Shattered (Michael Bennett #14)(62)

I started to grin. Completing part of the task was better than not completing any of it. I’d have to resume my surveillance of Beth Banks later.





Chapter 81



No matter how Bobby Patel was feeling about me, he agreed to meet me quickly. I told him I had a break in the case. I’d wait until I saw him face-to-face before I told him it was a DNA sample for the Michelle Luna homicide. From there the only question was whether he’d submit the sample to the FBI lab. He could claim that it wasn’t his case and, technically, not mine either. Then I’d have to go through Detective Holly in Baltimore.

I’d thought about using the detective earlier. If she submitted the sample, there wouldn’t be any questions. If there was a hit, then we could move. We would try to tie the two murders together with Rhea Wellmy-Steinberg as the connection.

If there was no hit, life went on. In all likelihood, I’d go back to New York with my tail between my legs.

In the end, I decided it was more efficient and more honest to approach Bobby directly. I knew he’d get a little pissy about it. At this point in my career I expected most FBI agents to get pissy about something.

We met at a Chinese restaurant not far from the FBI field office on Fourth Street, about a block from I-395. Bobby was waiting for me as I walked in. He sat in the very back of the restaurant, dressed in his typical business suit with a bold tie. This one had a purple hue.

Before I sat down, he said, “Whatcha got in the bag?”

“Possibly the break in our case.”

“What kind of break would physically occupy a Dunkin’ Donuts paper bag? That sounds like a DNA sample. We don’t have any DNA markers in this case. So I’m curious what this meeting is about.”

I handed the bag across the small table to Bobby. “This meeting is about a legitimate DNA sample from a legitimate homicide. We may disagree on Michelle Luna being tied to Emily Parker. I recognize that both cases could be random killers. I recognize that the victims never met. I’m still asking if you could expedite comparing the sample to the Michelle Luna homicide.”

Bobby was silent. I don’t think I ever realized how intense his brown eyes were until they fell on me. He just stared at me. It was unnerving. If you had told me when I first met Bobby that he could make me nervous, I would’ve laughed out loud.

Finally, I said, “C’mon, Bobby, we got nothing going on in the case. I visited Whole Foods earlier and was reminded that we don’t even have a full set of security videos. Nothing is going right in this case. We need to shake things up.”

Bobby said, “Obviously I know about the missing DVD. I talked to the manager and corporate security manager for hours trying to figure out what happened. We just have to chalk it up to a bad break. They don’t care about security footage as much as cops do. They don’t have to make cases based on what’s on their videos. They just want to make sure they’re covered if someone slips and falls and tries to sue them.”

Bobby looked away for a moment. Then he focused back on me again with those intense, brown eyes. “Who’s the sample from? I thought you ruled out Jeremy Pugh as a suspect because he was in New York. Who else do you have that you could get a sample from?”

I hesitated. “I don’t think I should tell you who the sample is from just yet. It’s for your protection more than mine. I’ll take full responsibility if anything breaks bad from it.”

I almost chuckled at the expression on Bobby’s face. He looked like one of my kids when they got left out of something. Then he said, “It sounds like you don’t trust me.”

“On the contrary, I doubt you could lie. That’s why I don’t want to tell you. There might be some blowback later. You need to be able to say you didn’t know who the sample was from. That might be a problem.”

Bobby said, “Okay, I’ll submit it as a John Doe sample. Shouldn’t be a problem. If I do it under Emily’s case number, the sample will get processed immediately. Or maybe sooner.”

“I’ll believe that when I see it.”

For the first time today, Bobby smiled. “Hey, that sounds like a knock on the FBI.”

“Yes, of course it is. What did you expect?”





Chapter 82



I stayed at the Chinese restaurant after Bobby left. The area DC calls Chinatown is a small historic district just northwest of Capitol Hill. I don’t mean to be a snob, but the only real Chinatown on the East Coast is in New York. I don’t care what Boston or Philadelphia or any other big city has to say about it. But for the record, the chicken chow mein at the restaurant was outstanding.

The five customers in the quiet venue were spread out. That’s why I was hesitant to answer my phone when it rang. I looked down and saw the main number to One Police Plaza. I wondered if it was William Patel with more information from the Tech Unit.

I answered it like I always do. “Michael Bennett.”

A man’s voice said, “Detective Michael Bennett?”

“That’s right. Who’s this?”

“This is Alfred Brocious.”

That one caught me by surprise. I knew the dead silence on the phone line didn’t help my position. And the commissioner of the NYPD didn’t help me out by saying anything else. He just let the silence hang there.