Dark Circles by Derek Fee Read Free Book Online

himself up to a noose that may actually end up killing him, either they mean to die or it’s an accident. I don’t want to burst your bubble, but it just might be that Reid wants to involve you in a little drama so that she can stay close.’
    ‘I wouldn’t sell Reid short if I were you. She’s a lot more than a pretty face.’ The door of the snug opened, and an attractive woman stuck her head inside. Wilson did a double take before confirming that the woman was not Kate. He let out a sigh of relief. He would hate to get into something in front of Moira. The snug door closed slowly.
    Moira noticed his reaction and the relief that followed. The Boss hadn’t been himself over the past few weeks. He wasn’t open to talking about it but there was definitely something up. He wasn’t a hail-fellow-well-met but she hoped that he considered her a friend as well as a colleague. If he did open up, it would be in his own good time. ‘Maybe so but this is a bit flimsy,’ she said.
    ‘Put a bit of crime-scene tape around the house and get Harry working on a profile of Grant. The least we can do is look into the possibility.’
    ‘The Prosecution Barrister in the Cummerford case wants to see you as soon as possible. It looks like we’re going to be tied up with the McIver and Cummerford trials over the next few months so the question is do we really have the time to “look into” Professor Reid’s possible homicide.’
    ‘Humour me.’ Wilson signalled the barman for the bill.
    ‘What about the Chief Super?’ she asked.
    ‘Leave him to me. I’ll square things as soon as I get back to the office.’
    The barman arrived, and Wilson rooted around in his pocket for the change.
    ‘You OK, Boss?’ Moira asked.
    Wilson didn’t answer because he probably would have said something like ‘not too bad for someone whose life is heading down the toilet at breakneck speed’. His relationship with his partner was disintegrating by the day. The business with Ronald McIver had hit him hard. McIver had been a member of the team and was about to go on trial with one count of manslaughter and one count regarding the unlawful death of his wife. Both had happened on Wilson’s watch and there were those in the Force who wouldn’t forget that fact. Rumour around was that Wilson was on the slide. Maybe the rumours were true. ‘Look at the photos and print them up,’ he said. ‘Preserve the scene and get Harry onside with the profile. If I remember right, Peter has some contacts in the sex industry. See if Grant is known around the BDSM scene. I’ve got a lecture at the Police College this afternoon. I’m supposed to keep the cadets amused. I’ll be back in the office tomorrow so I expect you’ll already have something for me to go on.’
    Moira stood up. ‘This could be a monumental waste of time.’
    ‘Either that or we can get David Grant some justice.’

CHAPTER 9
     
     
    Moira sat at her computer in the squad room in the station. Detective Constables Harry Graham, Peter Davidson and Eric Taylor stood directly behind her. The photos taken by Reid, in the hallway of David Grant’s house, were displayed as icons on the screen. Moira had already admonished her colleagues who had guffawed at the first sight of David Grant’s suspended body.
    ‘Put the photos up again,’ Harry Graham said.
    ‘Only if you agree to behave like Detective Constables in the PSNI and not like a crowd of titillated schoolboys,’ Moira said.
    ‘Sorry, Sergeant,’ Peter Davidson said. ‘It’s not every day that we see a gasper. In fact, it’s the first time in my twenty years on the job that I’ve come across one.’
    Moira brought up a long shot of the hallway. The three men behind her moved closer.
    ‘Poor bastard,’ Davidson said.
    ‘Poor unlucky bastard,’ Graham echoed. ‘He must have been in the middle of getting off when the chair slipped.’
    ‘Reid thinks he was murdered,’ Moira said bringing up a close-up of Grant’s face.