Tommy Hammond did not usually talk to his girlfriends about his work at all. He had long since discovered that policemen often have difficulty with their private lives in that area. Many women don't like a relationship in which so much quality time is taken up with work and other people and in which personal and family relationships have to take a back seat.
On this occasion Francesca Sapori was presenting a problem he did not usually have. She was slender and elegant and Italian looking, as her name and parentage suggested, though she was as English as he was himself.
Francesca was getting to him more than most women did. Tommy himself was smart, clean cut and quite a handsome bloke. He possibly looked like a policeman once you knew his background, but that wouldn't have been your first thought. Now he was thinking that something more than a casual relationship with Francesca might be possible. First, though, he'd have to acquaint her with his profession. He wondered how best to do that - a candlelit dinner on Saturday perhaps. Not that, come to think of it, an August evening was quite suitable for a candlelit dinner.