Hello everybody! This is my first fanfic after fifteen years :) and the very first one in English. And this is my second fic about Dempsey and Makepeace - well, not exactly. The first one was more about the SI-10 squad and it was written in 1989, on paper, right after the show was aired here for the first time. I was a teenager then and the story was naive but my school friends quite enjoyed it :)

I have a draft of this one in my head already but you'll never know how it will evolve… Rather fun and humour than angst and definitely NOT a sad story, as I hate sad stories :) If you think it's worth writing and reading, please review for my pleasure :)

And special thanks to Krato who just told me one day: DO IT! :)

Prologue

Warm evening was quietly falling on London. Harry entered the hallway and closed the door behind her.

For a moment she stood, listening to the silence of the house. Then, slowly, she hung her light summer jacket on the rack and kicked the heels off. God, finally home, sweet home.

She went to the lounge and with a sigh of relief she sat on the edge of the sofa. She was bone tired. Felt the ache of her entire body, even nails and hair. That's about enough. It was one of the worst days in her career.

That was the job itself: villains, scum bags and their victims. Dark secrets, crimes, cold-bloodedness, mercilessness. Sometimes just small coward people with their hearts sinking in shit. She's been in this business for nearly ten years and she saw so many things that could've broken her into pieces. But she was tough; you must be tough to keep yourself on the surface, to swim and not to sink. She was still able to laugh, enjoy the life, be glad of what it was bringing. So were her colleagues. Sometimes, though, she asked herself: how. How it is still possible. How she can lock a crime file in the cabinet at the end of the day and, joking with guys, she can go to the pub with them, go to a cinema, to a party with friends, or just go home without thinking of the case - only of the dinner, glass of Chardonnay and a long bath before she drifted into quiet sleep.

Not everytime, though.

And not every villain was a real villain…

They all knew DS Adam Austin well; nice guy around thirty, working for the murder squad. He was very popular because of his great sense of humour and joy. So they all were really shocked, completely shocked, when the news spreaded - Adam's wife, Katherine and their two-year-old daughter were killed in a car accident, probably by another driver who didn't stop to help. A hit-and-run.

It had happened at the end of April and all Adam's work colleagues promised to do their best to find the killer as soon as possible.

But so did Adam. And he was always a step ahead of them.

Harry noticed immediately that something wrong must have happened: Dempsey answered the phone, after a second he said: "Hi Adam" friendly but then his face suddenly tensed and got pale grey. She had seen his face like that only two or three times before. Slowly, very slowly he dropped the receiver down without putting it on a cradle.

"Dempsey?" she asked with a kind of fear. "What's going on?"

He looked at her with a look that frozen her to the bone, and then took a deep breath and stood abruptly.

"Let's go" he demanded with cracked voice. "Now!"

She hasn't asked about anything; threw herself to the door following him. It was obvious for her there was no time for questions. Anyway, in a while she knew already everything.

Adam has found the driver and shot him.

When Dempsey told her that, running to the car park, she couldn't believe it. It was too much to be understood. But although the reality was cruel and horrible, it was the reality.

With all her presence of mind, she grabbed his arm and pushed him to her car, to the side of the passenger seat; she was sure he shouldn't drive now. Her car literally jumped out from the parking to the street.

"He said 'Jim, I got the bastard' " Dempsey's voice was barely audible. "I knew at once whom he was talking about and wanted to ask him what was happening, where they were… And then he added 'and I shot him. I am calling you Jim because I know you will understand' I don't know what he meant but…" he interrupted. "You know…"

She knew. They both returned their thoughts to the day Dempsey nearly did the same: shot an unarmed man in revenge. He was already pulling the trigger when she got there, just in the very nick of time. It was an absolute miracle she managed to stop him. A millisecond that saved him from a lifetime misery.

"Just like he knew."

She glanced at him uncertainly.

"Dempsey, I haven't told him."

"I know you haven't Harry. You haven't told anyone… and neither have I" He looked at her, his look said 'thank you'. He shrugged. "I think the boy just trusts me. But it's a weird feeling, really weird."

When they arrived at the given address in Pimlico, Adam was awaiting them at the front door of a small house. He was smiling lightly, but he looked serious; as if he just resigned to his fate. He let them in. The body of a man was lying in the narrow hallway. A hole in the forehead, almost no blood.

