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The Right to Remain Silent Ch. 01

By: LiveCat



DCI Abigail Spencer groaned at the persistent and invading noise of her phone and reached over to grab it from the bedside cabinet.

'Spencer.'

'Gov, it's DS Grisling here. Sorry to call your personal phone but I couldn't get hold of you on your work phone.'

'That's because it was fucking turned off Grizzly.'

'It's Grisling Ma'am.'

'At 3.30 in the fucking morning I'll call you any sodding name I like Grizzly. I was about to take my first day off in 3 fucking weeks so why are you calling me and not DCI Wallace?

'He told me to call you Gov, there's been a murder.

'And? Since when did Wallace need my help on a murder case?'

'Well Gov, erm he's arrested someone and she's a, well she, you know she's....'

'Oh for fucks sake spit it out man!'

'She's a lesbian Gov.'

'Jesus, it's not catching Grizzly, why are you calling me?'

'She knows you Gov. She's pleading innocence even though she was practically caught red handed said she's only prepared to speak to you.'

'Oh for fuck's sake! What's her name?'

'She won't tell us. Won't say a word unless it's to you Gov. She's pleading the right to remain silent.'

'Since you found my private mobile number I'm assuming you can also find my address? Get your arse over here in a division car Grizzly, I've been drinking and I need a lift.' and with that the conversation ended abruptly.

There were those who assumed that Abi Spencer had only risen to the ranks of DCI because she ticked a lot of boxes on the equal opportunities questionnaire and made the force look good for being 'inclusive'. 

Those people had obviously never worked with or for her. She was a bloody good copper who had worked twice as hard and used all her smarts to overcome the male prejudice in the police force. She was also totally open about being a lesbian and the jokes had ranged from good humoured banter to totally crass and bloody offensive, but she had weathered them all until finally the novelty wore off.

There were very few jokes now and they were generally made behind her back -- she was too high up the food chain to openly piss off these days unless you wanted to find yourself back in traffic.

Having arrived at the station and dispatched DS Grisling to find her a very strong, very black, very sweet cup of coffee she headed to the custody suite. She always marvelled at how the name 'custody suite' made the area sound appealing -- like somewhere you'd actually like to be, rather than the mass of institutional green corridors with metal cell doors that it was in reality.

DCI Wallace was talking to the Custody Sergeant and looked up as she walked in, a grin spread across his face.

'Ah Abi, come to rescue one of your comrades in arms?'

'Fuck off Wally. Have you gotten her name out of her yet?'

'Nope. The only thing she'll say is that she wants to speak to you; hasn't even asked for a lawyer yet.'

'OK, give me the details.'

DCI Wallace proceeded to explain how a 999 call due to a disturbance had led to them finding a front door wide open in a very upper-class neighbourhood, a trail of blood throughout the house, obvious signs of a struggle (although no signs of forced entry) and the dead body of a very scantily clad woman in the kitchen, with another woman passed out nearby holding a hammer. 

The hammer was of course suspected as the murder weapon, and as the unconscious woman had been holding it they knew that her prints were all over it; she was also covered in blood. 

To all intents and purpose it looked like a case of spousal murder and DCI Spencer had to admit that it didn't look good for the woman -- whoever she was.

'Have you got an ID on the victim yet.'

'Yes, she was a local pillar of the community apparently. Ran her own businesses, donated to charity, was on the local council for a few years, swanky house on the canal yadda, yadda, yadda...' DCI Wallace had been flipping through his notebook as he spoke looking for the name, but the description was enough and Abigail's face had turned ashen.

'Oh my god, it was Christine Pierce wasn't it?' she gasped, her breath getting caught somewhere in her throat.

'Yeah, that was it. Shit are you OK? Did you know her?'

'Yeah, but this is off the record -- at least for the time being. We had a relationship about 5 years ago but I called it off.'

'Why?'

'She didn't think being open about her sexuality would be good for business and I refused to hide mine. Couple that with the long hours this job demands and you've pretty much got a recipe for disaster.'

'Ain't that the truth' muttered Wallace, who was currently embroiled in his second divorce.

As Abi looked through the small, reinforced window in the cell door she was relieved to find that she didn't recognise the woman sat on the bench.

On entering she looked up into Abi's face and tried to smile but a large bruise covering one side of her face was making it difficult. Abi had to admit that she was damn fine looking -- even dressed in a white paper suit at 4am and covered in bruises.

'Hello, I'm DCI Spencer.'

'Thank you so much for coming, I didn't know what else to do.'

'Well, this better be good. I'm supposed to be on some very overdue leave and instead I get dragged out of bed at stupid-oh-clock in the morning because apparently someone I know has committed a murder. 

Lady, I don't suffer fools gladly at the best of times, and this isn't the best of times, so you better start talking.'

'Chrissie used to talk about you all the time, she used to call you her biggest mistake, the one that got away. She always used to speculate on what might have been if she'd been more open about who she was.'

This took Abi back somewhat. She had had very little contact with Chrissie since they'd split up, apart from when they'd seen each other at formal functions or the houses of mutual friends and she'd never been given the impression that Chrissie considered their split a mistake. A wave of sadness rolled over her as she remembered that she'd never get to speak to Chrissie again.

'So, now I'm here are you going to tell me who you are?

'My name is Alice. Alice Roberts. Chrissie and I had a kind of casual on / off relationship. Not really a relationship, no strings or anything, more like fuck buddies really.'

'And are you going to tell me what happened tonight?'

'I don't know!' and with that Alice burst into floods of tears.

Abi was tempted to go and take the woman in her arms and comfort her but she had to remind herself that she was talking to the lead suspect in a murder investigation, so she fished around in her handbag for a tissue and sat on the bench next to her instead.

'Did you kill Christine Pierce Alice?'

'No! God no! Why would I do such a thing?'

'Alice, I'm going to suggest that we take this conversation into a formal interview room where we can tape it. That way I don't have to write notes and anything you remember that may help us get to the bottom of this will be preserved, is that ok with you?'

Alice sniffed and nodded her ascent

'Have they read you your rights?' again Alice nodded as the tears coursed down her face.

'Ok, I'm going to arrange things with the sergeant and I'll see you in a minute.' and with that Abi left the cell, leaning on the wall outside as she composed herself.

