Authors: Derek Fee
Tags: #Thriller & Suspense, #British Detectives, #Mystery, #Traditional Detectives, #Police Procedurals
CHAPTER 64
Wilson had been awake for more than thirty hours by the time the first interview with Maggie Cummerford was completed. There was a lot of backslapping as he walked through the station on his way to the squad room.
‘There’s a car waiting for you outside,’ Harry Graham said as soon as he walked into the squad room. ‘You’re wanted at HQ.’
Wilson wheeled around without a word and headed for the parking lot. He slept in the back of the car during the twenty-minute journey to Castlereagh. He flashed his warrant card at the entrance and made his way to the top floor and the office of the DCC. Chief Superintendent Donald Spence was sitting on a chair directly outside the office.
‘Been waiting long?’ Wilson asked.
‘Long enough,’ Spence replied. ‘You look like shit.’
‘Nothing that a sleep, a shower and a fresh shirt won’t put right,’ Wilson cracked back. ‘Pain or pleasure?’
‘My guess is pain,’ Spence stood up and straightened his uniform.
They entered the outer office together, and Jennings’ secretary pointed at the door of the inner office. ‘He’s waiting for you.’
‘I suppose you think I’m going to congratulate you about the Cummerford woman,’ Jennings began as they entered his office. ‘Well I’m not. I just received the file on the interrogation of McIver. We are going to be pilloried in the press. A long-serving police officer murdered two people, one of whom was his wife. Questions are going to be asked.’ He looked at Wilson. ‘I notice that he has already engaged a senior member of the Bar to represent him. I suppose he can thank you for that.’
‘He can hire who he likes I presume,’ Wilson said.
‘Sir,’ Jennings shouted. ‘You will address me as Sir.’
‘Yes, Sir,’ Spence said quickly cutting off any possible reply from Wilson.
Jennings thumped his fist on his desk. ‘I’m not going to carry the can for your incompetence. I have every intention of speaking to the Chief Constable concerning the level of dereliction of duty on both of your parts.’
‘I don’t think that would be wise,’ Wilson said and added ‘Sir,’ as an afterthought.
‘You don’t think so do you?’ Jennings stood up from his desk. ‘If you’re still in the Force after this fiasco, I’ll make sure that you’re pounding a beat.’
Wilson stood at his full height and looked down on his superior. ‘In defending ourselves, we may be obliged to explain that you gave permission for a serial killer to have access to the station and worse to attend briefings of the team investigating murders for which it appears she was responsible.’
Jennings’ face went white and his mouth flapped open and closed without making a sound.
‘I wonder who’ll be pounding a beat when that piece of news hits the airwaves,’ Wilson said.
Jennings fell back into his chair as though he was punched in the chest.
Wilson could almost see the wheels in Jennings’ mind trying to turn and grapple with the threat. Wilson continued, ‘McIver’s legal representative has no desire to drag the PSNI over the coals. It might be wise for you to deal with her directly in an effort to ensure that the Force receives the minimum amount of negative publicity. Perhaps she has already considered how McIver’s deeds might reflect the difficulty experienced by PSNI officers and the stresses they are forced to work under. Then the Cummerford issue would have no need to see the light of day.’
‘Get out,’ Jennings voice was shaking. ‘Both of you, get out.’
Wilson looked back over his shoulder as he exited and saw that Jennings was sitting forward with his head in his hands.
‘My God, Ian,’ Spence said when they were outside the office. ‘I thought Jennings was the most devious bastard I’d met, but you’re up there with him. It’s a side to you that I hadn’t realised before.’
‘Spend a few months living with Kate McCann,’ Wilson said. ‘Some of the deviousness rubs off.’
The team and associated hangers on from the station were assembled in the back snug of the Crown. The mood was initially morose. The McIver affair was still a raw wound but as the drinks began to flow the mood became more jovial.
‘There’s money behind the bar,’ Wilson said. ‘And I’m paying for taxis home for all. Nobody drives home tonight.’ He was fighting back sleep himself, and he could see that Moira and Harry were not going to last the pace.
‘Does that include me? After all, I am a member of the team.’
Wilson wheeled around and saw Stephanie Reid standing at the door of the snug. She was dressed in her working clothes of white blouse and black skirt. ‘I suppose so,’ he said.’ He looked around the assembled policemen and saw the effect Reid was having on them. They were just short of drooling. His gaze finally rested on Moira who wasn’t exactly drooling. She looked like her favourite dog just died.
‘Double gin and tonic,’ Reid sat beside Moira. ‘Us girls are going to have to stick together. The boys look like they’re about to tie one on.’ The waiter deposited a gin and tonic in front of her. ‘Good result,’ she clinked glasses with Moira
‘You’re wasting your time,’ Moira said through clenched teeth.
‘Only time will tell,’ Reid said. She turned to Wilson. ‘Now who’s going to start the singsong?’
Author’s note
I hope that you enjoyed this book. As an indie author, I very much depend on your feedback to see where my writing is going. I would be very grateful if you would take the time to pen a short review on Amazon. This will not only help me but will also indicate to others your feelings, positive or negative, on the work. Writing is a lonely profession, and this is especially true for indie authors who don’t have the backup of traditional publishers.
Please check out my other books on Amazon, and if you have time visit my web site (derekfee.com) and sign up to receive additional materials, competitions for signed books and announcements of new book launches.
Dear Fee is a former oil company executive and EU Ambassador. He is the author of seven non fiction books. Shadow Sins is his third novel and the second in a series featuring Ian Wilson.
Derek can be contacted at
http://derekfee.com
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