'No finger prints,' Jarvis handed over the file and Dempsey took it, reading through it rapidly.

'Okay, so the perp gets frightened off when Harry goes out the front door cos they know they've been rumbled or they know she ain't gonna be in the house.'

'Seems like it, we got a print of a shoe in the soft soil, male footprint size ten foot. So it suggests a single male involved.'

'Well not all burglars work with a partner so that's fine, okay so we're looking for some guy, potentially a burglar who works the area or someone who's got a grudge against D.I. Makepeace.'

'Sounds about right,' Chas responded as he was handling the case. 'Well on the grudge front we could check any ex-con's who've been released lately, ex-boyfriends and Parker, he's a possible. I'll find out what size shoe he takes.'

'Yeah, Parker's a possible that complaint is bound to have found its way to Bunny Schofield by now. You need to check his alibi for last night.'

'Thanks Jim,' Chas said dourly wondering if Dempsey thought he'd got his Inspector status because of long service. 'At least you got your shirt back,' the Glaswegian responded drily and went to give Spikings some information he'd requested.

Dempsey smiled at that but he saw Harry freeze and bury herself in her computer screen. He wandered over there. 'Circumstantial evidence,' he growled in her ear, 'can't convict. But did last night's punishment fit the crime,' he murmured softly.

'Oh I think I paid you back handsomely,' Harry responded with a small smile playing around her mouth, 'no debt outstanding.'

'Well it was a breach of trust and that can take a long time to repair,' his dark eyes teased her, 'you staying at my place tonight?' Ever the opportunist, Dempsey liked the idea of having Harry around.

'No thank you, they've repaired the glass in my door and I've got a specialist security firm coming tonight to make my home a safer place.' As much as she liked being with James she really felt that she needed to keep a certain level of independence.

'Okay I'll come over and make sure they do a good job, I'll bring the food you can just sit back and relax,' he smiled at her. 'And until we know who the intruder is you're not staying there on your own.' He could see she didn't like being thought anything other than self-sufficient but she weren't getting her own way on this one. 'Don't argue angel, I'm serious.'

'I can see you are,' she folded her arms across her chest. 'You can't just order me around Dempsey, I can look after myself…

'We'll talk about it later,' he soothed her not wanting another falling out but equally determined to get his own way on this. She was his girl, she got his support and that was the end of that. He had a strong feeling that this wasn't a run of the mill burglary and he went with his nose.

Harry frowned comically. 'I don't know what's more irritating you're bossing me around or placating me; it's a close call.'

'Let's get some coffee I want to run something by you,' he coaxed her into taking a break, she worked too hard and they hadn't had a lot of sleep last night as they made love like they argued, with a lot of passion.

'That sounds ominous, this isn't a proposal is it because I don't think we're there yet,' she teased him in her usual manner as she picked up her bag and got up to follow him.

'Don't get ahead of yourself Makepeace,' he drawled in an amused tone. 'And that's one big insult, I wouldn't take you to the canteen if I was going to do that. I ain't that cheap!'

Spikings gave them a disapproving look as he saw them sauntering off but didn't say anything. He'd just received a report to say the shoe print had been a red herring as it had been deliberately placed in the soft soil and the imprint was too faint to have had anyone standing in the shoe. He was concerned that Harry had reported nothing missing but then she had left the house and the villain may have been aware of that and aborted the burglary.

Dempsey placed a tea in front of Harry and a jam tart and then put some disgusting looking fried sandwich on the table that he was presumably going to eat. 'The footprint was a fake,' he picked up the sandwich, 'Chas just reported in.'

'That's odd; so someone breaking into my house and then trying to leave evidence that wouldn't incriminate them?' She sipped her tea and ignored the jam tart, that definitely was not the M.O. of a common burglar.

'Yeah so not your normal thief, that's why I'm staying with you until we narrow this down. It's written down in the boyfriend book; you have to protect the little woman.'

Harry thought about her situation and the possible threat. 'So has Chas come up with a list of any newly released ex-con's I've put away; he's asked me about old boyfriends but I really don't think any of my dates would have a serious grudge except for my ex-husband who got nothing from the divorce due to Freddie insisting on a prenuptial agreement. He's in South Africa currently so I think we can rule him out.'

'Chas doesn't think there's much in the way of prisoner release to be worried about; most of the nastier element won't be going anywhere for a good few years so that's a bust.'

'So that leaves Rory Parker as a possible suspect,' Harry came to the conclusion that Dempsey was leading her to.

'Yeah, he's a definite maybe,' the dark-haired American confirmed, 'but we don't have any real evidence as yet. 'I mean we know he's hot for you and that he don't take rejection well and the guy's got a violent streak. Police officer though so that presents some difficulties.'

