Part 5 (2/2)

Tegan watched him ordering the drinks. He was attractive in a seventies' sort of way. He was around thirty and, perhaps like many policemen of his era, obviously modelled himself on George Carter from The Sweeney. The Sweeney. Certainly his hair was the same style, albeit darker, as were his clothes: kipper tie worn loosely, cuffs of his s.h.i.+rt turned up in a way that she always thought looked faintly ridiculous when she watched re-runs. He was not as rugged as Carter, though; his face was boyish, pleasant-looking, seemingly never far from a smile. He was broader-shouldered too, stocky but certainly not fat. He came back with another gla.s.s of wine for her and a pint of bitter already half-drunk for himself. 'There you go,' he said. Certainly his hair was the same style, albeit darker, as were his clothes: kipper tie worn loosely, cuffs of his s.h.i.+rt turned up in a way that she always thought looked faintly ridiculous when she watched re-runs. He was not as rugged as Carter, though; his face was boyish, pleasant-looking, seemingly never far from a smile. He was broader-shouldered too, stocky but certainly not fat. He came back with another gla.s.s of wine for her and a pint of bitter already half-drunk for himself. 'There you go,' he said.

'Thanks.' She drained the remains of her first gla.s.s and picked up her second. 'Cheers.'

'Cheers,' he responded. They c.h.i.n.ked gla.s.ses and drank.

After a few moments he said, 'Perhaps we'd better introduce ourselves. My name's Andy Weathers.'

'Is that PC or...'

'Sergeant,' he said with a grin.

'Tegan Jovanka,' said Tegan, thrusting out her hand for him to shake. He looked faintly surprised at the gesture, but shook anyway.

Nodding at the group by the pool table, he said, 'So, do you know that crowd?'

'Do I look as though I'd hang around with creeps like that?'

She smiled to soften her indignation. 'No, I was just sitting here when they came in and started giving me ha.s.sle. When I told them where to go, Prince Charming decided to thump me.'

He shook his head. 'Toerags. I ought to arrest the lot of them.'

'I'm OK. I've handled a lot worse than them, believe me.'

'So what brings you to the Sands?'

She smiled teasingly, 'How do you know I'm not a local?'

'If you are, that's a very convincing Australian accent you've got there. So, come on, what brings you to this part of the world? Are you here on holiday?'

'Got it in one.'

'So which part of Australia are you from?'

'Brisbane. But I don't live there at the moment.'

'No? Whereabouts do you live?'

'So many questions!' she said. No wonder you became a policeman.'

He took another sip from his gla.s.s and leaned back with a smile. 'Sorry. Just making conversation. I don't want you to think I'm coming on too strong.'

'No, that's OK,' she said. 'I'm enjoying just sitting here, talking. I can't remember the last time I did this with anyone.'

'Really?' he said, visibly brightening, and leaned towards her again. 'Why's that?'

'I guess because my life's so hectic.'

'Why? What do you do?'

'I used to be an air hostess, but now I just... travel.'

'Seeing a bit of the world, eh?'

'Something like that.'

'Isn't it a bit dangerous,' he said, 'a girl travelling around on her own?'

Tegan realised she was going to have to tread warily here.

She didn't want to get embroiled in a tangle of lies, but neither could she tell Andy exactly what her life entailed. 'Oh, I'm not alone,' she said. 'I travel with a couple of friends.'

'And where are they tonight?' he asked.

'One decided to stay back at the hotel and the other one's gone off on his own somewhere.'

'”His”?' said Andy casually. 'They're not both girls then?'

Tegan knew where this was leading, but found that she didn't mind. Equally casually she said, 'No. As a matter of fact they're both blokes.'

'Really?' he said, raising his eyebrows. 'Sounds like an interesting arrangement.'

'It's not what you think. They're just friends,' she said, and added teasingly, 'Not that it's any concern of yours anyway.'

'Course not,' he said innocently, swiftly draining the last of his pint. 'Fancy another?'

Tegan laughed. 'Are you trying to get me drunk?'

'Course I am. Get the tourists drunk and have our evil way with them. That's what we do in this town.'

When he returned from the bar, Tegan asked him to tell her about himself. Andy grimaced and said there wasn't much to tell. He'd been born and brought up in Tayborough Sands, and came from a long line of fishermen. 'I decided to break tradition and become a copper,' he said. 'There's no future in fis.h.i.+ng any more for little family businesses like ours. The big factory trawlers are taking over.'

'How does that make you feel?' asked Tegan. 'Pretty bitter, I bet.'

He shrugged. 'Not so much bitter. A bit sad, maybe. But it's progress, isn't it? Time moves on. You can't do anything to stop it.'

'No,' Tegan said, 'you can't. So what's it like being a policeman in a place like this ?'

'Seasonal. Quiet in the winter, h.e.l.l in the summer.'

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