"I am sorry, Harry, Jim, to involve you" he said when Harry suggested them sit in the kitchen and talk. "I know I did something most people take as an unforgivable thing. But you understand, Jim, don't you? You are righteous and brave man. You'd also protect, defend and avenge people you love. You wouldn't let it go. I always knew that."

Harry shivered.

"Adam…" Dempsey has cleared his throat "you know we must take you to the station now, don't you? We need to take you there and then interrogate you."

Adam waved his hand.

"Of course I know, Jim! Justice. I will pay the price for what I have done. Fine with me. I know I will land in prison. But it does not matter. You know, I am dead already, I've been dead since the day this bastard took away all that was precious in my life. It does not matter where I will stay until the day it's really all over" His smile was boyish and sad.

Harry's and Dempsey's eyes met for a long while. Then Dempsey stood up and went to call Chas by RT.

About two hours later, Dempsey and Makepeace returned to the office. In the meantime the boys somehow got to know what had happened but one look at their colleagues' faces told them not to ask. Both went straight to Spikings' office.

After the untypically quiet long discussion, they both returned to their desks and spent the rest of the day in silence.

Later in the evening when the others were off, they sat in the empty office together with Chas and Dave, who had interrogated Adam, and finally they had a chance to discuss it all. However, there wasn't much to discuss. The whole story really made all of them a bit sick. Dempsey was just sitting in his chair, swearing silently, calmly, and without repeating a phrase. Well, he said out loud what they all thought.

A bit reassured to know they all felt the same, they left for home shortly after eight.

Harry changed her clothes, put the kettle on and sat down in the kitchen waiting for water. She'd rather go to bed as soon as possible and drift to sleep just not to think about the mess but it was too early, nine o'clock... She had no idea what to do for the next couple of hours; she thought she needed a company.

In the middle of a working week she did not want to call up any of her old friends… besides, they wouldn't get on what was eating her. Their lives have been slowly drifting apart more and more; all the things that were so nice at weekends and parties, were just an empty colour bubble when it came to real life. Well, there was Angie, with whom it was different, but she was in Canada for a while.

Harry hesitated looking tentatively at the phone. Although she and Dempsey were spending quite much of their off-duty time together - dinner, cinema, a lazy chat in a pub or just a quiet evening at her place - usually she wasn't the one suggesting doing it. She always had a feeling he had better things to do. In fact, he refused only once and it was definitely because of a new girl he had just met.

The thought, as usual, had annoyed her although she always tried not to keep an eye on his miserable love life. Well, anyway, it wasn't something she was interested in.

Oh for goodness sake, whom was she kidding, herself? She just preferred not to know. During all these years she saw some of these girls occasionally and the best she could've done was to restrain herself from any comment. An act of mercy.

"And when he'd once scored a classy, posh American" she thought with sarcasm "she appeared to be a professional killer. Well, what a poor taste he has".

OK, she decided to call him anyway. She owed him that; that day was equally horrible for both of them. She tried to decide what would be the best - a quick drink in a pub somewhere half way or a movie maybe? She had no idea what was on screens these days. OK, pub then. Two glasses of a white and just a chat with someone who understood definitely would help.

Just when she was about to lift the receiver up, the doorbell rang. Standing up she couldn't help but smile.

"Hiya" Dempsey said, coming in, when she opened the door and stood back a little to let him in. "Just thought we needed some wine and company tonight. And a film to watch. Am I right or am I right?"

"Sort of" she nodded with a weak smile, closing the door. "Actually I was thinking about meeting you in a pub."

"A pub came over to you" he lifted his hand showing her a bottle of wine. "Hope this one's fine? And here's the film" he handed her a videotape. "It was bloody difficult to chose something, you know. Stupid comedies don't do tonight, and movies showing the horrible gangs of New York or fair and square cops make me sick. The girl at the video rental was quite helpful, though, and she suggested this one. She said it was so nice she'd like to watch it again."

"Oh I'm sure she would" Harry smirked. She looked at the cover: Stand By Me. "I'm more than sure. Did she mention she'd like watching it again in a nice company, too, and when she'd be off tonight?" They went to the kitchen.

