Blindside (Michael Bennett #12)(75)

“The reason I asked you to visit today was to show my appreciation. I can tell you that officially you’ve been cleared of any wrongdoing in your shooting. In connection to that, I spoke to the esteemed Reverend Franklin Caldwell. He’s agreed to stop his protests directed at you.”

“How did you manage that?”

“The reverend and I have a good working relationship. I assured him that backing off your case will help him in the future. His living depends on getting a cut of all the settlements the city makes on cases he’s involved in. It’s not a great system, but it’s worked in the past.”

I almost asked the mayor why he hadn’t had the reverend stop the protests as soon as the mayor knew my shooting was justified. I figured he’d just have some slick reply like “We have to pick our battles.” And this wasn’t the battle I wanted him to fight.

Now I had the real question, the one that had floated just below the surface since my last chat with the mayor. I said, “Were you able to talk to anyone about my son Brian? That’s all I really care about.”

The mayor patted his belly. “So it comes back to children. Seems like that’s always the case. My daughter brought me to you. Your son motivates you.”

“Did I motivate you enough to make some phone calls?”

The mayor smiled. “I can see why you’re so effective. So I won’t beat around the bush. I did talk to some Department of Corrections people and the attorney general. The responses were not overly optimistic. They don’t want it to look like favoritism by releasing the son of a prominent police officer.”

“So that’s it?”

“I’m still trying. Let’s give it a little time.”

“May I speak freely, Mr. Mayor?”

“I didn’t think you had any other way of speaking. But please say anything you want. It won’t leave this room.”

“I didn’t just try to find your daughter. I did it. I didn’t give up. Now you know what it’s like to have a child returned to you. Please consider that in your efforts to get Brian released. I don’t need you to try to get Brian released. I need you to put as much effort into it as I did in finding your daughter.”

The mayor stared straight ahead silently, nodding his head slowly. “Well said, Detective. Well said.”





CHAPTER 105





MY CELL PHONE rang on the nightstand, waking me from a dream about playing basketball with LeBron James. And I was winning. Startled, I automatically reached out with my left hand and fumbled for the phone before it rang again.

Mary Catherine barely stirred next to me as I said, “Bennett. This better be good.” I managed a quick peek out the window. It was still pitch-black outside. I glanced at my alarm clock and realized it was only five thirty in the morning.

The call was important enough to get me moving quickly.

Mary Catherine called from the bed when she started to stir.

I said, “I want to take a day trip. You guys have been cooped up in the city too long. I’ll get the kids moving. You get dressed.”

Her voice was still scratchy with sleep. “A day trip? Where? Michael, what are you talking about?” Even without me answering, she got up and started to get dressed. That’s trust.

It took a little longer to get the kids in order, but that allowed me to call my grandfather. And even though it was by then after six in the morning, he was still quite annoyed. But he agreed to be ready to go in twenty minutes.

It wasn’t even seven o’clock by the time we were pulling away from Holy Name in the van.

The rapid-fire questions started coming from everyone.

“Where are we going?”

“Why couldn’t we keep sleeping?”

“When will we get there?”

“When can we eat?”

I shut everyone up with a quick run to McDonald’s, then let nature take its course, and I gave a satisfied smile once everyone fell back to sleep. Everyone except Seamus. And he was smart enough to not ask any questions.

A little over an hour and a half after we’d eaten, about half the kids woke up.

Jane, my second oldest daughter, looked out the window of the van and said, “Isn’t this the way to Fishkill?”

Trent said, “Where the prison is?”

Fiona, with a higher pitch of excitement in her voice, said, “We’re going to visit Brian, right?”

I smiled and said, “Do I ever have some bright kids.”

Now everyone was awake, and excitement rippled through the van.

There were no more complaints now that they all knew the reason we’d gotten moving so early. But the real surprise for my family was yet to come.

They knew the drill. Go into the prison. Check in. Wait. Move to the visiting area. Wait. Get to see Brian.

Today, the drill was thrown off. We were immediately led to a community room with no guards, partitions, or closed-circuit telephones. There were more questions, but everyone filed into the room dutifully.

That’s why, when a door on the other side of the room opened, everyone just stood in shock.

Three corrections officers entered the room, followed by Brian. He was wearing jeans and a collared shirt, holding a duffel bag crammed with everything he owned.

Mary Catherine said, “What’s this?”