'Any joy?' Oh great, Wallace was waiting to pounce. 'Did she tell you all of the juicy details?'

'Wallace grow up! She still claims she didn't do it and you know what -- I'm no psychologist but we both know you get a good nose for a liar when you've been in this game for a while; I'm tempted to think she's telling the truth.'

'Oh fuck it! I knew you were going to say that!' Abi started to protest but Wallace held his hands up to stop her 'I agree with you Abi. I was hoping like mad that you'd walk out of there with a confession but as you say, you get a feeling for things and at the moment, I'm closer to thinking of her as a second victim than I am the culprit.'

'I'm taking her up to interview room 6, you want to join us?'

'No, she is at least talking to you and I don't want to spook her; I'll watch through the viewing pane instead.'

'Interview commencing at 04.30 hours with Alice Roberts and DCI Abigail Spencer. Alice Roberts is aware that she is under caution and has been advised of her right to have a lawyer present -- she has refused this right at present.

She is also aware that this interview is being recorded on both audio tape and video tape and that information given within this interview may be used to aid a prosecution case in the murder of Christine Pierce.'

Abi took a long slurp of her coffee, hoping the caffeine would help keep her alert. The room wasn't overly warm and she was conscious of Alice cradling her cup of tea - for the warmth or to ward of shock she didn't know.

'Ok Alice, what we need to do now is go back through yesterday evening to see if we can come up with any relevant details that will help us get to the bottom of this but firstly, you need to give us your address.

I do warn you that once we have your address it is likely that DCI Wallace will apply for a warrant to search your premises, unless of course you give us your permission for us to conduct a search? but first off we'll arrange for a WPC to go and pick up some clothes for you. Is this ok?'

Alice merely nodded weakly, causing Abi to verbalise her gesture for the benefit of the tape.

'I live at 32 Cromby Street, in the new development near the marina. I don't mind you searching my house but please ask your people to be careful; I'm an antique dealer and restorer and I do a lot of work from home. I don't want clumsy policemen seeing something that looks like junk and not respecting it properly when it's actually something over a hundred years old in need of restoration!

I know this is difficult but I'd appreciate some discretion too. Having loads of blue flashing lights outside my house isn't going to do my reputation any good and I don't want to be associated with antique fakers by accident.'

'I promise they'll be as careful and discrete as possible and depending on how we get on here you may be able to be there when they carry out the search, so lets get on with it shall we? I'm sure I don't need to remind you that we're investigating a serious crime here.'

Abi felt sorry for the woman, she was sure she hadn't committed the murder but even so -- she wasn't about to be dictated to by someone on the other side of the interview desk, especially at this time in the morning.

As the interview progressed Abi found out that Alice had met Chrissie a few months ago at a charity event hosted at the local football stadium in aid of providing sport therapy to disabled children.

She had explained that Chrissie had approached her and they had spent most of the evening chatting, finally leaving together and sharing a taxi as they lived fairly close to each other. Alice had invited Chrissie in for a nightcap and they'd been seeing each other ever since on a casual basis.

It seemed that Chrissie still wasn't keen on making her preference for women known to the world at large and as far as Alice knew Chrissie hadn't been seeing anyone else, male or female.

They had been to the theatre tonight to see a touring production of Taming of The Shrew, then they'd had a late supper at a nearby tapas bar, then they'd gone home to Chrissie's house.

'Then what? I need you to remember as many details as possible. Did you see anyone outside? Did Chrissie take any phone calls or listen to messages? Did she user her laptop? Did she open or lock doors? Did she set the alarm? I need you to think about everything that happened from the moment you got there.'

Alice looked as if she was starting to get annoyed at all of the questions, as if they were irrelevant somehow. Maybe she just didn't understand the importance -- or was she hiding something?

'We got home around midnight. Chrissie unlocked the door and turned the alarm off. We poured wine -- a merlot if I remember rightly, and then we sat on the sofa in the living room.

We started kissing and after a few minutes Chrissie started to undo the buttons on my blouse, and kissing the skin that she had exposed on my shoulders and the tops of my...'

'I get the message! You got in, left the alarm unset and started to make out on the sofa' It had been a situation she herself had been in with Chrissie many times herself and she could almost visualise the scene, from the beeping of the alarm as they first entered the house, to the plush velvet material of the sofa.

'Carry on please, without the intimate descriptions please.'

So Alice continued to describe how they had taken their wine up to Chrissie's bedroom where they had made love for about an hour before falling asleep together some time after 1am.

The next thing Alice knew was waking up alone and hearing noises in the kitchen downstairs. She lay in bed waiting for Chrissie to return, assuming she had gone to get a drink of water and when she failed to return after a few minutes she called out to her asking if everything was alright.

When she didn't get an answer she pulled on a robe, walked down to the kitchen and found Chrissie on the floor.

'There was blood everywhere. It was on the floor and the cupboards and all over her head. I knelt down next to her to see if she was breathing and the next thing I know I was being woken up by a paramedic and the place was full of police.'

Alice was crying hard at the recollection and Abi couldn't help confirming her original assumption. She was either innocent or an extremely accomplished liar.

'What about the bruise on your face?'

'I don't know, it wasn't there before. The back of my head is sore as well so I guess I have another one there too.'

They were interrupted at this point by a WPC with some clothes for Alice, so Abi went to talk to DCI Wallace while she changed.

'What do you reckon Wally?'

'Sounds like she probably alerted the assailant to her presence by calling downstairs, allowing them to hide themselves ready for when she entered the kitchen, at which point they attacked her and planted the hammer.

The ME has just confirmed that it was definitely the murder weapon and there was no obvious sign of sexual assault. We'll have to wait for the rest until she's finished the PM.

So what are your thoughts?' 

'You know what's puzzling me. If Alice had heard noises loud enough to cause a neighbour to call the police she wouldn't just have assumed that Chrissie was getting a drink, especially since those houses are detached and sat in large plots. She'd also have noticed the place had been trashed way before she got to the kitchen, so she's either not mentioning it or it happened after she was attacked. Have you taken a formal statement from the neighbour?'

DCI Wallace looked at his shoes, realising he'd missed something important.

'The call was anonymous. They claimed to be a neighbour but gave no name; I'll get someone tracing the address right away.'

