Gordon Spikings wasn't happy. He had three dead detectives from different teams, numerous other heads of departments and a director breathing down his neck. He put down the phone on the editor of the London Standard who had caught wind of something and glared at the team around him.

He forced himself to breath, aware of his heart beating ten-to-the-dozen and wondered where in hell his two best detectives were.

As if in answer to a private summons, the door opened. If only, Gordon thought, it was that easy to find them. He's yet to work out where they were for five days. They were just as vague over the A40 body. He doesn't need to know, more that they invited that sort of magnetic and irritating curiosity. He's also sick of being asked about them, as if they were the new romance of the decade.

Dempsey looked like he'd had the wind knocked from him, his face drawn and dark shadows under his eyes, reminding Gordon of the time when he was trying to hive off Lupino. Beside him, Makepeace was all business, the opposite of her partner. She launched into her report, well practiced in the art of preventing further preoccupations.

"Lloyd was killed by strangulation. The coroner's examination of the body indicates a non-fatal blow with a blunt instrument from behind, to the back of the head…."

She paused, considering her words carefully and looked down at Dempsey for a moment. "Without more time, it's not clear but possibly it's the handle of a gun. Once he was unconscious, he was strangled by his own tie until he died of asphyxiation. There wasn't a lot of blood, it's fairly certain that his tongue was cut after he died. The time of death is yet to be confirmed."

Gordon nodded and waited for Chas to assemble his thoughts. His right-hand man stepped forward to speak.

"I last saw Lloyd after the discussion in your office. I was running down a lead from the warehouse case with Edwards and he wasn't at his desk afterwards. Then he didn't go home and his girlfriend called to say she was worried. They've got a new baby…"

Chas paused as Dempsey cursed and ran his hands through his hair. Harry paled beside him.

"…she was frantic as he never goes off. We found his body in the corner of the filing cabinets in the archive room." Chas indicated on the report in his hand and the team around him obediently turned to the page.

"He must have checked in and out?" Gordon asked impatiently.

"Checked in." Chas replied looking his notes. "Well, that's to say he's recorded as checking in at 1.20pm but there's no sign of him leaving. The desk clerk said she remembered him arriving, had a computer problem and then it got busy."

"She forgot he was there?" Gordon confirmed with a sigh.

Fry replied, "Yes, we've got a record of who went into the room after Lloyd, up to the time Chas found his body but it may not be complete. She was called away a few times."

Gordon considered a tirade on proper procedure and security reminder, but it would wait. He bit on his lip and turned to the coiled figure in the chair. "Dempsey?"

He watched as his officer uncurled himself and hunched his shoulders. "It's gotta be someone in the building. They know their way around this place, has access to everything but isn't maybe that obvious. Average, nothing special but very clever and helpful."

Harry sat forward in her seat. "The killings seemed to have no pattern. Each one varies. Strangling, a knife wound… It feels like it's a means to the end. The aim is the murder and taking something to get Dempsey's attention."

"The first trophy wasn't sent immediately, it arrived with the second killing so it's an afterthought." Dempsey added and then turned to his partner, a look of brief revelation lightning his expression. "Maybe it's someone I met between the three events?"

Harry shrugs, "It's a possibility but you haven't met anyone new as far as I remember."

Dempsey chewed his lip.

"Anyone in the gents said hello?" Chas asked and then frowned as a titter erupted from somewhere.

"Bout the only place he got without Makepeace." Gordon hears a mutter that must have been heard by the Yank who stood up to his full height and eyed the room which fell silent. Gordon let go of a breath as Dempsey sat down.

"He seems to chose the victims as people I've fallen out with. Sturgeon took all the credit for the knife crime, Matthews refused to work with me and Lloyd… well, we've fallen out a few times." A wry smile appears on Dempsey's mouth and left as quick as it arrived.

Harry looked through the photos and Gordon noticed that she was pale, "The hand because you were not mentioned in the report, the eye for not seeing you and the tongue for not speaking to you."

"Or you." Dempsey urged in a low tone that forced a nervous shiver around the office, "It could be anyone in this office doing this shit. Anyone."

If Dempsey had aimed to menacingly assert his prowess over the team who had responded to Chas's innocent enquiry, then he'd managed to so.

Gordon cleared his throat and issued a set of quick-fire instructions to the team, asking them to set up an interview room, question everyone and cross check. Everyone would work in threes with those who knew Dempsey, Makepeace or the victims to be given special attention. Chas would be coordinating with all reports to Gordon himself.

When he was finished, he watched the teams file out but called back Dempsey and his partner. He noticed that she placed a hand on his bicep.

When the door closed, Gordon leaned back in his chair. "Was that necessary?"

"Was what necessary?" Dempsey parroted back.

Gordon felt his jaw twitch. "Tension is high already without you adding to the accusations. This team are trusted."

"Accusations?" Dempsey leaned forward and Gordon caught a glimpse of the animal who'd arrived from the plane, hell bend on his own demise. "Someone in this joint is a murderer. You and I both know they get obsessed. He could be investigating himself."

"On your side of the pond this might be more of a weekly occurrence but over here…" Gordon countered and was surprised when his opponent interrupted with indignation.

"…I'm this side of the pond now and the bastard has put me and Harry in the middle of it." Dempsey got to his feet and made for the door. "I've got a killer to catch."

"Sir," Makepeace stood between Dempsey and the door and looked between the two men, " Even if you wanted Dempsey off of this case, the killer won't let him go."

"There's no evidence to that." Gordon countered, and shook his head as he tried to offer some objectivity. "There could be other reasons. A challenge, a set-up. You are aware that a few people think you're responsible?"

Dempsey face darkened and Makepeace moved to put herself before him. "That's impossible. Dempsey was with me at the time each killing took place and I'll go on record to say so."

Gordon looked at her, waiting for her demeanour to break. It didn't. "People get scared and look for a person to blame. Dempsey, you've flirted your way through several floors, left broken hearts everywhere and a few pissed off suitors."

Gordon knows he's poking a lioness here but Makepeace shrugged.

"If I let you handle this investigation it could make it worse." Gordon finally agreed because he's not getting anything else.

"It's gonna get worse, period." Dempsey stated. "I don't give a damm what people think of me, I only care about the ones that matter."

Gordon groaned as the phone interrupted his reply. He held up a hand to stall their departure. "What is it?… Yes, I want you to set up a trace on this line and Dempsey's too… Dempsey….don't move!" He could see the Yank about to erupt from the office. "Yes, Dempsey's line needs a trace on all calls. No, I'm his boss, I tell you when."

"Bloody IT." He slammed down the phone. "Dempsey, it also goes without saying that the parts could also be a threat. You need protection."

"What, place me under guard?" Dempsey's voice dripped with bitterness. "I evaded Coltrane for two years. No, I ain't going into protection or hiding. He won't hurt me, I just need time to figure it out."

"Dempsey!" Gordon bellowed, his patience run dry.

"I've got Harry, I don't need anyone else." Dempsey stormed out as Harry paused to say she'd speak to him.

Gordon sighed and longed for the peace and safety of his sofa as he contemplated what Dempsey meant when he said he didn't need anyone else.