This is the final work in Mike and Neil's story. I haven't yet worked out how many parts it will split into, but it's all written. Diane Sutton, formerly Owens, takes over the narration as the SCRU goes after Nigel.

Please be aware the direct reference is made to suicide here, along with particularly nasty harassment.

CLOSING DOORS
CHAPTER 1
Candice was out with Jon taking a statement in yet another fraud case that had spun off from the Evans building fiddles heap, the gift that simply refused to stop giving, but the rest of us were in. Sammy was in feral mode, which triggered my interest, as it always did. He waved Lexie forward.

“You have the floor. DC Doyle. Go for it”

It was a couple of weeks before I managed to find the right moment to talk with Neil, and I could feel the nerves wrapping themselves into tangles as I did the usual brew in the bunkhouse before his arrival, turning the kettle on as I heard the burble of his big German bike. The weather was not great, so we had the place to ourselves, and I left him to get out of his voluminous waterproofs before opening a pack of back bacon and lighting the hob.

Chapter 2: Trial by Engine Fire

Routine Briefing, Uneven Ground

[Cape May, NJ]

“Mom, what are you doing?” asked Brittany.

Melissa was standing at the window of their apartment, peering into nowhere.

©2025 SammyC

Chapter 22

Willow spent a little while looking at her course notes and the subjects that would round out the year in Music Studies. The first half was called Remix, and the second half was Gamelan, with a group performance listed. She looked up the instruments in a Gamelan band, finding that most of them were percussion, and generally hit with a hammer. That, she thought, may be a hilarious way to end second year.