He slipped his empty cereal bowl into the dishwasher, tossed what was left of his tea into the sink, put his mug on the rack, and closed the machine. ‘Truthfully, I’m enjoying it far more than I thought I would. I’ve got a team around me that’s pretty much hand-picked, and I can do the job the way I want to, spreading myself around without getting tied down by paperwork and meetings. Brian Mackie’s the perfect deputy from that point of view, and Maggie Rose is settling in as well as I knew she would as assistant chief. With them, and those two monsters that run CID reporting directly to me. . I reckon I’ve got the best team in the country. With them to lean on, any idiot could do my job. So yeah, I’m fine.’
‘But restless?’
He frowned at her. ‘What makes you say that?’
‘The idea that you could even contemplate taking the time to come and watch me this lunchtime.’
‘I was kidding. Honest.’ He hesitated. ‘If I seem fidgety, it’s probably because everything’s going too well. Since that fuss last August, there’s been barely a ripple on the surface of Greater Edinburgh.’
‘See, you are doing a great job.’
‘Nobody’s that great. I really don’t like it when it’s as quiet as it’s been. It usually means we’re missing something.’
‘Nah! You’ve scared the bad guys shitless; that’s all there is to it.’
‘If only.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘Come on, we’d better say “So long” to the kids and be on our way, or we’ll catch the worst of the traffic.’
‘That’s all right,’ she chuckled. ‘You’re the chief, you can put your blue light on the roof.’
Three
‘This is going to sound terrible,’ the woman began, ‘but what’s your name again?’
Her companion, propped up on his left elbow, grinned down at her. ‘Sauce,’ he said.
‘No,’ she chuckled, ‘my memory’s not that bad. I meant your real name. It was noisy in that Indigo place last night; I couldn’t hear you properly when you told me.’
‘It’s Harold,’ he murmured, as if it was a confession. ‘Harold Haddock. Hence the nickname, get it?’
‘Have they always called you “Sauce”?’
‘From my first day at nursery school.’
‘Nobody ever calls you Harold, or Harry?’
‘Most people don’t even know that’s my name.’
‘I’ll call you Harry, then, from now on. . unless you hate it, that is.’
He slid his free hand under the duvet and fondled her left breast, tracing his thumb round the areola. ‘You can call me anything you like.’
‘Harry it is, then.’
‘Fine. Now it’s your turn to own up. Why do they call you “Cheeky”, Ms Davis?’
‘It’s my name.’
‘No more than mine’s “Sauce”. Come on, what’s it short for?’
She pouted. ‘Not telling you.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because I hate it.’
‘It can’t be that bad.’
‘It is.’
‘Let me guess.’ He knitted his brow. ‘How about “Rumpelstiltzkin”?’
She laughed. ‘Don’t be daft.’
‘OK, let’s try “Chiquitita”. How about that?’
Her eyes widened. ‘How did you. . Here, did you look in my bag at my driving licence while I was asleep?’
‘No,’ he protested. ‘It was a guess, honest.’
‘Clever boy, eh. If you guessed that you must be able to work out the rest. My mum was a big Abba fan. She saddled me with it. When I was wee my grandma called me “Cheeky” and it stuck.’
‘Hey, it could have been worse,’ Sauce pointed out. ‘It might have been “Waterloo”. Imagine being called after a battle, or a railway station in London. And as for “Fernando”, that definitely would not have worked.’
‘You won’t tell anyone else though, will you? How about I keep calling you “Sauce”, and you keep calling me “Cheeky”?’
‘That’s a deal.’
She slid closer to him. ‘It’s nice this, finding out things about each other.’
He nodded. ‘I know lots about you already, though.’
‘Apart from my real name, you mean?’
‘Sure. For a start, you’re not a real blonde.’
‘And you’re the only guy who’s ever found that out the same night I met him.’ She reached for him. ‘Whereas you, you’re ginger all the way down.’ She drew a deep breath. ‘Or up, as the case may be.’ She paused, frowning slightly. ‘I mean that, you know. This is not typical behaviour for me. I’ve always been a hard nut to crack, yet here I am back at your place and doing the deed. .’ she glanced at her wristwatch, all she was wearing apart from a fine gold neck chain, ‘. . less than twelve hours after we met. I should feel like a hooker, but I don’t. Maybe I’m a mug, though.’
Gently, he smoothed her hair back from her forehead. ‘No,’ he said, solemnly, ‘you’re not. . you’re neither. This may sound like a line, coming from a guy, but this is not what I do either. I won’t say I’m a puritan, I’ve had a few girlfriends, but I’ve always been a “one step at a time” sort of bloke. I could not believe that it was me coming on to you last night, but I just couldn’t help myself. I’ve never known anything like this, or anybody like you.’
‘And you seem to be finding out more about me all the time. Go on, then, what else have you discovered?’
‘You’re not from Edinburgh.’
‘How do you know that?’
‘Because you said it was your first time at Indigo. It’s the best club in town. A girl your age, if she was local, would have been there before now.’
‘All true. And what age am I then?’
‘Not so easy. Twenty?’
‘Thank you, kind sir. Actually I’m twenty-two. And you?’
‘Just turned twenty-five.’
She felt his bicep. ‘And strong with it.’
‘I work out, plus I play a lot of golf.’
‘Are you any good at golf?
‘Category One.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘It means good.’
‘So, you’re an ace at outdoor sports as well as indoor. That’s something I’ve found out about you. Any more about me?’
‘One last thing. You’ve got lousy taste in friends.’
She frowned. ‘Why do you say that?’
‘Because the one who took you to Indigo must be a right slapper, if she pulled, then buggered off and left you on your own.’
‘I can look after myself.’
‘I’ve heard a few girls say that, even after they’ve found out different.’
Cheeky drew herself up, until they were eye to eye. ‘And where have you heard them?’ she asked, quietly.
‘In my job. I’m a police officer, a detective constable.’ He watched her face closely, looking for the reaction that he had seen too often before.
The only change in her expression was a coy smile, so faint that it only just touched the corners of her mouth. ‘Mmm,’ she whispered. ‘Are you indeed?’
‘Does that make any difference?’
‘Should it?’
‘It does with some women.’
‘Not with this one. I don’t choose who I fuck on the basis of their occupation.’ She pulled him, drawing him with her as she lay down once more. ‘As I’m about to prove,’ she whispered. ‘Unless,’ she added, ‘you’ve got to go to work, or make some other sort of sharp exit.’
‘Not that sharp; we were late the other night and the overtime budget’s strapped. I don’t start till midday.’
‘You weren’t working last night, were you?’
‘No danger. I was there with Jack. . my sergeant. . and his girlfriend. Strictly off duty. Indigo’s a popular hang-out for cops, because it’s well run and there’s never any trouble.’
‘Jack. Was he the big tall guy?’
‘That’s him; Jack McGurk.’
‘His girlfriend looked nice.’
‘She is; they haven’t been together long.’
‘Neither have we.’
‘So that means we are together,’ Sauce ventured.
She rolled him on to his back. ‘What do you think?’ she hissed. ‘Not getting cold feet, are you?’
‘I promise you, Cheeky,’ he replied, ‘at this moment, not one single part of me is cold.’
Four
‘Are you ready for your command group meeting, Chief?’ asked Gerry Crossley. ‘Will I call everybody in?’