Shattered (Michael Bennett #14)(4)

“You were playing poker with my children?”

“Just the ones who had ten dollars for the ante.”

“And they spent the evening with your inebriated friends?”

“No, they spent the evening with my very smart friends, who didn’t become inebriated until the last hour or so. By then Ricky was the last child standing, so to speak. He finished on a beautiful ace-high flush. Everyone else is upstairs, having finished their homework and all the things they were supposed to, now just determined to wait up for you. They have been fed regularly and didn’t miss a single day of school. I count this whole situation as a win.”

As I was about to reply, we heard a car horn out front.

Seamus helped his friend off the floor and somehow guided him to the cab he’d called. He waved to the cabbie, and I heard him say, “Hello, Vonnu, how are you this evening?”

I stepped from the door to the street to make sure there were no problems.

The cabbie called out, “See you later, Father,” then drove down West End Avenue and turned toward the river.

I faced my grandfather and said, “‘Father’? You know that cabbie personally? You don’t care if he sees a priest with drunks?”

“They’re not drunks. They are fine men who had a little too much Pinot. Vonnu knows them too. You think this is the first time I’ve ever had to call him?”

With that, Seamus turned and marched back into the building.





Chapter 5



If I was annoyed at my grandfather, the feeling evaporated the instant I opened the door to our apartment. Across the dining room, in full view of the front door, hung a banner that said, “Welcome Home.” I could tell by the precision work that it had been supervised heavily by Jane and Juliana. The rhinestones at each corner were Bridget’s calling card.

Mary Catherine bumped into me while she stared at the giant banner. Then one of the younger girls—I think it was Shawna—squealed. As if reacting to a starting pistol, we were swarmed with racing children. Twenty arms reaching for us at once. It was the perfect ending to a fabulous honeymoon.

As soon as I saw Trent’s giant smile, I remembered he had big news. Once the sleepy-eyed hugs all around were finished, I turned to my quiet teenage son and said, “What’s the big news you wanted to tell us?”

Chrissy almost blurted it out, but Eddie managed to get a hand over her mouth before she spilled the beans.

Trent said, “I wrote an essay at school about what it’s like living in a multicultural family in a multicultural city and still not knowing exactly where you fit in. It’s called ‘The Black Face in the Crowd.’”

Mary Catherine said, “I can’t wait to read it.”

Trent was almost breathless as he said, “That’s not the best part. The essay won a contest at school and is now a finalist in a citywide competition. There’s a ceremony at City Hall and everything in a couple of weeks.”

I grabbed Trent and hugged him. I was so proud I had a tear in my eye, and I didn’t trust myself to speak. It was nice to see Trent excelling. He had so many different interests that I wondered what he might focus on as he got older. I looked over and noticed his sister Jane was the only one not beaming. Jane had quietly kept a journal her whole life. I hoped there wouldn’t be any jealousy about her brother’s quick success with writing.

I was so excited about the news and seeing the kids, I almost forgot that at some point in the coming weeks I’d probably have to go back to work. It was like waking up from a dream I never wanted to end. I could unpack tomorrow.

When I woke up the next morning, I immediately slipped out of bed so I wouldn’t wake Mary Catherine. I texted Emily Parker because she had not returned my calls from Ireland. She had to have been trying to reach me about a case, and I wanted to get back to her.

I managed to whip together a pancake breakfast with scrambled eggs on the side. It may not sound like much, but when you’re doing it for ten kids and a grandfather who decided to spend the night, it can be quite the task.

Everything went smoothly, and I let Seamus use our van to drive the kids to school. I told him I’d walk down in the afternoon and pick it up. It was an odd feeling to be at the house alone with Mary Catherine at eight fifteen in the morning. Even if I was the only one awake.

When my phone rang, I jumped to answer it, thinking it would be Emily. Instead, I saw it was my boss, Lieutenant Harry Grissom.

As soon as I answered, Harry said, “So you made it back safely. Are you at home? I need to come by and talk to you about something.” Harry was my friend, but he’d been to the apartment only once or twice in all the years we’d lived here.

As soon as I opened the door and greeted Harry, the anxiety I’d been holding back flooded in with full force. Harry refused coffee and led me to the couch. He didn’t have good news.

When we were sitting, Harry said, “I wanted you to hear it before it was on the news.”

“What?” I said, my voice cracking like a schoolboy’s.

“Emily Parker has gone missing in Washington, DC.”

“What do you mean, ‘missing’?”

“No one has seen or heard from her since the day before yesterday. The Bureau is taking it very seriously. They found her car in a grocery store parking lot. Someone from the FBI or DC police blabbed to a reporter, and news coverage is starting.”