There was nothing much on the television that evening and Alex Drake sat relaxing on her sofa with what remained of a hot mug of tea.
She had not long ago finished work and had decided she would have half and hour or so to herself, and maybe grab a snack, before going down to Luigi's to join the rest of the team from CID for the usual evening of drinks.
With nothing on the television, Alex leant over to pick up a magazine she had discarded on the floor the previous evening.
"That's odd...", Alex muttered.
There was no magazine on the floor, only her white boots which she had casually chucked to one side upon her arrival back at her flat after work.
Alex looked around, mystified as to where she had put it.
She was sure she had tossed it on the floor last night, absolutely certain.
Alex got up and looked around the room. The lights were down low in a relaxing atmosphere.
There it was, on the other side of the room.
The magazine sat near the wall upon which hung the calendars Alex had been marking off, day by day, up to the date of the Prices' murder. The murder she had been unable to prevent.
Despite failing, she hadn't taken it down. It, the newspaper clippings and the Prices' telephone number which she had taken from the body of Martin Kennedy were still stuck to the wall.
Alex frowned, confused. There was no way she had put the magazine there or even dropped it.
Slowly, she wandered into her kitchen and looked around.
Things didn't look quite right there either.
A coffee jar was slightly more to the left than it should be, a folder of paperwork that she had meant to return to the office last week looked as if it had been opened up and flicked through.
The more she looked, the more she found.
It was just small things, objects slightly out of place, things you might ordinarily overlook.
Drawers didn't look quite right, as if things had been looked through.
It reminded Alex of subtle police searches that were sometimes carried out without the suspect being aware.
Alex didn't understand.
Either she had overworked herself lately and was simply imagining this, or someone had been in her flat.
"But why?" Alex pondered, feeling distinctly uncomfortable with the idea.
A moment later a possible answer dawned on Alex.
Perhaps, as landlord, Luigi had made an inspection of the flat?
It was possible and he was entitled to. She would ask him down in the bar.
Perhaps he had not been able to inform her in advance because she had been at work, or he had simply forgotten.
Any other explanation would be too far fetched, it had to be Luigi and maybe he would mention it tonight.
With that, Alex returned to the other room and pulled her discarded boots back on.
She grabbed her white jacket, put it on, and ventured out of her flat towards to the bar.
As she entered the bar, the raucous noise of the CID members mocking Luigi's Italian accent was immediately audible.
"That is-a very funny one Chris", poor Luigi responded across the bar to yet another of Chris's bad jokes.
Alex wandered in, taking in the usual scene.
CID were gathered around a large table. Some were chatting, some were singing, and Chris and Ray were now racing each other to see who could down a pint in one go the fastest.
Chris suddenly spluttered and tried not to cough beer down his shirt, still a quarter of a pint left in his glass.
Ray polished off the rest of his in mere moments.
"You twonk", he said to the defeated Chris.
Chris continued to cough, having learned that beer doesn't go down a windpipe too well.
Nothing unusual was going on there then.
Alex looked across the room slowly and saw Gene sat in the corner at his lonesome table, a bottle of red sat in front of him already open.
She had caught him, all be it momentarily, looking at her in great detail as if studying her form closely.
The moment he had realised she had looked his way he reigned in his wandering eyes.
Alex suppressed a grin. It wasn't the first time she had noticed how he looked at her when he thought she wouldn't notice.
She began to wonder towards Gene and he, in turn, raised an empty glass in the offer of a drink.
Alex simply smiled and nodded her acceptance as she reached the table and sat herself down as Gene began to pour the drink for her.
The glass was soon filled to the rim and Gene placed the bottle lightly back down on the table.
Alex slowly took a careful sip as she tried not to spill anything from the very full glass.
"That's better", Alex said approvingly as the comforting taste of the red wine hit her.
Gene raised his own glass and knocked back what remained in it, as he was already a glass and a half ahead of Alex.
