‘June got me through it. I wanted to leave the force but she sat me down and gave me a good talking-to. “Why don’t you stop waiting for somebody to do something about all this?” she said. “And be that somebody. You fix it. Make them change and bring some honour to your profession. Beat those idiots with sheer stamina, you great big oaf.” She was right, of course. And I did. I kept at my job and became so good at it that they were forced to promote me and eventually I, and others, began to push the changes through.’

They both smiled at the thought of June’s intervention. The inspector could imagine her saying those words, her tone sharp and soft all at once.

‘Did you support Kennedy’s appointment?’ Tom asked the question that had been burning inside him since Sean had stepped down.

His friend scoffed. ‘What do you take me for? You know I wanted you. When I accepted you weren’t going for it, I recommended Natasha McCarthy, that cailín in charge of the sexual assault unit. She hadn’t a hope, though. Too female and too black. They’ve already got Bronwyn Maher in the second highest top job. Sure, you couldn’t go scaring the horses putting too many girls in charge.’

Tom rested his chin in his palm. The situation was a mess.

Sean had harassed him to the point of them almost falling out when he’d refused to go for the chief superintendent’s job. But no wonder. He wanted to protect his legacy in the department and look at whom they’d replaced him with. The inspector had been dismissive of Joe Kennedy, thinking that the man was a lightweight. He had assumed that the worst he could expect from his new boss was inexperience. He hadn’t considered that the incoming chief might be an impediment.

‘Do you think he’ll last?’ he asked his former boss.

Sean swilled wine around his mouth and swallowed, looking thoughtful.

‘No. No, I don’t think so. He’s a filler candidate. They’re still waiting for you, Tom. Kennedy knows it and I think you do too. You just need to say the word and he’ll be moved sideways – if you get in before he beds down. Joe is dying to be the architect of his own demise. He’s too friendly with the media. His ego will be his downfall. Eventually he’ll make a balls of something and then his buddies in the press will rehash the whole saga about his father. Top brass will shift him beforehand, if they get a chance. Will you give it to them?’