Mary Catherine looked at me like she needed permission to join us.
I said, “I’m thinking.”
Mary Catherine dropped the pitch of her voice and said, “Don’t think too long.”
“Okay. Maybe you can join us this once.”
I suspected the errant elbow I caught in the face as she slipped past me to sit next to Chrissy was no accident.
CHAPTER 24
CHRISSY DOZED OFF on the couch next to me, and Mary Catherine moved so she could snuggle up close. Now I was the middle of the sandwich.
Mary Catherine dropped her head on my shoulder and said, “I’m sorry I blew up, Michael.”
I lifted my head and stared at her.
She said, “What? What’s wrong?”
“I almost thought I heard you apologize. I’m worried you might’ve suffered a head injury. Or perhaps we’ll have to call my grandfather to complete an exorcism. This doesn’t sound like my Mary Catherine.”
She punched me in the arm. Hard enough to hurt, but not hard enough for me to whine about it. She said, “I’m serious. I’m sorry I lost control. I also think we should talk about it.”
“About going back to work? You knew it was going to happen.”
“Not this fast. You’ve been through something traumatic. We all have. Don’t you think you need some time to recover?”
I thought about how much to tell her. Then I said, “It’s not exactly like I’m back on the street. At least it’s not my usual assignment. I’m working a missing persons case.”
“Really? I thought you only worked homicides.”
I explained to her my meeting with the mayor. Not in great detail. I remembered the admonition to keep things quiet. But I couldn’t just lie to my fiancée.
When I was finished, Mary Catherine said, “What’s he like, the mayor?”
I shrugged. “He’s a politician. But he’s not quite that dick everyone makes him out to be. Talking to him, I had the sense that he was a concerned father. I understood that.”
“Everyone has their good and bad.”
“Is that an Irish saying?”
“No, Reader’s Digest.” Mary Catherine looked at me with those big, beautiful eyes and said, “Could you have refused?”
“I could have, but …”
“But what?”
I could hear in her voice she was getting annoyed again. I blurted out, “It might help Brian.” I told her what the mayor had said about making some phone calls.
“Is that right? Is it right to use a person’s position, like the mayor’s, to help your family? Can he even make a promise like that?”
I said, “He didn’t promise anything.”
Mary Catherine said, “But is it right to use his position like that?”
“No, probably not. Do you want me to refuse?”
“No way. I want Brian back. I miss him.”
I said, “Exactly.” Everyone is an idealist, until the issue affects them. I knew I was going to do what I had to do.
CHAPTER 25
ALICE GROFF AND Janos Titon had to move on to someone else after they eliminated Tommy Payne from their list. The next nerd they started looking for was named Jennifer Chang. Alice had one photograph of her. She was a really cute twenty-four-year-old Asian woman from Los Angeles.
They didn’t have a lot on her other than a couple of possible addresses and the fact that she lived with another computer genius named Oscar Gonzales. Alice smiled at a line Henry had written in his notes about her. He pointed out the fact that her relationship with Oscar was platonic. That immediately told Alice that Henry was interested in Jennifer for more than her computer skills. At the end of the notes, Henry had added that she was not to be hurt, no matter what.
Alice also smiled at the idea of someone telling her how to do her job. She hurt people. That’s what she got paid for. She wouldn’t let something like an infatuation interfere with her job. If the cute Ms. Chang didn’t want to get hurt, she should do as they say. Henry needed to think with his head more. He also shouldn’t show vulnerabilities like that.
Henry wasn’t like a drug lord or a Russian gangster. He wasn’t so ruthless that he would track people down for a slight to his honor. But he was relying more and more on the two crazy Dutchmen he used as muscle. They were always eager to show how tough they were.
Alice had no desire to tangle with them.
Janos looked at the notes and said, “So all we do is ask Jennifer to come back with us. Nothing more.”
“Are you certain? It doesn’t help Henry’s business reputation if we let this girl walk.”
“What are you saying? Kill her even if we don’t have to? That’s no business, that’s just weird.” Janos turned to stare at Alice. A smile crept over his face. “Or is there something else? Are you jealous of young Jennifer? Is that why you want to put a bullet in her?”
Alice was silent for a while. Finally she said, “Not jealous in a romantic way. Henry prizes these computer people but barely acknowledges our contributions to his business.”
“He recognizes us with cash. I’ll take that any day. So let’s not hurt this girl. Please tell me you’re smart enough to know not to harm a purple-dyed hair on Jennifer Chang’s pretty head.”
Alice frowned but managed to avoid an overt promise, and they went about their business.
One of the addresses they had was a brownstone in Queens. They were dressed professionally today and expected this to be a simple visit. Janos was even wearing a tie he’d bought from a place called Daffy’s, not far from Times Square.
They found the apartment door on the first floor but got no answer. Janos slipped a credit card out of his pocket.
Alice said, “What are you going to do with that?”
“I saw this on TV. I’m going to jiggle the lock open.”
“What TV show?”
“I saw it at home. It’s an American show. The Rockford Files.”
Alice shook her head, knowing it would never work.
After a short and furious bout of wiggling the card, Janos got frustrated and used his shoulder to smash in the door. The flimsy doorframe snapped on the inside, and they found themselves staring at an empty apartment. Not just that no one was home; there was no furniture or clothing.
Alice mumbled, “Damn.”
On their way out of the building, a young man was now sitting on the stairs, navigating a Samsung tablet. He looked up and smiled. “Are you guys looking for Oscar?”
Alice kept Janos from saying something stupid. She immediately said, “Why? You know where he is?”
“Are you from Columbia or Fordham?”
This time Janos spoke. “Columbia. Do you know where Oscar moved?”
“Yeah. He and Jennifer found a place near Midtown. It’s above a warehouse that holds caskets and funeral parlor accessories. Like a wholesaler.” He gave them directions.
Alice stood behind the young man as he spoke with Janos. She started to calculate the odds of leaving a witness like this behind. If something happened and an investigator was thorough enough, this young man might be able to provide a description of them. That went against her professional ethics. Never leave viable witnesses.