14I forgot to mention that I'm intending to link a chapter with a Bowie song and name said chapter after said song, the key word here being 'intending' I may just pull it off...Somehow.
"There you are," Shaz put a mug besides Frankie, "Tea, two sugars." She smiled kindly and walked back to her desk. Frankie was staring across CID, to the far side of the room; Alex doubted that she had even heard Shaz. She had pulled up a chair next to Alex's desk and was refusing to move or speak. She had given Gene's coat back, by give Alex meant that she'd shoved it into his hands without saying a word.
She had been helping, though. She'd muttered out a couple of words once they'd gotten her into the station and had even gave a grumpy 'Serves you bloody right' to Ray and his bleeding nose. Asking her questions weren't easy, she wouldn't make eye contact and she and Gene had to strain to hear her.
The woman was Rose Ellis, a mother of one who had moved down south from Liverpool after she had gotten pregnant. Rose was an only child and her parents were dead, Frankie did not know who her father was. She had two jobs; she worked mornings at the local supermarket as a checkout girl and afternoons as a waitress.
Gene had cleared his throat and asked Frankie if she had anywhere to stay. She hadn't.
The neighbours insisted that they didn't hear anything, that they hadn't seen Rose since the night before when she had staggered into her flat, either really drunk or really tired. Frankie had yet to be asked about that, something told Alex that she would not take it well.
She'd also started to call Alex and Gene Guv and Ma'm, despite Alex's attempts to tell her that she could call her by her first name. She had been ignored.
She'd seen this sort of thing before. Frankie was trying to keep away from authority figures, as they reminded her of her mother. She seemed to be dealing with the grieving by severing herself from any ties to her old family life and keeping up the formalities seemed to be doing just that. If Alex could make her see that she could be regarded as a friend, as an equal and to call her by her name then she may have a chance to get closer to the girl.
Gene had told her that Frankie was just getting in line with everyone else, fitting in and that. Not that it seemed to be working; it was hard to overlook the teenage girl that had now taken up residence in the Criminal Investigation Department of Fenchurch East. And it was even harder to look over the photos forensics had taken at the crime scene when she was sitting right next to you, no matter how zoned out she was.
Alex put the photos down and looked besides her, Frankie had noticed she was being stared at and met her gaze for the first time.
"What?" She asked in a typically moody teenage manner.
"What did you eat for breakfast today?" Alex inquired, she doubted a girl like Frankie was the sort to sit down at a table and eat a proper meal.
"Two digestive biscuits 'n' the rest o' the milk from the bottle."
"That's no way to start the morning, hasn't anyone told you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day?" She raised an eyebrow and got a sour faced scowl in return.
"No."
Alex stood up and got her jacket from the back of her chair, "Have you ever had pizza for breakfast?"
"No."
"Do you want to?"
Frankie got up steadily and the right corner of her mouth turned upwards in a smile, "Yeh." She looked over at Gene's office, "We need ter tell the guv, right?"
"Yes, I doubt we could sneak off without him knowing. He won't say no, anyway."
"You two aren't going anywhere." Gene slammed his glass of whiskey down on his desk and Alex jumped slightly at the noise it made.
"Why not?" She exclaimed, "She needs to be taken out of this environment, Gene. If I sat her down, bought her a meal then maybe she'll open up and tell us about the last time she saw her mother."
"Bolls, she's a tough kid. Let 'er finish 'er tea, 'ave another cry 'n' then we'll ask 'er some more questions."
"I'll only be taking her across the road and while we're talking you and the rest of the team can go down to the morgue and-"
"No chance, you and Frankie are stayin' 'ere."
Alex snapped the collar of her leather jacket up and stormed out of Gene's office to where Frankie was waiting patiently by her desk.
"We not goin' then?" She asked, her blue eyes were soft with disappointment. Alex paused for a moment and took in the young girl's sad expression before shrugging.
