Fic: Another Man's Treasure (Detective!AU) Part 2/3

[goldarrow]

Title: Another Man's Treasure – Part 2
Author: goldarrow
Word Count: 4,027 of 11,603
Characters/Pairing: Nick Cutter, Stephen Hart/Dave “Ditzy” Owen*, Jenny Lewis, Tom Ryan, James Lester, Danny Quinn, Oliver Leek; Ditzy belongs to fredbassett, who kindly lends him out.
Rating: 13
Disclaimer: Primeval belongs to Impossible Pictures, not me. I mean no harm, I make no profit except satisfaction, and I promise to return everyone slightly mussed but in superb spirits once I'm finished with them.
A/N: I don't know much about UK police procedures, so I'm just using what works for this fic.

Prior Parts: Part 1
 

Another Man's Treasure – Part 2

Stephen Hart and Dave Owen stopped down the road from the museum entrance as they saw the detectives exit the building and head toward the nearest car park.

"I hope Sarah's still in a condition to speak to us," Stephen said quietly, knowing that talking to the police could be overwhelming at times.

Dave nodded. "She's pretty resilient. If we catch her quickly, she'll still be thinking about what happened, and so be more likely to remember details."

"Good point." Stephen led the way into the museum, flashing his private investigator credentials to the person manning the entry doors, who nodded and stepped aside for them.

They saw Sarah standing not far from the entrance, looking like someone who'd just been informed of a loved one's demise. The two men shared a glance, then walked straight to her and suggested, in tandem, that she really needed a drink and they'd be happy to provide.

Sarah gave them a slightly watery smile and agreed. But to Stephen's surprise, Sarah didn't head for the café, instead making a beeline for her own office as she started confessing in a rapid babble of words.

"If Connor and I hadn't been talking out of turn, if we'd just thought to look around before we blurted secure information, Levi would still be alive. That woman found out we had the artefact because we couldn't keep our bloody mouths shut."

When they arrived at her office, Sarah strode straight over to the cabinet behind her desk and pulled out a bottle of what Stephen could see was a rather fine single malt whisky. Pouring a large tot, she gulped it down in one swallow. After checking with the men to make sure they didn't want anything, she poured another and downed it just as quickly before replacing the bottle in the cabinet with a sigh of regret.

"So, what do you need to know?" she asked, visibly girding herself.

"First, we need to tell you something," Dave said firmly after receiving a nod from Stephen. "Helen already knew about the artefact, or she wouldn't have been here in the first place. What she overheard from you and Connor wasn't really of any real importance in the grand scheme of things. Know that. And embrace it."

"And also, you're not at fault for Helen's actions," Stephen added quietly. "Everything she did was on her alone. Helen Cutter is bad news. She abandoned her husband and her former life five years ago – for fuck knows what reason – and now she's come back and has already made a load of trouble for everyone who's had contact with her in the past."

Sarah gave a slightly wobbly smile. "Thanks, Stephen, Dave. I've been feeling crappy ever since the robbery, and even more since the police told me who they think did it." She shivered. "That woman gave me the creeps. Now I know why."

Dave and Stephen were still going through everything Sarah remembered about both times she'd seen Helen – with her permission to share anything new that she might remember with the police – when Sarah's assistant came rushing in, almost tripping over his own feet in his haste.

"Sarah, Ms Page! There's been another robbery!" Connor Temple exclaimed as he burst through the door, before slamming to a stop. "Oh, sorry, didn't know you had company."

He started to back out the door, looking abashed, when Sarah waved him in. "It's okay, Conn. Dave and Stephen are investigating the first robbery. What's happened?"

After giving the investigators a slightly dubious look, Connor said, "Another artefact has been found missing. It's connected with the first one, another piece of amber found in the same place, but it's smaller, and they think it has a few strands of woven fabric embedded in it." He glanced at Dave and Stephen again before adding, "They hadn't noticed it was gone before, they were in such a swivet about the USB stick."

Dave and Stephen traded a quick glance, then Dave spoke. "Sarah, I think you need to tell the police about this as soon as you can. Stephen and I were hired to find Helen Cutter, not to solve robberies." He grinned at her. "Besides, I doubt if Detective Inspector Ryan would be very pleased about us trampling all over his investigation."

Sarah smiled weakly. "Thanks, Dave. I'll do that right now. Connor, if you'd stay for a moment whilst I make the call."

