FAQ

Answer 1: Cassie is the (blood) daughter of Duncan and Fran. They split up when Cassie was very young, and Fran began seeing Jimmy Perez. Upon Fran's death, she left Cassie in Jimmy's custody to raise. After Fran's death, Jimmy and Duncan became closer, creating a sort of estranged friendship between the two men which makes for an interesting dynamic through the show. Fran had not married Duncan, nor Jimmy.

Answer 2: Fran and Jimmy were married and she died prior to season 1 in the TV Show. In the book Fran was killed during the murder investigation on Fair Isle (the episode on Fair Isle where the famous bird watcher was killed and there were 2 teens Joe and Angus similar but not the same as the book. Cassie is also younger in the books around 5-7 years old

Answer 3: As Duncan explains it to a third party in one episode, "I'm her father. Jimmy's her dad." I understand the storyline is a bit different in the books, but the gist of the relationships is the same. In the TV series, Cassie is the daughter of Duncan and Fran. Fran was from Glasgow. Duncan left the family when Cassie was a baby. Enter Jimmy Perez, originally from Fair Isle (descendant of a Spanish lad who got shipwrecked there, fell in love with a local girl, and the rest is history from a few centuries back that explains why he has a Spanish family name). Jimmy and Fran marry, so he becomes Cassie's step-father. After many happy years together, Fran dies. Jimmy then returns to Shetland with his teenage step-daughter. Duncan is now married to Mary and they are expecting their first child together. Mary and Cassie get along very well but she's not to keen on Duncan, knowing (and feeling) she was rejected by him. She gradually warms to him - but Jimmy will always be the one she calls "Dad."

Answer 1: I would assume the police department pays for it, no?

Answer 2: Ah, the magic of television!

Answer 3: Trading in?

In the UK, the police are unarmed. To be able to have weapons, they must follow procedure to request arms and then, I think, it is usually a special trained team that responds. One of the reasons I like British-based police shows is because they use their brains and words to resolve problems, instead of shooting someone.