Be Careful

I wouldn't usually find the thought of taking a uniformed officer out investigating with me very appealing, especially babysitting a probationer. However, when DS Samantha Nixon suggested that I bring PC Andrea Dunbar along with me to investigate a new suspect in a rape case, an Alan Kennedy, I actually quite liked the idea.

Despite the first time I met her, where she had come across as nervous and clumsy, PC Dunbar had proved through her work that she was anything but. The pretty officer was clever, regularly going above and beyond to find information to solve cases. Her research skills were second to none. I was impressed. I genuinely thought her flair for the job outshone most of the officers in my department and I hoped that as her career progressed that she might consider a move into CID. I had previously mentioned this to her as a passing comment to encourage her to think about it. In fact, it was Andrea who had tracked down this possible suspect in our case, mapping out Alan Kennedy as a perfect fit to our profile. Without her, this case would be slow moving but we now had somewhere to start.

We didn't speak much in the car, a little small talk but it wasn't something I was particularly good at. She mainly told me exactly what she knew about Alan Kennedy. We couldn't find a current address for him so we were headed to an acquaintance of our suspect, Mr Matheson, to see if we could find out more about Kennedy's current whereabouts.

As we walked towards Mr Matheson's workplace I thought I'd try and make conversation so that we weren't walking in total silence. Not that I minded silence, but in truth, PC Dunbar interested me. I found myself wanting to know more about her.

"So have you bought down here?" I questioned Andrea. With her thick Scottish accent I wondered what had made her move to the English capital.

"No, I'm just renting at the moment," she said before adding, "place by the old fire station."

"You live alone?" I found myself asking. It was a personal question and something I wouldn't usually ask someone I barely knew, but the words were out before I could really think about what I was saying.

"Well I prefer to think of myself as unattached." She smirked. "Alone sounds a bit depressing, don't you think?"

I was about to respond when she questioned me by saying, "why do you ask?".

"It's just with the streets being anything but safe at the moment." I didn't know why but the thought of her out there alone when we had a serial rapist on the loose worried me. Thouh there was a small part of me that had wondered if she had a significant other too.

I kept watching where I was walking. I hadn't really looked at Andrea since our conversation began.

"Well thanks for your concern but they breed us tough in the Highlands," she responded with a playful edge to her tone.

"I'm serious. Be careful," I said, looking her right in the eyes as I did so. I meant it.

"I will. Thanks," she said, then looking away and breaking our eye contact.

We walked for a few moments in silence again as we entered through the glass doors of the large office building.

"I'm surprised that a bright attractive woman like you isn't spoken for," I tried to say nonchalantly as we approached the entrance desk where I then showed my warrant card and asked for Shaun Matheson. I knew my interest in Andrea Dunbar wasn't healthy. After all I was married. However, I didn't think a few questions would do any harm. Not only was she pretty but she was a good officer and I found myself wondering more about her.

"Maybe men feel more comfortable with women that aren't so bright," she suggested while replacing her uniform hat on her head that she had been carrying.

"Not all of them," I said, and she once again quickly locked eyes with mine before I looked away. I couldn't deny I was attracted to her, there was some kind of positive energy whenever Andrea was present. Her intelligence was a turn-on, as once my wife's had also been.