He picked up the gauntlet with delight, as usual when it came to their favourite game.

"Yep, she suggested something like that but I told her I was going to a girl who is very possessive and does not like threesomes."

She studiously rolled her eyes searching the cupboard for the red wine glasses. Well she knew it wouldn't matter to him if she poured the wine into plastic cups, he wouldn't even notice. Not that she had just a single piece of a plastic cup at home... Finally she remembered all glasses were still in the dishwasher.

They haven't even talked much that evening. Knowing each other so well, and for so long, a friendly silence felt to them like a form of a nice chat. Stand By Me did hit the mark: a bit nostalgic, lovely and full of sense of humour they both shared was good enough to make them both feel better. So was her favourite red wine - Harry really appreciated Dempsey still remembered which one it was - and when Harry closed the door when he eventually left right after midnight she was calm, relaxed and ready for the brand new day.

'In fact that's sad' she thought, brushing her teeth 'new day, new case and new challenge to focus on, and in a while we'll all forget this sad story, with four lives ruined or lost. But that's obvious we cannot do anything else about it, just keep on going. Ugh.'

Chapter One

"Seems it's gonna be a lovely summer" Mona Hughes claimed.

They met in the car park of SI10 and were walking to the building together. Indeed, the Monday morning was nice, blue sky, sun shining, warm little wind.

"Good weekend, Harry?"

"Acceptable. Sunday at the swimming pool with two girls from school, that kind of thing, you know."

Mona, Chas Jarvis' girlfriend, worked for Scotland Yard vice squad and cooperated quite often with SI-10. It was nearly two years earlier when she came to their office for the first time and Chas "took his chance", as he used to say. Since then they were quite good couple, very fond of each other, although the fact surprised Harry a bit: quiet, serious Chas, and always cheerful, light-hearted Mona, who always seemed to look only for fun. On the other hand, Mona has proved zillion times she was a damn good cop and she never failed at work. Anyway, though… And Chas was twelve years her senior. Opposites attract?

Chas, of course, was already in the office, reviewing new documents, when they both entered, Mona telling Harry about their weekend at Chas' family in a cottage in the countryside. This was not the most entertaining time, it seemed.

"Next Saturday, let's go all to a club" Mona suggested, closing the door behind them. "Even McDonald's would be more interesting than Chas' uncle Tom and aunt Gloria".

These words were heard by Chas himself and he raised his big brown eyes on her.

"I had told you we could duck out of going there if you liked" he noticed with a reproachful look.

"Yeah, yeah, but then it would be me to hear the ratty remarks from your mum and aunt" Mona snorted, pouring herself a mug of coffee. "It's always a man's girl who is to blame, isn't it, Harry?"

"Why asking me?" Harry laughed lightly, hanging her jacket on a chair backrest. "I don't have a man and I never duck out of going to the countryside."

"Well, I wouldn't, either, if I had a family running a big old estate in Kent."

"Oh I am so sorry I have only a family running a small new cottage near High Wycombe" Chas growled with a bit of sarcasm.

"Well I wish my father had just a cottage near High Wycombe, as then I might avoid a mockery about his estate in Kent" Makepeace said coldly. Seeing their uncertain looks, she left the subject. "Oh come on, we won't argue about our descent, it's so un-English!" she looked around the office. "Speaking of which, where's Dempsey?"

"Went down, to the garage. The guys were to check a thief's car" Chas, as always, knew everything.

"Ah, the burglar of Camden Town" Harry remembered. "Perhaps we'll finally move on. OK, let's see what we got here…" she looked with a bit of anger at a pile of papers on her partner's desk. Neverending story. Harry was always willing to make a lot of concessions to Dempsey regarding work - otherwise it would be impossible to work with him so well - but long ago she had promised to herself never, ever do his paperwork. And of course she failed several times, but always for a reason. Usually she refused when he tried to convince her that she was soooo good at writing things in proper English, and he'd rather do the other fifty percent of their work - that means, the legwork. It made her mad, he knew it and he loved it.

"Joyce Hargraves is allowed visitors" Chas remembered. "She is bored and demands a company, we're going to visit her tonight. Will you join us, Harry?"

"Oh?" Makepeace was surprised. "How is she doing?"

