Read Dark Circles for Free Online Page A

rightly vilify him. There will inevitably be an inquest, but we should be able to control the result.’
    ‘Am I the only one here who thinks that Rice has been a bit heavy handed in cleaning up?’ Jennings asked.
    Lattimer and Carlisle looked at each other.
    ‘Given the level of experience of the Circle members, we could have come up with a more subtle solution,’ Jennings continued.
    ‘Did you ever meet Grant?’ Carlisle asked.
    ‘No,’ Jennings replied.
    ‘Pompous little Yid bastard,’ Lattimer interjected.
    ‘We would have needed leverage to keep Grant quiet,’ Carlisle ignored Lattimer’s interjection. ‘And we didn’t have any. The Circle has been manipulating events in Ulster for more than one hundred years. In that time the man in the street has had no inkling of its existence. It is imperative that it continues to be the case.’
    ‘Rice is a liability,’ Jennings said. ‘He and his parents were useful in manipulating events during the “Troubles”, but he may have outlived his usefulness. We have to recognise that we are now in bed with criminals. And criminals cannot be trusted.’
    Neither can senior police officers, Carlisle thought but didn’t say. ‘What’s done is done. Malone and Grant were potential threats to the existence of the Circle. Their demise removes that threat and for that we have to be grateful to Rice. We’re counting on you, Roy, to make sure that these two dreadful accidents remain just that.’
    This was the opportunity that Jennings was waiting for. Ensuring that the Malone and Grant murders never saw the light of day would provide him with leverage in the Circle to ensure that he would ascend to the top job in the PSNI. He wanted to smile but kept his face hard. ‘You’re asking a lot, Jackie. Although I owe a lot of allegiance to the Circle, I am, after all, a policeman.’
    ‘And a good Ulsterman,’ Carlisle said quickly. ‘We’re talking here about the maintenance of the status quo in Ulster. We are the glue that keeps this Province together. The Brits would have abandoned us years ago if it wasn’t for the influence of the Circle.’
    Jennings smiled. This was an authentic flash of the old Jackie Carlisle. ‘Calm down, I already said that I would do whatever was necessary. I understand the remit of the Chief Constable runs out towards the end of next year.’
    A leopard never changes his spots, Carlisle thought. Jennings was an ambitious little bugger. The job of Chief Constable at the PSNI was a heavy price to exact for keeping a few accidental deaths quiet. ‘So I hear,’ Carlisle said. ‘I think you would make an excellent replacement for the incumbent. It’s about time we had a true-blue Ulsterman in charge of the Force again.’
    Lattimer glanced at his watch. ‘Are we done here?’ he asked.
    ‘I think we have an understanding,’ Jennings said.

CHAPTER 8
     
     
    Wilson was in a quandary when he left the Royal Victoria. Officially, there was no murder. However, he respected Reid’s professional opinion. The question was whether that was enough to bring the matter upstairs. Grant’s death was certainly more exotic than the usual Ulster death. But Grant wasn’t the first man to breathe his last breath wearing female clothing while suspended by the neck. Although there were no defensive wounds, in Wilson’s humble opinion there were enough discrepancies to warrant at least a further investigation. One thing was certain, if Grant had been murdered, someone had gone to considerable lengths to conceal the fact. The level of inventiveness indicated the presence of someone who was no stranger to murder.
    Instead of returning directly to the office, he telephoned Detective Sergeant Moira McElvaney and arranged to meet her in the Crown Bar in Great Victoria Street. He was already seated in one of the snugs in the bar with a pint of Guinness in front of him when she entered. It was Wilson’s curse to be surrounded by attractive women. While Kate