Abi's emotions ranged from anger at his incompetence to feeling slightly smug but she knew it was all too easy to let the details slide when you thought you had someone firmly in the frame already.

Just as she was about to go back into the interview room she had a thought and turned back to her embarrassed colleague.

'What about her dog?'

'Huh?'

'Chrissie had a massive German Shepherd called Oscar; he was a big stupid, shaggy thing that wouldn't hurt a fly but he had a bark that could wake the dead.'

'Abi, there was no sign of a dog in that house, not a dog bowl or a chew toy to be seen.'

When she re-entered the interview room Abi had to stop herself staring. Alice had been a good looking woman before but now the loose paper suit had been replaced with a pair of figure hugging black jeans and a white shirt, her hair brushed and pulled into a ponytail, she looked stunning. The WPC obviously hadn't thought to pick up a bra and Alice's nipples were tenting the shirt and Abi had a quick flash of embarrassment as a mental picture of laying Alice over the metal desk and sucking on those nipples flew unbidden into her mind.

Regaining her composure quickly she asked Alice to sit down, turned the recording equipment back on and resumed the interview.

Alice confirmed that the house had been in good shape when she'd gone downstairs and that the noise she heard just sounded like someone pottering about in the kitchen.

'What about Chrissie's dog, Oscar?'

Alice looked sad at this question and explained that Chrissie had found him dead in the garden about a week ago. The vet had suspected poisoning but Chrissie hadn't known where from and had assumed he must have eaten something when they were out for a walk.

The interview continued for about an hour, by which time both women were visibly exhausted.

'Alice I think we've got everything for now and we both need to get some rest. I'm going to have you taken back downstairs but you shouldn't be there too long; try to get some sleep. If you think of anything important, tell the custody sergeant.

One last question -- who had keys to the house?'

'The cleaner must have a key; I don't know if the gardener has one. I think a neighbour used to keep an eye on the place and look after Oscar if she went out of town.'

'What about you?'

'No, I don't have one. I was only ever at the house with Chrissie so I didn't need one, in fact most of the time she came to my place, it saved her having to explain me to the neighbours.'

Abi had heard this before as when she and Chrissie were together it was generally at Abi's house. They hadn't exchanged keys either, it seemed to be a sign of commitment that Chrissie wasn't able to make and it had caused arguments between them.

She needed to get some sleep and soon, but she needed to speak to Wallace first.

'You hear all that?' she enquired testily 'We need to get Oscar dug up from the garden and find out what poisoned him in case it was a deliberate act to facilitate entry into the house.

We also need to track down the cleaner and anyone else who may have a key to see if they still have them.

Any news on the 999 call?'

'Yeah, I don't think it was from a neighbour unless they went out to a pay phone in the middle of the night to make the call. I've got SOCO all over the phone box and we're checking to see if CCTV turns anything up, but in an area like that it'll mainly be private systems, so we may not get anything.

I've arranged for a team to search the Roberts house later this morning. I'd like her to be there so we can watch her reactions, will you meet us in Cromby Street at 1pm?' 

Abi walked into her bedroom and sighed as she saw the sleeping figure in her bed. She had forgotten that she'd left Sarah there when she'd left and was pleased not to be on her own, even if Sarah would be getting up for work in a couple of hours.

Stripping and slipping under the duvet as quietly as she could, she snuggled up to the warm sleeping form and spooned her closely from behind.

Sarah was a relatively new and very welcome addition in Abi's life. She was a fitness fanatic with a beautiful body that Abi never got tired of and a genuinely nice, down to earth person. She was also a rising star at the neighbouring police station, so she fully understood the pressures of the job because she had to deal with them too.

Abi had never dated another copper before, preferring to keep business and pleasure separate, but something just clicked between them when they met on a nasty rape case that involved both areas. She had to admit that it was nice having a partner who she could actually discuss her day with for a change and Sarah had a bright mind and was often able to offer some insight or different perspective that helped Abi out on a case.


The Right to Remain Silent Ch. 01



Abi was just on the brink of sleep when she felt Sarah's hand move to cover hers as her arse pushed back into Abi's crotch.

'Mmmm hello gorgeous, what time is it?' purred Sarah as she started to wake up.

'It's still stupidly early, go back to sleep Babe.'

Sarah rolled over in her arms, placed a hand behind Abi's neck and kissed her deeply. Even in Abi's exhausted state she could feel her body start to respond to the kiss and the feel of Sarah's skin against hers.

'Does that mean we have time to make love before I have to leave or is my poor Baby too tired?'

'Oh that's so cruel!' moaned Abi 'I'm absolutely wiped out but you've turned me on now, how can I go to sleep like this?' A tired smile played across her face as she looked into Sarah's big, beautiful brown eyes.

'Well I'll cut you a deal then. You just lay back and I'll help you relax and go to sleep and you can return the favour later; how does that sound?' and without waiting for an answer Sarah kissed Abi again, this time with more passion, as her hand found and toyed with an already proud nipple.

Rolling Abi onto her back as they kissed, Sarah slid her other hand down until she was lightly cupping her mound and ran her fingers through the close cropped hair, making Abi groan in anticipation.

'I'll take that as a yes shall I?' grinned Sarah as she lowered her head and sucked alternately on Abi's nipples, flicking her tongue over them and nibbling gently in the way that drove Abi nuts.

She would have liked to take her time, teasing her lover to make sure that when she came, she came hard, but one look at Abi's tired face told her that now wasn't the time.

She slithered down the bed until she was laying in between her thighs and licked the sensitive skin at the very top of each thigh, knowing that this would make Abi unconsciously spread her legs just a bit wider and then she took long licks from the bottom of her slit up to her clit.

Abi's hips automatically raised a little at the apex of every lick and when she was good and wet Sarah slipped a well practiced finger into her and gently caressed her inside walls.

Abi's hands were thrown above her head and her face was a picture of tired abandonment as she laid back and accepted Sarah's gift, riding the waves of pleasure that were slowly beginning to erase the tension of the long night.

Sarah could feel when Abi's excitement level started to rise by the movement of her hips and used this cue to slip a second finger in, increasing the pace and depth of their journey but still making sure that they grazed her spot on every pass.

When Abi was moaning freely Sarah took her clit into her mouth and sucked gently, occasionally grazing her with her teeth and swirling her tongue around and around.