"Quite fine. Well she will stay in the hospital for the next two months or so, and the rehabilitation will be long as well, but at least doctors say she'll be walking on her own again."

"That's great" Mona sighed. "She had really bad luck."

"Just a common risk plus a contumacy" Chas shrugged. "A mishap, that's all."

Harry lowered her head over the papers. She hoped Chas would not ask her again for joining them tonight. She did not wanted to.

Six weeks passed since she had resigned from force and got back. Within these six weeks Harry has carefully packed back all the awkward and disturbing feelings and kept them very deeply, under the lid when they were before. Meeting Joyce could destroy her unstable peace of mind, crumble the façade again. She couldn't afford herself to it. Anyway, the uncomfortable memory of that evening Joyce came to talk to her, was still in her head.

"You are the best policewoman I have ever seen. And you're crazy to throw away your career over a man!"

"I don't want to see him killed…"

"But don't you see - with you he stands the best chance of staying alive!"

Harry couldn't remember herself having that opened up to a hardly known person ever in her life before. And she hoped it would never happen again.

Dempsey hasn't brought up the subject of those days in their talks, never. He didn't even ask her about the real reasons of her resignation! Might he know, she asked herself sometimes. On the one hand it was a kind of relief, on the other hand she was disappointed a bit, however, honestly, she hadn't expected anything in particular. But anyway… All that had happened within that shattering week, what happened on the pier when Daish's car fell into the river, what Dempsey himself blurted out in the moment of desperation - he's just passed over that.

"Well you think I like working in this dump without…"

"Without what?"

"Without you."

Of course he was very glad she decided to return, in fact he was over the moon, he told her that when they were returning to the office - and he also said he wasn't joking or teasing her at all saying he was going to resign from force either. She had no doubt he wasn't - although it was hard to her to imagine it. Well, he'd most likely pack his things and go back to the other side of the pond, to his good old precinct. He was safe since Coltrane had committed suicide in the cell before the trial. But generally speaking, for months no one has raised the subject of his return to the States. It was obvious for everybody he got used to the English life and finally made himself at home so there was no reason to change that, at least not until he was forced to. He said only once that it took a hell of time for his stomach to accept English food and it would be very unwise to expose it to a reversed shock. But usually he didn't talk about it at all.

And she preferred not to ask.

Don't ask - you won't get a response you may not like.

"Harriet!" Lord Winfield stood up from the table, looking with great joy at his daughter coming in. His face beamed with delight. "What a surprise! You said you wouldn't be able to join us tonight due to your job!"

"And that's true, daddy" Harry gave her father a hug and kissed his cheeks. "I can stay till nine thirty, then I must go. We start eeeeeeer… something at ten and my partner will pick me up from here. In fact it was his idea, so I can spend a while with you. Hello aunt May, hello uncle Malcolm. I am afraid I am not dressed properly, sorry for that. Hi Isabel, hi Sarah" Harry smiled at her younger twin cousins.

"You look great, Harriet" aunt May smiled at her too. "And this suit is very proper for L'Escargot, really. I assume your... night job rather excludes an evening dress?"

"Yes" Harry nodded knowing the family thinks curiously what this night job could be. They knew of course she worked for police but knew no details. Probably they thought she was a personal assistant of someone important or something like that. They'd be surprised, she thought, if they saw her gun discreetly hidden under the jacket of her "proper" suit.

"You're still working with this nice young man that was at Winfield last Christmas, Harriet, dear?" uncle Malcolm asked. "The New Yorker?"

"Yes, still the same partner, although I am not sure if the words 'nice' and 'young' describe him correctly, uncle Malcolm".

"Ah Harriet. I am nearly seventy, you know. To me, a guy who seems to be around forty, is young" uncle Malcolm chuckled. "And he is nice in my opinion."

"I hope James will step in when he picks you up from here" Lord Winfield cut in. "I need to say hello to him, my dear boy."

Harry kept deadpan face but it was really difficult. "My dear boy"! And yes, Dempsey will surely step in, at least to check if the restaurant staff remembers him. She quickly looked around; no, Lord Fenton was not here tonight.

"Have you ordered already?" she asked, opening the menu. "I think I'll have a glass of Chardonnay before the meal. I can afford one. So, aunt May, uncle Malcolm, how is life in Scotland now?"

