HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Myrtle, JojoAnn and a couple of others asked recently if/when I'd get back to this story and to be honest, it was so long ago that I'm surprised it hasn't been completely forgotten about. I don't imagine for one minute that anybody remembers what was happening in this story as it's a year and a half since I posted the last chapter!

This is the one where Dempsey and Makepeace finally 'get together' during their long awaited fake Xmas only to become embroiled in the attempted murder of Harry's ex-brother-in-law Jonathan, arranged by her ex-husband. Dempsey is also dealing with a growing addiction to painkillers which began after the fight in The Little Cornish Tin Mine & Museum left him with an injured shoulder in the previous story, Art For Art's Sake.

So Harry was arrested when all the evidence for the hit and run pointed to her and Dempsey set out on his own to prove her innocence by visiting Jonathan and Robert's father, Patrick Makepeace in his care home and getting ahead of the game by sweet-talking sexy Mrs Sherwood from the Lambeth forensics lab into giving him her results before anything is made official.

Bet you still can't remember any of it but it might just start to come back to you as you read ;-)

Chapter 33

Catch & Release

"Do you have an appointment, Sir?" the girl behind the reception desk of Karlsson, Callow & Mason asked politely.

Dempsey flashed his badge under her nose but she didn't appear impressed, policemen calling in unannounced not really being such a rarity at the law firm.

"I'll see if he's available," she said noncommittally.

He choked back on a sarcastic reply and waited patiently while she buzzed through to Robert's secretary. The conversation was brief.

"I'm afraid he's out at the moment."

"You know when he'll be back?"

"I'm sorry but no. He's away on a personal matter."

"Personal?" Dempsey queried.

"Yes."

"D'you know where I can find him right now?"

"I can't give out that sort of information." The girl was apparently well versed in the importance of confidentiality.

"He with his brother?"

She didn't even seem fazed that he knew; maintaining a fixed smile and keeping silent.

"Okay, we could go at it this way for the rest of the day or you could just tell me where he is."

Her lips pursed and her back straightened. She wasn't at all convinced that he had any right to force her to tell him Robert Makepeace's whereabouts. Not that it mattered – probably, but it was the principle of the thing.

"He's hospital visiting. His brother is very seriously ill." Her tone implied Dempsey should be thoroughly ashamed of himself for asking. "But it sounds like you probably know that already."

"Thanks. Now that wasn't so bad, was it? Ya know, I'd of thought workin' for a bunch of lawyers you'd of sussed that the cops are the good guys."

She reached for the telephone that had just started ringing with an incoming call. "I'm not that naieve," she said sullenly before turning on the charm with the caller.

Putting down the payphone receiver, Harry realised that her hand was shaking.

She'd been fine, completely calm and holding it together until she'd phoned in to let Spikings know that she had been released pending further investigation.

Just ridiculous! What was wrong with her?

Maybe it had been the softness in Chas' voice as he'd told her, "Yeah, his lordship is at home. I'll patch you through, sweetheart."

Sweetheart, no less! Had he ever used such a familiar endearment on her before?

Or maybe, conversely, it had been the gruffness in the Chief Super's voice. It had sounded forced, as though he was trying to convey authority over concern; annoyance about the time wasted over relief that she was to return to the fold. Not that she could resume duties of course, not whilst the inquiry was ongoing. He had offered to send a car for her but that had already been arranged and a panda car and driver would be despatching her at home shortly.

By the time she got to Camberwell Grove she had made up her mind to visit Jonathan as soon as she'd had a chance to freshen up a bit. She knew nothing of his condition other than he was still in an unconscious state and therefore couldn't be interviewed. The idea that she was somehow partly to blame weighed heavily on her conscience. Whoever had tried to kill him had wanted her implicated for it which to her mind meant somebody she had crossed swords with whilst doing the job was now out for revenge. But why had Jonnie been the target?

What Dempsey had unearthed about her ex's possible involvement in Jonnie losing his company kept resurfacing.

Robert had always been jealous of their relationship, resenting the bond that had formed between them.

Arby and Pelliere had asked a lot of questions about the brothers this morning which probably meant the information she'd presented to Spikings had been passed to the right channels. She just hoped that he'd managed to keep quiet about his source.

Without a doubt, Robert would now be taken in for questioning and would come under some intense scrutiny. Could he really be mixed up in this botched murder? What could Jonnie possibly have done to him that would provoke such an action? And why implicate her when before Saturday, she hadn't so much as spoken to either of the brothers in what now amounted to years? Was she missing something blindingly obvious?

There was a plain-clothes loitering in the hallway.

He'd only been on duty a couple of hours and this was his first stint at it but he'd had enough already. Couldn't stand that hospital smell for one thing; made him feel nauseous. All that antiseptic and liver and onions. And it was always so hot and airless. Even the visitors felt ill after a spell in here!

He'd lost interest in puzzling over the reason the bloke he was guarding was here. They'd arrested a female police officer for it apparently but then had to let her go. One of the SI-10 lot working out of Hammersmith. Some family connection. Odd thing was that he'd heard this guy was a vagrant. It was all a bit of a mystery. His brother was in there with him now. Posh type. He'd turned up nearly an hour ago with a pre-packed sandwich and a copy of the Daily Telegraph.

