moved since the paramedics took the casualty away Sir.” By casualty he assumed he meant Dot. Nodding to the young man he pressed passed him, moving so he was in front of his officer. Up close he could see her shivering despite the summer sunshine, her hands clenched so tightly together her knuckles were white, her breathing harsh and fast. He recognized the symptoms of too much adrenaline, her body not realizing the danger was over.
“Kate?” He tried not to bark her name, not to let it sound like an order.
Still, at the sound of his voice her head snapped up sharply, eyes wide. “Sir?” When did the Gaffer get here?
“Come on Kate, up you get.”
For moment she stared at him, mind running over his words, before she looked away. Her eyes shifted from his face to the medical packaging abandoned next to her. “He’s dead, isn’t he?” There was no emotion in her voice, just an emptiness he found a little disconcerting.
They’d already been doing CPR when they loaded him into the ambulance and slammed the doors to prying eyes, staying put for far too long for it to be anything other than a bad outcome. When, eventually, they’d left there had been no sirens screaming, no blue lights flashing, just a quiet ambulance pulling away.
Ted sighed, his eyes following Kate’s line of sight. “DI Cotton died in the ambulance. He was pronounced when they reached City Hospital.” He knew in his heart it was probably better this way. There would have been no mercy for what Dot had done and if he’d lived, he’d be facing longer than life in prison. Still, his blood boiled at the trust he’d put in the man. He’d listened to Dot when he slowly but surely began to point the finger at Steve, as he’d begun to plant a seed of doubt in all their minds. His focus flickered back to his officer, still sat in the grass.
“He died because of me.” Her face turned back to him, blue eyes still wide.
“Kate, whatever your thinking, this wasn’t your fault. DI Cotton made his bed.” And he could damn well lie in it. He would not have her blaming herself for this mess.
“No,” she shook her head, “that’s not what-” Kate shook her head again, breathing slowly, ordering her thoughts. “Dot shoved me out of the way. The bullets that killed him were meant for me.” Dot screaming ‘NO!’ ricocheted around her head again. “He died to save me,” she reiterated.
In front of him Kate’s head dropped again, and pain flared in his chest at the sight. Kate was the one he’d never had to worry about. Steve he’d constantly had to worry about, brash and bold, too often toeing the line of getting himself reprimanded or fired. He’d even worried about Dot, the deceitful bastard, what with his former gambling habit. But Kate had always been steady.
There was still far too much that had happened between AC-12’s offices and Moss Heath flyover that he didn’t know about, that only the woman in front of him had witnessed, and he could see how it was crushing her.
At the corner of his vision, he could see a forensic tech watching them, her gaze flickering between Kate and him. Time to go. “Come on wee girl, on your feet now.” This time she nodded, pushing herself off the ground, her face pulling as abused muscles shifted for the first time in over an hour.
Beside him she swayed slightly, the change in position leaving her momentarily lightheaded, his hand instantly coming out to support her, gripping her shoulder tightly as the adrenaline finally began to wear off, his worry climbing a little more. It was a fair few miles from the office to here. She’d run a hell of way. Waving over the forensic tech he issued instruction for her to drive Kate to the hospital and do the forensic retrieval there, even against Kate’s protests.
‘I’ll have PC Bindra meet you there. And that is final,” he added when he saw another argument bubble on her lips. He watched as the last of the fight went out of her and she nodded, pressing her mobile into his hand.
“Dot’s dying declaration is in the audio recordings Sir,” she said before allowing herself to be led away, the AFO following a little behind. He waited until she was safely settled in a police car before he turned and began ensuring everything would be passed through AC-12.
Kate had never liked hospitals, always too cold and impersonal. Even colder when your sat in nothing but your undies and a hospital gown. Still the Gaffer hadn’t been willing to compromise on her going to the hospital, not that she could blame him. Even she knew she’d been pretty out of it when he’d arrived on scene, shaking from the adrenaline and wringing her hands like bloody Lady Macbeth.