When at twenty five past nine Dempsey's silhouette appeared at the door, Harry felt the relief. The family dinner was not as fantastic as it had seemed to be before. She liked them, she really did, but…

Lord Winfield has also noticed Dempsey.

"Ah, there he is" he said with delight. "James, hello! So glad to see you again!"

"Good evening, Lord Winfield, good evening everybody" Dempsey came closer to their table. Shaking hands with beaming Freddie, he gave a distracted smile to Isabel and Sarah, who looked at him with a kind of fascination, Harry noticed. Well, he looked damn good - a black shirt, a tie and a dark jacket, with all this messy dark hair falling on his forehead - and they were both just twenty-one. "Sir Malcolm, nice to see you again." He looked at aunt May and Harry quickly presented him to her.

"Ready, partner?" he asked her. "About time, great. I am sorry Lord Winfield I need to take your daughter away, but the business is waiting for us tonight." Harry couldn't believe her ears. What the hell happened to him?! "Who are you and what have you done to the old good Yank of the Yanks?", she wanted to ask loudly.

"I will call you up next time when I am in town, James" Freddie promised. "We can have a drink or two then."

While they were going past the table where Lord Fenton had been sitting last time, Harry bit her lips not to give a lightest smile. That scene was still in her memory. It was not the problem Dempsey had came here in a dirty ragged jacket stained with fresh concrete, and his horrible old shoes left muddy traces on the shining floor, and it was not a problem he had been unshaven for about three days at least, and that he stinked of cheap cigarettes. It was the job, the undercover, he'd found something important and he rushed to tell her about it and to take her to help him. It was absolutely normal and if anyone raised this she'd be the first person to defend him. But when passing Lord Fenton's table he grabbed two bits of appetizer off his plate, and said 'thank you' to him… Lord Fenton, MP! This was absolutely outrageous, this was unbelievable, unacceptable behaviour, there was no excuse for that and Harry in fact didn't know why whenever she thought about Lord Fenton's face at that moment, she had to use all her willpower not to burst into laughter. But she couldn't show it to Dempsey!

"What was that?" she asked curiously as soon as they got on the street.

"What was what?"

"This show? 'I am sorry Lord Winfield I need to take your daughter away, but the business is waiting for us tonight' " she quoted. " 'The business is waiting for us tonight', really? 'To take your daughter away', really?" she looked at him and laughed. "So which old American film about the British aristocracy have you just watched, tell me?"

"I haven't! I just wanted to be nice and smart. I didn't want you to be ashamed of me" he grinned, obviously he had fun. "What have I done wrong then?"

"Nothing, in fact. They were really impressed! Well, so was I, although in a bit different way" she shaked her head in disbelief. "Where's your car?"

"Ten minutes from here. So, was it nice, that evenin' with old family mummies?"

"They're not family mummies, Dempsey, don't be disgusting. One day you may meet my aunt Mabel and you will understand what an old family mummy means!"

"OK, so was it nice, that evening with the family of yours?"

They were just passing a small bridge, Harry stopped, looking down to the water, for a moment a bit lost in her thoughts. Dempsey also stopped and looked at her, raising his eyebrow in a question.

"That's odd" she said slowly and leaned against the railing. "I was there, sitting, talking, listening, and I wanted to be anywhere else."

"Like with me?" he grinned again. "I had told ya to go to a movie with me instead. When will we have another free couple of hours in the evening, before a stakeout, huh? And you know, this new Bond is, as they say, fantastic. Don't you want to see it?"

She wasn't listening.

"It was really nice when we were sitting, laughing and talking about family, you know" she stared at the river. "About sons and daughters going to Oxford and Cambridge, getting married, having newborns, buying horses, losing money, you know, this kind of family rumours".

"No, I don't know, but I can imagine. So? Why was it a disaster then?"

"Well not a disaster, not at all, no. But then we finished with the family and started with people we know. In fact more or less the same things about them. But I have lost my interest immediately. I don't care about Lord Higgins' new flame, I don't care about a fox hunting at Groby estate, I don't care about the new wife of Sir Anyone of Anywhere. Well, I'd care about Lady Fishborne's gorgeous dress at the latest charity event but they did not continue, perhaps the dress had not unveiled too much…"

"Yeah, Harry. I hate to say this, but seems you became a communard" he laughed, leaning against the railing beside her. "You have devoted your life to the force and to rude and rough guys like me, and that's the price to pay. You know, everybody wants to be protected and saved by the police but everybody disdains us".

