Danny Dempsey and the Unlikely Alliance by Denis Byrne Page A

imagine he is, sir,’ Neville replied, ‘He usually knows exactly what he’s doing.’
    â€˜Fishing! ’ the Chief yelled just about as loudly as he could, making Neville hold the receiver well away from his ear to conserve his hearing. ‘I simply don’t believe it! Radio his squad car immediately! Tell him to get in touch with me the second you contact him! This is a national emergency, Sergeant! I want to hear from him within the next five minutes!’
    â€˜He didn’t take a squad car, sir,’ the Sergeant said, gingerly replacing the receiver back to his ear, having had no trouble hearing every word the Chief had been bellowing down the line. ‘He went in one of those jet-propelled wheelchairs we confiscated when we captured those twin bank robbers a while back. He said he was in a hurry, sir.’
    Sergeant Neville gritted his teeth, preparing for the barrage he expected to follow. He eased the receiver away from his ear once more, looking at it as though it were a hand grenade which might explode at any second. But there was no immediate response. That’s if he ignored the peculiar gurgling sound, which made him think there was someone on the other end of the line gargling their throat with thumbtacks.
    â€˜Are you telling me, Sergeant,’ the Chief finally managed in strangulated tones, so that Neville had to replace the receiver to his ear to catch his words. ‘That Superintendent Charles Clifford, one of my highest ranking officers, has taken himself off fishing in a wheelchair ?’ There was a pause for breath, in which Neville could practically see the Chief drawing in great draughts of air to avoid total suffocation. ‘That is what you’re conveying to me, isn’t it?’
    â€˜Yes, sir.’
    â€˜And am I correct in assuming that you’ve no idea where he’s taken himself off to to carry out this – this fishing?’ the Chief continued, sounding much calmer now, and speaking in a relatively normal voice.
    â€˜Indeed you are, sir. He didn’t tell me.’
    â€˜But surely you have some means of communication between you? His mobile phone! You must be able to reach him on that!’ the Chief went on, and Neville could discern in his quivering tones the fact that it wouldn’t be very long before he was screeching into his ear once more when he received the negative answer.
    â€˜He switched it off, sir. He told me before he left there was no point in my ringing him. He made it very clear he didn’t want to be disturbed by anyone.’
    The expected explosion wasn’t immediately forthcoming. In fact, the Chief’s voice descended to a controlled growl. ‘And would I by any chance have been included in the anyone , Sergeant?’ he asked sarcastically.
    â€˜Not that I recall, sir,’ Neville replied, tensing himself for the onslaught. ‘He didn’t mention specific names.’
    â€˜Now listen to me, Sergeant Neville! This is urgent! Urgent! Urgent! Urgent! I want Superintendent Clifford, and I want him now ! You do whatever it takes to find him, do you hear? Whatever it takes! Otherwise, Sergeant, I’ll hold you personally responsible! If I don’t hear from him in record time, you’ll find yourself on the dole queue before you know it! Understand?’
    When Neville put down the phone, his ear was ringing. What a time he was having! Ever since Harrington had disappeared from the station without a word of explanation, young Garda
    Jackson had been assigned to the reception area. And every time someone came in with a complaint or a query, Jackson hadn’t a bug’s notion how to deal with them.
    The Sergeant found himself being called out to assist on each and every occasion. There was a dog barking half the night and the owners couldn’t care less! What to do about it, Sergeant ? The man next door was burning rubbish in his back garden and ruining his