"Of course we had skittles and crown bowls before you sullied our games" Harry pointed out as she pushed through the doors into the fluorescent lit arena. Dempsey squished his lips and chewed on his cheek briefly ignoring what he didn't know. "I bet you're a dab hand with the bed posts Makepeace"

"And you're a dab hand between them Lieutenant I assume?"

Dempsey considered the impossibility of getting both of those side pins... "depends which bedposts babe – I can show you some later if you'd like..."

Harry rolled her eyes and looked around the Bowling Alley. They both stood and scanned the lanes to their left, the small cafe area to the right and the two pool tables ahead "Can you see anyone acting suspiciously Dempsey?" she asked re focusing her mind and hopefully his.

Dempsey looked around: there was a hippy playing by him, an older guy still with his trench coat on wandering slowly around, a girl looking out of the window by the pool table – agitated, a couple of couples playing together, a group of 5 lads playing and eating cheeseburgers, two pretty girls in lane 8 and at the far end what looked like a professional guy practising by himself scoring strike after strike in a monotonous rhythm "You know who looks suspicious Tinkerbell?" Dempsey asked rhetorically – "US!" He swooped his arm in a semicircle inviting as he spoke "come on, let's play –", he smiled "now you're gonna have to tell me what size shoes you need sergeant"

So Makepeace took a dainty size 4, Dempsey put his shoes next to hers at the table of lane 3. Satisfied he simply pointed out that his were bigger. Makepeace smiled mischievously and picked up his shoe; glancing at the number 9 blazoned on the back of the heel she grinned wickedly and dismissively passed comment as she dropped the shoe back down "average size".

Dempsey frowned as he tried to work out the point Harry had obviously thought she'd won. The eye brows raised on the face starring into his and his frown deepened. "Ahhhh NO!" he insisted with panic over his face as the implication dawned... "That saying ain't true"

"Really lieutenant? It's a very common saying – must have some truth surely" she goaded

Dempsey leaned right over her and whispered in her ear "I'm happy to show you sergeant – any time you want proof" he puckered his lips "Anytime" Harry glanced down towards his crotch; god she knew the saying wasn't true – she didn't need any more proof!

"Excuse me have you got the time?" the agitated girl with lanky mid length hair pulled back into a ponytail interrupted them. Annoyed that a rare brief closeness to his partner had been curtailed Dempsey glanced up at the clock above the shoe desk. "Nine o'clock love" he replied as Makepeace made her escape and hid her blushes by putting on the shoes, burying her face almost in her knees.
s she tied the second lace a dark haired middle aged man staggered from the men's toilets towards the exit. He didn't make it, collapsing some 10 feet away from the door. Dempsey and Makepeace ran towards him and helped him to his feet.

Sweaty and disorientated Makepeace reassured him they had a car outside and would take him straight to the hospital whilst Dempsey noted his dilated pupils and cold skin. The nose knew something didn't add up and the immediate attempts from the manager and the pro bowler to wrestle the target out of their care, albeit verbal wrestling and not physical, put the SI10 duo on full alert. Throwing him into the back of the Granada, Makepeace drove to the nearest A+E. Dempsey, Makepeace had to admit, had a way of throwing his badge in peoples' faces and so the chief medical doctor was now taking personal care of the mystery man.

Spikings jumped out of the car Dave had driven down as the duo were exiting the hospital for the second time that day. He glanced at the red and blue bowling shoes on Harry's feet and raised his brow. "This is staking out the Bowling Alley" Spikings gruffed "Only no one's there right now Sergeant" "This could be our only lead" Harry defended. Spikings nodded "take Dave with you he commanded – we can't afford to leave that place unmanned."

"Yo" Dempsey called back as Spikings walked into the hospital "There's something wrong with that guy chief" Spikings stopped and looked back with distain "I hope there is if you rushed him here, bludgeoning doctors and abandoning your stake out Lieutenant"
"I mean" Dempsey continued never bothering to point out the myriad of faults in Spikings rational "It's fishy – the docs can't make sense of it – the guys cold but sweating..."
"You get back there Lieutenant – I'll deal with here" Spikings interrupted.