"Go on then, what is it Sulky knickers?" Gene put the glass back down and enquired.
Alex looked confused at him as she sipped again at her now formerly full glass, "What's what?"
"You've wandered in glarin' all round the place like a cat lookin' for a mouse and barely said a word", Gene explained his observation. "You've normally said something daft or patronising by now you know Bolly".
Alex took in Gene's words, he had indeed made a very good observation of her behaviour and body language.
Could it be he was learning from her, as he put it, 'psychiatry'?
"I just wanted a word with Luigi", Alex said, "when he's got a moment that is".
"Oh yeah?", Gene said as he refilled his own glass, "Got a bit of a thing for the old Mafioso suddenly have we?".
Alex tutted.
"Gene...", Alex began and paused for a moment, "...I think someone's been in my flat".
Gene frowned in thought as he listened. That hadn't been quite what he had been expecting.
"There's things out of place, small things, like someone's had a look around but tried to hide the fact", Alex explained quietly, trying not to draw attention.
"And you think ol' Uncle Luigi's been perving through your underwear drawer?", Gene enquired, his eyes now focusing firmly on Luigi who was struggling over to the CID crowd carrying a tray holding several pint glasses of beer.
"No, no...", Alex shook her head knowing full well that Gene would have the Italian over the table by the throat if he thought that's what he had been doing.
"Well, what then?" Gene demanded as he began glass number three.
"Well he is the landlord", Alex explained, "I just wondered if he'd perhaps made a spot check, you know, an inspection of the flat".
"Shall we find out?", Gene shrugged and sat up, "OI! LUIGI! OVER 'ERE!".
"One moment Signor Hunt", Luigi said apologetically as he unloaded pint of beer, after pint of beer, after pint of beer to the CID table.
The Italian then scurried back to the bar, placed his tray down and then hurried over towards Gene and Alex.
He smiled as he reached their table.
"Signorina Drake, Signor Hunt", he began, "more wine maybe?"
"Luigi", Gene began in a very matter of fact tone and with absolutely zero tact, "My D.I here would like to know if you've been up in 'er flat snooping through her knicker drawer?".
Luigi looked very confused, as if he wasn't sure if there had been some joke that had got lost in translation.
Gene's bluntness caused Alex to almost choke on her wine.
"No, no, no", she protested, "Ignore D.C.I Hunt, please".
Luigi still held his smile, although he was clearly baffled by the conversation.
"Luigi,there are a few things out of place in my flat", Alex began, "Nothing major, nothing missing. I just wondered if you had been in? Maybe you had been in for an inspection? You are the landlord after all".
"No, no Signorina Drake", Luigi replied now understanding and his voice sounding full of concern, "No I promise. I haven't been into your flat".
"It's okay Luigi", Alex smiled having watched his body language, "I believe you".
Everything about Luigi's reaction convinced Alex that he was genuine.
He really hadn't been into her flat uninvited.
"Are you absolutely sure Signorina Drake?", Luigi asked quietly.
"That's just it Luigi", Alex answered, a little frustrated, "I'm reasonably sure but I can't prove it".
Luigi thought for a moment.
"I know", he began, "you forget about it for now and if it happen again, we get Signor Hunt here to investigate, Si?".
Reluctantly Alex nodded.
She knew she wasn't wrong but, as Luigi had pointed out, there wasn't much that could be done unless it happened again and Alex could be one hundred percent sure.
Luigi nodded to them both, made a slight bow and walked back to the bar.
"Well if it's not him...", Alex began more to herself than anyone else, "...then who is it?".
Gene sat in front of her, his expression neutral.
His elbow sat on the table and his hand held his chin as he watched Alex.
"Are you sure...", he began as he picked the wine bottle up slightly off the table and waved it in front of his D.I's face, "that's it's not simply a case of you having had a little too much of this during the week Bolls?".
"I'm telling you Gene", Alex insisted sincerely and looking him in the eyes, "someone has definitely been in my flat".