"Whoever said we weren't going?" She nodded her head towards the door, "Come on." Frankie gave her a real grin this time and followed her out og CID, Alex paused as she opened the door and looked over at Gene, he was staring right at her and she swore she could see a whisp of a smile on his lips. She shook her head slightly and joined Frankie again, the guv didn't give her a smile very often and he defiantly wouldn't give her one when she was halfway through disobeying him. Right?
Gene watched as his DI completely disobeyed him, he didn't realise that he was smiling until she turned to look at him. There she was, his Bolly-Kecks, waltzing out of CID to buy a kid a pizza. And she knew full bloody well that she'd get a bollocking when she got back. But did she care? Oh no. She was just bothered about Frankie. He wasn't surprised, hell, he expected her to ignore him. Maybe even hoped. That was just who she was.
He watched as she moved her head, making her curls bounce around before following the kid out of the door. And then he poured himself another drink. If she came back with a statement from Frankie then he may just kiss her there and then.
And then receive another one of her Alex Drake signature punches.
Luigi's was near enough deserted, apart from the two females that sat in a corner, enjoying a plate of pizza and a bowl of pasta. Luigi himself was standing behind the bar, watching the customers with anxiety, he wanted to impress his new dinner.
"So," Alex asked as she gathered some spaghetti, trying to push Ray's earlier comment out of her mind. "What music are you into?"
"I were raised on Bowie 'n' that. The Jam's pretty good too, I listen to a bit 'o' Motor'ead as well." Frankie mumbled with a mouthful of pizza.
"Yes, I saw a few Bowie posters in your room. Do you really have nowhere to stay?"
"No." Was all the girl said. A silence passed between them both until Frankie spoke up again. "Ma'm?"
"Hmm?"
"Will I have to do a proper interview, like?"
"Well, I was planning on doing it informally-"
"Like now?"
Alex put her fork down and gave her a empathetic look, "You can tell me anything you want, whenever you want. Do you understand, Frankie?"
"Right then." She watched as Frankie rifled around in the denim jacket she had hung on the back of her chair, before eventually pulling out a biro. "Never know when yer might need one." She said with a grim smile, passing the pen to Alex who took it hesitantly.
"What am I-"
"Shut up and let me talk, jot it down on a napkin or somink. Mam came 'ome late last night, she's been doin' that alot, my guess is she got another job 'n' didn't wanna tell me. She's like that, she keeps stuff away from me."
"You don't have to-"
"Ma'm, be quiet. I'd stayed up so I could see 'er to bed, sometimes she's so tired she don't know where to go. I let 'er sleep in my bed 'n' I took the sofa."
She paused and observed Alex as she scribbled it down on the paper napkin in front of her.
"She woke up in the morning earlier than me 'n' she looked proper pale so I told 'er that she should pull a sickie but she wouldn't 'ave none of it, said she need ter get out o' the flat. So I says that-" Her voice broke unexpectedly and Alex looked up, "-So I says that if she drops dead in middle o' Asda then she can't bloody well blame me." She moved her hand to touch Frankie's forearm, the girl looked up and swiped her eyes with the back of her free hand. "And she told me that she only works so bloody much 'cos o' me."
"Oh Frankie..." Was all Alex could muster, because she too was in danger of crying.
"D'ya reckon that-that if I'd o' stayed upstairs and 'ad seen 'er off to work that-"
"No." Alex cut her off firmly. "It wasn't your fault." Frankie sat back and snatched her arm away, suddenly becoming closed off again.
"'Ow the blood 'ell do you know?"
"Because I blamed myself for my parents' death when I was a young girl and it tore me up inside. In fact," She mused. "I probably still blame myself now."
"Could you o' stopped it?"
"Yes. I believe that I could of."
Frankie stared down at her lap and chewed her lip, "Can we go back to the station?" She said without looking up, "I left me tea there."
Alex smiled warmly, "Yes, we can go back. Listen, sweetheart about what happened-"
"Can we leave it Ma'm? I just wanna get away from it a bit, y'know?"
"Yes, I know."
I just need one day
somewhere far away
Lord I just need one day