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At least other people were willing to make her feel welcome. Officers from other departments who had known Charlotte from her early career in the police force dropped in to say hello during the course of the afternoon.
‘It’s so good to see you again, Charlie. I hope you’re here to stay this time.’
‘Sure am.’ Charlotte ignored the vibes concerning the temporary nature of her appointment that were coming from the other side of the room. ‘I love this job.’
The fact that Charlotte had placed a small picture in a heart-shaped frame on her desk made it inevitable that one of her visitors would mention Jamie.
‘I’m sorry I never made it to the funeral.’
‘It’s OK. It was a long way for you and it’s a long time ago now.’
‘I was really sorry to hear about it. Did you get my letter?’
‘Yes, I did. Thanks.’
‘You guys were so perfect for each other.’
‘Yeah.’ The vibes coming from Hawk were different now. And he had turned his head just far enough to demonstrate the fact that he was eavesdropping.
Charlotte said nothing more. There was no way they were going to cover any personal ground until they had sorted out some professional boundaries. Especially any related to her gender. The assessing glances her body was receiving from male officers, including Owen Hawkins, were far more unwelcome than Hawk found her paramedic qualifications to be. And he’d had his chance to air his resentment. Charlotte was waiting for her turn.
It came, in the final minutes of her first day on the job, when she was about to pack up and go home. Other staff members were also heading home and one poked his head into the office.
‘Hey, Hawk. Fancy a beer after work?’
‘I’m on call tonight, Murphy. Another night would be great.’
‘You’re always on call, mate.’
‘I’ll get some time off for good behaviour soon. My new colleague and I will be sharing the on-call duties as soon as she’s settled in a bit.’
Murphy’s eyes widened as Charlotte turned. He grinned at Hawk and lowered his voice. ‘This is your new colleague? You lucky, lucky guy.’
‘That remains to be seen,’ Hawk responded just as quietly. Then he spoke more loudly. ‘Charlotte, this is Greg Murphy, one of our detectives.’
‘Hi, Greg.’ Charlotte gave him only the briefest smile. So Hawk was waiting to see if he’d get ‘lucky’ was he? He should learn to lower his voice more effectively.
‘Would you like to come out for a beer?’ Murphy was still grinning. Or was it leering? ‘I would consider it rude not to welcome a new colleague with a celebratory drink.’
‘No, thanks.’ Charlotte didn’t bother expanding on her decision. She fitted the folder of local scene protocols into her shoulder-bag. She had every intention of reading them thoroughly before arriving at work in the morning.
‘I need to finish this,’ Hawk was telling Murphy. ‘Catch you later?’
‘Sure.’ Murphy wasn’t offended by the brush-off. He leaned a little further through the doorway. ‘I’m surprised you’re getting any work done, mate,’ he said cheerfully. ‘Just as well Charlotte’s not blonde, eh?’
Instead of following Murphy out of the office, Charlotte closed the door and turned back to face Hawk.
‘What was that about?’
He looked up at the new interruption with a weary expression. ‘What?’
‘Why is it just as well I’m not blonde?’
Hawk shrugged. ‘I have no idea. Maybe Murphy has a thing about blondes.’
Charlotte gave him a long-suffering look. She wasn’t about to let him think he could get away with treating her like an idiot. And she certainly wasn’t about to let him think that sexual harassment was tolerable. Either the blatant kind that Greg Murphy displayed or the subtle inferences Hawk had been providing.
‘Murphy must be an extremely shallow person, then. I hope that any blonde unfortunate enough to have him hitting on her finds out sooner rather than later.’
‘I wouldn’t worry about it. You’re safe.’
‘By virtue of not being blonde?’ Charlotte’s words dripped acid. ‘Listen, Owen, I want to get something straight here, and I may as well do it on my first day. I’m not about to tolerate getting hit on by anyone I work with. Feel free to pass it on.’
‘I’m sure word will get around fast enough.’
‘I’m hardly breaking new ground.’ Charlotte shook her head. ‘I’m far from the first woman to join the police force. Why am I getting the impression that I’ve stepped into some boys’ only club?’
‘You’re the first woman to join the SCS. Here, anyway.’
‘I’m here to do a job. The fact that I’m female has nothing to do with it.’
‘You’re new. Everyone has to prove themselves. Respect is something that’s earned.’
‘That cuts both ways.’ Charlotte’s tone was intended to be a warning. ‘And I’m not going to have any respect for a colleague who assumes I’m more interested in having sex than doing my job.’
‘At least we have something in common, then.’ The hint of a smile made Charlotte realise it was the first she had received. In fact, had she even seen him smile at anyone else during the course of today?
‘And that is?’
‘Not letting personal relationships interfere with a career.’
‘So you’ll stop looking at me as if I’m parading around in my underwear, then?’
Hawk’s jaw dropped. ‘I haven’t been!’
‘Yes, you have,’ Charlotte contradicted. ‘And so has every other male I’ve met so far today. I’m getting assessed and that assessment is being based purely on what I look like.’
‘You’re not exactly what any of us expected, you know.’
‘You mean I’m not short, fat and ugly? Hell bent on a tough career in the police force because I’m too much of a dog to catch myself a husband?’
Hawk’s laughter was as astonishing as the way his amusement changed his face. Charlotte had been wondering if she’d even seen him smile and now she had elicited a bark of rich sound and a smile that made him look like a stranger all over again. The fierce lines of his face hadn’t changed but any hint of arrogance or aggression had evaporated, at least for the moment. In fact, the gleam in those dark blue eyes confirmed that Charlotte had hit the nail squarely on the head and that her perception was both unexpected and quite admirable.
‘Don’t worry.’ The faintly embarrassed undertone to Hawk’s voice as he turned back to his computer gave away the fact that he had shared the general expectation of what she would be like. ‘I can’t guarantee you won’t be hit on,’ he continued. ‘But I can assure you it won’t be by me. I’ve never slept with a partner and I don’t intend to start now.’
‘Your partners have always been men.’
‘So?’ Hawk turned to face Charlotte again and she held his gaze. A gaze that might just hold the tiniest amount of respect for the way she had confronted this issue.
He also seemed to be telling her that he wasn’t going to let the fact that she was female make any difference to their professional relationship. She smiled slowly.
‘I think we understand each other…Hawk.’ The use of his nickname was only a shade tentative.
‘I’m sure we do…Charlie.’ Hawk’s smile acknowledged the new space they were entering.
As colleagues.
CHAPTER THREE
‘YOU bastard!’
Charlotte’s head turned sharply at the raw anger in the statement from the rapidly approaching stranger.
‘There’s a dead woman in that car and it’s your fault!’
‘I didn’t even see her!’
‘You shouldn’t be allowed on the road. You’re a useless, incompetent—’
‘Excuse me.’ Charlotte turned her body and stepped sideways into the path of the stranger. ‘Who are you?’
‘I work in those offices.’ The man jerked an arm in the direction of a building over the road. ‘I saw the whole thing.’
‘Then we’ll certainly take your statement,’ Charlotte told him calmly. ‘If you go and wait beside that police car over there, I’ll—’
‘He just turned this bloody great truck in front of her. She didn’t stand a chance. Look at her, you moron!’
Unfortunately, it was still possible to see the mangled body in the driver’s seat of the small hatchback. The fire officers were trying to position a tarpaulin as a shield prior to cutting the woman’s body free from the wreck, but it was proving difficult. Wellington wasn’t known as the ‘windy city’ for nothing.
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