Hello everyone. First of all, I want to thank you for the lovely comments and the amusing speculations. I must say some of them were pretty close, if not bang on!

I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as well, and I wish you all a happy and healthy 2017!

Chapter 12 : The Smokescreen

Lord Winfield looked up from his newspaper and took off his monocle, when his daughter came back into the dining room. Just one look at her was enough for him to realise something was terribly wrong. Her face was as white as a sheet and she had the most disconcerted look in her eyes.

"What's wrong, my darling? Won't he come downstairs?" he asked a bit unsure, as he didn't know what had happened between the seemingly ever-bickering duo.

"He's gone…" was all Harry could muster to say, due to a big lump in her throat.

"That's odd. Abbott didn't mention that he'd already seen your frie… colleague, this morning." The older man quickly corrected himself. "He finally managed to give you the slip, did he? Ah well, you shouldn't worry about it. I know how large the estate is, but no one knows it better than you. I'm sure you'll find him in no time!" he tried to reassure her.

She slowly shook her head. "No, Freddy, you don't understand. He's really gone. He's taken his things and left. His room is empty…" she hesitantly showed him an envelope that she held in her hand. "And I found this letter on his bedside table."

"What do you mean, he left? To where? Without even saying a word?" Now Lord Winfield was taken aback. "What does the letter say?"

Harry carefully unfolded the little sheet of paper, and let her eyes wander wearily over the few lines that were written in the handwriting she recognized so well. "Not much, really. Just that he's grateful for everything we've done for him and that he's sorry he had to leave this way, but that he needs to sort out some things on his own…" she read, before handing it over to her father. He took the letter and put back on his monocle, to quickly skim over the short note.

"Has he mentioned anything to you, about this?" Lord Winfield found it hard to believe that the American would have left without saying a word, as he hadn't seen any signs which pointed at an imminent departure. Not even yesterday afternoon, when they had spent quite some time together and James had finally been able to relax a bit after a few glasses of scotch. The older man had felt a bit uncomfortable, though, when his companion had praised excessively the hospitality and kindness he'd experienced during his stay in Winfield Hall, concluding that 'he couldn't have whished for a better place for his recovery'. His Lordship hadn't paid much attention to it at the time, thinking it was no more than some drunken talk. Now, in light of the recent events, he began to have his doubts… Had it been his way of saying goodbye?

"No, not directly to me, anyway..." Harry shook her head and slumped back on the chair next to her father. "But I knew what he intended to do. I just didn't expect he would leave so soon. After all, he'd promised the Chief Superintendent that he would wait a few more days! How was I supposed to know that he would break his promise?" She tried to sound angry, but couldn't hide the concern in her voice.

Lord Winfield stared confused at his daughter. "So you knew that James intended to leave?"

Harry bowed her head and nodded weakly. "Yes, but he wasn't aware of it that I…" she hesitated to continue, knowing her father wouldn't approve that she secretly had overheard the conversation between her boss and her partner. But in her line of work, she had learned that the end sometimes justifies the means. Especially as in the last two years several rules had become more open to interpretation.

Freddy noticed she was fiddling with the ring on her ring finger, and he instantly recognized the small piece of jewellery. It was without any doubt the ring he had given her for her sixteenth birthday, the same ring that once had belonged to her mother. A faint smile appeared on his lips, when he recalled the times his teenage girl had sat opposite him, her head bowed, her hands fiddling with the ring, whenever she was nervous or she had to confess something. Oh, his girl may have become a confident and independent young woman, some things apparently never changed…

His thoughts were brought back to the present, when Harry hesitantly started telling him about the conversation she'd overheard between her boss and her partner. In one breath, she also confessed what she had done to prevent James from going back to New York. Her father sat listening to her in silence with a grave expression on his face. The frown on his forehead deepened the more he learned about what both his daughter and her partner had been up to.