"But nothing's been taken, no forced entry?", Gene countered.
Alex sighed.
"I know it sounds crazy", she reluctantly agreed, "but I know I'm not imagining it".
"Want to make it official?" Gene suggested, it was the only course of action he could think of.
"I can't, can I?" Alex huffed lightly, "There's no evidence as such, just things I know aren't right".
Neither of them said a word for a few moments.
Alex observed Gene.
Despite his silence, she could clearly see that he was thinking something and that he was pondering whether or not to say it.
"You don't believe me do you?", she said it for him.
Gene looked up immediately.
"I never said that!" he protested.
"You didn't have to", Alex explained, "it's written all over your face".
Gene pouted in thought for a moment before deciding on how to carefully word his response.
"I don't disbelieve you, but I know what you're like when you've had a few", Gene defended his thoughts, "Can you be sure you haven't moved things around after you've put away a few bottles of red down here over the last few nights? You drink like a bloody fish at times!"
"As do you!" Alex defended herself.
She wasn't going to let this degenerate into an argument over who drinks the most so she tried to keep her voice down to an irate whisper.
"I can 'andle it!", Gene simply stated.
"And I can't?" Alex huffed, he was annoying her now.
"Two words to jog your memory missus...", Gene pointed his finger at her to emphasise the point he was about to make, "Thatcherite...Wanker!".
Silence.
Gene knew what he had done, he had realised it the moment he had said it but it had been too late the apply the brakes.
He had overstepped the mark.
The two broke eye contact for a moment.
Gene looked away to the bar for a briefly before he looked back at Alex.
Alex appeared thoughtful, looking at the deep red liquid in her glass.
"That was low..." she simply said very quietly.
Gene sat, mentally kicking himself.
"Look Bolls", he attempted to limit the damage, "That wasn't meant how it sounded".
Gene topped up Alex's glass by way of apology and poured himself another.
He could see that he had verbally kicked her in the gut.
"I meant you're not the first person to get so drunk you can't find things the next day", Gene explained better this time, "Done it me'self, plenty of times. Can't find the car keys the next day...couldn't even find the bloody car one time, parked my old Cortina in the wrong road entirely in Manchester! Looked a right twat when Plods found it in the next road that afternoon!".
Gene saw Alex begin to smile slightly at his words, indicating that he had redeemed himself in her eyes.
"Oh, I don't know what to think now Gene...", Alex reluctantly admitted.
She had to admit that alcohol did have a habit of going straight to her head, and staying there for some time afterwards.
But in her own defence, she knew she hadn't come away from Luigi's in too drunk a state on any night this week. Not 'too' drunk at least.
And the things which were moved were not things she would ordinarily touch after returning from an evening in Luigi's.
Her usual routine was to let herself into her flat, if she could get the key in the lock, kick her boots off, get changed, freshen up, collapse on bed and go to sleep.
She wouldn't go around moving random coffee jars, folders full of paperwork, magazines, etc. And if she did, she was sure she would remember because there would be a reason why.
However, Gene's point about alcohol was valid.
It wasn't entirely inconceivable she supposed, despite her own belief that something odd was going on.
"Look, Luigi's right", Gene admitted, "See if it happens again and if it doesn't then just put it down to being a posh tart who can't hold her drink".
"I suppose I don't have any choice", Alex relented as she began to drink the newly refilled glass.
Gene watched her drink for a moment as he sat there observing his clearly rattled D.I.
"Of course", he announced confidently, "If you'd feel safer, you can always invite a Gene Genie over to stay the night...y'know, just incase".
Alex gave a short laugh.
'That's more like it', Gene thought to himself.
"I'll bear that in mind", Alex smiled.

"So you know what someone's thinking just by looking at them Ma'am?" Shaz had been listening to Alex intently in the CID office the next day.
Shaz had pulled up a chair next to Alex's desk after enquiring exactly what Alex's psychology expertise meant.