Connor nodded, and Stephen and Dave waved as they headed out.

"Keep an eye out, Sarah," Stephen advised before they closed the door. "If you see Helen again, ring the police first, then let us know. Take no chances with the woman. If you can, just pretend you didn't see her. She's dangerous."

Sarah agreed wholeheartedly as she picked up her phone.

"Fuck," Dave stated unequivocally as the left the museum. "This will complicate things even more."

"Yeah," Stephen sighed. "Well, once more unto the breach."

"Lunch first," Dave ordered firmly. "I know how impatient you get when you're hungry."

Stephen snorted. "Takes one to know one. But, yeah, food is calling."

They entered the pub closest to their car park, only to see Cutter with both Jenny and a woman who must be his fiancée Claudia at one table, and Ryan's aide along with Jenny's and another man at a second table. They shared a glance, and headed quickly into the side room, hoping neither group had seen them. Now wasn't the moment to be advertising their presence in the area.

They were lucky, making it to the side room without being noticed, and as they passed through the door they had to chuckle at how concentrated the two groups were on each other.

"Danny's always squawking to me about 'situational awareness'," Dave said with amusement. "Seems he could use a little himself sometimes."

"You have to admit, the sight of two Jenny Lewises would be enough to knock any man off his balance." Stephen took a seat at the table closest to the door and pulled out a menu.

Dave laughed as he did the same.

~*~*~

Both Claudia and Cutter got home from work early that evening, by mutual agreement. After Claudia's successful meeting with Jenny, he realised she was pretty happy with him. But then she asked the question he had hoped she wouldn't.

"You mentioned that your meeting with Jenny was because of the museum robbery," she said softly, running her finger around the edge of her glass to make it chime. He had noticed she was drinking water, but before he could mention it he became side-tracked by her question.

"Yes," he sighed. "And before you have to ask, it wasn't because I knew anything about the robbery. Hart and Owen had found pictures of Helen. A living Helen, photographed in the area of the museum, and it turned out it was around the time of the robbery."

Claudia sat up, aghast, ignoring the robbery information in favour of the simple fact that the photos were of Helen. "Helen is alive? The woman who walked away five years ago, and who had you put through the hell of being a suspect in her murder? That Helen?"

"Yeah, that Helen," he admitted gloomily. "I knew that once they discovered who she was that they would cast a wide net and sooner or later find out that she was around, so I reckoned – or rather Hart and Owen reckoned – that if I sat on the information then I'd be more of a suspect myself. So, we took the stuff to them yesterday afternoon and that's what started this whole brouhaha."

"Poor Nick," Claudia crooned, leaning on his shoulder. "Helen's timing does seem to be horrific. What now?"

He searched for answers in the bottom of his whisky glass, and finally gave up with a shrug when all he saw was amber liquid and thick glass. "Now, I need to find a solicitor to start divorce proceedings. I know she's alive, so I can do that now." He grimaced. "It didn't seem of much use before, when we all thought she was dead."

Claudia shuddered. "That's awful." Then she sat up to look directly at him. "But what will the police think about it when they find out you're actively filing for divorce from their primary suspect?"

Cutter swallowed the last bit of whisky with a weak grin. "They're fine with it. I told DI Ryan what I wanted to do, and he gave me to understand that I'm not a suspect at this time, and in addition, from what he's learned about Helen so far he'd be doing the same thing." Cutter's grin became more natural. "He used fairly forceful language, too."

Laughing in surprise, Claudia stood up. "He sounds a sensible man! Now, I rang my parents from work this afternoon, and they're expecting us for dinner in about half an hour." She took his glass from him, placed it on the coffee table, and held out her hand to pull him to his feet. "I'm driving, so you don't need to keep sober."

"Thanks, lass," he muttered. "Sober isn't what I want to be right now."

"Poor Nick," she crooned as she led him from the house. "Don't worry, you'll probably have fun watching my parents start gobbling when I show them the pictures of Jenny with me at the pub."

That did make him laugh. "They are in for a real surprise."

They pulled up in front of Claudia's parents' place at exactly the planned time. Nick thanked his lucky stars that her parents didn't live in the Wiltshire pile that her grandparents occupied. And he used the mental terms 'pile' and 'occupied' deliberately. Their mansion was one of the listed places, and they actually resided in just one wing, opening the rest to the public in the warmer seasons. And as far as he was concerned, that place had no 'lived in' feel to it at all. Even their private wing was very 'stuffy', very much a period showpiece. He would have hated it.

