The waste paper bin scudded across the floor and banged into the wall. Tommy growled as he shook the pain from his foot. Kissing her in anger had been foolish. But it had also been wonderful. For those precious few seconds that she had tugged eagerly on his bottom lip, he had felt her heart reaching out to him. He smiled despite the mess he was now in. If she loved him, there was still hope. At least he needed to believe there was hope.
He collected his jacket and strode purposefully through the office. Barbara was sitting glowering at her PC screen. Behind the savage look her bearing told him she was close to an outburst that they would both regret. "Come on Havers. We can't keep the PM waiting."
To his relief, she picked up her jacket and followed him to his car. She did not look once at him as they settled in and he pulled out into the traffic. Now they were alone, he could apologise. "Barbara, I'm sorry. That was unprofessional."
She turned and stared at him then snorted. "Unprofessional? More like sexual harassment, or better still sexual assault. Who do you think you are? Oh, yes, I forgot. You're the lord. We are all supposed to bow and scrape and kiss you when you feel the need. Well, I'm not doing it! I wouldn't be caught dead kissing you."
"You did kiss me. Not for long, but you definitely kissed me." There was something in her tone that convinced him she had forgiven him.
"I was trying to keep your insatiable mouth from smothering me. Don't mistake defensive moves for the return of pleasure."
"The return of pleasure?" he said provocatively. "So, you admit then that you received pleasure from the kiss."
Barbara gave him a withering stare. "I admit no such thing. Typical of a man to think the woman enjoys him assaulting her. You're nothing but a... Why am I even justifying this? To you, especially!"
"When I said that I stayed away because I would have kissed you; that wasn't entirely true. I stayed away because I was scared of what wanting to kiss you so badly would mean for our friendship. I needed time away from you to think. But I missed you so much I could hardly bear it."
"That's self-defeating. And friends don't kiss each other unannounced."
"So if I had announced it first?"
"You are the most pedantic, arrogant, sh... grrrr! Anyway, after this case is over, I'm filing for a transfer. I'm still thinking about reporting you."
"I'm sorry I kissed you like that."
"You have to do a lot better than that Lord Asherton."
"I will."
Barbara frowned at his deliberate ambiguity. "You think this is funny?"
"No, I've been a fool," Tommy said as he parked near the cordoned off police barrier at the end of Downing Street.
"That's the first honest thing you've said all day." Barbara quickly hopped out of the car and slammed the door. Tommy winced.
The Prime Minister was a slight man who walked stiffly due to his well-documented entanglement with a polo pony a few years ago when he was Leader of the Opposition. Tommy shook his hand, "Prime Minister, this is Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers."
Barbara seemed surprised when Stephen Watermain extended his hand. She shook it briefly then pulled out her notebook and pen. "Is there somewhere more private we can talk, Prime Minister?"
The interview covered many of the basic facts regarding his whereabout and knowledge of his wife's movements before it moved to more personal matters. "I'm sorry to have to ask, Stephen, but how was your relationship with Karen?"
"Fine. Like most couples I suppose, it had its ups and downs."
Barbara narrowed her eyes. "Before you left for Scotland was it up, or down?"
The Prime Minister shifted his weight to the front of his chair. "I may as well tell you now as you'll probably find out anyway. I thought Karen was having an affair. We argued about it."
"Was she? Or was it male pride and petty jealousy?" Tommy felt her eyes boring into him rather than the PM. "Or insecurity?"
The PM glared at Barbara's impertinence. "She admitted it. With the chauffeur of all people."
"How terrible for you. The chauffeur."
Tommy glared at Barbara. "Yes, it must have been distressing to find out," he added, trying to make her rudeness less apparent.
"In a way. It was certainly not her first indiscretion. Karen had needs Tommy. Needs that I couldn't satisfy."
"Are you saying you're impotent, Prime Minister?" Barbara asked.
"Sergeant!"
Watermain put up his hand. "It's fine, Tommy. She has to ask. No, I'm not impotent, Sergeant, but my wife enjoys... er, how do I put this? Rough sex."
Barbara did not look up from her notebook. "How rough?"
"She likes men to hurt her. I can't do that. I've trained myself to be able to slap her bottom with a little cane occasionally. But... I can't hit her, or choke her, so she finds men who can."