Harry tossed her keys to Dave – "You know the way to the Forum Bowling Alley don't you? she checked. Dave nodded, Dempsey jumped in the passenger seat and Harry sat behind.
"So why did our guy have £5K in bank notes and what did he mean by 'swallows'?" Dempsey pondered "Do you think we should have mentioned that to the boss?" Harry suddenly voiced out loud, cursing inwardly how Dempsey seemed to be having such a negative impact on both her policing and team skills.
"No time" Dempsey replied "you heard him – we need to get back fast." He looked to Dave still pulling out of the car park "Fast Dave" he agitated "get that foot down"

Dave pulled up alongside the main entrance to the forum, Harry and James jumped out "Wait here!" Dempsey instructed a bemused driver
"We'll call you if we need you" Harry reassured in her sugary manner
"Yeah – if you're good we'll send a cola out" Dempsey added

Back inside their path to lane 3 at the further end from the door was blocked by the girl with the lanky hair. Her blue dress had seen better days and shoes had worn down heels. "Please what's the time now" she begged. Dempsey pointed his finger "just what it says up there darling"
She looked up "It ain't always right" she protested and slumped off as she lit a cigarette

Harry picked up a blue 12lb bowling bowl from the rack at the back of the alleys and, walking past Dempsey and the time desperate girl, rolled her eyes towards the 3 balls already along the joint return chute of lanes 3 and 4 "Do you want me to check your balls Dempsey?"

"My balls need careful handling" Dempsey winked "but probably not right here right now sergeant"
Harry winced inwardly, cursing how Dempsey managed to twist every innocent conversation "I've got one a bit bigger than the other" Dempsey declared with delight as he rolled those on the chute noting both 14 and 16lb balls
"No worries" Harry flirted "I've got expertise at getting my fingers around a whole range of sizes"
Dempsey became aware of his body responding once again to his partner and chided himself.

Harry sat down to type their names on the screen display calling herself simply H and Dempsey J – well she didn't like Jim and he never seemed to call himself James. Dempsey took first turn, 5 pins dropped followed by another 2. Makepeace took 3 and then the other 7 as she settled her eye in. She turned to check Dempsey's reaction to her spare but his eye was far to left on the agitated girl about to light up yet another cigarette.
Dempsey jerked his attention back and his next turn resulted in those dreaded two outside pins remaining up. "Seems I've got the bedposts ready" he quipped as his fancy 2nd attempt ended with a ball trundling down the gutter.
"And not much else" Makepeace added cuttingly.
"Give me a chance" he protested tipping his gaze to the two women coming to the end of their game; but his chances were abruptly curtailed when the time girl appeared to be making a beeline back to lane 3.
"Think you'd better do your bit with Jumpy Jane" Harry nodded and waved him off dismissively "best take care of your balls though..."

Dempsey walked forward, collecting Jumpy Jane and scooping her towards side door, and out to the back where 3 of the lads were having a crafty smoke of something that smelt suspiciously like weed.
With his arm around her waist Dempsey introduced himself as James and discovered that Jumpy Jane was in fact Christine who worked as a dental nurse on Western Road.
"Do you bowl every Thursday?" Dempsey asked "I mean is this a regular place I can find you?"
Christine didn't answer she just launched herself into a full on lip kiss which Dempsey found himself rather inclined to reject. "Is that what you want?" she checked
"Is that what you're offering?" Dempsey pushed her away from his face
"Twenty quid?" she asked meekly
"You need help sweetheart" Dempsey kept his gaze fixed on her "You make a lousy hooker – I hope you're better with teeth"
"I just need the money" she defended
"You just need help sweetheart" Dempsey's gaze bore into her "Don't they pay you enough?"
She looked vacant; Dempsey pushed up her sleeve and noted the expected needle marks "so you were waiting for your dealer!" Dempsey accused
"He's not a dealer" Christine protested
"He sells you drugs then he's a dealer!"
"He's not a dealer" she insisted
"Well he's not a friend" Dempsey hissed fiercely "What's his name?" he squeezed her arms hard and hurt her
"Jonny"
"Jonny who?"- Dempsey kept the pressure up and the 3 lads decided that inside seemed a better prospect
"He's not a dealer" Christine repeated
"What's his name" Dempsey repeated "Jonny who?"
Christine struggled with recall, her need for a fix clouding everything "Frazer?" she questioned "was it Frazer?"
"John Frazer!" Dempsey released her momentarily "John Frazer was your guy?"
"Yes" relieved to be out of the pincer tight grasp Christine rubbed her arms only to be shook by the shoulders
"You spoke to him tonight?"
"He told me he would late" she spluttered
"What exactly did he say" Dempsey demanded relentlessly vaguely aware that Makepeace wasn't there to temper his aggression
"I don't know" was the protest but with a hope to get free she offered "something about swallows?"
Desperation drove her next question "Do you want to come back to mine? I still need the money for a fix?"
"Don't worry" Dempsey's tone was not really reassuring at all "You can come back to mine!" He frog marched her around the outside of the building to Dave, opening the door and instructing Dave that 'She's been the last person to speak to Fraser alive, and to be sure she was still alive when he delivered her to Spikings.'