Opposing Forces (7 page)

“Dumont came off the worst.”

“Vile man.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more.”  After his latest screw up, Dumont was most likely off the Force for good.  “And am I forgiven for arresting you?”

“Yes. Anyone who can make that uniform look good, needs forgiving.”

Philippe gave a bashful smile and sat down on one of the stools at the breakfast bar, taking out his notebook.  “I need to get a statement from you as to tonight’s events.”

Maisie handed him his coffee and sat down on the opposite side of the breakfast bar.  “Frankie Lavigne showed up here about 9pm, ringing the front door buzzer asking to be let in the building. He was not in a rational state of mind so I refused but he persisted.” She twirled her wine glass between her fingers, her eyes downcast. “After about half an hour, I think, he left.  He must have been sitting in the square because he spotted me out on the balcony about 10pm and came back.  I guess someone in the building let him in. He then started hammering on my front door, saying if I didn’t let him in, he’d kick the door down.”

She was finding this quite painful.  She didn’t want Frankie to get into any serious trouble, but having a six foot four inch powerhouse ranting outside your front door was really quite frightening.  This was for her own security.

“And what is your relationship with Lavigne?” Philippe hated asking that question.

“We are friends.”

“Just friends?” Philippe looked up in surprise. Friends with benefits?  Friends who have sex? 

“Yes, just plain friends,” she smiled sadly. “He’s been asking me to get serious with him for a long time.  We met earlier this week and the evening went so well, I said I’d let him know soon.  I went around to his apartment tonight, completely unplanned, and.… let’s just say someone else had beaten me to it.”  She looked away, the whole situation was just so embarrassing. “Anyway, that’s why Frankie was so upset.  He’s been caught
in flagrante delicto
as they say.” Caught in the act.

“The man’s a complete fool,” Philippe grunted. Then blushed.

“You’re very sweet,” Maisie murmured. Philippe’s colour deepened.

“Did you want to press charges?”

Maisie shook her head.  “No, a night in the cells will be fine.”

“Did you want a restraining order against him?”

“If he bothers me again, then I’ll get one.”

“In that case I’ve no need to detain you further.  I’ll get the statement drawn up and back to you for signing tomorrow.”

“I’m actually off to Paris tomorrow lunchtime on business.”

“When will you be back?”

“Sunday night or Monday morning, I’m not sure.”

“No problem, I can have it back before you leave for work tomorrow morning. I’m on a night shift.”  He stood up to leave. 

Maisie followed him out to the hall.  “Thanks for coming around, Philippe. I’m glad it was you.”  To his amazement she wrapped her arms around him for a moment before kissing his cheek.  As he held her gently, he hoped his jacket was long enough to hide the throbbing in his trousers.

“Always a pleasure, Maisie.”

She was up early the next morning and ready to go, she was just waiting for Philippe.  He arrived shortly before 8am.  Passing him a cup of coffee, she read the typed statement and signed the bottom.

“Before you go, could you please give these to Sergeant Dufrais.”  She handed over a small bouquet of exquisite pink and cream roses, tied with a beautiful lilac bow.  There was a handwritten note to go with it.

“No problem, I should catch him before he finishes his shift.  Are you leaving now?  If so, I will walk you down to your car.”

Maisie handed him her suitcase and followed him out.  It was kind of nice having her own police escort.  He gallantly loaded her suitcase into the boot of her car.

“Thank you once again for everything, Philippe.”  She handed him a card.  “My number is on that.  Call me next week if you’d like to meet for a drink.  There’s no obligation and I shan’t be offended if you don’t.”

Philippe watched her pull away in her Audi.  Not call her?  He would have to be insane to miss that opportunity.  Unlike Frankie Lavigne, he would not screw up this chance. 

Albert turned positively pink when Philippe handed him the roses.  He turned pinker when he read her handwritten note.  She had such class. In fact, he was fast becoming Miss Carrington’s number one fan. He found a glass jar for the roses and had them on proud display on his desk.  They also reminded him that he needed to update the Chief, not because another law suit might be pending but he had asked for everything relating to Miss Carrington to be relayed to him.