She loved the way Abi's body responded to her touch and knew that Abi's knowledge of her own body was just as well informed. They really were good together and they took pleasure in pleasing each other and with that thought in mind Sarah sucked harder and fucked faster until Abi was grabbing her own nipples and twisting them as she cried out in ecstasy.

As Abi came down Sarah kissed her thighs and belly and told her she loved her. It was the first time she had said those words to Abi; she wasn't one to make such a declaration until she was sure she absolutely meant it, but Abi didn't hear her -- she was already asleep and snoring gently.



The Right to Remain Silent Ch. 02



Abi marvelled at the houses she passed as she drove down Cromby Street, Alice Roberts was obviously doing very well for herself.

She pulled up to number 32 just as DCI Wallace arrived from the other direction and silently thanked Sarah for phoning her an hour earlier to wake her up. She was still tired but then it seemed that she always was these days and she promised herself she would take some time off as soon as this was wrapped up. Maybe she and Sarah could go away together for a few days?

She stood on the pavement and waited as Wallace and Alice Roberts exited the car and walked toward them, noticing how he offered the tired woman a hand from the car. Dave Wallace wasn't a bad bloke really, maybe she should cut him some slack?

Just as Alice was removing her keys from the handbag that had been retrieved from Chrissie's house, 2 unmarked cars full of plain clothed police officers arrived to join them, making Abi realise that Wallace had taken Alice's comments about reputation to heart.

Alice unlocked the door and stepped back as she had been instructed to do, allowing DCI Wallace to enter the property first; the scream came shortly after.

Alice's house had been completely trashed. There was broken furniture and glass all over the floor, every drawer and cupboard had been turned out and there were dents and marks on the walls where objects had been thrown at them with some force.

Fortunately Abi was close behind Alice and was able to catch the distraught woman as the events of the last 12 hours caught up with her and she fell into a dead faint.

After being assessed by a paramedic when she came around, Alice was driven to a friends house nearby while SOCO trawled through the debris looking for anything significant.

Abi and Dave sat outside a nearby pub, drinking coffee and discussing the case. So far they were drawing blanks; all keys to the Pierce house were accounted for and the key holders all had tight alibis, no evidence could be found in the phone box and so far nothing had come from a search of CCTV systems.

'So, what now?' grimaced Abi as she tasted the weak excuse for coffee.

'I guess the natural assumption is that they were both targeted but until we get an idea of what time the Roberts house was ransacked we can't put a timeline on anything.'

'If they were both targets, how come they killed Chrissie and just knocked Alice out?'

Before they could speculate further Dave took a call from the ME, hitting speaker phone so Abi could hear.

'The full report will be on your desk when you get back to the station but I thought you'd want the highlights. There's absolutely no doubt that the hammer was the murder weapon although this wasn't what was used to hit the Roberts woman -- there would have been more damage.

Stomach contents appear to confirm the info you've been given regarding their late super followed by wine.

She had been sexually active shortly before the attack but there's no evidence of sexual assault, in fact it looks like she was struck once from behind with the hammer and then once again as she was falling down. The first blow would've been enough to kill her.

Obviously we've sent samples for toxicology but we won't get the results for a couple of days.

There was one interesting thing though -- she had some old bruises on both wrists. They'd almost faded but if I had to guess I'd say they came from being gripped and restrained forcibly by someone's hands, I'd also guess that someone was a woman or an adolescent from the size of the bruises.'

'Thanks, I'm not sure if that helps us much but I guess it confirms the Roberts story.'

'Hold on DCI Wallace, I'm not done yet. She was suffering from cancer and probably only had about 6 months to live. I'm guessing she knew about it as there were signs of a fairly recent biopsy, however there was no indication that she was undergoing chemo.

They've just delivered the remains of her dog to me; I'll let you know as soon as I have anything.'

Abi sat chewing her nails and thinking back over her interviews with Alice. She hadn't mentioned Chrissie's cancer, but then she may not have known or may have neglected to mention it because of shock. It certainly wouldn't necessarily be obvious if she wasn't having treatment.

She was sure they had missed something so she decided to go back to the station and review the interview tapes while SOCO did their job on the Roberts house.

She hadn't been back at the station for long when her phone rang.

'Hello gorgeous, and how are you today, did you sleep well?'

'Hi Babe. I'm good, thanks for waking me earlier, how's your day going?

'I'm having an excellent day and I'm about to make yours a whole lot better too. We've just made a really sound arrest for that series of high end burglaries we were investigating and one of the little scrotes led us to the fence they were using to get rid of the gear.

The fence is looking to cut a deal so he's just spilled the beans about some antiques he's been offered from a house over on the marina -- ring any bells sweetie?'

'Sarah, you're an absolute diamond, I owe you one girl!'

'You certainly do -- you owe me one from this morning, and I intend to collect. This however you can repay me for by buying me a late lunch. I haven't had time to eat all day and I'm starving, if you come over now I'll fill you in on the details.'

Sarah was just walking into the door to the station as Sarah came through the security door into the reception area.

God she looked fine today. Instead of her usually conservative formal wear, she was wearing a nicely snug pair of faded Levi's, tight white tee shirt and an old black leather jacket and it was all Abi could do to restrain herself from taking her into her arms in the reception area. It was one thing being 'out' in the force but it didn't do to be too obvious about it in the station.

They ambled over to a café across the road where Abi ordered a toasted sandwich and coffee while Sarah had a full English fry up, refusing to speak about the case until she'd wiped up the very last dribble of egg yolk with her toast.

When she had finally finished and Abi was fidgeting in her seat with anticipation, she started to explain recent events.

They had arrested 3 men who had carried out a series of burglaries on very expensive houses in recent weeks. One of the men had inadvertently let the name of their fence slip and a he had been brought in for questioning.

He had previous form and was keen not to go to prison and wanted to cut a deal, so he had given them some details regarding some stolen antiques he'd been offered that morning. Sarah wasn't about to cut the slimeball any slack but then she heard about Abi's case through the police grapevine, made the connection and called her.

'I still don't really want to do the bloke any favours -- if it wasn't for people like him helping to distribute stolen property the people committing burglaries would find their lives much tougher, but if it turns out the cases are related and it helps you out then I might reconsider.'

'Do you know who brought the stuff to him?'