Tommy blanched. He had always thought Stephen and Karen were very loving. "I see."
"Yes, I can see you disapprove, Tommy. Karen and I love each other very much, but when you can't satisfy the needs of the other, you have to find ways for them to be happy. Karen was very good like that. She never allowed them to beat her face or anywhere where bruising would show. She didn't want anyone to suspect she was the victim of domestic violence."
"She was," Barbara said, "you keep referring to your wife in the past tense, Prime Minister. We have no proof she has come to serious harm, let alone that she is deceased."
"I saw the blood pool. I didn't become PM by being a fool."
Tommy heard Barbara mutter something under her breath. "Where is this chauffeur now?"
"I don't know."
"Havers, why don't you go and make enquiries?"
Barbara glanced at him then read his intentions. "I'll wait for you downstairs."
After she was through the door and out of earshot, Stephen turned to Tommy. "She's an angry woman! She'd be the one with the whip in her relationships."
"Sergeant Havers is a very capable police officer."
"Ah, I see. Does the feisty sergeant know you're in love with her? She doesn't seem your type, Tommy. Maybe that's why she's so angry? Because she doesn't believe you or maybe she doesn't feel the same way? Is that why she might report you for kissing her?"
"My relationship with my colleague has nothing to do with finding you wife. Now tell me about Karen's affairs."
Tommy ushered Barbara to the car with a brusque, "we'll talk at the station."
She sat silently beside him as he drove until he passed Scotland Yard and kept driving. "Where are we going?" she demanded.
"Not now." Tommy frowned at her, trying to get her to keep quiet.
He continued, making twists and turns until he was sure he was not being followed. Once he was certain, he turned and drove over Battersea Bridge and into the park. With his finger over his lips, he gestured for her to alight. Barbara frowned but obeyed. Once they were almost a hundred yards from the car, she turned on him. "Want to tell me what the hell is going on?"
"My car is bugged and I suspect we might be being tailed, or tracked in some way. Probably MI5 or MI6."
"That makes no sense, Sir. Why? And how do you know?"
"Stephen made it clear that he knew I had kissed you and that you had threatened to report me. To know that he must have the car bugged."
"The lousy bloody..."
"Now is not the time to be angry, Barbara. We have to think about this. Is Hillier aware? Is he involved?"
"He'd stoop fairly low to increase his access to power, but even for him..."
"I agree. Barbara, you're the only person I know I can trust."
"You have a funny way of showing loyalty at times."
"I know. Can we call a truce and work together? I really am very sorry about not calling around. And I'm sorry I lost my temper and kissed you like that. I should have been brave enough to tell you that somewhere along the line, I've fallen in love with you and quite frankly, I don't know what to do about it. There are so many implications and complications that we need to talk through, but with this case now..."
"You've what?"
"Fallen in love with you. You being angry was the one reaction I feared most. I had hoped to find the right time and then you'd fall into my arms. I really am a fool, aren't I?"
"I'm not angry."
"You're not?"
"No."
"Barbara, I want to kiss you properly. Not here, but somewhere romantic where I can then make love to you very slowly."
"You have to kiss me here."
Tommy grinned at her. "So, you do feel the same way?"
"I didn't say that. If they're watching, we need a reason to be out of the car and talking. Fixing our lover's tiff is a plausible excuse, even if they tell Hillier."
"Good thinking, but can I at least have a clue how you feel about what I said?"
Barbara raised her eyebrows. "Confused mostly. This is becoming a very surreal day."
Tommy stepped forward and tentatively took her in his arms. He wanted to kiss her hard and passionately. Instead he gently brushed her lips against hers and held them in place waiting for her to react. Instead of pulling away, she pressed harder against his mouth. Tommy broke the kiss to mumble, "I love you, Barbara."
"I love you too, Tommy." This time their lips crashed together. As he pulled her tighter against his body, her hands gripped his waist painfully. When he groaned, Barbara tugged at his bottom lip. He opened his mouth and let her invade. The wobbling world he had been standing on settled into it's usual trajectory.
When they paused for air, he lamented, "if we didn't have this case and weren't in a public park..."
"I'm still angry and hurt that you didn't come to visit."
"I will make it up to you, I promise."
"Then we had better get back to the station and start working out what has happened to Karen Watermain."
Tommy bent down to kiss her again. "That can wait a few minutes."
