Be Careful

I was informing CID of the potential suspects I had discovered for the serial rapist case when I saw Neil Manson enter the room, joining the team in listening to what I had to say. As I mentioned an Alan Kennedy, DS Samantha Nixon said she thought we should make him a priority to investigate.

"I'll take care of that," DI Manson muttered and he turned to leave the room.

"I think it might be a good idea to take Andrea with you," Samantha Nixon said. "She seems to be on top of this."

I was waiting for DI Manson to make some sort of excuse. From what I had heard of him, he wouldn't usually invite uniform out with him unless it were absolutely necessary. However, he just turned and nodded. DI Nixon then nodded at me and I allowed myself a little smile as I followed Neil Manson out of the room, though he was already exiting out of the door. I was happy that CID were so willing to let me help them so soon after joining the police. I liked being involved in the bigger cases, they were more interesting and would make for much better stories for the Daily News.

I hadn't spoken to Neil many times since my first day but he had called me 'clever' and seemed to be impressed with my work. I knew I was good at the job, after all research was my speciality being a reporter and so generally I was rather effective at finding facts and evidence. The two careers had a lot of similarities.

We couldn't find a current address for Kennedy so we turned our attention to finding an acquaintance of our suspect. The drive to this Shaun Matheson's work place was mainly silent, though I explained a bit more about the research I had done into finding our suspect.

As we walked towards the tall office building, only the sound of the fountains outside could be heard.

"So have you bought down here?" Neil asked me, clearly trying to prevent us walking in total silence.

"No, I'm just renting at the moment, place by the old fire station," I informed him. Of course I was just renting because it wasn't my aim to stay in London, just to stay for my current newspaper story while working undercover in the police. Not that I could mention that of course.

"You live alone?" He queried, suddenly .

I was a little taken aback by the question and let out a tiny snort in amusement.

"Well I prefer to think of myself as unattached," I smiled. "Alone sounds a bit depressing, don't you think? Why do you ask?".

"It's just with the streets being anything but safe at the moment," he responded as we continued to walk along the path past the gushing fountains.

"Well thanks for your concern but they breed us tough in the Highlands," I said with a slightly mocking tone.

"I'm serious. Be careful," he said, looking straight in my eyes.

My heart fluttered a little, involuntary. I could tell he meant it, though I wasn't sure why I warranted this level of concern.

"I will. Thanks," I nodded, turning away. I almost felt a little uncomfortable.

"I'm surprised that a bright attractive woman like you isn't spoken for," he said casually as we approached the desk in the entrance of the building. "DI Manson, PC Dunbar, here to see Shaun Matheson." He spoke to the lady at the desk, showing her his warrant card.

I thought about his words for a second, although he almost made it sound like a question despite my earlier comment about being unattached.

"Maybe men feel more comfortable with women that aren't so bright," I shrugged.

"Not all of them," Neil replied sincerely and I turned to look at him. I tried to keep a neutral expression but there was a small part of me that knew he was referring to himself and perhaps I liked that, just a little.