Neil and Beth on obbo together, things start to happen, but danger is never more than a step away...
I don't own, so don't sue, no currency but pleasure and a large dollop of corn. Dedicated to Elzangel, who put the idea into my head in the first place...
Neil rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. Alone in his flat, he was starting to wonder if this was going to be the pattern of the rest of his life. He loved his son, but his son needed to be with Jake's mother in Spain. So Neil's chances of seeing him were greatly reduced. And he was alone.
There had been no one since Andrea had blown his world and his fast track career out of the water. He found he didn't care. The ruthless ambition had been watered down. He'd arrived at Sun Hill so full of himself, he shuddered with embarrassment remembering himself as the cocky bastard he had been, looking down on the likes of his DCI because of his ropey past. But there was so much more to Jack Meadows than a slightly dodgy career flutter. Even his rivalry with Sam Nixon had mellowed. Their relationship was much warmer these days, one night over a relatively quiet pint, she'd urged him to get involved with someone. Because he shouldn't be alone. He was wasting his life. The serious look in Sam's eyes told him that she wasn't being a busybody, she was really concerned for him.
Even Heaton isn't getting on my nerves as much as he used to. Neil would be the first to admit that he really wasn't all that keen on the Superintendent. He'd thought at first that the man was a glory seeker, just wanting to push Neil's buttons to force him into a mistake. It turned out that the man was pushing Neil's buttons merely to try and figure him out. Neil didn't know whether to be revolted or relieved.
His thoughts turned to a slightly more intriguing matter, PC Beth Green. A probationer, young and determined, she'd faced down a man during an attempted acid attack. He recalled her coolness under fire, she'd held her ground, even though she could easily have been seriously injured and disfigured for life. Now she'd been wished upon him in an obbo. They were supposed to pose as boyfriend and girlfriend, living the flash lifestyle, attracting a more evil class of burglar. Five attacks in eight weeks. Young well to do couples in very posh houses. Same MO, violent attacks, the occupants tied up, the house ransacked, the safe cracked and then they were getting away with a fortune in jewelery, cash and other small valuables. In and out. But the last one, the husband had put up a fight and been beaten half to death. Meadows was determined to put a stop to it. A last minute obbo, and Neil had put himself in the slot, his back ups being Jo, Terry and Stewart. He needed them on the outside, so Beth was picked, because she was young, pretty and the right type. Now they were going to spend time alone together, and he had to admit he found her attractive.
Neil swung the Mercedes CLS AMG coupe in through the gates. He and Beth were dressed for their parts, his suit was Armani, her little gold knit dress was wickedly expensive by some obscure Italian fashion house that meant nothing to him, but the soft colour did wonders for her colouring, bringing out the creaminess of her perfect skin and emphasizing the blueness of her big eyes. They were expected to spend the next three days or so, living the high life, splashing the cash, inviting around some of the people who had been to parties that had a common link with all the victims. As near as they could tell, this was one common denominator. The one thing he had not factored into his game plan was his reaction to his beautiful new partner. In her police uniform, she appeared cute and very young, he could safely write off his attraction to her. But dressed up to the nines, the pretty dress doing a lot for her look, he couldn't write her off as a beautiful woman and that bothered him.
Her voice was soft and sympathetic, she was pretty and feisty, a combination that he had found irresistible in Andrea, and now they were thrust together alone for at least three days. It would be pretty intense.
Beth had noticed him the very first day she'd arrived at Sun Hill And wondered about him, she'd heard he was alone, his wife had left him, and he was now divorced. It seemed sad to her that he was lonely, he was attractive and intelligent, a combination that she found interesting in a man. The couple of times they had been working together, though not one to one as now, she'd had the feeling he was looking at her. A little imp of mischief in her wanted to find out, find out if he was really attracted to her, she wanted to at least get him to smile at her. He was far too serious. So when she'd had to choose clothes for this assignment, and they'd said she could choose almost anything she wanted, within reason, she'd chosen a couple of well cut bikinis to add to her wardrobe.
She smiled when she thought of her new wardrobe, pretty dresses in jewel bright colours, all tight in the right places, she knew that Neil would be taking her out dancing tonight, to one of the other common denominator nightspots that linked all the victims. She had already planned what to wear, and if that didn't bring a smile to his face, she had a few moves on the dance floor in reserve.
Two and half hours later they were on their way. Beth knew she looked very good, the cornflower blue dress was just a simple shift, but it picked up the colour of her eyes, and she'd teamed it with a simple and very pretty pearl necklace worth an absolute fortune, she hadn't missed the instant interest in Neil's eyes when he'd looked at her, part of her was excited that she could inspire that interest from her boss; truth be told, he looked pretty darn good himself. The blue shirt was beautifully cut and obviously expensive, the chinos were just right, teamed with a navy blazer and highly polished black lace ups, from his Rolex watch, to her pearls and little diamond watch by Raymond Weil, they looked the perfect image of the wealthy successful young couple. We even look like we belong together, he'd come up behind her while she was admiring the overall effect in the full length mirror, for a brief moment she'd seen them as others would, as a couple, and she thought they looked really good together.
They looked like they fit together and potentially that is going to be a real problem. He acknowledged that he was very attracted. Dressed up to go out on the town, she was beautiful. Her china doll prettiness emphasized by the well cut dress, the smooth creaminess of her skin picked up by the perfect double string of pearls she'd chosen to wear with the dress. She looks perfect. And when she smiled up at him, he couldn't help smiling back.
By one in the morning he knew he was under siege. She was gorgeous, beautiful, funny, caring and gentle, and he was being drawn in a step at a time. By the time he whirled her onto the dance floor for a slow vertical exploration of a horizontal emotion, he was lost.
Beth was drowning under his gaze, the tug of attraction was insistent. His expression was normally inscrutable, but softened by a night of dancing and drinking, however careful he'd been to back off the alcohol, she knew she wanted to see the real Neil. Not the apparently uptight stuffed shirt he appeared to be at the office, but the gentle, caring and passionate man she had been getting glimpses off all evening.
"They make a striking couple." Jo took a picture just as the DI and PC Green were leaving the club.
"Huh!" Terry grunted and shifted position, his left leg was going numb.
"The DI and Beth." Jo took another look through her viewfinder. "I hope all this is going to be worth the risk, because they're very exposed." A shiver crawled up her back, something wasn't right, she couldn't put her finger on it, but her cast iron copper's instinct could smell trouble in the air.
Terry was tired, and feeling more than a little fed up with this job, he'd had his doubts all along, "nothing's happening. I think this is a bust."
He watched Neil hand Beth into a taxi, and get in beside her. One thing Jo is definitely right about, they do make a good looking couple.
"Shall we call it a night then?" he looked at his companion. "Mickey and Stewart will be taking over at the house. There's nothing here for us."
Jo sighed. On the face of it, he was right. She could hardly call time on a bad feeling. "Okay."
She switched on the engine, and pulled away from their parking spot. They didn't look back, so didn't see the car parked in the shadows on the other side of the road.
Cold watchful eyes watched them disappear and the man made a note in the little book he had open on his lap.