Shattered (Michael Bennett #14)(40)
Chapter 50
I was up early. I knew I would be. It wasn’t even light outside when Mary Catherine murmured, “Are you awake?”
Staring at the ceiling, I mumbled, “Yes.”
“What time do you have to leave?”
It hurt to say it out loud. “Harry wanted me to meet him for coffee around eight. That way I can be back in DC by early afternoon.”
“I’ll miss you.” That was all it took for me to spin in the bed and face my beautiful wife. We wrapped each other in a tight hug. As soon as she kissed me, my resolve to go back to Washington started to fade.
We made love in the early morning darkness, before any of the kids were stirring. It was the kind of intimate encounter that made me feel like everything was fine. I could lose all my worries anywhere I was with Mary Catherine.
It was only after, as we lay in bed with our arms around each other, that I heard some of the kids start to move around. Jane was our early bird who liked to shower before anyone woke up. I could also hear Brian as he got his gear together for another day at work.
Mary Catherine said, “You need to get up and get ready as well. As much fun as this was, you need to finish your business in DC. Then come back here and take up the easy job of raising ten kids.” We both started to giggle.
As we all sat together around the breakfast table, the kids were much more subdued. Sort of like they were every morning. It was tough saying good-bye to them as I headed out the door.
Thirty minutes later, I found myself at a coffee shop on West 42nd named Romeo & Juliet Colombian Coffee. I liked it because I could take the Lincoln Tunnel under the Hudson River and be on I-95 headed south in just a few minutes. The small place was busy, and we grabbed a tiny table in the corner where we could talk.
I couldn’t help but look at Harry and once again think how much he reminded me of an Old West gunfighter. The crags on his face had been earned over a career as a cop. His nose had been broken on the job four different times. His mustache dipped a little below both sides of his mouth. He was definitely pushing the NYPD grooming policy. But given that he was a twenty-seven-year veteran of the force with more decorations and commendations than any one person could count, people tended to give Harry some leeway.
Harry said, “I’m glad you’re back in New York.”
“I’m not. In fact, from here I’m heading back to DC. It’s not something I want to do, but I’m going to do it.” I hadn’t wanted to be so blunt, but I didn’t want to ruin our reunion either. Harry was my friend and needed to hear the truth.
Harry kept his gray eyes staring straight ahead. It was a habit he had whenever he was about to deliver some bad news. I’d seen it a dozen times. If he wasn’t looking at you, you didn’t want to hear what he had to say. This time Harry said clearly but not directly at me, “They want to transfer you.”
“You’re kidding me. Where?”
“Staten Island. They’re talking about starting some kind of opioid task force for all the kids of city workers who use that poison.”
“Sometimes I forget Staten Island is still part of New York.” I thought about it and couldn’t wrap my head around that kind of punishment. “Aren’t all of our bosses cops? You’d think they’d understand what I’m trying to do and how cases can unfold at different speeds.”
Harry let out a heavy sigh. He turned to face me, which made me relax a little. For the first time I could see his age more clearly. To me he was almost like my grandfather: ageless. Even though he was older than me, I always thought of Harry as part of my age-group. But now I saw the deeper creases and the gray advancing in his eyebrows and hair.
Harry thought about my question and said, “They may be cops, but they work for politicians. In fact, a lot of them have become politicians to get to where they are. If they feel the heat, their answer is to turn off the oven and run out of the kitchen. Speaking of bosses, how’s Roberta Herring?”
I liked the way his face lit up when he said her name. I said, “She’s doing great. I’ve had a couple of meals with her in DC.”
Harry said, “I miss her. She’s old-school.” After a moment, he said, “I guess I’ll have to cover for you a while longer. Do you at least have some decent leads?”
“There was another woman from DC who was strangled in Baltimore. She and Emily traveled in the same circles. Something tells me my suspect lives in the DC area.”
“I trust you to do what’s right. Keep working on it and I’ll figure out a way for you to stay employed. If I can.”
I smiled. In his way, Harry was telling me to follow my heart. It was one of the many ways he reminded me of my grandfather. And I rarely regretted it when I listened to either of them.
Chapter 51
Luckily, I was on the road and out of the city early enough to reach DC by lunchtime. It wasn’t that I was hungry or planned my meals that carefully. I knew exactly where I was going and what I wanted to accomplish.
I was running out of time in DC. Something had to crack and had to crack fast.
In a way, surveillance was my only available tool. Cops have a love-hate relationship with surveillance. You can accomplish a lot by seeing someone do something illegal. You can make a case, you can make an arrest, or you can follow that person back to the boss. That’s all theoretical. In most cases, surveillance is messy, long, and not as productive as cops would like.