He took the elevator to the top floor and entered the lion’s den.

“Dufrais. I understand you needed to update me on something?” Steffen Grundberg barely glanced up from this desk.

“Yes, Sir.  I wanted to let you know that we had a distress call from Miss Carrington last night and had to send a car around.”

Steffen’s head snapped up.  “Miss Carrington?  What happened?”

“She had one drunk and very emotional Frankie Lavigne attempting to kick her door down. He’s still in the cells as we speak.”

“Any particular reason?”

“He was playing the field and she’d found him out.”

Dumb asshole, Steffen thought to himself.  Guess she won’t be wearing his shirt again in a hurry.  “And how is Miss Carrington?  Is she pressing charges?”

“She’s fine from what I understand from Officer Thevenez.  And no, she doesn’t want to press charges.”

“What’s Thevenez got to do with this?” Steffen growled.

“I sent him around to take her statement.” 

“Is there anything I need to do or is she quite happy?”  He wouldn’t have minded an excuse to see her himself.

“No, she more than pleased.  Besides she was off to Paris for a few days this morning.”

At least now he could guarantee a few days peace with Maisie away.  He glanced at the two files on his desk, perhaps now was an opportune time to scan them ready for his submission to the Tribunal.  He also had a meeting later that morning with the Department’s lawyers to go over the impending law suit.  How could one pint size Englishwoman cause him so much grief?

As he opened the file on her latest arrest, he could not help but smile at the photograph.  Even with her bloodied face, she looked so damn feisty and sexy.  It was the defiant look in her eyes that really drew his attention, she was one pissed off lady.

Over the course of the last few days, he had met with all his departmental heads to talk through training for his officers, so they had a clear knowledge of what was acceptable behaviour when responding to a call.  He never wanted a repeat of Maisie Carrington’s last two arrests.  Any officer who responded in a fashion that was considered way over the top would be before a Tribunal on their first offence; he would not put the Department’s reputation in jeopardy again.

His thoughts wandered to Frankie Lavigne. What possessed a man to cheat on his girlfriend when he so clearly cared for her?  If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have got himself arrested.  Was he into cheap thrills?  Perhaps he might pay him a visit in the cells before he was released to warn him to stay away from Maisie.  And why the hell did he suddenly want to protect her?  He gave his head a shake. The woman was a menace even when she wasn’t around.

Maisie was just zipping up her navy Capri trousers when Julianne’s dulcet tones invaded her day dreaming.

“Maisie, Philippe’s here.”

“I’ll be right out” she hollered back.  She took a quick look in the mirror. With a floaty white top and navy striped pumps, she looked the epitome of French elegance.  The golden blonde mane was tamed and with a quick slick of red tinted lip gloss, she was done.

She was looking forward to having a drink with Philippe.  He had duly waited until she was back from Paris before calling her, but she was glad he did. He was in the living room and by the looks of it was being given the third degree by Julianne.  His shoulder length blond hair was loose; he was wearing a white shirt, faded blue jeans and deck shoes. He looked gorgeous. His soft brown eyes lit up on seeing her.

“Maisie,” he breathed. “You look fabulous.”

She kissed him on both cheeks. “As do you.”

“So where are you two headed?” Julianne asked.

“Just lakeside,” Maisie answered.  She did not want to go to one of her local haunts in the old city as she would run into too many people she knew.  For a first date, of sorts, she needed a little privacy.

“I take it you have a helmet for Maisie?”

“Of course he does,” Maisie sighed. “He is a police officer.”  She was keen to leave before Julianne started to ask him whether his intentions towards her friend were honourable. She sincerely hoped not!

Once outside, he passed Maisie a helmet.  “Have you ever ridden a bike before?” he asked.

“I have raced the odd one or two,” she grinned and got on behind him. 

He fired up the bike and they sped off through the city down to the lake.  It was a beautiful evening so they strolled along the front for a while just chatting.

