wooden desk a mobile number scrawled in blue biro on the bottom. Wilson had an almost photographic memory for faces and names but numbers weren't his thing. He stared at the figures trying to impress them on his brain.
"Good to see you, Ian," the clear dark eyes finally raised and focused directly on Wilson.
"Good to see you too, Roy," Wilson took pleasure in Jennings' wince at the use of his first name. Wilson noticed that the Oxford accent which Jennings had tried so hard to cultivate had deepened since their last meeting. There was hardly a trace left of the bog Northern Irish accent he had entered the police college with.
"Yes, well I'm sure you've got a very busy caseload so I won't take up too much of your time," Jennings bundled up the papers he had been examining. “I understand you’re dealing with that business last night in the Woodvale Road.”
“I am,” Wilson said. He could smell what was coming.
“I don’t have to tell you how delicate the matter is,” Jennings stared into Wilson’s eyes. “The Chief Constable has been up half the night taking phone calls from politicians of all hues who are wetting themselves that this murder could put us back on the road to perdition. It would be useful to have the matter cleared up as quickly as possible ”
“I’m aware of the overtones,” Wilson said returning the stare “I don’t think we should second guess the situation at this juncture. All we have is a corpse who doesn’t appear to have any political connections. In fact the man appears to be a complete nobody. At a guess I’d say that politics and sectarianism has nothing to do with the murder but it’s early days. We still don’t know very much about the dead man. When we find out more about him maybe we’ll have a line of enquiry.”
“Time is a luxury you may not have on this investigation,” Jennings said.
“I’m aware of the constraints,” Wilson replied. “Every man in the squad will be working full time on this until we get a breakthrough. But you know we’re not exactly over-staffed.”
"You people in the Murder Squad are always bleating about how understaffed you are,” Jennings smiled. “You'll be pleased to hear that we're going to give you an additional officer."
Jennings paused to allow Wilson to react but the Chief Inspector sat impassively before him.
What the hell is this conniving bastard up to? Wilson thought as he watched the DCC press his palms together in imitation of the praying mantis.
"The person we intend to put in your unit has just been assigned to Belfast from Strabane," Jennings continued. He glanced at the file in his hand. "A Constable McElvaney."
Now it was Wilson's turn to wince. He sat upright in his chair.
"We've known each other too long for this kind of bullshit, Roy." Again the wince from the DCC. "I suppose that this McElvaney character is a Catholic."
"You suppose right," Jennings replied pursing his lips so tightly that they disappeared completely. "Constable McElvaney is a member of the PSNI and as such one of your colleagues."
"You can keep that rubbish for your interviews with the media. My squad is one hundred percent Protestant. You drop a Catholic in the middle of them and I'll have six transfer requests on my desk before the week's out. That is if Constable McElvaney is still interested in a career in the PSNI at the end of his first week."
"There's no need to over-react, Chief Inspector."
Wilson noted that they were no longer on first name
"Good to see you, Ian," the clear dark eyes finally raised and focused directly on Wilson.
"Good to see you too, Roy," Wilson took pleasure in Jennings' wince at the use of his first name. Wilson noticed that the Oxford accent which Jennings had tried so hard to cultivate had deepened since their last meeting. There was hardly a trace left of the bog Northern Irish accent he had entered the police college with.
"Yes, well I'm sure you've got a very busy caseload so I won't take up too much of your time," Jennings bundled up the papers he had been examining. “I understand you’re dealing with that business last night in the Woodvale Road.”
“I am,” Wilson said. He could smell what was coming.
“I don’t have to tell you how delicate the matter is,” Jennings stared into Wilson’s eyes. “The Chief Constable has been up half the night taking phone calls from politicians of all hues who are wetting themselves that this murder could put us back on the road to perdition. It would be useful to have the matter cleared up as quickly as possible ”
“I’m aware of the overtones,” Wilson said returning the stare “I don’t think we should second guess the situation at this juncture. All we have is a corpse who doesn’t appear to have any political connections. In fact the man appears to be a complete nobody. At a guess I’d say that politics and sectarianism has nothing to do with the murder but it’s early days. We still don’t know very much about the dead man. When we find out more about him maybe we’ll have a line of enquiry.”
“Time is a luxury you may not have on this investigation,” Jennings said.
“I’m aware of the constraints,” Wilson replied. “Every man in the squad will be working full time on this until we get a breakthrough. But you know we’re not exactly over-staffed.”
"You people in the Murder Squad are always bleating about how understaffed you are,” Jennings smiled. “You'll be pleased to hear that we're going to give you an additional officer."
Jennings paused to allow Wilson to react but the Chief Inspector sat impassively before him.
What the hell is this conniving bastard up to? Wilson thought as he watched the DCC press his palms together in imitation of the praying mantis.
"The person we intend to put in your unit has just been assigned to Belfast from Strabane," Jennings continued. He glanced at the file in his hand. "A Constable McElvaney."
Now it was Wilson's turn to wince. He sat upright in his chair.
"We've known each other too long for this kind of bullshit, Roy." Again the wince from the DCC. "I suppose that this McElvaney character is a Catholic."
"You suppose right," Jennings replied pursing his lips so tightly that they disappeared completely. "Constable McElvaney is a member of the PSNI and as such one of your colleagues."
"You can keep that rubbish for your interviews with the media. My squad is one hundred percent Protestant. You drop a Catholic in the middle of them and I'll have six transfer requests on my desk before the week's out. That is if Constable McElvaney is still interested in a career in the PSNI at the end of his first week."
"There's no need to over-react, Chief Inspector."
Wilson noted that they were no longer on first name
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