'No not yet, that's the condition of the deal. We cut him some slack for "cooperating" and he gives us the details. I wanted to make sure that the stuff is related to your case before I agreed.

On a different note, are you going to be working late tonight? If not I thought we might go out somewhere?'

'That would be nice but I'll have to come back to you later Babe.'

Abi arranged for Alice to come and identify the antiques they had recovered and she confirmed that all of the stuff had come from her house.

There were at least a dozen items; some small including a silver cigarette case and an old ships sextant but some were much larger items of furniture, meaning they must have been removed in a van.

'How much is this lot worth Alice?' enquired Abi, assuming that as a considerable amount of risk had been taking to get the items, so they must be worth a few quid.

'Surprisingly little' came the tired response. 'I mean the whole lot is probably worth about £3200, but considering the things they could have taken from the house, that's not a lot at all.'

'Is your house alarmed?'

'Yes. Well normally it is. I've had problems with it recently -- it keeps going off at strange times so I had to disconnect it, the alarm company are due to come out tomorrow to fix it.'

'Did Chrissie have any problems with her alarm recently?'

'Not that I know of.'

'Alice -- did you know that Chrissie was ill?' Alice looked up in alarm at the thought of her lover being unwell, then just sad as she realised she was no longer ill -- she was dead.

'No, I didn't know she was Ill, what was wrong with her? Like I said before, we didn't really have a relationship as such. There were a lot of things about Chrissie I didn't know.

I do know that she was very wealthy. I don't know just how much money she has but when I mentioned that business had been slow recently and that I was struggling with short term cash flow problems, she wrote me a cheque out on the spot for £500,000! I don't know many people who would just offer to lend someone half a million quid!'

Abi called Dave Wallace and filled him in on the details, giving him Sarah's number so he could arrange the interview with the fence.

She also told him that she was calling it a night as there wasn't much else she could do before they got some more information.

Walking into her front door just after 7pm she called Sarah's name, expecting her to be there but on getting no reply she called her mobile number.

'Hey you, you still working?'

'No Sweetie, I'm at home.'

'No your not, I'm at home and you're not here.'

'Abi -- I'm at MY home. I do still have my own flat you know!' and Sarah laughed at Abi's assumption that she would be at her house.

'Oh yeah, I'm sorry, I just thought.....'

'Get your arse over here girl and I'll make dinner reservations. You sound like you need spoiling and I think I'm just the woman to do it.' And with that Sarah hung up, leaving Abi staring at the phone with a huge grin on her face.

Abi arrived at Sarah's flat within 30 minutes having grabbed a quick shower before leaving. Her short, dark, slightly curly hair still damp as she ran up the stairs to the front door, knocking loudly so Sarah could hear her over the music that was filtering out into the hall from the flat.

'Oh, it's you!' exclaimed Sarah happily as she opened the door and pulled Abi inside before planting her lips on hers.

'Who else were you expecting?' queried Abi cautiously. Sarah was an extremely open, loving and giving person and Abi still hadn't gotten used to how lucky she felt to have her in her life.

'No-one silly! I was just surprised that you got here so quickly and I thought you'd have let yourself in!'

Abi was also still coming to terms with how easily Sarah had welcomed her into every aspect of her life, including her run-down flat.

'So, where are we eating? I'm famished!'

They walked the short distance to a gastro-pub around the corner where they ate succulent steaks washed down with good real ale.

Abi tried discussing her case from time to time but Sarah kept cutting her off, finally giving her an ultimatum.

'For goodness sake woman! You're absolutely knackered and desperately in need of some time off, which probably isn't going to happen any time soon, so at least give yourself the evening to be a woman instead of a copper!'

Back at Sarah's flat she poured them each a generous measure of a good single malt and they reclined on the sofa, Sarah laughing at Abi as she pulled a face when finding a half eaten biscuit under a cushion.

'You know when we live together you're going to have to be a whole lot tidier or I'm going to have to have a full frontal lobotomy just so I don't notice what a slovenly bitch you are!'

Sarah sat there stunned. Abi had definitely said "when" we live together!

'And what makes you think we'll live together?' cooed Sarah as she snuggled into Abi's side, sliding her hand up to tangle in the hair at the back of her neck.

'I'm not sure why I said that actually.' Responded Abi, slightly surprised at her own admission 'but would you like to? I mean not now, unless you want to that is? ok, this is getting embarrassing now!'

'Well let me think. We'd see a lot more of each other, we'd get to sleep together every night and wake up next to each other every morning. I think it sounds like a great idea -- when do you want to move in?'

Abi's face was a picture of shock at the idea of moving into Sarah's poky little ex-council flat until she realised that Sarah was joking.

'Don't worry Sweetie, your place is much nicer than mine and there's more wardrobe space! But seriously, yes I'd love to move in with you...if you're sure?'

Abi didn't answer in words, she wasn't sure she could keep her voice steady enough. She was so confident at work but her personal life had always been a different story and she was amazed that she had found someone that she actually wanted to live with, let alone someone that had said yes.

Her tongue slipped into Sarah's mouth and she felt her sigh as Abi's hand slid inside her tee shirt to caress the silky skin on her tummy.

'Shall we take this somewhere more comfortable?' by the time the two women had made it to the bedroom door they were both naked; a trail of clothes from the living room to the bedroom evidence of their lust.

They had just knelt on the bed facing each other, kissing as their breasts pushed against each other and their hands started to glide over soft, smooth skin, when Abi's phone rang from wherever she had discarded her jeans.

She groaned softly, not wanting to take the call but hating the idea of not knowing who was trying to contact her, but Sarah jumped up off the bed, found the phone and switched it off. She then found her own and did the same thing.

'You can get up early to deal with work if you like, but for the next few hours you're mine.'

'Hmmm, I think I could get used to this.'

They lay next to each other as they resumed kissing, softly and sensuously at first until passion took over and turned it into a lust fuelled duel of tongues.

Sarah tried to change position to suck on Abi's nipples but she wasn't about to let her.

'Oh no you don't. I still owe you Babe.' And she lay her body along the length of Sarah's and started kissing and nibbling from her neck downwards.