They greeted Claudia's parents, who had always, luckily, liked Cutter, then entered her parents' warm, unpretentiously decorated house side by side.

After a quiet, simple dinner, which even Cutter had to admit was very nice, they retired to the library for drinks and talk. Claudia had deliberately kept her parents in the dark about the reason for their visit, having merely told them that she and Nick were going to be in the area, and could they stop by.

Once everyone was sat around the fireplace with alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks in hand, Claudia grinned at her parents. "So," she said. "I had a bit of an ulterior motive for coming over tonight."

Her parents traded glances, and her father, Kenneth, smiled back indulgently. "We did rather think that. You don't usually pop in on impulse."

"They have you there." Cutter nudged Claudia, who handed him the mock dirty look he was obviously expecting.

"True." She turned back to her parents and took a deep breath, suddenly seeming nervous. "So," she repeated. "Nick met someone yesterday, and I met her today."

Her parents traded a confused and slightly shocked glance. Cutter suddenly wondered wildly if they were thinking their daughter was about to get involved in a poly relationship or some such thing.

Claudia put her glass down on the coffee table, either having missed the glance or having ignored it. Probably the latter, since Cutter knew she was adept at not noticing things that would side-track her making whatever point she was currently working toward. "I know you have a twin sister, dad," she said softly.

Kenneth raised the art of looking uncomfortable to new heights as his wife reached out to hold his hand. "I – yes, I do," he said, squeezing his wife's hand. "I haven't seen her since our parents – "

"Threw her out?" Claudia stated baldly, and he flinched.

"Yes." He looked sadly at her. "I had no idea where she went when she left us, and I finally gave up looking." He glanced at Cutter for a moment. "We – Diane and I – didn't know any way to hire a private investigator back then, nor did I have the money myself to do so." He examined the gin in his glass. "Not to mention that our parents probably would have kicked us to the kerb immediately if we'd tried."

"I met her daughter today," Claudia said bluntly, again ignoring his statement, probably to help him feel less angsty. Her parents both blanched.

Claudia and Nick had discussed on the way over just how to tell her parents about Jenny, and Claudia had agreed that simplyh ripping off the bandage would probably be the easiest – if not necessarily the smoothest – way to go.

"What?" her parents said quickly and so in tandem that they gaped at each other before returning their attention to Claudia.

"It turns out that your sister's daughter has taken after her father." Claudia smiled at them. "She joined the police force and has done very well. She's about a year older than me and she's already reached Detective Inspector, and is well regarded and respected."

"I am very pleased to hear that," Kenneth said quietly as he relaxed back on the sofa for the first time since Claudia had mentioned a cousin.

"You said you met her?" Claudia's mother, Diane, asked. "What is she like?"

Claudia grinned. "Fun, forceful, fair, and just generally fabulous. As for how she looks, you probably need to brace yourselves."

She turned to Cutter, who took his mobile out and opened the gallery app to the photo that he'd taken in the pub yesterday, of the two women sitting side by side, grinning at the camera. She took the mobile and handed it to her mother.

"Good lord!" Diane gasped at the same time as Kenneth's muttered, "Bloody hell!"

"Claudia, this is absolutely amazing." Kenneth stared wistfully at the photo for another minute before reluctantly passing the mobile back to Cutter.

Cutter glanced at Claudia, who nodded. "Would you like me to send you this picture?" Cutter asked tentatively.

"Yes. Yes, please," Kenneth said longingly before hesitating. "I'm guessing that she's okay with you coming to see us?"

Claudia nodded. "She's happy with it, and she said she'd love to meet you, and with your permission, she'll tell her parents about us and see if they'd like to see you again."

Cutter almost ran when Kenneth dropped his face into his hands and they could see the tears sliding down his cheeks. Diane held him close, also teary-eyed. Claudia reached out to hold Cutter's hand, with a mouthed, "It's okay." He subsided.

After a moment, Kenneth regained control and sat up, wiping his cheeks. "I would love to meet my niece," he said, his voice slightly wobbly. "And if at all possible, I would love even more to see my sister again after all these years."

"That's fab, Dad," Claudia said happily, moving over to his sofa to give him and her mother a hug. "I'll speak to her tomorrow, and we'll set something up."

