Ashes to mars

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"I still don't like this."

Sam closed his eyes tiredly to the anxious tapping on the wheel beside him.

Parked outside Luddy's back entrance, the Guv had been antsy ever since Alex had gone in with Craig Peters.

Pinching his nose tiredly, Sam glanced back to see Chris and Ray snoring from the backseat, newspaper draped over the former's face, a fag hanging from both mouths. "Yeah, I wonder why." He muttered drily.

The Guv turned to him, appraising him. "Craig Peters is a dangerous bastard."

Sam gave him a doubtful look. "Question, would you be this worried if I was the one having dinner with him?"

"'Course I would...I don't want no poof on my team!"

"She'll be fine." Sam assured him, taking the paper off Chris to have flick through himself. "Hopefully, he'll open up to her, maybe even say something incriminating. All this business with Tom Parlin's in the newspaper, it's everywhere Gene, people are always picking neutral topics of conversation on first dates." He said, gesturing towards page ten where the victim's family could be seen burying him in black and white.

"You would talk about some dead drugged-up kid on a first date?" The Guv asked, dismayed, his famous eyebrow raised. "A word of warning, never let Cartwright go."

"We don't know he was drugged-up." Sam protested, withdrawn as he went to the sports pages.

"Sam when are you and Drake going to get this through your thick heads?" Gene sighed, bored at having to repeat himself to his Inspectors, "the boys the bloody victim in this stop pointing your fat fingers at everyone."

"She wasn't pointing..." He trailed off, knowing there was no point. "Is this because you and his mum used to be lovers?"

"Lovers?" The Guv repeated, as if he'd never heard the world before. "A quick little shuffle does not class as love."

Sam raised a sceptical eyebrow, knowing the Guv cared about the case. "Look, Ivy's had a tough time of it. First her husband dies, now Tommy - she's been having money troubles, that's why she's living with her sister."

"Money troubles? But they had the funeral today."

"What? Yes, I know - coroner let him go, we had all your much-loved evidence that we needed from the body, they do that you know Tyler show emotion for things."

"Didn't know you knew the meaning of the word." Sam muttered at Gene's mention of emotion.
"No, wait!" Sam had a quick intake of breath, flipping the paper back to page ten and holding it out for the Guv, " - look, that's why it was in the paper again, 'cause of the funeral."

"And?" Gene said giving it a quick glance then looking back towards Drake, still worried.

Sam shook the paper to get his attention. "A horse-drawn hearse, a Rolls for his nearest and dearest. Where would they get the money for that Guv?"

Gene clicked his tongue, looking between the paper and Tyler, realising stuff wasn't beginning to add up.
And, even more annoyingly, Drake might have had a good reason for dragging Ivy in.

"Shit." He cursed, turning on the engine, tearing the paper off Sam and throwing it back on to Chris and Ray. "Oi, Christopher and Raymondo rise and shine!" He bellowed, not waiting for them to really come to. "Out! Now!"

"Guv?" Chris asked, clearing his throat, stretching from his late nap.

Sam passed them back the radio hooked up to Alex's wire. "Get in the squad van, keep listening to her transmission, radio if there's any problem." Quickly shoving them out, with everything they needed.

Ray nodded, dazed but accepting enough. "Where you going, Guv?"

"To see if old Ivy's up for a repeat performance."