She adored Sarah's tits. They were mounted on pure muscle, making them stand much firmer than her own and the nipples were a dark pink, almost purple when they were hard and tight and scrunched up as they were now. They were also very sensitive and she loved the noises Sarah made as she sucked on them hard, flicking her tongue over them again and again as they filled with blood, becoming almost painfully hard.

Eventually when Sarah was moaning loudly Abi drifted lower, kissing along her rib cage and across her belly, swirling her tongue into her belly button and kissing across her hips until the smell of Sarah's arousal was driving her insane and she could wait no more.

She lowered herself until she was laying between her outstretched legs and watched as Sarah's excitement seeped from her and oozed down her arse before swiping her tongue across her outer lips and capturing as much of the nectar as she could, an accidental touch on her clit sending her hips rocketing up into the air.

'PLEASE don't tease me sweetie!'

So Abi simultaneously slipped 2 fingers into her waiting pussy as she ran her flattened tongue around and over her clit. Crossing her fingers to increase sensation, she pumped hard and fast and when Sarah was on the very edge she sucked her clit into her mouth hard, sending her screaming into ecstasy.

She knew that Sarah wasn't so easily pleased, so she turned around and lowered her pussy onto Sarah's waiting mouth, her lips and tongue barely stopping their assault as she rotated.

Sarah grabbed Abi's arse and pulled her down roughly until she could spear her sopping hole with her rigid tongue as she rubbed her clit with her thumb.

Soon enough both women were grunting into each other's pussies until finally they collapsed into a tangle of arms and legs, faces covered in sweet, sticky nectar.

Abi awoke feeling rested and more refreshed and grinned as she remembered the conversation they had had about moving in together. She was resting her head on Sarah's chest, listening to her heart beat as she slept, but she couldn't be this close to the woman she had come to love and keep her hands still.

Slowly and gently, trying not to wake her, she started to tease those sensitive nipples until they responded of their own accord. She shifted position slightly until she could take one into her mouth, kissing and licking lightly, conscious of the change in Sarah's breathing as she got turned on in her sleep.

Soon enough temptation got the better of her, so she untangled herself from Sarah's arm, slipped quietly out of bed and used the bathroom before returning to the bed, where Sarah was now massaging her own nipple in her sleep.

Abi climbed gently onto the bottom of the bed in between Sarah's fortunately splayed legs and started to plant butterfly kisses on the short hair just above her mound. 

She delicately licked and kissed Sarah's thighs and lips whilst avoiding her clit entirely, wanting to get her as turned on as possible before she awoke, one hand teasing her own now slippery folds as she did so.

She paid careful attention to Sarah's breathing and unconscious movements and when her hips were starting to move of their own volition she knew that she was about to wake and just as she opened her eyes, Abi finally sucked her clit into her mouth, making Sarah groan as she became fully awake.

Once Sarah was fully conscious, her blood fizzing through her veins at the glorious way her lover had woken her, Abi kissed her way back up her body until she was in a position to suck on those distended nipples again, while positioning herself so that she could ride Sarah, their slick pussies mashing together and making them both gasp and moan with every movement.

Sarah was thrusting up to meet Abi, the pressure building until their mutual crescendo left them panting and gasping for air.

'Morning Babe, still want to move in with me?'

'If I get woken up like that every morning - Oh god yes!'



The Right to Remain Silent Ch. 03



As soon as Abi got to the station she got a call from the ME. She'd been right, the dog had been poisoned with hemlock. Not a conventional poison these days but as it can be found growing in hedgerows and a simple internet search can teach you how to administer it, she was surprised it wasn't used more often as it left no retail trail to follow.

Dave Wallace walked in shortly after, so she filled him in on the details and he in turn relayed his interview with the fence.

They had gotten the names of the 2 men who were offering the antiques for sale and were trying to trace them now. They both had form for aggravated burglary and were known to have used violence in the past. There had been no finger prints recovered but any idiot that watches TV these days would know to wear gloves and no link could be made between the thieves and either Chrissie or Alice

They had also contacted the alarm company at Alice's house who on inspection had easily confirmed that that it wasn't just faulty -- it had been deliberately tampered with.

When Chrissie's medical records arrived they showed that she had been diagnosed with lung cancer 3 months earlier. The prognosis wasn't good but Chrissie had decided to forgo treatment -- preferring to live her remaining time without the crippling effects of chemo.

Something was niggling at Abi and she had long ago learnt to trust her instincts in these matters. She requested a full breakdown of Chrissie's finances, then she called Alice.

'Alice, you and I both know that Chrissie wasn't short of money, but I'm guessing that finding £500,000 wouldn't have been quick because when I knew her most of her money was tied up in investments and assets. How come she had it available to just write you a cheque?'

'I don't know. I haven't actually paid it in yet, I guess it could bounce.'

'Chrissie didn't tell you about her illness although she'd known about it for a while, could she have been liquidating her assets?'

'I guess so. I do know that she'd had several meetings with a solicitor recently but she just said he was handling some business for her. I drove her there once, I can give you the address.'

Abi's hair was staring to stand on end by now, intuition kicking into overdrive.

'Alice, do you know who stands to gain financially from Chrissie's death? I know she didn't have kids but is there anyone else you can think of?'

'I don't think so; both her parents are dead and she never mentioned brothers or sisters. Knowing Chrissie she probably left everything to charity.' 

Abi thanked Alice, took the name of the solicitor and sent a team to retrieve the will. She had an inkling that this case was as good as solved.

The financial records came back quickly and the various banks and broking firms she used confirmed that yes, she had indeed been liquidating assets. The total was a whopping £7.3 million so far and she still had the sale of 2 businesses and her house to complete, making the expected total closer to 16 million.

She was sitting at her desk typing up her report so far when there was a knock at her office door.

'Hi Grizzly, what've you got for me?'

'It's Grisling Gov.' he stated in an exasperated tone, having not worked out yet that when DCI Abi Spencer gave you a nickname you should take it as a sign that she considered you a valued member of her team. 'We've managed to contact the solicitor -- pompous arse that his is was suggesting that we'd have to wait for the information until after the inquest but we managed to persuade him otherwise; his secretary should be faxing it over within the hour.

She changed her will about a week ago, they're sending both for comparison.'

When the will arrived it was much as Abi had expected. Most of the money and assets had been left in trust for a variety of charities and good causes, with one notable exception.