"I didn't say my family neglected me, it seems I am neglecting them!"

"Them, no. Their style of life, maybe. So what? You still like each other, don't you? Let them live their posh lives, and live yours. That's all. Let's go and buy somethin' to eat, I need some fuel."

"I am not hungry, Dempsey, I have eaten."

"Two lettuce leaves and two drops of lemon juice on them?"

"No, very good saltimbocca. Why?"

"Aren't you living on vegetables?"

"No, Dempsey, I am not. There you have a stall with hot dogs, go and buy some. And eat them now, not in the car, OK? I wouldn't fancy destroying my memories of the fantastic saltimbocca by the smell of your junk food."

"Wanna a coffee?"

"I don't want it - I need it. Yes please. Hurry up a little, we have fifteen minutes and still some way to go."

"What time is it, Harry?"

"Twenty seven past eleven. Dempsey, you know asking about time every five minutes won't speed the time itself?"

"I am still hoping. I am an optimist. You know what, next time I'll bring Monopoly."

"Monopoly. For a night stakeout."

"Yep."

"You don't have Monopoly."

"OK I'll buy it and bring it. Do you appreciate?"

"With all my heart. I'll bring a thermos with coffee. Why didn't you?"

"I don't have one. It's your thing to bring it."

"You could buy one rather than Monopoly. I am not carrying a thermos to a fancy restaurant. Brrrrr, good it's not cold tonight."

"It's June."

Harry yawned.

"God, I am sure nothing will happen that night. Why are we so sure they keep stolen stuff somewhere in this building?"

"My nose says so" he crossed arms on his chest and tried to sit more comfortably. "So, Makepeace - what was your very first innocent love?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"You know, a little girl and a little boy, in a kindergarten, a daisy he gave you or a kiss? I am not asking about the gory details of your real first time. I am asking about the first love of a child."

Harry thought for a while.

"Josh… or Justin?... Huttington. I was six, he was older. His family estate in summer. Our parents were sitting in the living room. He took me outside and we tried to smoke a cigarette under a bush."

"That's all?"

"Well what have you expected?"

"A cigarette? No kisses or playing a doctor? Didn't he ask you to show him your pink underpants?"

"Shut up, you are a pervert. No, nothing like that. I got sick and my parents took me home."

"You lived a really exciting life, Harry."

"I bet you have had much more exciting memories, Dempsey. A six-year-old James seducing the nanny of his best friend?"

"Makepeace. We didn't have nannies. But our friends had elder sisters. And well, I was much, much older than six, but…"

"Thank you, spare me that."

"By all means."

"OK, one hour to go" Harry stretched her arms. "I told you, it was a waste of time."

"Yeah, thanks. Do you think I'm enjoying getting stiff in the car?" he growled. He looked at her discreetly with the corner of his eye. A cloud has moved over the moon and went by, the dancing light painted nice shadows on her face. Her eyes were sparkling in the faint light. She was absolutely gorgeous. Why the hell did she have to be so beautiful?...

"My, my, why so angry? In an hour we can go and get some sleep, isn't it lovely?"

"If you join me."

She sighed. "You know it's getting boring a bit, don't you?"

"Well, it's not that bad if it's getting boring only after three years, babe."

"Dempsey, how many times do I have to tell you: Don't. Babe. Me. Yes, it's been three years and you still don't get it. I hate this word. It's sexist and dismissive."

"No it's not. It's" he paused for a while and looked at her "nice and tender."

Her heart fluttered a bit but only for a second. "Well you may think so but you're wrong. Most of these pet names are overused and useless, meaning nothing" was her voice sounding a little bitter?

"Some of them do mean something, though. Depends the circumstances."

She said nothing.

"Come on, Harry. Do really all of them sound so bad to you?" he smiled but his eyes were serious. "All of them? I always thought they were quite nice, even overused."

Suddenly she felt sorry for a kind of disappointment in his voice.

