Harriet Makepeace's house
Dempsey ignored Harry's look of concern and the wrinkle of her nose. He knew he was sweaty, the old Yale t-shirt was stuck to his chest and his sweatpants were covered in grass, his hair on end but he couldn't care less. If he was right, Spikings was in danger.
Bounding back down the steps to her car, he explained in shouts what he thought he knew. She flung the keys at him as he grabbed the RT and raised Chas.
"Harry we gotta go, NOW."
To her credit, Harry grabbed her gun and flew behind him in to the drivers seat whilst thrusting a flannel and a towel at him.
"At least you're not wearing short shorts." She quipped as she started the engine.
They sped to SI-10 as Dempsey demanded action down the RT at a patient Chas; "Operations need to give me his address."
"They won't if you go in there looking like that." Harry observed, "You need to calm down."
"Yeah, yeah, okay." He ran his hand through his hair causing it to stick up further. "It's a hunch, that's all. But the boss been chewing my ear off."
"If you're right then what makes you think it's now?" Harry asked as she flung the Escort around the corner, throwing him briefly off balance, "Sorry…. Security is tight and he's easily recognisable."
"I don't think the location is that important, it's the emotion." Dempsey replied, "He ain't bothered where it is, it's who it is but he's demanding more."
"You think, he thinks, that Spikings is an enemy?" Harry hissed as if saying it louder might make it true.
"I don't think so, but I'm not the murderer" Dempsey replied testily, "I'm just trying to get into the sick bastard's mind."
Harry looked over at him and her pale face echoed her thoughts as she came to a conclusion. She's seen enough of his wild theories to evaluate them and clearly thought he's got something this time. "Okay, let's see what we can do."
"Promise you'll be careful." He hesitates, trying to rein in his caveman instinct.
"If you are, yes." She says and then nods, "Of course."
They scramble into the office which is almost empty apart from Chas who was nervously waiting for them, distracted by a 'phone call. His calm voice was a contrast to a bouncing leg and the tap of his pencil on the papers.
"Yes, Mrs Spikings. Understood. Yes, please ask him to call when he gets in."
"He's no home yet." Chas told them after he hung up.
Harry came back to her partner with a worried look on her face, "He's walking home. A health kick."
Dempsey slumped in his seat, the buzz of discovery turning into worry. He wondered why he was so upset as he listened to Harry and Chas tracking Spikings possible route home. There were times he could have strangled his boss and he's sure the feeling is mutual but the feeling sickens him. Truthfully he'd never liked anyone much who'd been murdered so far. His dislike of Lloyd was known. Whilst Harry had accepted the apology for the fuck up, Dempsey wasn't so forgiving, the incident happened just after she'd returned to the force and he felt he'd just got her back by his side after feeling hopelessly lost.
Spikings had been honest though. If he wasn't sure, he'd seek Harry's counsel also and both had been fair to him, protecting his past. In the days after Coltrane he'd fallen for his partner more than he'd expected. If Spikings had noticed, he'd never said so. For that, Dempsey had to save him.
Dempsey groaned as he got to his feet and took the holster and service weapon that Harry offered. "He could have gone to the gym like anyone else."
She checked the clip on her own gun and looked him up and down, "I guess you'd fit in a lot more if he had but I'm not sure I'd set you loose in one."
"I got other ways of working out, princess" He teased as they jogged out to her car, knowing she was referring to the girl at the aerobics studio whom he stood up, the temptation of wine and Harry was too strong even then.
Walworth Road, South London
Spikings shifted his rucksack and looked longingly at the bus that went past. His doctor had scared him a little with the talk on stress. Spikings had explained that it came with the job but refrained from saying too much more, aware that a long term sick note beckoned. He pushed on with a determined stride and tried to forget about the day that had passed.
The attack took him by surprise. A sudden noise from behind him as he turned toward Wyndham Road. It caused him to raise one arm in an need to protect whilst locating his gun with the other but his moves were impeded by the luggage of his job and the metal object hit his head with a sharp, painful crack. He staggered and then grasping his weapon, fired somewhere but his assailant remained standing, approaching Spikings with malicious intent, his arm outstretched intent on causing damage.
"Armed police, freeze." cried a voice that Spikings recognise from the darkness. He heard the sound of two guns being clicked ready to fire as he dropped down into the peaceful well of unconsciousness.
Sultan Street, just off Wyndham Road
Dempsey raced past Harry as the thin figure ran into the shadows and her gun missed the target by millimetres. It paused for a moment as if it realised the near miss of his partners aim and disappeared from shot behind a car.
In the distance, he could hear Harry demand an ambulance with ferocity. "Hurry please hurry." He hears and it makes him run a little faster.
He wishes that he hadn't already been out. His legs hurt and his lungs burn with the effort. He could only just see the outline of the attacker as he held his ground, his weapon raised, ready to fire. Then the figure shifted direction, and shot out into the path of a car. Dempsey broke his hold, the car headlights giving him scant clues to the identity.
Male, skinny was all he could guess and that wasn't anything new.
Dempsey used the hood of a parked car for leverage and bounced to the sidewalk and down the alleyway. His muscles groaned and stretched, and adjusted under his stride until he came up against a wall. This was a dead end and that meant the murderer was...