"No it's not quite like that Shaz", Alex tried to explain to the WPC.
Alex had been trying to explain how to read body language to Shaz and the young girl seemed very eager to learn and was indeed taking a lot of the information in.
"Okay, watch and learn", Alex smiled to Shaz and got to her feet.
The WPC watched intently as Alex made her way across the CID office and over to Chris who was sat back in his chair, feet up on his desk, eyes closed and with his walkman earphones in his ears.
"Chris?" Alex called as she reached his desk and leant against it with one hand.
No response.
Looking down, Alex selected a pen that was lying on the desk, picked it up and gently tossed it at the DC.
Chris opened his eyes with a start and almost fell backwards off his chair.
"Yess..errr...I...I was just err...just...", the flustered DC waffled.
"Chris, have you got that report on that car thief?" Alex enquired, "the one I asked for an hour ago?"
Chris's eyes bulged as he realised he hadn't finished writing it.
He backed away slightly, scraped his chair along the floor and nervously folded his arms across his chest.
"I err", Chris continued to fluff his words, "I think I forgot after I went for a Mars bar".
"Well get it finished ASAP please", Alex said looking down at Chris.
"Yes ma'am", Chris nodded and began fumbling through the paperwork on his desk.
Alex turned and walked back to her own desk, aiming a mischievous grin at Shaz who was returning one of her own.
As Alex sat down again she began to quiz Shaz.
"Now, did you watch all of that carefully Shaz?", Alex asked.
"Yes ma'am", Shaz nodded sounding intrigued, "I fink so".
"Right", Alex began, "When Chris realised he'd been caught out, how did he react?".
"Well he backed away ma'am", Shaz recalled, playing the scene over again in her mind.
"Correct", Alex nodded, pleased with Shaz's observation, "he was in the wrong, he was guilty, he backed away, cowered away. He wanted to avoid confrontation".
Shaz smiled, very pleased with herself.
"Anything else?", Alex quized.
Shaz thought, trying to remember.
"Errrm, he folded his arms ma'am?"
"Exactly", Alex smiled, extremely impressed.
"By folding his arms, Chris formed a defensive barrier between him and myself", Alex explained.
Shaz was fascinated.
"Oh I see", she excalimed, "So it's like he's hiding behind somethin'?".
"In a way yes", Alex nodded, "and it all comes from the subconscious, nobody actually thinks about what thier body language is saying".
"So am I saying anythin' now Ma'am?" Shaz pondered as she sat alongside Alex's desk.
Alex nodded, "Very much so, Shaz. You're sat upright, not slouching, and you're leaning inwards to the conversation".
"What does that mean then?" Shaz wondered, amazed that even she was being 'read' in this almost magical way.
"It means that you are interested in this conversation Shaz", Alex continued, "You're not bored, you're taking every detail in".
"Wowwww...", Shaz was genuinely impressed.
"If you're really that interested Shaz, I can teach you some more another day", Alex offered, "It can be very useful in police work and even everyday life".
"That'd be great Ma'am", Shaz accepted, "Fanks a lot".
"It's no trouble at all Shaz", Alex responded to the eager young WPC.
Shaz was about to leave Alex's desk when Viv walked in followed by two men.
Viv said nothing and simply escorted them to Gene's office.
He knocked twice on the glass of the door.
Alex observed this from where she sat and saw Gene look up from his paperwork and beckon them in.
She had no idea who they were but as soon as they entered Gene's office they closed the door and both produced Police warrant cards from inside their jackets.
"CID", Alex muttered.
"Not from 'ere", Shaz shook her head.
"Another force or station then", Alex concluded.
They watched with intrigue as the scene continued.
The two mystery CID appeared to be introducing themselves and held their hands out over Gene's desk.
In turn, Gene shook their hands as they continued to introduce themselves.
The conversation could not be heard from outside of Gene's office but the lead mystery CID officer produced some paperwork.