"Well" she started with hesitation "I don't mean all of them do, but…"

"I knew it!" he exclaimed with a grin. "I knew. So Harry, which is the one you find not 'sexist and dismissive'? Tell me."

She opened her mouth to disclaim but she didn't.

"I won't tell you" she bit her tongue but it was too late. Shit, what was she saying?!

"Why?" he laughed, somehow relaxed and delighted. She pursed her lips, angry with herself.

"Well" she desperately tried to joke "knowing that you may - I don't know - stop using it, just to annoy me?" God, how miserably it sounded.

"Awww, Harry, you have that low opinion about me, you're breaking my heart" he was really having fun. She was still angry, but now she didn't know with whom: him or herself. She was sitting still, staring directly at the window.

"What's so funny?!" finally she couldn't stand his obvious satisfaction. He looked at her with his familiar lopsided grin.

"Makepeace, do you realize you have just admitted you like at least one of the names I call you with and you want me to keep using it?" he looked at her with amusement. "Isn't it a reason of bein' glad?"

"I haven't said anything like that!"

"Oh yes, you have. Doesn't matter what words you've used" he grinned like a Cheshire cat. "So what's that? I'll find out. 'Tinkerbell'?"

"Oh be quiet!" she growled but suddenly she forgot the whole banter immediately. She caught his arm. "Dempsey!"

"Yep, I see it." He pulled the gun out of the holster and checked it.

Dark silhouette vanished in the gate of the abandoned house.

"Let's go, Makepeace. Time to catch our bird in the act."

"Let's see first what the act is."

They were walking carefully and quietly into the house. There was total blackout there, but fortunately this someone they were followed has lighted a small torch. Enough to see the direction.

The light has lowered. They stopped trying to see something. The guy has kneeled in the middle of a small room and started to do something on the floor. Something cracked loudly.

Makepeace glanced at her partner - he shattered his head barely visibly. Not yet.

OK.

They both held their breath.

NOW.

"Twenty bags of cocaine hidden under the floor instead of a stolen stuff. This day gets better and better!" Dempsey was delighted.

"This 'day'?" Makepeace was trying to clean her suit with disgust. "What the hell is that?" she murmured.

"You mean this stuff you have on everywhere? Well at least everywhere I can see?"

"Have I told you lately you're so funny, Dempsey?" she sniffed. "Thank God it's not stinking, so it's not... I think it must be… mud with car oil? Yyyyyyh. And why is it always me who gets into trouble like that?! Why is that you never fall into a big… puddle of a greasy something?" She took a hairbrush out of her bag. "Great, you're right, I really have it everywhere." she started brushing the mud off her hair carefully. He turned his eyes from the suspect sitting in the police car ten yards away and gaped at her stupidly. There was something incredibly sexy about the woman brushing her hair, this woman… even when she was covered with greasy dirt.

"Do you have a blanket in the car, Dempsey?"

He looked at her, astounded.

"Blanket? Yes, of course, I have a blanket. And two pillows. And a picnic basket as well, with a bottle of champagne" he jibed. "All of them in a two seater with no proper trunk."

"I wouldn't like to dirty the fantastic leather seat of your car, Leftenant" she paused "but if you insist…" She opened the car door at the passenger side.

"Wait" he yelled. "All right, a second. Well there is a faucet in the yard, over there…"

"And what do you think I could do with a faucet? Have a bath? This wouldn't improve the… condition of my clothes and, then, seats in your car."

"How about taking a taxi?"

"Dempsey, don't push your luck. I am tired and angry, again I have ruined my clothes working with you and in about five hours I need to get up to interrogate the guy you've just caught up while I was crawling out from the mud and grease. Would you. Please. Give me a lift. Home?"

"By all means, Sergeant. And don't think about the seats" he decided generously. "After all, it's leather. I will clean it with ease."

Twenty minutes later Dempsey pulled over in front of her house. "Here you are" he wiped his eyes. "Gosh, I am dog tired."

"So am I. Thanks for the lift" she yawned. "See you in the morning. Bye" she opened the door and left the car. When she was at the house entrance already, Dempsey has leaned out through his door. "Oh, and Harry?"

"Yes?" she turned to him.

" 'Angel', may be?"

"Good night, Dempsey. See you in the office in" she looked at her watch "six hours."

She gave him a vicious smile and was gone behind the door.