Harry met Dempsey's gaze and she gave a sigh of frustration, 'James you are not to go rogue on this one, promise me. It's D.I. Jarvis's case not yours and Chas is a good copper; he's not as gung-ho as you but he is meticulous.'

Dempsey felt frustrated, cos if anyone was messing with Makepeace he wanted to sort them out. 'Yeah, I know that but you're my girl and I can't just treat this as a normal case…

'Which is why Spikings gave it to Chas because as my ex-partner he would assume you'd become extremely protective and he would be right,' Harry's blue eyes searched his.

'Course he'd be right. I ain't letting some jumped up jerk like Parker mess with you Harry, anyway I've told Spikings I'm staying over at yours so you've escaped the safe house cos I know how you'd hate that.'

'That was rather presumptuous,' Harry's disdainful glance told him how little she appreciated his interference. 'I haven't agreed to your staying with me and I certainly don't think your announcing it to the Chief Inspector was a good idea. 'What did he say?'

Dempsey drained his coffee and sent her an irritated look. 'He said that it would be better if someone stayed with you but to keep it on the down low because he didn't want your name bandied about in a derogatory fashion as you had Parker on the naughty step.'

'I'll ask Sergeant Hargreaves,' Harry got up and left him in the canteen as she was furious at his high-handed actions on her behalf, and very conscious of her delicate position reference Parker.

Joyce nodded when Harry asked her to stay over. I'll talk to my husband and we'll sort out something workable. How long do you think it will be for?'

'A couple of days, I'm happy to stay there on my own it's just Dempsey being overly protective and to be honest I just don't need my name linked to a male officer at this current time.

'No absolutely not, that worm Parker would love to use some allegation like that to blacken your name even D.I. Dempsey must see that,' Joyce was quite a feminist and knew how chauvinistic male officers were.

'Thank you Joyce I really appreciate your help with this; I'll cook something nice for dinner.' She walked over to Dempsey as he had just come out of the interview room although interrogation room would be the better name for it. 'With reference to your concern at my being alone in my home, Joyce has agreed to come and stay with me for a few days so you can stand down D.I. Dempsey.'

The American detective was furious with her changing his plan after he'd agreed it with Spikings, 'Hargreaves ain't in my league when it comes to protection Makepeace; you're making this difficult Harry,' his dark eyes reflected his displeasure. He saw Spikings beckon him and his jaw squared aggressively. 'Talk to you in a little bit,' he left her to find out what the boss wanted but the conversation wasn't over and he was mad at Harry for bringing Hargreaves into the mix.

-oOo—

Chas met Dempsey in the bar and accepted the pint that had been ordered on his behalf, 'you don't look too happy what's up?' The Glaswegian sipped his beer and waited patiently for his friend to fill him in.

'You got a tail on Parker?' Dempsey growled. 'Cos Tinkerbell has got Tressy as her minder, and the girls do okay when they're paired up with one of us but I don't exactly see them as the dynamic duo on their own.' Since Joyce had got injured on the Daish gig, Dempsey had reservations about her fieldwork. It was okay when the girls were dealing with a fraud case, bent accountants didn't usually have shooters.

'Harry and Joyce,' Chas considered that and nodded to say 'understood.' 'The new security should help, Makepeace said she's got a top-class firm installing a new system tonight cameras and everything.'

'I know I'm going over there to check it out, so what about Parker have you got him under surveillance?' Dempsey was like a dog with a bone and wanted the skinny on Jarvis's operation.

'Officially no as I'd have to get clearance to mount surveillance on a fellow officer but unofficially we have eyes on him but I never said that,' Chas drank his beer.

'Who's doing it?' Dempsey asked but Chas just blanked him. The Scottish officer was an easy-going bloke but he wasn't being interrogated by the Yank on his choice of officers for the job.

'Yeah sorry, it's difficult to be chilled when it's Harry,' he fiddled with the tablemat feeling somewhat awkward. 'I mean she's a strong dame, but carries the independence thing too far at times. I've always looked out for her.'

'You're the hard man of SI10 and Makepeace is competitive. The more you push to protect her the more she'll push back.' Chas studied people, and he had a lot of insight to share but he rarely did. Jim was a good detective, one of the best; if not the best but when it came to the blonde he was deaf, dumb and blind at times.

Yeah, I know that but it don't stop me… He tailed off and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. 'Thanks for the heads up, my instinct is to go for Parker and scare the crap out of him.'

'Maybe that's what he wants, he could use it to discredit Harry's complaint.' Chas leaned forward and held Dempsey's gaze, 'this is my case Jim, leave it to me.' He watched the Yank get up to leave, 'Morrison and Calvert, the eyes on,' he relented and named the officers as he knew Dempsey rated them.

'Thanks Chas, I owe you one,' the American officer left the bar and headed off to Harry's place.