Now though, the forensic collection was complete, her hands and nails swabbed, and clothes bagged and taken away, she was waiting for her X-Rays to come back. Apparently, the car had hit her more than she’d initially realized, the bruising on her leg, hip and shoulder was coming out nicely in various shades. At the time she had even thought about it, just rolled back to her feet and bolted after Dot again, the adrenaline already in her system blocking out any pain she should have felt.
In the chill of that impersonal hospital room though she could feel the ache of bruised bones and worn muscles, could see some of what today had cost her on her skin. What Dot had cost her. Fuck, but she’d trusted Dot, liked him even, and when he’d given her that bunch of flowers she’d wanted him, especially in that brief moment, no matter what her judgement had been telling her. But there was a reason she’d not slept with him, no matter how much she might have wanted too. Screwing up an investigation the way Steve had wasn’t on her to do list.
The knock on the door pulled her out of her thoughts. Her Doctor looked as exhausted as she felt, his eyes lingering on the AFO still guarding her door before he smiled at her and fitted her X-ray films to the light box on the wall. With a flick of a switch, she could see her ribcage, arm and leg glowing in front of her. “Your arm and leg are fine Detective, only a few past breaks. Your ribs however have a couple of minor fractures.” He pointed to two fine lines along the arc of her bones. “They don’t require anything other than painkillers and ibuprofen so I’m-,” the gentle tapping on the door interrupted him. Flashing an apologetic smile, he moved over to the door and slipped out before reentering a moment later, Maneet Bindra in tow.
“Ma’am,” she greeted watching as Kate nodded before she placed her gym bag on the bed next to her. “I hope you don’t mind, but I got your stuff out of your car. I figured you might need it once they’d taken your clothes.”
She couldn’t help the smile, her own clothes sounded like heaven. “Cheers Maneet.”
“I’ll be right outside. Once you’re ready to go I’ll drive you home. Gaffer’s orders.”
Her gaze turned back to the doctor. “As I was saying. I’m happy to release you under the advisement that you do nothing strenuous for a couple of weeks, and that if anything changes, sudden chest pain, difficulty breathing or the like you come straight to A&E.” Kate nodded her understanding, waiting until he’d left the room before she dragged a T-shirt and tracksuit pants out of the bag, pulling them on with a great deal more caution than usual.
Maneet was waiting just outside the door for her, as promised, her body pushing off the opposite wall when she saw Kate and falling into step beside her as they headed out of City Hospital, the AFO a few steps behind them.
The sun was beginning to set when they made it outside, the heat of the day disappearing into a humid night. The police car was parked close to the door, the lights flashing as Maneet clicked the keys. Silently the AFO peeled off and headed to another car, his job now done that Kate was in the care of a colleague.
“What’s you address Ma’am?” For a minute Kate hesitated. Going home and crawling under the shower seemed like the best thing in the world but something clawed at her, far too many unfinished ends, too much on her mind to even consider being alone with her thoughts right now.
“I’m not going home,” she said firmly, as she pulled her belt on. “I need to go back to the office.”
Beside her, Maneet’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. “Superintendent Hastings gave me strict instructions to make sure you got home safe. I don’t want to get in any trouble.”
Kate smiled, remembering Maneet had only just joined AC-12. What a fucking time to get posted. “You won’t get in trouble,” she promised. When that didn’t sway her, she tried again. “Either we go to the office, or, once I’m home, I’ll call a cab and come back in.” She wasn’t lying when she said it.
She could feel as Maneet turned an apprehensive gaze on her before she started the car. “The office is just as safe as your home,” she justified, setting off. They fell into silence and Kate was beyond grateful, she couldn’t hold a coherent conversation right now if tried.
Still, the drive seemed to pass ridiculously fast. Headquarters was quiet when they pull into the parking garage, a consequence of the time of day, but the seventh floor was still quite full, a mix of detectives and uniformed officers milling around. The shattered glass from the interview room was still on the floor she noticed but the body of the other officer had been removed. Her eyes travel to the Gaffer’s office, partly grateful to see it in darkness. He wasn’t there to give her hell for not going home. Fortunately, no one paid them any mind as they passed through the security doors and Kate quietly slipped over to her desk.
