She beamed. ‘Thank you.’
‘You’re welcome. Let’s never do this again.’ I stood up as the door opened and Fred popped his head through.
‘Hey, boss. I’m heading out for an hour or two, if that’s okay?’
‘It’s fine by me, Fred.’
He smiled and started to withdraw. Before he could leave, Buffy jumped to her feet. ‘Wait! Fred, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.’
Hang on a minute…
Fred smiled at her and a genuinely warm twinkle lit his eyes. ‘Ask me anything.’
Nuh-uh. No way.
‘Buffy—’ I began.
She ignored me. ‘Would you like to go out with me this evening? I think you’re sexy and sweet, and I want to jump your bones at the earliest opportunity. But,’ she amended quickly, ‘I’m happy to start with a candlelit dinner, if that’s more appropriate.’
‘Absolutely not!’ My tone was harsher than I’d intended, but neither Buffy nor Fred paid me the slightest attention. She was gazing at him hopefully and he was looking back at her with a mixture of embarrassment and delight. The tips of his ears had turned bright pink.
‘I would love to have dinner with you,’ he said. ‘I know a great place not too far from here. If you’re happy for me to suggest somewhere, that is.’
Unbelievable. Why wasn’t Fred running away and screaming? Not because Buffy was a werewolf, of course, but because Buffy was Buffy.
‘Eight o’clock?’ she suggested.
‘That would be wonderful.’ He gazed at her for a few seconds longer, then moved forward and kissed her cheek. ‘I’m already looking forward to it.’ He left the room without giving me another glance.
As soon as he’d gone, Buffy whirled around. ‘It worked!’ She hopped from foot to foot as if performing a triumphant dance. ‘So, I’m thinking I’ll wear my little red dress. It shows off my legs and my cleavage. Somebody told me that it looks like I’m trying too hard and that it’s too obvious, but Iwantto be obvious. Fred deserves obvious.’
I frowned. ‘His name is PC Hackert. And you cannot go out with him.’
‘I have it on very good authority that I have to ignore your wishes,’ she said airily. She grinned at me and pull a thin black box from her pocket. ‘Voice recorder,’ she said smugly. ‘Just in case you try to go back on your word. As you’ve already told me, this isn’t up to you. It’s up to him and he’s already agreed.’
I let out a strangled sound. ‘That was before I knew it was Fred you were talking about! He’s sweet and kind, and he’s the sort of person who falls hard and gets hurt.’
‘I’m not going to hurt him, and I know all those things about him already. Those are the reasons I like him.’ She paused. ‘Well, notallthe reasons. Have you seen his tight arse? Of course you have – you work with him. And I bet you’ve noticed his—’
I growled. ‘Buffy!’
She smirked. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll treat him gently. At least to begin with. I don’t tend to get out my fluffy handcuffs until at least the third date.’ She winked at me. ‘Thanks for the help, detective. It’s very much appreciated.’ And then, before I could say or do anything else, she spun around and left.
I stared after her. I honestly had no idea whether Buffy was playing both Fred and me or whether she was genuine, but I couldn’t bear to see Fred get hurt again,. He’d had a dalliance with Scarlett that had caused no end of trouble.
I wondered if he knew that the vampire was getting married and that was part of the reason why he’d said yes to Buffy. I shook my head. No, he wasn’t like that. I grimaced and prayed inwardly that this date with Buffy wasn’t going to cause more problems. Another broken heart was all we needed.
* * *
Resistingthe urge to run after Fred and lock him in the Supe Squad broom cupboard for his own safety, I reminded myself that he was indeed an adult and capable of making his own decisions.
I re-focused my attention on Quincy Carmichael. Tony had investigated the case thoroughly, but sometimes the passage of time and a different perspective could offer new insights. Deciding that my best approach was to avoid any more details from the old file and to look into Quincy’s disappearance from a fresh angle, I put the folder into my desk drawer and grabbed my coat. The missing gremlin might well be perfectly fine and desperate not to be found, but I was going to find him anyway to ensure both his safety and my peace of mind.
It was colder than before, and I paused outside the Supe Squad building to fasten the buttons on my coat. Max called out a greeting and, in the interests of maintaining a good relationship with our neighbours, I returned it. ‘How’s your day going, Max?’
‘I can’t complain, detective. I can’t complain at all.’ He touched the rim of his black top hat and nodded. ‘And when I clock off this evening, I’ve got an evening out with friends to enjoy. I’m leaving work early for it.’
‘Special occasion?’