After she had told him everything, she raised her head and glanced at her father with a desperate look in her eyes. "I've made a huge mistake by not telling him what I did! I know he would have been furious at me, but he probably wouldn't have sneaked away. And now he's gone, perhaps even without realising he's missing something. Until the moment he will need it! What if he'll go to his apartment to search for it? Those killers may still lie in wait for him! He'll walk right into their hands! Oh my God, what have I done?"

Before her father even had the time to respond, Harry jumped up from her chair and headed for the door. "I've got to find him, before it's too late! I'll never forgive myself if something happens to him!"

She rushed to her room to fetch her handbag, which also contained her car keys. By the time she came back downstairs, Lord Winfield was waiting for her in the hallway, demonstratively blocking her way to the front door. "Darling, be sensible. You don't even know where James is, nor when he has left. He could be anywhere!"

"All the more reason to go looking for him, as soon as possible!" she exclaimed, but became silent the moment her gaze fell on the headless armour, the matching helmet placed neatly on the floor beside its feet. Rooted to the spot, she stood staring at the armour. "I didn't realise it this morning, but I think I've caught him when he was about to leave. Maybe I could have stopped him, if only I...!"

"Stop it, Harriet! Don't do this to yourself! You couldn't have known what he intended to do!" Lord Winfield spoke to her with stern voice, though softened when he saw her distress. He gently took her by the shoulders. "You have to be realistic, my dear girl. If James has left early this morning, he may a well be in London or Heathrow by now! There is no way you can catch up on him!"

For a moment, Harry stared blankly at her father. "I know, Freddy. It's just…" She let out a deep sigh. "I guess there's no other way than to call Spikings and tell him that I've failed. I do hope he'll be willing to start a search for Dempsey again."

Half reassured that his daughter wouldn't act impulsively, Lord Winfield retreated to the dining room to give her the necessary privacy for the delicate phone call to her superior. No more than five minutes later, she entered the room again.

"Spikings wasn't pleased at all, to say the least!" the blonde detective sighed. She wouldn't have been surprised if everyone in the ancient house had heard her boss bellowing over the phone, and she'd felt quite embarrassed about it. She had no words to describe her relief, however, when he promised to send a couple of detectives to the airport and to Dempsey's apartment straight away, while he and Chas stayed at the office in case Dempsey would turn up there.

"And what about you? Has Gordon summoned you too London, as well?"

When she heard Freddy call her boss by his first name, Harry frowned. "No, Chief Superintendent Spikings has ordered me to stay here for the time being, in case Dempsey would return to Winfield Hall. Although I think it's a complete waste of time, as I fail to see why he would come back here…" She obviously wasn't pleased with her boss's decision. She's rather went straight back to London, to help search her partner.

On top of that, Harry had deliberately emphasized the full rank and surname of her boss, as she had the feeling that her father and her boss had been socializing more than she felt comfortable with. Last thing she needed now was an overly concerned father keeping close contact with her boss. Thanks to Dempsey, she'd finally been able to do some real detective work, and she certainly didn't want to be treated with kid gloves again!

The irritation in her voice hadn't gone unnoticed by Freddy, and he thought it was best to change the subject. "No doubt your boss will have his reasons. Anyway, let's eat something first. With all the commotion, we haven't had any breakfast yet."

Breakfast… Just the thought of food was enough to make her stomach turn. Harry threw a glance at the empty seat beside her. "No, thank you, I'm not hungry."

No matter how hard he tried, Lord Winfield couldn't persuade his daughter to eat anything, not even a slice of toast. He gently patted her hand. "Don't worry. I'm sure your colleagues will find him soon."

"I hope so…" She paused for a moment. "It's just so hard to believe, you know. One minute, he's sitting in the kitchen, acting as if there's no cloud in the sky and, very odd, without any traces of a hangover. And only a few hours later, he's gone without saying a word, leaving behind nothing but this note!"

She narrowed her eyes. "You know something? The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that he wasn't really drunk yesterday. I think he pretended so he could prepare his departure in peace." Her mind drifted back to the past. "It reminds me of our first undercover job together. We went to a party and Dempsey was behaving way out of line, so everyone thought he was drunk. God, I was so angry at him, I really hated him!" She let out a sad chuckle. "Afterwards, it turned out he wasn't drunk at all, but he had been pretending! Even I fell for it…, just like yesterday." Harry secretly cursed herself. "Why didn't I see it? How could I have been so blind?"

