Chapter Two

Daniel leafed through the haphazard casenotes, they didn't seem to be in any order that he understood. He finally found the section of notes belonging to his predecessor regarding Thomas Ryan. From what Daniel read of the man's bare notes and 'evidence' all he had to go on was that the victims had all been on the same football team in college. Thomas had had some kind of competitive rivalry with the senior squad, being the only first year. "It's a flimsy motive" he muttered to himself scratching his chin. He missed his beard. "Sawyer?!" he called out, making Andy jump.

"Yes Sir?" Sawyer answered walking in the door. Daniel pointed to the file.

"Any idea what order this is in?" he frowned as Andy walked in front of Sawyer, who didn't react. Andy grinned back at him.

"Oh, um, in order of who was assigned to the case Sir. I only got it back off the internal investigative team this morning. They had to make a copy." Sawyer shifted nervously from foot to foot. "Sorry, Sir." Daniel shook his head.

"Don't be. This was all a bit rushed I suppose. You said Christopher Riordan was in two?" gathering up the file he stood and walked past her out the door, Andy following closely.

"One, Sir." Sawyer was just behind him. "I've also set up a pinboard in the briefing room."

"Mmm good." Daniel mumbled still looking at the open file in his hands.

"Sir?"

Daniel stopped, looking back at Sawyer "Yes?"

"It's this door." She pointed to the door on her left. Daniel nodded and walked back.

"Yes, I see, with the number one on the door, gotcha." He pushed open the door and walked in. The room was identical to the one Tyler was in, right down the wobbling chair.

"Christopher?" Daniel looked across at the burly twenty year old. The casenotes mentioned he was a rugby player and he looked it. Tall and broad with a yellow-green bruise across his left eye and temple, which masked his freckles and clashed with his ginger hair. Chris was bigger than the detective and Daniel had no doubt Chris could knock him flat on his back with one punch. Christopher eyed the Detective and popped his gum.

"Yeah," He leaned back in his chair, popping the gum again.

"Can you spit that out, please." Daniel kept his voice level, adjusting the folder in front of him. Christopher looked Daniel in the eye.

"Why? Does it annoy you?" Pop! Daniel leant his elbows on the table, bringing his fingers together in a steeple.

"We're trying to have a conversation and it's rude."

Christopher cocked his head back and laughed. "No, you're trying to have a conversation. I'm just sitting here. Last time I had a conversation with one of you lot, you took what I said out of context and arrested my friend." Christopher glared at Daniel. Daniel shrugged.

"I moved here two days ago. So I don't entirely know who 'you lot' is but certainly not me. I get lost going to the shop.The bin is in the corner." Chris scoffed.

"You lot! The Shades, the police. Whatever," he rolled his eyes and popped the gum again.

"He's being a dick," Andy stated. She was standing to the side of the desk, arms crossed, and glaring angrily at Chris.

"Spit it out." Daniel made eye contact with Christopher. Pop!

"What, would you prefer if I smoked?!"

Andy leant forwards and pointed a finger in his face. "You don't smoke!"

Daniel sat back in his chair maintaining eye contact. "You don't smoke Christopher"

"How would you know!"

"Team sports. You wouldn't waste your chances at a career on a cigarette, would you?" Daniel walked over and picked up the bin, placing it on the table in front of Chris.

"Spit or swallow Chris, I'm not giving you another option here." Daniel clapped him on the back and Christopher lurched forwards, the gum falling from his mouth. "Good lad. Now that that unpleasantness is over with—" Daniel put the bin away and sat back down "Whose idea was it to go to Hodder's Wood last night?"

Chris sighed. "I don't know, exactly."

"Christopher-" The rugby player slammed his fists down on the table and leant towards the Detective.

"No, really I don't know! We were all in the room talking at the same time." Chris ran a hand through his curly hair. "I've been thinking ever since I got closed in here. Who shot her? Did Ty? No, he idolised her. Sam was with me and Andy was the one who suggested we look for Tommy to begin with! I just don't know." Chris put his head down hard, hitting it off the table and staying there. "Ow."

"You got to stop hitting your head," Andy said, shaking her head at him. "He's not wrong though. It was my idea to go looking for Tommy but we were trying to figure out where he would go and someone mentioned camping," Andy paused as Chris lifted his head and rubbed the bump tenderly, frowning at Daniel. She took a breath, though Daniel couldn't imagine her lungs needing any air. "Then someone called out Hodder's Wood," she frowned at Daniel. "Actually, it might have been two people, one softly then another louder..." Andy shrugged and sat against the end of the table. "Dead brain, not so good at remembering," she tapped her temple and laughed at her own joke. Daniel rolled his eyes.

"I'm not lying to you!" Chris burst out. Daniel put a hand to his own forehead.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, it's just frustrating as I'm sure you can understand." Daniel pushed around a few of the casenotes. "You and Thomas were in the same secondary school?"

"Yeah, we both boarded and stayed most weekends for matches. We were the only two from our area so we got pretty close."

"And Andrea? How did you both know her?"

"Andy and I grew up together, she was like my sister. We went to primary with Tommy, but Andy only became friends with him after I started getting to know him in secondary. He was just always around the house when she'd call over during the summer. They did get on like a house on fire though," Chris laughed lightly. Daniel watched him.

"Do you think Tommy killed her?"

"No way!" Chris got quite animated, leaning over the table, gesturing with his hands as he spoke. "Firstly, they dated. They broke up months ago and it was totally amicable, they were really close by the end of everything." Chris bit his lip and continued, "Secondly, Tyler told me how she was when he found her. Those carvings in her hands..." he shook his head, as if to clear the image from his mind. "Tommy couldn't have done that. He faints at the sight of blood. So much as a papercut and that guy goes down like a sack of spuds. There's no way." Daniel made note of that, he'd have to see if it was noted in any of the casenotes. Somehow, he doubted it. He closed the file and stood up.

"Well Chris, I think that's enough for now. Tyler is in the room down the hall. The one with the number one on the door," He held up a finger. "Why don't you go in and I'll have the sergeant bring ye both some tea," Daniel opened the door.

"Hey Detective?"

"Yes?"

"You're kind of weird."

"I suppose so," Daniel shut the door behind him. Andy followed through the brick wall.

"You are a bit weird Detective."

Daniel laughed, "Well you are here, so yeah." Sawyer's head popped out of the kitchen door, a confused look on her face.

"Are you talking to yourself, Sir?" Daniel shrugged, walking past her into the kitchen.

"I guess I am." He spotted a take-away coffee cup on the table. "Ooh, for me?" Daniel plopped down into the chair.

"Yes Sir, I got it across the road."

"You're an Angel. I'm going to head into the briefing room and try to organise this mess of notes. I swear it's like a five thousand piece jigsaw puzzle missing the corner pieces. I don't know where to bloody start. Did you get yourself a coffee?"

"I did, Sir."

"Good, could you make the boys some tea? Sit with them a while and see if they relax a bit." Daniel sipped the coffee and sighed " We should get Tyler's sister Samantha in too. According to Chris she was also there last night"

"Are you sure we should have them together Sir? " Sawyer frowned, lighting the gas under the kettle.

"Well they both have iron clad alibis for the first lot of murders this year. Plus, seeing as the signature wasn't leaked to the media, I don't see any risk in it" Daniel knocked back his coffee and left the room.

"Time to decipher this mess, ghosty" Daniel said in a low voice entering the small, dimly light briefing room.

"Who said I was a ghost?" Andy smirked passing through his right side.

Daniel shivered.