This plot may be a bit anachronistic, I'm not really sure.

-:-:-

It was at least three hours before they'd covered all the pubs within a mile radius of the spot Toni had taken them to. After this time, Dempsey drove Toni back to her flat and he and Harry drove back to SI10.

"Kinda weird that none of the pubs recognised Toni or that picture of Lydia," Dempsey said.

"They get a lot of customers," Harry replied faintly, staring out of the window.

"So you don't see anything suspicious about all this?" Dempsey demanded.

"Not really."

"Harry." Dempsey waited for her to look at him, but, when she didn't, he called her name again and shook her. "Harry!" At last she met his eyes. "There's somethin' really wrong with you, Harry, 'cause your emotions are foulin' up your police work. If you didn't see anything suspicious about today then quite frankly you're bein' a lousy cop."

Harry stared at him, shocked out of her thoughts for the moment.

"Number one, that water was far too dirty to swim in unless you're seriously drunk, and that kid said they'd been on lemonade all night. Number two, not one of those pubs knew anythin' about her or her friend."

"But they get so many people in," Harry protested, but Dempsey cut across her.

"Number three, she was on edge the entire time, like she was waitin' for us to figure out she was lying. Four, she showed every sign of bein' a regular drug user."

"What?"

"Depression, anxiety, paranoia," he rattled off, checking off each point on his fingers, "signs of flu, too poor for a car, breathing problems, chest pains. That broad's lyin' to us in more ways than one. And if you'd been payin' attention, Sergeant, you'd've noticed she even has red marks on her arms like she's been scratchin' at 'em. Crack makes you imagine bugs in your skin, remember?"

"You think she smokes cocaine?" Harry said with a sceptical note to her voice.

"Yeah I do, and if you had your eyes open you'd see it too!" Dempsey shouted back angrily. "If you don't wanna tell me what's up, fine, but don't make me deal with you bein' a stupid cop as well as wonderin' if you're okay!"

Anger, sadness and guilt swirled around Harry's mind, and she could say nothing. Dempsey turned away from her as though he was disgusted with her, and Harry almost burst into tears. Why had he had to choose the night before to confuse her so utterly? She needed him as a friend now, more than she ever had before.

"Control to Charlie-5, come in, please," came Chas's crackling voice. Dempsey shot Harry an unreadable glance before picking up the RT.

"Charlie-5 receiving."

"They've found a body matching the missing woman's description a hundred yards downstream of that bridge. The local bobbies picked up Toni to identify the girl."

"Hey, Chas, make sure they do a drugs test on the body."

"You think she was taking drugs?"

"Dempsey, there is no evidence that either of them are taking drugs," Harry burst out angrily.

"Yeah, Chas, I'm sure of it," Dempsey continued, ignoring her. "Probably crack, but I ain't certain. If she was, we might be able to nail one of the dealers for her death."

"Roger that." There was a slight pause, a crackle of static. "The boss says he wants the big guys for this. Over and out."

Dempsey put down the receiver and ignored Harry's scowl. It irritated him that she was letting her emotions affect her work; he'd thought he could trust her not to let anything faze her. With the possible exception of that Lowe bloke. And the time her friend had been killed. Stupid woman. They shouldn't let broads be cops, he'd said that from the beginning.

-:-

"Hey Chas, any news on that body?" Dempsey asked later that day.

"Yep, she was identified as Lydia and they think they've found traces of cocaine." Chas glanced automatically at Harry as he said this last; he'd heard her exclamation earlier and wondered if this was going to lead to another row. He saw Harry's jaw set and made his escape just as Dempsey turned to look at her with a smug expression on his face.

"I guess I was right after all, hey, Sergeant?" he goaded her.

Harry met his eyes defiantly and said firmly, "Let's go and find out who her supplier is then, shall we?"

Dempsey smirked as she plucked her coat from the back of her chair and led the way out of the office.

-:-

Harry felt a sense of déjà vu as she and Dempsey pulled up in the car park of Toni's building. Though the morning had been hot and bright, and it was now cooler due to the sun beginning to set, there was still a sense of sameness that was hard to shake off. That morning felt like a million years ago. The previous night felt as though it had happened to somebody else.

The lift arrived with a ding and the partners were let into Toni's apartment.

"We gotta coupla questions to ask you," Dempsey said, without preamble, as they followed Toni into the kitchen. "First question, what drugs were you and your friend on the night she died?"

"We weren't on anything," Toni replied calmly, putting water into the kettle.

Dempsey made a sceptical face. "Second question, why are you lying to us?"

"I'm not lying about anything." Toni put the kettle down with unnecessary force.

At this point Dempsey lost his patience; he swung her around and shoved her against the kitchen wall with a hand next to her throat. "I'm gonna ask you again 'coz I don't like it when people lie to me," he said, pushing his face into hers. Toni's eyes were wide with fear.

"Dempsey!" Harry exclaimed as Toni's eyes filled with tears.