"You really shouldn't blame yourself, darling. He has managed to fool everyone. Obviously, the man is a born actor. But on top of that, he's also a grown man, responsible for his own actions."

"Dempsey, responsible?" she chuckled. "I doubt he even knows the meaning of the word! That bloody man always wants to do things his own reckless way, but he gets himself into trouble every single time! This time, however, I won't be there to watch his back!"

"It's his choice if he wants to deal with things his own way, even if it's a reckless way…"

Oh dear, that sounded familiar… With a shock, the poor man recalled all the times he had tried to convince himself of the same fact, but then concerning his daughter.

"And let him get killed? You've seen his condition when he came here! He nearly died, for God's sake! I can't bear the thought…" Harry swallowed as the words stuck in her throat. Suddenly, she rose and headed for the door. "I'm sorry, but I can't sit here and do nothing! I have to go look for him! Since he has no car, he may still be in the area."

"I sincerely doubt that he would walk the whole way to Heathrow!" Lord Winfield remarked dryly.

"I am aware of that, thank you very much!" she retorted irritated. "But he may have planned to take the bus or the train, so I'm just going to check the train station and the nearby bus-stops."

He knew it was pointless to argue with her. Instead, Freddy insisted to accompany her, using the argument that 'two pairs of eyes can see more than one…' Harry couldn't deny that her father had a point and since there was no immediate danger, she accepted the offer. Not that he left her much choice anyway, as he stepped resolutely into her car on the passenger's seat, before she even had the chance to start the engine.

After having driven around unsuccessfully for about an hour, Harry finally decided to contact the office. She immediately heard Chas's deep voice through the RT.

"Harry, were are you? I thought you were supposed to stay in Kent?"

"I know, Chas, but I couldn't just sit there waiting for news, so I…" she wasn't able to finish her sentence as she got interrupted by an angry voice at the other end of the RT.

"Makepeace? What the hell are you doing, out there?" Spikings snarled, his authoritarian voice echoing loudly through the radio. "I thought I had given you strict orders to stay in Winfield Hall, until further notice? Well, it seems that you don't need that Yank of yours beside you, to disobey my orders! He really has taught you well, hasn't he?"

She wisely let Spikings blow off steam first, before she gave him a reply. "I thought it couldn't harm to drive around here in the area, Sir, in case Dempsey would still be…" she started to explain on her typical calm manner.

Again, Spikings interrupted her, still sounding annoyed but his voice a few decibels lower. "Save yourself the trouble, Sergeant. If you'd have stayed at the mansion, as you were supposed to, you wouldn't have missed our call! For we have just received confirmation of a taxi driver that he had picked up an American, matching Dempsey's description, around 5.30 AM this morning just outside Winfield Hall, and has brought him straight to Heathrow Airport. Seems like our Yankee friend intends to continue with his foolish plan, after all!"

Harry held her breath. "Please, tell me that you were able to intercept him at the airport?"

"I'm afraid not. He must have left the airport before we got there. But if it's a relief to you, his name wasn't on any of the passenger's lists. Either he found another solution, or your little scheme has worked."

"And do you have any idea where he might be now, Sir?"

"No, we're still working on it. A couple of our detectives are watching his apartment again, and we're checking out a few places where he might be. But you do realise that, if Dempsey doesn't want to be found, there's not much chance that we will find him?" Spikings growled. "That's just great, isn't it? Now we can spend our time trying to find at least three trigger-happy cowboys! As if we have nothing else to do! Why can't those bloody Yanks play their games in their own country? They have a lot more space over there, anyway!"

Harry held her tongue and glanced sideways at her father, feeling a bit embarrassed about the way her boss spoke to her about her partner. He sat listening quietly, staring outside through the windscreen. What would he be thinking?