“So how was Paris?” he asked.

“Hot and very tiring.”

“What were you doing there?”

“Work.  I organise many of the events for Chateau Villette.”

“That explains why you often have a bottle of Perrier Jouet in your hand.”

“Luckily for you not all my tastes are so expensive.  Now tell me something about yourself. How long have you been in the Force?”

“Three years.”

“Have you always lived here?”

“No. My family live in Neuchatel but I find it too small. Lausanne has a much better vibe to it.”

“I hope you don’t mind me saying, but you have that easiness about you that only comes from living in other countries. Have you travelled a lot?”

He smiled and cast his eyes down.  “Yes. I went travelling for two years around Australia and New Zealand.  It taught me a lot; I realised how stiff and solitary this beautiful country of mine is.  We Swiss are such a dull nation that we have to welcome foreigners to add some life to us.”

Maisie laughed.  “I can partially agree with you.  My mother is Swiss and can be particularly dour.”

“Is that why you try and hide your Swiss roots?”

“Yes.  Being English you can get away with all manner of eccentricity, in fact people almost expect it.”

“Did you take a year off?”

“Yes, I took my gap year, as did many of my school friends and we backpacked around Asia.”

“You never made it to Australia?”

“No. For some reason I never felt the lure of Australia like many people I know.  It might have something to do with the size of spiders they have.”

Philippe laughed.  “You take down half the police force without breaking a sweat, yet a mere spider scares you witless?”

“Yup. You can never tell what a spider is going to do.  Hideous things,” she shivered.

“Definitely English,” Philippe sighed.  He noticed a spare table at the bar they were just passing.  “Did you want to grab a drink?”

“Sure.  I’d love a coffee and pear schnapps.” 

“Did you do much surfing in Australia?”

“Yes, hence the look, I guess.  It seems kind of strange to come home and be so land locked.  I’d have to travel a hell of a long way to find any decent waves. What are you into?”

“I’m a bit of an adrenaline junkie,” Maisie winced.  “I love horse riding, but skiing, white water rafting, parachuting, they all appeal. Anything that goes fast really.”

“Rafting?” That grabbed his interest.  “Which runs have you done?”

She started to list off the places she had been.   “The Vendée was good, but Durango in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado was truly scary.”

“I know it by reputation but have not had the pleasure.  Have you done the Valais?  That run is terrific, especially between Susten and Sierre.”

“Not yet. But now it seems I will have to,” she smiled warmly.

“Perhaps you might let me take you down.” 

The thought of Philippe in a tight wetsuit was more than appealing.  “I look forward to it.”

Philippe stared into his coffee for a moment. There was a question he wanted to ask Maisie but not sure whether he should. To hell with it, he needed to know. He looked up suddenly and blurted it out.  “Do you mind me asking what the current situation is between you and Lavigne?”

Maisie felt herself colour a little.  Of course Philippe would want to know if they had got together or not.  “Frankie and I are not in a relationship nor will ever be.  Any chance of that disappeared when he took another woman to his bed.”

“Sorry,” he winced. “I had to ask.”

“I thought you probably would.”

“But he has not troubled you since?”

Maisie shook her head.  “No. His team captain, James, who is engaged to Julianne, made him see sense for now.”

“Maybe he thinks you might reconsider after a few months apart from him?”

“And pigs might fly,” she grinned. “Now enough talk about him. I want to know more about you. Which area of the city do you live in?”

“The north, up near the hospital.”

“Alone or do you share?”

“I share with a friend who is a doctor at the hospital.  With our varying shifts, it’s not often we actually meet up.”

“I know what you mean.  I can go an age without seeing Julianne. Much as I adore sharing with her, I do sometimes like to be on my own.”

Philippe was twirling his schnapps glass in his hand, she knew he had another awkward question for her.  “Go ahead and ask,” she smiled. 

He grinned and looked up.  “You appear to be the epitome of English elegance, so where the hell did you learn to fight like you do?”