Curiosity had prompted him to go and stand right outside the door with the thought that he might be able to glean a bit more info only the brother hadn't said a word, not even a hello on his arrival. The vic might be unconscious but they reckoned most of the time they could still hear. You'd have thought he'd at least have tried to let him know he was there for him.

As Dempsey approached the nurses station, the three who were in attendance, going through patient's notes together looked up.

"How can I help?" asked the senior nurse, a no-nonsense type with smiling eyes. Instantly aware of the girlish interest her young colleagues were taking in this person, she had decided she needed to take the lead.

"Hi, I'm here to see Jonathan Makepeace."

"Lieutenant Dempsey?" she asked briskly, having been informed a few minutes earlier by the main downstairs reception. "May I see some I.D. please?"

He held up his badge and all three pairs of eyes viewed the N.Y.P.D insignia.

"You're from New York?" blurted one of the younger nurses, automatically jumping to the conclusion that this hit and run victim they were treating who required a police presence had nefarious connections with the United States. Now it screamed of Mafia and drug running.

"You ain't gonna hold that against me are ya?" he quipped, turning on the charm.

She smiled uncertainly.

The older nurse, unimpressed, told him, "I don't' know what you've been told but you can't see Mr Makepeace I'm afraid. He's not in any position to be answering your questions."

"Yeah, yeah, I realise that. I just need to speak with the officer on guard detail."

"Oh, I see." The wind had been knocked from her sails having been prepared to do battle to protect her patient.

"So how is Mr Makepeace doin' anyways? He conscious yet?"

"Not yet. There was some swelling to the brain so we were keeping him unconscious artificially but he's stabilised now. He was taken off sedation earlier this morning."

"So he's doin' okay? He's gonna survive this thing?"

"There are no guarantees at this stage I'm afraid. He sustained some very serious injuries. Nobody bounces back from something like that but at least he's showing signs of improvement."

Dempsey nodded. "That's good to hear. Where there's hope, huh? An' I'd like to think we'll have the moron who ran him down before he comes around. That'd be some good news for him to wake up to, right?"

The nurse was now moderately impressed. In her experience, it was normally just lip service with the police. Genuine interest in a patient was a rarity and seeing as this one only wanted a word with the policeman on duty, there had been no particular need for the platitudes.

"Ann-Marie," she addressed the young nurse who thus far had remained silent, "would you kindly escort the police officer here down to twenty-two?"

Dempsey fell in step with the dark-haired girl as they turned right and headed across the way and along the corridor. He was about to ask if there had been any visitors but she jumped in first, wanting to know if it was true Jonathan was homeless and had been living rough. It seemed strange, she said, to think that somebody like him could be on the streets because both his wife and brother seemed quite posh and you didn't think of posh people living rough… unless of course they had mental issues… so maybe Mr Makepeace had experienced some kind of a breakdown…

Boy, this quiet one seemed to be suffering with a severe case of verbal diarrhoea!

"Anyone else been to see him?" asked Dempsey.

"Not that I know of but they might have I suppose. His brother's in there now. He's really nice."

The way she said it churned Dempsey's guts a little, like she thought the guy was an acceptable human being or something.

"He was here yesterday too. Only just holding it together, poor thing."

"That so?"

Interesting. From what he'd gathered, there had been no love lost between the two brothers for most of their adult lives. Had Robert gotten all sentimental or was this about something else?

As they approached the room Jonathan was in, the officer standing outside the door fixed on them, bracing himself.

"Lieutenant Dempsey – SI-10," he said, showing his badge again before thanking the nurse for her time.

She gave him a sweetly lingering smile before taking her leave.

"Everything alright, Sir?" the officer asked solicitously, wondering what this American copper might have in store for him.

Dempsey had no clue what his brief was or if he'd even been briefed at all on how to handle questions, let alone from a member of the SI-10 department but he hadn't seen a wall go up so figured he might just carry some authority in this situation.

"How's it goin'?" he asked. "Anythin' happenin' around here?"

"I only arrived at 11:00am. His brother arrived at 12:15pm and he's still in there."

"Okay. That's good. I need to have a conversation with the guy; I got some questions for him."

"With the brother?"

"Unless Jonathan Makepeace is sittin' up and taking notice – yeah, with the brother," Dempsey grouched, feeling irritated for no good reason other than the thought of Harry's ex being on the other side of the door.

The policeman shifted uncomfortably, unsure of how to proceed.

"May I just take a look at your I.D again, Sir?"

"Jeez!" Dempsey muttered under his breath but drew out his badge wallet again all the same. "See, this is me." He held the wallet up to the side of his face so that he could compare the photo I.D as he pointed to the N.Y.P.D badge. "An' this is also me." He transferred it to his other side and pointed to the SI-10 badge tucked into the other window of the leather wallet.

Dempsey contorted his mouth into a grimace of a fixed smile. "They're both me. That enough for ya?"

He suddenly realised that there was a danger the cop would want to radio this through for verification and thought it prudent to get him on side.

"Hey, I'm sorry, pal. We got some pressure with this one, ya know. Wish me luck, ha?"

If he didn't wait for approval, hopefully this guy would be more inclined to believe he had jurisdiction here.

Dempsey knocked twice and entered.