“Do you need anything Ma’am?” She hadn’t realized Maneet was still by her side. Silently she shook her head, watching as the officer walked away before she pulled out a pen and began writing up her statement of the day’s events. A moment later Maneet reappeared, a mug sweet black coffee in hand for her.
Kate had just about got through it all when the security gate clicked, readmitting Hastings to AC-12. His meeting with the DCC had gone well, or as well as it could. Having Dot embedded in an anti-corruption unit had caused a hell of wave and it wasn’t likely to dissipate soon. He had, however been given clearance for Steve to be released. He just needed to send an officer over to collect him.
His eyes drifted around the office, lights now on at desks casting his people in shadows, pleased to see things had settled down somewhat. He almost overlooked Kate, again sat so still, her head resting on her hand as she rapidly wrote down her statement.
Part of him was angry at her, he’d ordered her home and he was just about through with not being listened too, but the other part was happy to see her. When he’d sent her off to the hospital she’d been in shock, tangled up in the day’s events and worrying him to hell and back. Glancing away from her he looked for PC Bindra, seeing her watching him with nervous eyes. She wasn’t the guilty party here. He couldn’t help the heavy sigh. One day, Steve or Kate would be the death of him. Probably both of them if they put their minds to it.
Slowly he began picking his way over to her, nodding at the officers he passed by. “Kate,” he knew there was frustration seeping into his voice and the woman in front of him had the good grace to wince at the tone. “I was quite clear that you were to go home.”
“Sir, I just, I couldn’t,” she got the words out fast. “Better to be here. To get this done while it’s fresh.” Not that she’ll ever forget any of it. Her focus had dropped back to the papers as she finished the last few lines of her statement, careful not to meet the Gaffers gaze. It was a shit answer she knew, but Hastings seemed to understand, his frame softening as he pulled a chair over.
He wanted to ask her what the hell happened out there, to fill in the gaps between her dashing out of the office and those brief phone calls but he didn’t. That would come, just not tonight. Silently he unfolded the paperwork the DCC had given him and pushed it across the desk to her. It took her a moment register it, her mind becoming as exhausted as her body. When she does though something relaxed in her chest. “This to get Steve out?”
“Aye.” He’d been in a cell far too long for his liking. Gently he extracted the pen from Kate’s hand. “Why don’t you go get the fella and head home?” This time there was no argument from her, just a worn-out nod. Turning to the rest of the office he raised his voice. “That goes for the for the lot of you. Go home, come back fresh tomorrow. It can all wait ‘till then.” A mumble of ascent ran its way around the room and lights begin to flick off as people stood to leave.
Beside him Kate pushed away from her desk, stuffing the statement she’d just written in a case file before locking it in her desk draw, her car keys in one hand and the custody release form in another. “Sir?” she asked when he didn’t move. “Not being funny Sir but you did an all nighter too last night.”
The implication hangs in the air for a moment before he huffs a laugh at that blunt, direct, honest way she has. “Aye. I should head off too. Need a clear head for all this in the morning.”
The journey to the station where Steve was being held was an easy drive, the roads empty so late on. The custody sergeant gives her a look that tells her he could really do without her bothering him at this time of night, but he dutifully takes the papers and calls an officer over to unlock the cell.
Steve looks like he’s been crying when the door opens, his voice cracking when he speaks. “Kate?” After so many days of seeing caution in her eyes he’s almost surprised. Almost.
“Who else would it be?” Still, her teasing tone dissolves the moment his arms go around her, and shit, but it takes all her strength not to crumble there and then, the weight of the day crashing down on her shoulders as his arms hold her to him.
His cheek is to her hair and she can feel as much as hear him when he whispers, “thanks mate,” so much emotion and meaning in two little words.
Eventually he lets go and they step apart and she regathers what’s left of her flagging strength. “Come on. Let’s get you home.”