"Shut up, Harry. Now you listen to me: your friend has washed up out the river higher up than you said you were swimming and with her blood full o' drugs." Dempsey ignored Harry angrily calling his name again. "Maybe you don't care that much about your friend but I wanna find someone to arrest and you are obstructing an officer in pursuit of his duties."

Suddenly he found himself pulled bodily away from Toni, who sank down in relief, clutching her throat; a hand connected sharply with his face. "You've gone too far, Dempsey!" Harry shouted as he put a hand to his cheek, mostly out of shock. "She's twenty-two, and she's just had to identify the body of her friend. She's not some murdering criminal. She's a young woman who's been through a lot in the last few days and you need to show some respect."

From Dempsey's scowl, Harry wasn't sure if she'd got through to him or not; it looked like he was just sulking. She turned to Toni, who was looking between the two of them looking vaguely surprised. "Listen, Toni," she said gently. "You're not going to get into any trouble as long as you answer a couple of questions. We need to know who your supplier is and what really happened the night Lydia died."

Toni flinched at the word "died" but seemed much calmer. "We went to The Rose and Crown first and had a pint, then we went to the Dance club and drank loads more - I don't remember what - and that's where we met this guy selling crack." She paused. "We both have it regularly, just not from this guy before. He's called…" she hesitated, narrowing her eyes in concentration. "Billy."

"Can you remember what he looked like?" asked Harry, who'd automatically pulled out her notepad. Dempsey stood a pace behind with his arms folded defensively. She ignored him.

"Tall…About forty…Blonde hair…He had some serious sideburns." She demonstrated by waving her fingers over the area that was obviously covered in hair on Billy.

Harry smiled. "Right. Anything else?"

Toni shook her head.

"I'm sure that will be very helpful," Harry reassured her. "Shall we go?" she added, to Dempsey.

-:-

"This is a bit of a long shot," Dempsey pointed out in a low voice as they entered the club. "He might not even be here."

Harry was scanning the room, and did not reply. The dance floor was alive with writhing bodies, many trailing a cigarette from their lips and holding a drink in their hand. The bright lights flashed and moved, now highlighting a drunken dancer, now a pair kissing in a corner.

Spotting a man with sideburns consisting of long blonde hair which stretched to the bottom of his ears, Harry nudged Dempsey and pointed him out as discreetly as she could.

"Certainly looks like a Billy," Dempsey remarked, and they made their way round the edge of the crowded dance floor towards him. "Hey there, Billy, right? Whatcha sellin'?"

"Depends, that. Who's asking?" Billy responded.

"Dan Green and Lynda Carlisle," Harry lied smoothly in her American accent. Dempsey glanced at her with faint surprise and more than a touch of amusement. "We're not gonna be in town for very long but we heard you might be able to sell us something…fun, you know?"

"Oh, yeah? And where you 'eard that from?" Billy asked warily.

"Someone you sold a bit o' Charlie to last week," Dempsey replied.. "Good stuff, yeah?"

"I only sell the best." This was said with the hint of the sneer, but he seemed to be clicking into 'sell' mode.

"Where d'you get that from?" Dempsey asked. "Only, we were hoping to land quite a bit of it before we go home, if you get me. There'd definitely be somethin' in it for you if you could help us out."

Billy looked between the two of them with narrowed eyes. "You bobbies?" he asked suspiciously.

"Eh, what?"

"Coppers, are you coppers?"

"Now, ain't that a nice thing to say to a guy?" said Dempsey, feigning offence. "'Course we ain't cops, what would a cop want with you? All we want is a bit of a fun time, alright? We'll give you double on what we're buying just for a name."

Billy rotated his jaw as he considered the proposition. "What you buying?"

"Sweetheart, whadda you want?" Dempsey asked, turning to Harry.

"Well, Dan, you know how much I like my Charlie," she replied, staying in role.

"Just one for now, we'll see how things go," Dempsey said to Billy. He paid what Billy asked for for the drug and Billy said, "I get it from a bloke called Max Weaver. 'E's got a fish and chip shop near the river but he sells more than that if you ask him nicely."

"Right y'are, Billy," Dempsey replied.

"Let's go dance, honey," Harry said to Dempsey - now they'd got what they came for she didn't want to stick around long enough to rouse Billy's suspicions further.

Dempsey put an arm around Harry's waist as they walked away from Billy. "You're doin' my favourite accent again, Harry," he said into her ear.

"God, I'm thirsty. Why don't we have a drink before we go?" she suggested, sidestepping the dangerous conversational waters of what Dempsey found attractive.

Harry watched him walk towards the bar, thinking. She'd seen people on drugs before, scores of times. They didn't always look happy, exactly, but they never seemed to be worrying about the normal problems that occupied them the rest of the time. That was just what she wanted; a few hours just to forget everything that was weighing on her mind. She looked down at the occasionally crackling cigarette in her hand, then over at Billy. He was watching her with narrowed eyes. Well, she justified, she couldn't blow the case.

She raised the drug-laden cigarette to her lips and breathed in deeply.

-:-:-

Note: I have never taken any drugs and know only what I have googled, so if I'm vague or incorrect then I'm…well, not sorry at all, actually - I'd rather be ignorant than addicted.