Free Nothing but Memories (DCI Wilson Book 1) by Derek Fee

offering her body to her superiors and he was sure that there would certainly be some takers but in the end loyalty to the Lodges would be the primary force in deciding promotions.
                  “As sure as I can be,” she finished off her cup of tea. “It’s a job and a damn good one at the moment. The PSNI looks like it might amount to something and it might just be the right horse to ride at the moment.”
                  “What about Law School?” he asked.
                  “Too late or it can wait,” she laughed. “If I didn’t know better I’d say that you were trying to ditch me. We studied some of your cases at Police College. You’re kind of famous in a certain way. And there’s a group of officers who’d look up to you as a sort of hero.” Was it her imagination or did she see colour rising in his cheeks. This man was a legend among the younger officers and he could still be embarrassed. “You don’t strike me as the kind of man who’d walk away from a challenge and taking me on is quite a challenge. But I think that I can learn a lot from working with you and you can be a ground-breaker for others like me.”
                  “Good God,” he laughed. “You’re beginning to talk like you’re the Chief Constable already. What a politician you could turn out to be. That’s a hell of a gauntlet you’ve thrown down. If I wasn’t so world-weary and cynical, I’d think myself less of a man if I walked away and told the assholes upstairs that I wouldn’t take you.” Maybe that’s what Jennings and gang were hoping for. He turns down the new copper and they cashier him for refusing an order. Quite Machiavellian but also quite possible.
                  “So where do we go from here, sir?” she asked.
                  He stood up and extended his hand. “Welcome to ‘C’ Division Murder Squad. I suppose we should go and introduce you to your new colleagues.” 
     

CHAPTER 8
     
     
    Wilson was still wondering why he was the fall guy when they reached Tennent Street. Was Jennings trying to set him up for the coup de grace or did he genuinely believe that only Wilson could provide a sanctuary for a Catholic officer, and a woman at that, in West Belfast? Although he prided himself on the ability to read the criminal mind he had never fancied himself at trying to read people as complex as DCC Roy Jennings. He considered that to be way beyond his modest capabilities and most times he didn’t give a curse what people like Jennings thought. Right now with a peculiar murder case on his table he was staring down the barrel of the proverbial gun. A murder investigation was a funny animal and injecting a cause of contention into his squad at this particular moment could lead to motivational problems. He didn’t need that.
                  "Okay, let's go meet the rest of the team," Wilson said as they rendezvoused in the reception area of the station. The phrase ‘into the Valley of Death rode the six hundred’ flashed through his mind. "Don't expect to be greeted with open arms."
                  "I've learned in the last two years to expect precious little, sir" Moira looked directly into Wilson's face, "You give me the chance and I'll show you what I can do."
                  Wilson started out the door. "As far as I'm concerned you're a member of my team, and that means what it always has. You get a thousand percent support from me whatever the situation. I suppose that I’m an anomaly for Northern Ireland. I was born religiously neutral."
                  The animated conversation in the squad room died as Wilson stood in the doorway with Moira standing directly behind him.
                  "Gentlemen," Wilson could see from their silent faces that word had already reached them. Mark up another success for the Tennent Street bush telegraph. "You'll be pleased to