It doesn’t take them long to get back outside, a plastic bag of Steve’s belongings in hand. She’s dreading him asking because how the hell does she even begin to explain the colossal screw up that got them here. But Steve surprises her by staying quiet, so much so that she keeps on checking he’s still awake in the passenger seat. It’s only when she pulls on to his street that he says anything.
“Kate, can we,” he shakes his head, his voice tight again, “can we go to yours instead?”
“Course mate. Thought you’d want to see Sam is all.”
He shakes his head and all at once she knows what’s coming, her blood boiling even as he says, “she broke up with me.”
“Bloody hell, the bitch.” Hell, she’d liked Sam, but that’s too low of a blow. “I’m sorry mate. I really am.”
“Yeah,” somehow, he can’t muster the same anger as Kate, can’t really muster much of anything right now other than relief at being out of that cell.
It doesn’t take long for them to pull up at Kate’s flat, but it’s only when he sees her wince as she twists to open her door that he begins to realize that something has gone really wrong today. Even more wrong than being framed for murder. He watches her then as they head up to her flat, taking in all the things he should have spotted when that cell door opened. The heavy slump of her shoulders, the dark circles under her eyes and the cautious way she’s moving. They’re at her door when he suddenly feels panic creeping up on him, all the not knowing getting the better of him and bringing tears to his eyes again. “Kate?”
She knows what he’s asking, but she can’t, not yet. Instead, she shakes her head, trying to hold it all together for a little longer, flicking the lights on in her flat before turning to face him. “I need a shower and a drink and so do you. Then I’ll tell you.” Or she’ll try at least.
He can’t help but agree. All he wants is to wash that cell from his skin but there’s a sickening feeling in his stomach that something terrible has happened. Still, he knows he won’t get anything from her right now, not until she’s ready, so he nods and watches as she heads off to her bathroom and he orders a curry in for them to share.
Her hair is still wet when he comes back in from her shower, the takeaway spread out on her coffee table and decent glass of wine waiting for him, but the food on her plate is mostly untouched. He sits on the floor opposite her, sandwiching himself between the coffee table and the sofa the same as her and idly fills a plate with rice building up the courage to ask. “Mate, what happened?”
The caution in his voice frightens her a little, as if he’s not quite sure he wants to know now and once she tells him she won’t be able to take it back. Won’t be able to undo all the hurt that’s going to come with it.
Her silence feeds into his anxiety. “Kate, please. Talk to me.” Finally, she sighs and meets his gaze, his eyes so full of concern and apprehension it almost kills her. Slowly she makes her way through it all, from when she got authorization right up to Dot dying on the side of the road, digging through every moment by painful moment for him until he knows. Until he understands.
He honestly can’t believe what he’s hearing because fuck, but how did they not notice this, how did it get this far. Opposite him Kate looks beyond exhausted by it all and the pain on her face makes him swallow hard. All to prove his innocence. How the hell can he ever pay her back. “Kate I,” he falters then, not knowing how to articulate everything he wants to say.
“It’s fine mate, really.”
“No it’s not. Kate, you saved me today and fuck’s sake, you nearly got yourself killed in the process. I need to say thank you.”
“You just did,” is all she says because at this point does he really think he needs to say it.
For a while they sit in silence, trying get their heads around it all, the food slowly going cold as they pick at it. “When did you know?” he asks at last.
“What?” She’s too tired for cryptic questions.
He sighs, shaking his head. “When did you know I wasn’t bent?”
“I always knew.” Deep down at least, there been a few moments where she’d questioned that belief, but no, she’d always known.
Steve can’t help the warmth that fills him at her words, even though all he’d seen from her was doubt for god knows how many weeks. “When did you suspect Dot?”
Too late. She’d suspected him way too late. “Something hadn’t added up for ages, ever since we started the Waldron investigation.” Dot bringing her home for a bowl of chili sprang to mind, “but that night when he got that award we came back here for a coffee.” She shook her head at the memory and to clear the sour look on Steve’s face. “He tried pointing the finger at you then, asking me if I had his back if it turned out you were bent.” All in a way to make her feel guilty if she’d said no.
