Death to Pay by Derek Fee Read Free Book Online Page A

that neither of us can understand. We’re going to have a real living breathing other human being to take care of. Right now, you need to be making allowances for the future by focusing on what’s absolutely necessary.’
    ‘And, of course, I suppose you’re the judge of what’s absolutely necessary’. The colour rose in Kate’s cheeks. ‘I saw the way you preened when Ellie mentioned your television appearance. I suppose that was part of your focusing.’
    ‘Think about it, Kate. I know you believe in what you’re doing but the powers that be don’t want it. They’ve never wanted it. Sometimes you have to let something you really believe in go.’
    ‘And you’ve experienced this?’
    ‘I wanted to get the people behind some of the murders I investigated but for various reasons, they were not to be got. I believe in justice, but we can’t always have it. I’m a pragmatist.’
    ‘Or a coward.’
    Wilson was stunned.
    ‘I’m sorry,’ Kate said quickly. ‘That was supposed to hurt, I shouldn’t have said it. You the finest and most honest man I’ve ever met. It’s just that I want to contribute.’
    ‘You will. But not by tilting at windmills.’
    ‘How about this is my last tilt?’
    He smiled and threw his arms around her and kissed her hard on the lips. ‘The last tilt, OK,’ he said when they disengaged.
    ‘I’m sorry about the preening remark. You looked very handsome on TV.’
    Wilson did his best impression of someone preening. ‘Now I definitely need my pre-dinner drink.’
    ‘Oh, dinner?’
     

CHAPTER 12
     
     
     
    Brendan Guilfoyle, Visiting Professor of Psychology at Queens University, sat cross-legged and naked on the bed in Moira McElvaney’s apartment. He and Moira had eaten dinner and then made love and now he was sitting examining the Lizzie Rice murder scene photos.
    Moira ran her fingers along his back. ‘I think you only came here this evening because of those photos.’
    ‘Nonsense,’ he turned a photo over. ‘I needed dinner because I hadn’t eaten all day.’
    She pulled him back onto her making sure not to damage the photos. She loved the soft lilt of his Boston accent. ‘I am going to kill you, Brendan Guilfoyle.’
    ‘Well if you do. Please choose another method than our friend in these photos.’ He kissed her lightly and put the photos carefully on the floor beside the bed. ‘Round two,’ he announced as he pulled her on top of him.
    ‘Now that’s what I call a good old-fashioned murder,’ Brendan said when they had finished making love. ‘I love a bludgeoning. It’s so basic, so much a part of our simian past. And very, very personal.’
    ‘Wilson wasn’t totally convinced about meeting you,’ she puffed up the pillows behind her head.
    ‘And I cannot wait to meet him. I’m sick of hearing about the great man. And I’m more than a little jealous. You have blown this guy up so high that I feel like accusing you of hero worship. You haven’t fucked this guy, have you?’
    Moira looked harshly at him.
    He smiled. ‘OK, you haven’t fucked him but you’ve wanted to.’
    Moira reddened.
    ‘ My God I’m right. I bet I’m right.’
    ‘You self-righteous American bastard. You can psychoanalyse your students but keep your grubby mind off me.’
    ‘I saw the guy on TV to-day, and I don’t really blame you.’
    She aimed a playful punch at him.
    ‘Seriously, he looks the part. The other two guys were hogging the limelight. Especially, the little guy who looks like a leprechaun on speed. Your buddy dominated the screen. I bet every lady in the audience was ogling him. And you say he’s smart too. My God, how did you manage to keep your hands off him?’
    ‘He’s spoken for,’ Moira swung her legs over the edge of the bed. ‘His partner is beautiful, sexy and one of the top barristers in Ulster. And she’s pregnant.’
    ‘Barrister, that’s a lawyer right?’
    Moira smiled and nodded. She was getting very fond of Brendan Guilfoyle. He was