1.5 million pounds had been left to someone called Frank Williams in the original will but on inspection of the new version his name had been changed to Alice Roberts.

'Does this make the Roberts woman a suspect again Gov?'

'Not sure Grizzly, but I doubt it. If the money was coming to her anyway and Chrissie had already written her a cheque for a sizable amount, why kill her? I'd say that we need to find Mr. Williams a bit sharpish and see what his alibi is like. Do we know what their connection is?'

'Not yet Gov, I'm on it now.'

Within 2 hours they had the address for Frank Williams but he was not at home and they still didn't know how he was connected to either woman, they did however get a result when one of the men who's name had been given for the antiques burglaries was arrested for an unrelated driving offence and Abi hurried to watch the interview that Dave Wallace was conducting.

The man had 'thug' written all over him, from his EDL tattoos to the scar's on his face and arms and Abi was glad she wasn't in the interview room. She didn't scare easily but there was no point in putting yourself in harms way unless necessary and this guy didn't look like he would take kindly by being grilled by a woman -- no, this one was best left to Dave who equally matched the thug's 6ft plus frame even if he didn't compete with his muscled bulk.

The interview wasn't going particularly well when Abi first started to watch, with the suspect refusing to say anything except 'no comment' or 'where's my brief' so Dave left the interview room while they waited for the duty solicitor.

He was chatting to Abi about the case when DS Grisling came running down the corridor looking like the cat who had got the cream.

'We've found a link!' he almost squealed as he reached them.

'Between Williams and one of the women?'

'No, between Williams and the scumbag you've got in there!' he replied, gesturing excitedly toward the interview room door. 'We ran a check on known associates and found a Francis Williams. Different address but the info's a few years old and the date of birth matches -- we're pretty sure it's the same bloke. Francis Williams has a record for fraud.'

'No shit!' responded Dave 'I think I better get back in there and see if he wants to talk now, where's that bloody duty brief?'

Dave Wallace entered the interview room and calmly took a seat in front of the increasingly agitated man sat at the other side.

He didn't speak for a while other than to turn the recording equipment back on, he just sat there and smiled.

'What you fucking grinning about?'

'Oh nothing. I'm just thinking about how early I'm getting home tonight once I've had a little chat with Frank.'

The twitch in the suspects eye was enough to let Wallace know he'd struck home but he sat & allowed him to stew without saying anything further for the time being.

As agreed, after about 10 minutes Abi stuck her head into the interview room and simply said 'They've brought him in -- he's in interview room 4 waiting for you.'

At this the suspect looked very nervous indeed; Dave just smiled at him again and walked out of the interview room door.

The duty solicitor was not pleased at all about being sidelined into interview room 4 rather than taken to his client, and was visibly angry when Dave and Abi entered.

'We're so sorry to have kept you waiting, but we need to talk to you. This is both for our benefit and that of your client, so please bear with us.' 

Abi explained that as things stood, his client and accomplice were the lead suspects in an antique robbery, for which they had eye witness evidence from the fence and were expecting DNA results from the house to confirm their involvement.

The solicitor didn't seem to be overly worried, but when Abi continued on to explain how the robbery was linked to a murder and assault he started to take them seriously and agreed to attempt to get his client to be open with them in return for a possibly lighter sentence -- on the condition that he hadn't killed Chrissie, in which case all deals were off.

They were very clear that this was a one time only deal, and if they caught the accomplice and he accepted the deal instead, he would have lost his chance.

They then took him to his client and left them alone to talk things over.

By the time the solicitor was shown into the suspect he was pacing the floor nervously, having been duped into thinking that Frank was already in custody, and eager to distance himself from the murder.

The interview that followed was long and tiring but by the time they'd finished Abi and Dave were confident that they had the full story.

Francis (Frank) Williams was the uncle of the suspect and his brother (the other suspect who was very soon arrested and in custody) and was a con artist who had duped Chrissie into investing in a bogus charity.

Chrissie had originally fallen for the lie and had not only invested £100,000 but had left money in her will to be used after her death -- a fact she had imparted to Frank.

Chrissie was however shrewd and Frank wasn't as good a conman as he'd thought, so Chrissie had him investigated.

She couldn't prove that he had conned her outright but the investigation threw up enough inconsistencies for her to change her mind about the money; a fact she also imparted to Frank who wasn't pleased that his nest egg had been so close and then taken away.

In the expectation that Chrissie hadn't changed the will yet, Frank poisoned the dog and broke in to kill Chrissie, thus ensuring his inheritance. He then ransacked the house looking for a copy of the will, which he found, thus finding out that the change had already been made.

Fortunately he hadn't found & read the will before Alice came down the stairs, only to be hit over the head and a clumsy attempt to frame her for the murder was made by planting the hammer in her hand.

When he did read the will he was naïve enough to think that if Alice was also dead the original will might stand, so he hired his two thuggish nephews to kill her -- their payment being a very small percentage of the inheritance and as many antiques as they could remove from the house.

Fortunately Alice hadn't been at home, but this wasn't going to stop the two nephews claiming their payment, so they took what they thought looked expensive, junked the rest and left.

Frank was obviously furious at their bungling of the job and the nephews seemed more scared of him than they were of the police, however eventually they were convinced that they would be safer with him behind bars and revealed his location and he was swiftly arrested.

That evening Dave Wallace took the whole team to the local pub to celebrate, buying beers all round to congratulate them on a job well done. It wasn't often that a case like this got cleared up in a couple of days!

He took Abi to one side and thanked her personally, making a point of telling her that he honestly wouldn't have got the same outcome without her, let alone so quickly.

He then did something curious that Abi couldn't understand. He told her that she needed to go home and that he'd see her in a few days.

Abi tried to quiz him but he was having none of it, instead turning back to the team and resuming the usual banter that accompanied these celebrations.

Abi wasn't sure what to do, so she tried to call Sarah but got no answer. Feeling like she was being jerked around by Dave Wallace she tried to manoeuvre her way through her colleagues toward him but he saw her coming, winked at her and ducked into the men's toilets.

She considered following him but the prospect wasn't appealing, so she shrugged, downed her drink and headed home.

She was pleased to see Sarah's car in the drive when she pulled up and was startled by the front door opening just as she reached it.

As she tried to enter the house though, Sarah blocked her path.

