The trophy on her head warmed Harry's heart; she had something of his freely given to her, well almost a gift of his heart. Part of her felt like a fourteen year old, she placed the hat carefully on top of her wardrobe, making it look as if she cared very little but in reality it was her prize and the last thing her eyes would glance at before sleep every night. None of that would she ever admit to, not even herself or her closest girlfriends although each one of them would challenge her over the coming weeks and months.
***
Harry missed Dempsey. At the Foriegn Office (room 106 as she quoted everytime she answered the phone) an office junior brought her coffee when ever she asked but she would rather have placed one of the SI10 mugs down in front of Dempsey. The stacks of reports, notes and files stayed exactly where she put them; she never needed to snatch something back as Dempsey threatened to muddle everything up with his haphazard method of leafing through things in totally random orders. Radio 4 filled the background with voices for company but there was no Dempsey whistling or humming as he typed, no swearing when he went wrong. Yet he could still distract her!
She sat back in her chair thinking about him, playing her pencil around her lips as she contemplated Dempsey and women. He never actually seemed to date a woman for any length of time, may be more than a one night stand but generally his relationships never made months, frequently it seemed barely weeks - well she wasn't completely sure, but that was the impression she had got recently. Harry thought he liked the chase and the catching a woman rather than finding out about her and developing a relationship.
She, on the other hand, had always gone in for the long term thing. Well she had in the past, just recently she had been on a few dates with Anthony but just 3 weeks from the first date he had suggested they stopped seeing each other: quote 'not that he wasn't interested; she was, he thought, an attractive woman, both in looks and personality but wasn't able or willing to compete with Dempsey.' When she had asked him to explain himself he had simply said 'her mind was usually else where, her conversation littered with his name and her eyes dull except when she spoke about him.' When she had protested Harry had blamed Dempsey's diabolical behaviour and his ruthless disregard for rules in respect to her and/or SI10 as to the reason she was always given to 'letting off steam' when Anthony took her out. Again Anthony had pointed out that she was simply doing it again, right now! 'Couched tales of Dempsey, bemoaning his conduct - she always wanted to be talking about him.'
The office junior interrupted her musing with a cup of coffee. "Are you doing anything this weekend mam?" she asked casually
Makepeace thought of the household chores held over from the previous weeks, work always overrunning into her personal life – she knew she would be at this desk until midnight if that was what it took to get this solitary investigated finished before Monday.
"Just work" she replied feeling a little self pity, then woke up to her manners "And you?" she asked the girl who had been her faithful run around for the past three days. "Up the dogs I guess" she answered and noticed Makepeace's unequivocal look "My dad trains greyhounds" she added "he usually races two or three on a Friday night"
"Is he successful?"
"Pretty well, but he always likes it when his dog gets trap number 4 – says it's the best, not too close in but not too far removed from the hare when it first goes past"
"I'll remember that" Makepeace smiled
"Oh I'm sorry I shouldn't be standing here talking you must be wanting to get on"
"I'm glad of the break and the company…. What's your father's name?"
"Stan Linzell and his best dogs are Black Wood, Pilgrims Silver and Chevington Lee"
Interrupted by the phone ringing Makepeace took the call and made notes, the office junior dismissing herself.
Makepeace was right it took her until 11.20pm to finish her report but she was determined to be back at SI10 on Monday.
