Chapter 1

Laura Hobson (Pathologist Oxford CID) and Robbie Lewis (DI Oxford CID)

Dr Laura Hobson was reading the e-mail the CS had sent to her and Robbie:

Hello Dr Hobson, hello DI Lewis,

The MET has invited one team from Oxford to a "Day of Exchange of Experiences". There will be some seminars and rounds of talk during the day and a gala dinner in the evening.

I have decided to send you together with DI Hathaway and DS Maddox. You are an extremely experienced but also quite mixed team age wise.

The occasion will take place Friday next week in London. I have already booked your rooms in the hotel where it takes place. They expect you to arrive on Thursday evening as the first talk on Friday is at 9 am already.

I hope you don´t mind and that it will be a good experience for you all. You will receive an e-mail with all relevant information latest tomorrow.

Best regards,

Jean Innocent

Chief Superintendent Oxford CID

That was the official part of the mail, the post scriptum surely wasn´t.

PS: I have only booked one room for you two, no need to pay for a room nobody is going to sleep in. Jean

Smiling Laura took her phone and exactly in that second it was already ringing.

"Hi Robbie, have you read Jean´s mail?"

"Yes, I have, love. Normally I don´t like events like that but seeing that it is going to be my last and that we are going together it´s not that bad. Guess James isn´t very keen to go though."

"Yes, that will be interesting with him and Lizzie there, should be fun for us at least. Okay have to go. See you later."

"See you, love."

Robbie put the phone down and looked over to his colleagues DI James Hathaway and DS Lizzie Maddox. They were also reading their mails.

Stuart Lafferty (Pathologist MET)

Stuart Lafferty read his mail and was wondering what gave him the honour to attend this so called "Day of Exchange of Experiences" with other Police CIDs. Normally Hillier wasn´t too keen to send him to any meetings or talks knowing that it wasn´t his thing. Then he saw who was going with him and it was clear. DI Tommy Lynley, DS Barbara Havers and DC Winston N´Kata. His best friends at work had gotten him into this.

Seeing that it was already 5 pm and no murder had appeared today he logged out, got his jacket and helmet and went over to the parking place of his motorcycle.

On his ride home through London he thought that he had to check his wardrobe to see if his suit would still fit. Wincing he knew that his wife would make fun of him about this suit for the next days.

Lizzie Maddox (DS Oxford CID)

Lizzie Maddox read the mail her CS had send regarding a "Day of Exchange of Experience". It was the first time that she was invited to an event like that. Until now all her former guvs had thought she wasn´t the right one for such things.

After her first weeks here in Oxford with her new boss DI Hathaway she only wanted to quit but then DI Lewis had come back and after some cleaning thunderstorms and talks it got better and now she didn´t want to go back at all. She liked this lovely old city, her husband had a good job too and after getting to know her colleagues better it was enjoyable.

Okay one of their last cases nearly killed her but she never thought about quitting after it. Robbie and James had been really worried about her and also Laura, Dr Laura Hobson the pathologist and better half of DI Robbie Lewis, had been there for her.

Yes, she really loved her job now and the people she worked with. This day in London sounded like it would going to be an interesting one.

Barbara Havers (DS MET)

Barbara Havers was standing looking at the mirror and herself at Selfridges. What had come over her? After she got the info that she and her colleagues were the chosen team to represent the MET at the "Day of Exchange of Experience" she first felt honoured but then she read about the gala dinner in the evening. That was something so absolutely not her thing.

Having half the day off due to too many over hours she checked her wardrobe and she found the dress she had been wearing at the engagement party of her DI Tommy Lynley years ago. It still fitted but then she found the black dress a bit dull and as she had the whole afternoon for herself she went shopping for a new dress.

And here she was standing in this evening dress the two shop assistants (who could be her daughters and were giggling the whole time) said were perfect for her. She knew that she didn´t had a good taste or knew what was in at the moment (her clothes were all just practical and comfy) but this disaster of quillings and puff sleeves in light pink made her look like….

"What the hell do you think you are doing? She looks like an oversized wedding cake in this dress! Barbara go and get dressed!"

Hearing that voice and looking over her shoulder she gave her saviour a small smile and went back into the dressing room and got out of this nightmare. While putting on her own clothes she heard the ongoing triad: "You two should really reconsider your job. You're here to help people getting dressed properly and not to get your shopkeepers sold to the next best one. How could you give someone with red hair a pink dress? Oh there you are, let us go."

"Thanks" was all Barbara managed looking thankfully at Dorothy Lynley, her DI`s mother.

"You´re welcome. Okay, there is a nice little tearoom just around the corner, you look like you could use one and then you can tell me what all this was about."

James Hathaway (DI Oxford CID)

DI James Hathaway was looking at his monitor for a long time after reading the mail. He knew there was no way out of this. The CS ordered them to go and they had to go. She had made it quite clear in her mail that she expected them all to go without exception and that she would only accept death or something similar as excuse.

At least he would be going with colleagues he liked. More than liked to be correct as Robbie and Laura were his friends nearly family to him. And Lizzie? He had come to like his DS too. So perhaps it would be a nice change to go…at least he could try to convince himself to think so.

Winston N'Kata (DC MET)

Winston N´Kata was more than proud to be under the selected team for this big MET event. He knew that it was most likely that DI Lynley had insisted on his team to attend this with him but nevertheless his mother would be really proud of him. And who knows what would come out of this…

Tommy Lynley (DI MET)

Tommy Lynley was in a way looking forward to the "Day of Exchange of Experience". Not that he liked seminars and talks that much but thinking about the evening event, this gala dinner would give him the chance to dance with his sergeant. He knew that Barbara was dreading galas like that but having no excuse she would be there. He had noticed this last few weeks that she was so much more than just a working partner for him. She was his best friend, his steady rock and he was now hoping for a chance to show her how he felt.

A/N: This is a kind of introduction of most people who will be involved in this story, please let me know what you think of it, can it work out?