From where she sat, Alex thought it appeared to be an arrest warrant.
She frowned as she watched.
If they were being asked to liaise with another force or station then surely Gene's own D.I should be in there to hear the conversation.
Almost as if he had read her thoughts, Gene looked through the glass of his office and over to Alex.
They made eye contact across the space between them and Alex began to get to her feet.
Suddenly Gene held up a hand, as if indicating for her to halt and stay where she was.
Alex did as she was instructed but didn't understand why. She was convinced however that Gene would explain to her as soon as he had a chance.
Another few moments of observation followed and Alex was shocked to see Gene react to something by suddenly banging his fist down on the desk in anger.
This now caught the attention of the entire department who, until now, had barely registered the arrival of the visitors.
Alex and Shaz both looked to each other.
Alex shrugged. Whatever it was they had just said, it was clear that Gene hadn't liked it.
Voices could now be heard in heated argument although the words themselves could not be made out.
Then, the two CID officers turned to leave.
"Don't you bloody dare!" Gene could then be clearly heard shouting to them, his words now identifiable.
He stood behind his desk, fuming, his face red with anger.
The mystery CID officers opened the door and walked out into the main office.
They looked to one side and focused their attention firmly on Alex, at her desk.
"I'm warnin' you two", Gene thundered from his office and stopped just outside the doorway, "Don't you bloody dare!"
Alex looked at Gene totally mystified.
He looked at her in a way she had never seen before.
He looked angry, so angry, but not at her. In addition to the anger, Gene simply looked powerless.
"D.I Alex Drake?", the lead officer enquired as the two approached her.
"Yes?" Alex frowned in confusion.
"Alex Drake I am arresting you for the murders of Timothy and Caroline Price, and the attempted murder of Alexandra Price. You have the right to remain silent, but anything you do say will be taken down and may be used in evidence against you".
There were gasps and murmurs of surprise and disdain from Gene's own CID.
"What?" Alex felt her pulse race and a feeling of sheer horror wash over her as the words sank in.
"You better know what you're doing pal!" Gene spat at these two intruders with pure venom in his voice.
"Don't worry D.C.I Hunt", The other CID man nodded, "we know exactly what we're doing".
The second CID man took a step towards Alex and gently took her by the arm, urging her to stand.
"Gene I didn't...", Alex protested as she stood, "...I couldn't. Murder?"
"'Course you didn't Bolls", Gene angrily replied, "These morons wouldn't even know their faces from their arses".
The second CID produced his handcuffs from his pockets and nodded to Alex.
She knew the score.
Horrified as she was, she was hardly going to resist arrest.
"Oh come on!" Gene protested, "Is this really necessary?"
Ray moved to stand just behind Gene, his imposing form backing up his boss.
"Bastards!"t he Detective Sergeant stated in a manor he intended to be heard.
"It's okay...", Alex hushed her colleagues with a clearly fake reassurance in her voice, "...really...".
Gene held her gaze as Alex held her wrists out before her, offering them to the visiting CID man with no resistance.
He cuffed her quickly and took hold of her arm, "Come on then".
Alex broke Gene's sharp gaze and simply looked down, the situation being totally unfamiliar to her.
With a slight tug of her arm, the two CID began to walk towards the main door, taking the stunned Alex with them.
"We'll get you out in no time Bolls!" Gene announced with sheer determination in his voice.
"It's a bloody fit up!" Ray added, "Nuthin' better to do!".
The lead CID man stopped at the door and looked back.
"Thank you for your co-operation with our enquiries, D.C.I Hunt", he added with clearly pretend politeness.
The second CID man was just outside the door with Alex, still visible to her colleagues.
Gene had one last thing to add and he wanted Alex to hear it.
"Anything happens to her", he said with a quiet yet menacing tone, "and you won't know what's bloody 'it yer!".
"Good day", Gene's adversary nodded and they continued on their way, the CID door swinging shut behind them.