*CSU, Sun Hill.
Smithy walked in, looking for Sheelagh, who he couldn�t reach on her radio. Saw June Ackland.
��ere June, you haven�t seen Sheelagh �ave you? I can�t get through to her.�
�No�� June looked faintly puzzled. �What�s the matter Smithy, I�m sure you can handle CAD on your own if she�s out on call.�
�Well�she�s not, that�s the thing�� Smithy broke off, �Oh! But you haven�t heard.�
�Heard what, exactly?� June was slightly irritated.
�Des�he�s dead, shot in pursuit of the armed robbers from the attack earlier.�
�No! Who was with him?�
�Cameron, who was shot in the arm. When �e radioed in, Sheelagh ran out of CAD, I haven�t seen her since.�
�Ahhh. Well, I�m afraid I can�t help there Smithy, I really don�t know where she is. Do the relief know?�
�Most of them, any who had their radios on. It only �appened twenty minutes ago. We have Gary and Honey trailing them, and a van of SO11, and a helicopter. I�m surprised you hadn�t heard�I mean, there�s been a lot of commotion!�
�I was in interviewing a lad downstairs. I did wonder why the corridors were empty!�
�Look, I�d better get back, if you see her, would you get her to come back down?�
�Yeah�I�ll try.� As Smithy walked out, June had a suspicious feeling that Sheelagh had disappeared for a reason. She tried to think of what her reaction would have been if it had been Jim in that position, a year before. The mortuary. That�s where she�d have gone, and she�d bet anything Sheelagh was there.
*Mortuary, St Hughes.
Sheelagh held the cold, clammy hand in hers, silent tears dropping on the wide chest that had comforted her after her attack. She leant down and kissed Des�s forehead, then his lips. A shadow passed over her, and, not relinquishing her hold, she turned. June.
�Sheelagh�I�m sorry. You don�t deserve this.� The older Sergeant laid a hand on her shoulder.
�June!� Sheelagh sobbed. She�d never been in need of someone to understand like this before, and June was the ideal candidate.
�Come on, let�s get you away from here�� June tried to lead her fellow officer out, but she proved very unwilling.
�No! I can�t leave him�not yet�� heaving sobs came from the uniformed Sergeant, who held tighter to her dead love�s hand. June looked at her for a few seconds, and saw that she still needed time.
�Ok�I�ll be outside when you�re ready.� She walked through the green doors.
Sheelagh sat down on a chair thoughtfully provided by one of the assistants, still holding Des�s hand. It was almost lifelike now, she had held it so much that her own skin was warming it up. Why hadn�t she made the most of him while she had him? One kiss�a few hugs, it could have been so much more. He had wanted so much more. The hurt in his eyes when she had said last night meant nothing that morning. Her jealously when he had flirted with girls, weeks back that was� why didn�t she realise then? His anger at the man who had attacked her, it was all so obvious, and she hadn�t seen the obvious. The time passed.
Outside, June watched the clock, aware that she had left Danny Glaze in charge, along with the new DC, Ramani Da Costa. She asked the assistant if her colleague was ok.
�I don�t very well know ma�am, she�s staring into darkness, holding his hand, and crying, very quietly. I didn�t want to disturb her, but we�ll have to cover him up again soon.�
�Ah, June nodded. I�ll see if she�ll come with me now.� She walked in to the spotless room again. �Sheelagh? They have to put D�him away now. Come on, I�ll take you somewhere quiet.� She placed an arm round the heaving chest of the Irish officer, and helped lift her stiff body to standing. Her fingers had to be pried loose from Des�s hand. �Come on�� Sheelagh leant to kiss Des one more time, it was as if a camera clicked, and she held a picture of his calm face in her head as she was walked outside.
June was silent in the car. She figured Sheelagh would speak when she wanted to.
�Where are we going?� the sad voice asked. June thought hard,
�Shouldn�t you go back to the nick and sign out ill?�
�Ok.� They drove in silence once more until June pulled up in the yard. She paused and looked carefully at the police van in the yard� it looked suspiciously like the SO19 vehicle, that had surely been chasing the robbers. Before she could suggest going elsewhere with Sheelagh, the other blonde interrupted, having had the same thought process.
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