Maisie laughed. It was not a question she was expecting.  “Just because I had a privileged upbringing, does not mean I have lived a sheltered life.  At University, Julianne and I used to visit a particularly notorious bar called the Dungeon.  Fights would break out nightly.  That is probably where I learnt most of my skills.”

The sun was starting to set as they walked back along the lakeside. It was still warm and the waterside was busy with people enjoying the last rays of sunshine.  “Do you plan to stay in the police force for life, or is there another ambition burning?”

Philippe tilted his head to the side as he pondered her question.  “To be honest, I’ve not given it that much thought.  I’ve only been an officer for a few years, so I guess I’ll wait to see what options become open for me.”

“How come you can get away with long hair whilst almost everyone else has buzz cuts?” She was curious to know.

“There is no rule as to the length of an officer’s hair as long as it’s tied back. I guess most of the other guys like to keep their hair short thinking it makes them look tougher.” They had arrived back at his motorbike.  “Do you want me to take you home or did you want to go on somewhere else?”

She looked into those lovely brown eyes and smiled.  “I have an early flight to Prague tomorrow morning so really should get back.”

He nodded and fired up the bike.  Maisie was more than happy to wrap her arms gently around him as he drove back to her apartment.  He pulled into the courtyard behind her apartment building. Maisie handed back the helmet. 

“Thank you for a lovely evening. I really enjoyed it.”

“Good. Then will you let me take you rafting at Susten?”

“Sure. Give me a couple of date options and I will check my plans.” She reached up and kissed his cheek.  “Thanks again.”

As she turned to leave, his hand trailed down her arm and caught her wrist, pulling her back to him. He cupped her face and dropped a light kiss on her lips.

“Are you going to injure me badly for that?” he smiled cheekily.

“Hmm,” Maisie thought for a moment, then slipped her hands into his gorgeous blond hair and pulled him down to kiss her.

She left a rather hot and flustered Philippe staring after her in the courtyard.  He really was very cute.

Pascal waited eagerly outside the boardroom; he was about to go before the Tribunal.  He was convinced they would see he had been wrongly suspended and reinstate him with immediate effect.  The Force was his life; without that badge, he was nothing. 

It had been a painful few months, waiting for his hearing but now he could set things straight.  He jumped up on hearing his name called.  Inside the room were a panel of five, made up of former officers and employment law specialists. 

The Chairman of the group looked up at him.  “Officer Dumont, please take a seat.” He indicated the chair in front of them.  “We are here today to decide whether you are fit to serve as a police officer.  We have, we believe, interviewed everyone surrounding your two unfortunate incidents and now need to hear your side of events.”   The Chairman shuffled a few papers around.  “We’ll start with the night of 21 May at Miss Carrington’s apartment.  Officer Thevenez went up to serve a noise violation. When you failed to reach him on his radio after ten minutes, you call out the riot squad. Is that correct?”

“Yes, Sir,” Pascal responded.

“Why did you think the riot squad would be suitable for a private residence?”

“I thought Thevenez was in trouble as he did not answer his radio.”

“He was there to serve a noise violation.  Was it not possible that he might not have heard his radio beep over the noise?”

“He was gone too long.”

“It was a party, it could have taken him a while to track down the owner of the apartment.”

“I thought he was in trouble.”

“Would it not have been more prudent to ask for back-up instead of calling out the riot squad?”

“It seemed like a wild party.”

“How would you know?  From what I understand, you did not go inside the apartment until the riot squad kicked down the front door.”

“It sounded wild, Sir.”  Pascal did not like the Chairman’s questioning.

“So you called out the riot squad for one officer who may or may not have been in trouble, thereby setting off a chain of events which resulted in many casualties and nothing but bad publicity and law suits for the Police Department?”

“They broke the law, Sir.” Pascal refused to be intimidated.

“Your response was on the same level as giving a jail sentence for a parking infringement.  It was way out of line.”  The Chairmen spoke to his colleagues for a moment before continuing.  “Chief Grundberg restricted you to desk duties for a month before reinstating you to active service, did he not?”