The weather is terrible and Cassie's umbrella is broken. She's running to get out of the downpour, wishing Rob were here to hold his coat over her head and tell her she looks like Kenny from South Park in her red raincoat.
As she reaches the entrance to the station, her foot slips and she nearly goes flying. Before she can face plant the top step, she feels a pair of strong arms grab her and yank her to her feet.
"Sorry," the owner of the arms apologises, as if he might have hurt her by grabbing her. He's tall and broad, with a handsome, bearded face.
"Thanks," she says, straightening up.
"Are ye detective Maddox, by any chance?" he asks. He has what Quigley would call a culchie accent.
"I am, yeah. You'd be O'Neill?"
"That's me," he says cheerfully, holding out a hand to shake.
"Cassie," she says, shaking it.
"Sam." He smiles and holds the door open for her. There's something about him that instantly makes her feel safe.
"My partner Reilly would be here, but he's chasing up another lead," she explains, shaking the rain out of her hair.
"Just the two of us, then?"
"For now."
