Klonakilty

Feeling worse for wear and quite isolated Dempsey actually rang Inspector O'Malley Saturday morning to inform him of his progress and next move.

O'Malley seemed very unimpressed he merely informed Dempsey of Sergeant Makepeace's intended address, also in Klonakilty, and suggested that they work as a team; he had been informed he was being sent a team!

Dempsey drove south as arranged. Sheahan showed him around his land but was very apologetic about the fact that he was unable to be around in the evening as he had to be in Dublin the next day. Dempsey played the American touring Ireland and keeping an eye out for long lost relatives and explained that he was intending to stay overnight in Klonakilty before travelling west or north.

Makepeace hired herself a mini and also drove from Cork , she hoped to find Hickey at the only golf club in the area and had booked herself into the only hotel the small town seemed to have.

The day gave no extra information to either Dempsey or Makepeace other than they were able to keep tabs on their watches. Patrick Tierney didn't surface at all.

Dempsey didn't feel inclined to book in at the hotel; it would just emphasize his regret, so chose a small B+B. The Irish Landlady insisted on giving Dempsey a big meal, "You're a fine strong man" she insisted "You need some feeding up" She stood and talked whilst he ate, she talked endlessly about nothing in particular, her strong Irish accent meant Dempsey could barely catch every third word, he smiled politely.

Relieved to have stopped eating and therefore be entertained by his host he took his notes up to his room to study, but he couldn't settle.

He actually needed to know where Harry's leads had taken her. He thought the connection between Sheahan and Hickey would be the door to finding Tierney. An equal reason for his disquiet was the unresolved argument with Harry. He was baffled over Harry's problem and annoyed that she could go off on one without any explanation. One or two nights of huffing and puffing around was more than enough, they were a team, a good team and they needed to resolve the issue – what ever that was. Fear fleeted across his mind - what if it was irresolvable? He loved his current life – SI10 working with Harry every day, having her for a great friend out of work. He knew he would like it to be more, but Harry confused him sometimes. Now was one of those; they'd had a great first night and a disastrous second and he was at a loss to understand why. He picked up his notes, put on his coat and asked the Landlady for a key. As he drove past an off licence he stopped and bought some wine; at Harry's Hotel he asked for a couple of wine glasses and made his way up to her room.

He knocked on her door, she opened it, he was still adjusting his tie and that made her smile. Inside her heart skipped a beat and she prayed this would go well, but her tone of voice gave nothing of that away. She spoke "Oh it's you"

Dempsey reassured himself that this was typical Makepeace understatement "Don't sound so pleased to see me"

"I'm not sure if I should be" Harry didn't want to show any weakness

"You gonna invite me in?" experience had shown Dempsey many times how to handle 'the Sergeant'.

"Come in Dempsey, why don't you"

He stepped in side and looked around, he couldn't be sure what he was looking for, and then as he spoke "You alone?" he realised: There were no signs of any one else. He was petrified of someone else being there, jealous that she might entertain someone other than himself.

"I've got plenty of work to do Dempsey, unlike some people I have kept my eye on the targets"

"What?" He'd not really been listening, then her words finally registered "I ain't been distracted" he defended

"That's not what it looked liked to me" Harry dug in for battle.

Dempsey recognised the signs; she was starting to annoy him again, that was a real problem ~ she could be so damn bloody annoying!

"What?" Dempsey felt totally mystified, in the interest of his mission he decided to start again. He held up the bottle of wine and the two glasses, "I got one of your favourites"

"Distracted" As Harry voiced the single word it started high and harsh and finished low and soft as she noted the wine was a favourite, and Dempsey was about the only person who would remember that.

"I thought we could update each other with our leads over a bottle wine" he spoke softly and with hope and looked at her with his soft brown eyes and a yearning that he couldn't hide.

Harry thought back to their first night when he had ordered champagne, and they worked together, relaxed on the sofa, sipping champagne and reading reports; it certainly was an enjoyable way to work. She had missed both his wit and wisdom following Ryan up into Northern Ireland .

"Did you pick up a cork screw?" she asked as she took the wine glasses out of his hands. Dempsey noticed the playful grin flicker across Makepeace's face and eyes before she managed to control and hide it. He took the cork screw out of his pocket and opened the wine. His smile was rooted deep into his heart, everything was OK again now..