She woke up from her musings when she heard Spikings voice again, this time on a very sweet tone, but loaded with cynicism. "Now, how about making a nice U-turn with that fancy vehicle of yours, and drive straight back to where you came from, huh? You can even make yourself useful by checking Dempsey's room, a bit more thoroughly this time. Who knows, maybe you can find something that can help us locate him? And tomorrow, you can return with your vehicle to London, to honour us with your presence in the office again. You think you can do that, Sergeant?"

"Of course, Sir." She responded dryly. "But you will keep me informed if there's any news about Dempsey?"

"You'll be the first to know, girl! At least, if we are able to reach you…" he remarked, before he ended the conversation.

In a resigned mood, Harry drove back to Winfield Hall. Once back home, she searched Dempsey's room again, very thoroughly this time. As expected, she found nothing significant, only his sling in one of the drawers of the wardrobe and some clothes in the laundry basket, which he had probably forgotten.

To Freddy's great concern, his daughter avoided any contact for the rest of the day. Instead, he saw her wandering aimlessly all over the estate. The poor man felt helpless as he couldn't do anything but observe her distress, until she finally seemed to find some solace in the rose garden, where she was occupied with the care of the rose bushes. And later on, he found her sitting at the shore of the lake, feeding the ducks and staring at the water. Freddy had seen her often at that place the past few days, but always together with her partner.

Another cause for his concern was that she had barely eaten anything all day. Instead, she sat staring at her plate, poking absent-mindedly with her fork into her salad.

"My dear girl, you really should try to eat something. Do you know that Mrs. Lipton has prepared this meal especially for you?" Lord Winfield tried to persuade her.

"Yes, and I appreciate it, but I already told you before that I'm not hungry. Please Freddy, stop pushing me, will you?"

Freddy's concern grew by the minute. "You really care a lot about him, don't you?"

She looked up from her plate. "He's my partner. Of course I care about him!"

"You've had other partners before…"

"Yes, and I cared about them too, and also about all of my colleagues." She cut in. "In fact, I was devastated when one of my former partners died, or when we lost one of our officers! And I would do anything, to prevent this from happening again!"

"Nevertheless, I've never seen you so concerned about any of your colleagues before," he tried again.

"Maybe that's because they are not as bloody reckless as Dempsey!" she reacted defensively.

"Are you sure there is nothing more going on, darling?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Freddy. I just know that Dempsey is in great danger and that I was supposed to protect him but I've failed! That's all there's too it! Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll have an early night. I have to go back to the office tomorrow, so I have a long drive ahead." She put her fork down and laid her napkin on the table as she got up from her chair.

Freddy barely had the chance to wish her good night, before she left the room and headed for her bedroom.

Later that night, when Lord Winfield was on his way to his bedroom, he noticed some faint light coming from underneath Dempsey's bedroom door. Thinking that one of the staff members had left the light on in the room, he stepped inside to turn it off. He was more than surprised to find his daughter there, lying asleep on top of the bed. She was wearing her dressing gown and lay curled up with some sort of cloth in her arms, which she held tightly to her body. As he got closer, he recognized it as one of Dempsey's shirts. Very carefully, not to wake her, he took a blanket from the wardrobe and gently draped it over her. Then he switched off the night light on the bedside table, and quietly left the room.

As he lay in his own bed, he couldn't stop thinking about his daughter's behaviour of the previous days and their short conversation from earlier that evening. Would she even be aware of it, that the way she cared about her partner was far from normal?

Once everything was quiet and dark in the big house, a dark silhouette slowly emerged from the bushes at the edge of the woods. Neither Harry nor her father had noticed the pair of eyes that had been watching them for the past few hours, waiting patiently until the darkness had set in, to make his move.

As soon as he had left the shelter of the bushes, he was soaked in no time due to the thick raindrops, which initially had been no more than some droplets but meanwhile had become a shower of rain. He straightened his collar and made his way towards the mansion, swiftly, but constantly on his guard. He had waited long enough for this moment. Now, the coast was clear and it was finally time for some action!

(TBC)