He can’t help but wonder how long Dot had been planning this. If he was always meant to be the fall guy. “What did you tell him?” Steve isn’t sure he wants the answer to that. In the days before his suspension Kate had been cool with him, and it had stung him when her and Dot had been so easy together, especially since that used to be their relationship. The guilt and pain in her eyes tells him the answer even before she speaks.
She can't help but swallow hard, her eyes finding the wine glass on the table instead of his face. “Mate.” She didn’t want to say it, but already knew he could read the answer on her face.
“You said yes.” At her nod he sighs, “you had to mate.” It doesn’t stop it hurting any less.
“I never believed you were bent,” she reiterated, her eyes pleading with him to believe her. Watching him walk out of that building on suspension had hurt her in a way she hadn’t ever expected.
“You went to Summers at East Mids then?” At least she’d acted fast once he’d been forced out. Hadn’t she?
“The next morning.” She watched as his face crumpled in confusion. Shit, but she didn’t want to tell him this. He could see the pain on Kate’s face, the reluctance to share it all, but he needed to know. After everything, he had to know. He watched as her eyes moved to a vase of flowers before they flicked back to him, confusion filling him.
“Kate,” his voice is sharper than he want’s, and he sees frustration flit across her face.
“Dot came by again that night. Brough me flowers.”
“Okay,” he said slowly. He didn’t like where this was going, not one bit. She was quiet for a beat too long and suddenly he felt guilty for prying, for pushing, all his emotions whirling into a confusing knot. She’d been through so much today and what right did he have? She was his partner, not his girlfriend. “Mate, it’s fine.”
“No, it’s fine,” she gets out, not that it is but he should hear it from her. “It’s just that- Dot tried to kiss me.” This time it was Steve’s turn for his blood to boil, the sick feeling retuning to his stomach, breaking his gaze away from her. “I don’t know if he wanted a relationship or if he was testing me.” Now I see why we never slept together. “I went to Summers then.”
Still, the thought of Dot’s hands on her makes him sick, even if it hadn’t been reciprocated. “He didn’t push it, did he?” Steve’s not sure what makes him ask, but he’s severely underestimated Dot it seems and now he’s not sure how far the man would have gone.
Kate shakes her head, a quiet “no,” escaping her. Good.
“Now what?” Is all he asks because what the hell comes next after everything that’s just happened.
Kate shakes her head, feeling the utterly bone numbing exhaustion of the day catching up with her. “I don’t know mate.”
Again, they sit in silence, Kate drinking her wine and Steve slowly chewing a chunk of naan bread, both of them going over it again and again in their heads, neither moving as the clock idly ticks by and the early hours of the morning crept up. He doesn’t realize he’s dozing off until his head falls back on the sofa behind him, twisting his neck a painful angle, his head popping back up as he jolts himself awake. His eyes find the clock, eyebrows jumping at the hour. It had not been that time when he last looked.
Opposite him Kate is fast asleep, head settled again the arm of her couch and the empty wine glass still in her hands. Carefully he lifts himself off the floor sitting on the sofa a moment to work out what to do. If he’s in pain, he can only imagine how Kate’s bruised body will feel when she wakes up if she stays there.
Slowly he crouches by her side and shakes her shoulder. “Come on mate.” Her head rolls to the side and sleepy eyes open to take him in. Slowly she nods and he pulls her to her feet, watching as her face creases as all the days aches and pains settle in her bones. “Alright?”
“Yeah. Will be mate,” and right now he’ll take it, because neither of them have anything left to give. He guides her to her bed, helping her ease herself under the quilt and turns to leave and settle into the spare room when her hand comes out and catches his wrist. He can tell just by looking at her she’s almost asleep again, but her voice holds a clarity that surprises him. “Steve. Stay. Please.”
He can’t help the smile because being alone right now had filled him with dread, even if she was only one room away. “OK,” and really it is, he tells himself as he climbs into her bed beside her and feels as Kate shifts closer to him, her head settling against his shoulder as his arms pull her close. It’ll all be OK.