'What are you up to Babe? Have you filled the house with boxes already, or made a mess you don't want me to see?'

'No! Well, yes a little bit on the mess front but you can't come in because we're going out.' And with that Sarah spun Abi around and closed and locked the front door behind her.

Abi climbed into Sarah's car as instructed and then spent the next 30 minutes quizzing her about where they were going but Sarah wasn't giving anything away so Abi resigned herself to relaxing and letting herself be surprised.

Once they cleared the city and started to drive through rolling countryside though -- well this had Abi intrigued and she wracked her brains as to where their final destination could be. Sarah still wasn't giving the game away and Abi, who generally liked to be in control of a situation, started to get a annoyed.

The only thing Sarah would say was 'not far now' but she'd been saying that for the last 25 miles!

The pub car park that they finally pulled into had a view over fields as far as they eye could see and the silence was only broken by birdsong and the sound of a stream running nearby.

Abi climbed out of the car, stretched and took a deep breath of country air as Sarah was rummaging around in the boot.

'This looks nice babe, but it's a hell of a long way to drive for a pint!' 

'Come here and help with these.' And Sarah grabbed two hold-alls out of the boot and handed one to Abi, who by this time was looking quite confused.

'We're not just here for a pint, we're here for the next 4 nights.' At which point Abi's face was a mixture of consternation, surprise and pleasure.

'But what about.....'

'Everything's taken care off. Your leave is organised, Dave Wallace has arranged to wrap up the interviews for the murder and assault, DS Grisling has been told that if he calls you he'll be castrated upon your return and I've even arranged for your sister to water your plants and feed your goldfish!

We have a few days of sleeping, walking, eating, drinking and making love ahead of us, now give me your work mobile and I'll lock it in the boot of the car with mine to remove temptation.'

Abi was astounded. No one had ever surprised her like this before, and Sarah seemed to instinctively know what she needed and when. She walked toward her, switched her mobile off and handed it over, and as soon as Sarah had locked the car Abi took her in her arms and kissed her deeply, right there in the car park.

'Thanks Babe, love you.'

'Good, cos I love you too. Now come on, lets get checked in and start to relax.'

They were shown into their room by a young woman who obviously found it quite interesting and a bit embarrassing that the only suite with a four poster bed had been booked by two women, as opposed to their twin rooms that usually got booked by the walking groups that they usually catered for, and she giggled as she handed their key over.

Sarah and Abi burst into fits of laughter as the room door shut, finding the young girl's naivety hysterical. They were clinging onto each other as their laughter started to subside and as they looked into each other's eyes it was as if someone had flicked a switch. Now they were no longer laughing and a burning hunger was apparent on both faces.

Abi wrapped her arms around Sarah's waist and pulled her close, kissing her deeply and passionately.

'I don't know how to thank you for this Babe.' She murmured into Sarah's neck, sending shivers down her spine 'No one has ever done anything like this for me before.'

'That's because no-one has loved you like I do before' Sarah responded huskily, her heart rate starting to elevate in anticipation and at the feel of Abi's breath on her neck and the hands that were now caressing her back under her leather jacket. 'but I can think of several ways for you to thank me if you really want to.'

The tone of her voice told Abi exactly what those methods of thanks could be and she pushed Sarah's jacket off her shoulders and down her arms until it fell to the floor.

Abi continued to kiss Sarah's neck until she had to stop to ease her tee shirt over her head, at which point she resumed and continued down to her breasts as she released them from her bra, alternating between nipples while her hands ran down Sarah's back to grasp those firm arse cheeks nestled in tight denim.

Sarah was in heaven at the gentle licks, kisses and caresses being used to tease her and she tangled her fingers into Abi's hair as she descended lower, kissing over her abdomen and belly.

Soon Abi was kneeling in front of Sarah, her tongue playing in her belly button as she undid the jeans that were in the way of her ultimate goal. Her fingers tugging at the button fly and peeling them down and off her legs along with Sarah's panties, releasing the aroma of her heightening passion.

Abi ran her fingers lightly up the insides of Sarah's legs from her ankles to her thighs, causing goose bumps to break out on the smooth skin and when she flicked her tongue out to tease Sarah's clit her knees buckled, causing her to use Abi's shoulders as support.

Abi grinned up at her lover from between her legs, loving the look she was causing on her face -- her pupils dilated and her face and neck flushed with desire.

'Want to lie down Babe?' and she manoeuvred Sarah around until the backs of her legs hit the bed and she could lay down, her splayed legs hanging over the edge of the bed & exposing her fully to Abi's tongue.

Abi delighted in the feel of Sarah's shaved pussy - smooth and slippery with her desire, as she ran her tongue around the puffy lips, causing a deep growl to emanate from her lovers throat.

Abi lifted Sarah's legs over her shoulders and placed her mouth firmly where it was needed, running her flattened tongue the length of her slit and up to her clit, making Sarah's hips jerk with every sweep, until her juices were flowing copiously. Whilst still licking she inserted a finger into Sarah's wanting pussy, drawing it out and smearing the fluid around her puckered rose and repeated the process until it was so well lubricated that the finger slipped easily into her tight arse to the first knuckle. 

Sarah was moaning loudly by now, her head thrashing from side to side and her hands grasping handfuls of the covers so tightly that her knuckles were turning white.

As Abi inserted her finger into Sarah's arse fully and started to pump in and out, she clasped her clit between her lips and sucked, massaging the exposed nub with her tongue as she did so.

This was too much for Sarah to stand and much as she wanted this feeling to go on for ever she was tilted over the edge into an earth shattering orgasm, gripping Abi's head between her thighs as she tensed and flexed and sending her nectar gushing into her waiting mouth.

Abi untangled herself from Sarah's legs and lay down next to her on the bed, caressing her tummy as her chest heaved with the exertion, lightly kissing her eyes, nose and chin before claiming her lips.

It wasn't until Sarah turned over to snuggle against Abi that she realised that Abi was still fully dressed and started tugging at her clothes.

'We've got 4 night here right?' laughed Abi as she fought to stop Sarah undoing her buttons.

'Yep. With no contact with the real world unless we invite it.'

'And I'm assuming this place has a restaurant downstairs?'

'Oh yeah, it's one awards for it's cuisine.'

'Good then take me downstairs and feed me woman, then you can have me for dessert!'