"Thank you, Claudia," Kenneth said. "You've just given me the best gift ever."

After another round of drinks, Cutter and Claudia headed home.

"That went well," Cutter said, stroking Claudia's hand that was resting on the gearshift knob.

"It really did," she said, her tone slightly watery. "I'm so glad we were able to do this for them." Then she chuckled. "It's the one good thing that's resulted from bloody Helen poking her head out from under her rock."

Cutter burst out laughing at the mental picture engendered by Claudia's words. "Out from under a rock, indeed."

~*~*~

Ryan walked into the small conference room the next morning. DS Lyle and DS Quinn were already there, with their reports on the table in front of them.

"So, any luck with finding Helen Cutter?" Ryan asked as he took his seat at the head of the table.

"Yes, and no," Quinn said with a grimace. "We found where she's been staying, at least up to two days ago, but she left yesterday morning. Checked out with no forwarding address."

"Damn." Ryan leaned back in his seat, stroking his chin as he thought. "So, the next step is – " He stopped speaking as DI Leek entered the room without knocking.

"I'm so sorry to interrupt," Leek said, sounding as always in Ryan's opinion as if he'd just rinsed his mouth out with oil.

"You have something for us?" Ryan signalled Lyle and Quinn to stand down as the two sergeants bridled.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I've managed to find out that Helen Cutter has been staying at a Bed & Breakfast not far from the Natural History Museum." Leek was almost preening as he told them, obviously thinking he'd stolen a march on the other men.

"Yes, we found out the same thing this morning," Ryan said firmly, with an internal grin as Leek started to deflate. "And we've also discovered that Helen Cutter has left that place and has now effectively disappeared again."

"Oh." Leek glared daggers at each man in turn, then turned and stomped out of the room, shoulders tight in fury.

"Don't," Ryan ordered, as Quinn's shoulders started to shake with laughter. "We have enough issues with DI Leek that we don't need to add to them by antagonising him unnecessarily."

Quinn subsided with a shrug. Ryan thanked his lucky stars – for the umpteenth time – that it was DS Lyle who was his partner, not DS Quinn. He wasn't sure just how DI Lewis could stand Quinn for too long a length of time. He'd've thumped the bugger by the end of the first week.

"Lyle?" Ryan turned to his sergeant. "Anything new?"

Lyle nodded with a grin. "I think I've found out something very interesting." He placed a photo of a man on the table. Blond, young, with a rather spoiled, pinched expression on his face. "The owner of the B&B saw this fellow coming and going to Helen Cutter's room a few times before she left. Mostly before the robbery, but only once after." He looked Ryan square in the eyes. "His name is Jack Maitland."

Ryan sat up with a start. "Maitland?" Staring at Lyle, he could feel his expression going feral. "Isn't Hart & Owen's secretary named Maitland?"

Quinn made a face as the information hit him, also. "Yeah. Abby Maitland. Damn, boss, do you think she's in on this?"

Ryan shook his head. "I don't think anything, yet. Or anything about Abby. I do think we need to talk to her, though."

Lyle placed another sheet of paper on the table. "I did a little digging before bringing this in. Jack is definitely Abby's brother."

Sighing, Ryan picked up the photo showing Abby and Jack sitting together in a restaurant. "Have they been in contact recently?"

"Not that we're aware of. This photo is from close to a year ago," Lyle replied. "From all we've been able to find out, Abby hasn't spoken to her brother in about six months. And from all reports, they aren't really close, anyway."

"I'm glad to hear that," Ryan said quietly. "But we do need to check it out." He stood up, taking the photo and adding it to his folder. "Let's go to Hart & Owen, see what Abby has to say." He glanced toward the door. "And let's also make sure that DI Leek isn't on our tails. He's doing his best to interfere, and knowing his usual modus operandi, I don't want him making trouble for innocent people."

"Got it, boss," the two sergeants said in tandem before they all headed for the door.

~*~*~

Stephen glanced at Dave in surprise as Abby announced the visit of DI Ryan and two sergeants.

"Send them in," he said quietly as he and Dave stood to greet the visitors.

Noticing that DS Quinn had remained outside with Abby, who seemed to be taking his presence in her outer office with her usual aplomb, Stephen shook hands with Ryan and Lyle, gesturing them to take seats by the fire.

"I hope we haven’t been stepping on your toes," Dave said seriously as they all sat.

"No, not at all," Ryan replied. "In fact, I wanted to thank you for suggesting that Sarah Page tell us about the second missing item. I'm not sure how much it will affect the investigation itself, but every bit of information is useful."

Stephen smiled. "Yes, we reckoned that if Helen has managed to dispose of the large amber, even finding her with the small bit could help in the end."

"Exactly our thought," Ryan said with a nod, before going solemn. "But, that's not what we wanted to see you about this morning." He glanced at Lyle, who took over.

"We found out that Helen seemed to have an accomplice, or at least a confederate," Lyle said, taking out Jack Maitland's photo and passing it over to Dave. "He's been identified as – "

"Jack Maitland," Dave said with a sigh. "Damn. Poor Abby. She really didn’t need this."

At Ryan and Lyle's dual expressions of confusion, Stephen chimed in. "We know about Abby's brother Jack. He's a fool. Spoiled rotten, so sure that every one of his multiple grandiose plans will make him rich and famous – every time – and in the end he always winds up coming to Abby to bail him out of whatever mess he's made of his latest plot."

"I'm sorry," Ryan said quietly, "I do understand, but we do need to speak to her. If she's heard anything from him recently, it could help."

Without a word, Stephen went to the door and called for Abby to come in. She didn't seem bothered until DS Quinn followed her. At that, her shoulders tightened and she looked questioningly at Dave.

"You're not in trouble, Abby," Dave said with glance at Ryan, who nodded encouragingly. "But we think Jack might be."

Abby dropped into the closest chair, tears filling her eyes. She dropped her face into her hands. "I knew it," she whispered, running her hands through her hair as she looked up again. "The last time I talked to him, about a month ago, he said he was really going to make his fortune this time. I didn't believe him, any more than I've ever believed his stupid plans." She wiped her eyes and looked at Ryan. "What has he done?"

"We don't know for sure," Ryan said, surprising Stephen with his openness. "But we think he's been in contact with Helen Cutter."

Sitting up in surprise, Abby gaped at him. "You think he's involved in the museum robbery?" She glanced wildly at each man in turn.

"We don't have any direct evidence that he was in on the robbery itself, but we're hoping he might be able to give us a clue to Helen's whereabouts," Ryan stated.

Stephen watched as Abby took in that information, and as always, coped with it. "Okay," she said softly, squaring her shoulders. She looked between the men again, and took Stephen's nod to heart. With a sigh, she gave them the last address she had for Jack. "It's about five months old, so I'm not sure if he's still at the place," she added.

"Doesn't matter," Lyle chimed in. "If he's been there recently, we should be able to track him from there."

"Do you need any assistance from us?" Stephen asked before either Dave or Abby could.

"Thanks, but no," Ryan replied. "It might actually be best if he doesn't know where we got the information from." He nodded to Abby. "Not just for your safety, Ms Maitland, but for future reference."

Stephen put his arm around Abby in comfort as she flinched at the implication that they might need her to contact Jack on their behalf at some point.

The three detectives headed out as both Stephen and Dave hugged Abby, who had finally let herself go and was crying softly in their arms.

Part 3

Comments

[telperion-15.livejournal.com]

I was already irritated at Leek butting in, and then you had to bring Jack into it! Worst. Character. Ever! *g* I hope he's mixed up in Helen's plan, and gets his just desserts!

The scene with Claudia's parents was very sweet :)

[goldarrow]

LOL I agree entirely about Jack!
I wanted to slap him and then spank him (and not in a good way)!

Thanks!

[knitekat.livejournal.com]

As if Leek isn't enough, now we have Jack. *hacks up furball*

[goldarrow]

*snorfles*

I'm seeing a trend here... Jack is definitely unpopular!

Thanks!

[knitekat.livejournal.com]

When isn't Jack unpopular?

[fredbassett]

That was a lovely scene with Claudia's parents. Very emotional.

And I wasn't expecting that little weasel Jack Maitland!

[goldarrow]

Thanks!

*g* No one was, even me!

[fififolle]

Bloody hell, poor Abby. This was a really emotional episode. Kenneth knowing his niece is out there, not having seen his twin for so long, blimey. Pass the Kleenex!!!!!

[goldarrow]

*wipes your face*

Thanks!

I was hoping the pathos would work!