Harry shook his head and said, “Jesus, what happened?”
I shrugged. Just like I’d told an investigating detective, “I have no idea what happened. I didn’t recognize any of the shooters. I didn’t see where anyone went. And the one person I was trying to keep safe ended up shot in the back.” I looked up at my lieutenant and said, “What’s it like at the coffeehouse?”
Harry said, “We’ve got the dead couple who were part of the shoot-out and two dead civilians. We have four more with serious wounds.”
I cringed. People buying coffee shouldn’t have to worry about being blasted by a gun. This was crazy. I looked at Harry and said, “It has to be related to the mayor’s daughter. The woman aimed at Jennifer as she ran away.”
Harry said, “And she had a homemade garrote in her purse.”
“Like the one used to kill Tommy Payne near Penn Station?”
“I’ve already called Ed Arris. We think it’s the murder weapon.”
“Harry, this shit has gone from doing a favor for the mayor to a full-blown conspiracy. We have to do something. We have to find Natalie Lunden. She’s in real danger.”
Harry put his hand on my shoulder. “You need to get some rest. That’s all you need to worry about right now. Spend a little time with that beautiful family. Someone will call you as soon as there’s news on Jennifer Chang.”
Reluctantly I agreed with my friend. I waited until Harry left, then I waited a while longer. I checked with the nurse one more time.
I had to fight the feeling that Harry had lost faith in me. I felt like I’d let people down. Especially Jennifer Chang. I wondered if anyone would even keep me up-to-date on the shooting. Technically I wasn’t suspended. But cops rarely like to be seen talking to a detective sent home for any reason.
I was sure rumors about me would spread quickly. They’d revolve around some imagined confrontation I had with management. No one would believe that my friend of almost twenty years had suggested I go home and see my family. Instead, I would go home after I was sure Jennifer Chang was out of danger.
CHAPTER 48
I WALKED THROUGH the front door of my apartment completely drained. It’s easy to imagine that a homicide detective always feels drained when arriving home. That’s not accurate. I usually get a bolt of energy anticipating seeing my kids and Mary Catherine. I love coming home to my family.
Tonight it was different. I had absolutely no energy and I couldn’t focus. I wondered if the cumulative effect of the shootings had finally caught up to me.
I had lingered at the hospital until I found out Jennifer Chang had made it through surgery and was in recovery. A young surgeon named Susan Jones had come out to talk to me, even though she knew I wasn’t family and wasn’t the detective on the case involving Jennifer.
She was in her scrubs with more than a few blood smears and other stains. Her hair poking out from under a surgical cap was limp with sweat, and wide perspiration stains had seeped from under her arms. No one could ever tell me that surgeons weren’t athletes on some level. To stand and concentrate for so many hours without a break takes real determination and stamina.
Dr. Jones motioned me to sit down on a couch. I think it was more about her getting off her feet than delivering bad news to me. She said, “I’m very impressed you waited here for her. I heard you tried to shield her from the gunfire. That’s brave, even for a cop.”
“Is Jennifer going to recover?”
“She lost a lot of blood. The bullet entered about four inches from her spine but worked its way through her torso. Her stomach was perforated and her left lung collapsed. She’ll be in the ICU for days, maybe weeks.”
I sagged in my seat.
The doctor touched my arm and said, “You’ve done all you can. There won’t be an update for some time. Please go home and get some rest. I don’t even know you and I have to say, you look terrible. Please forgive me.”
She gave me a weak smile and then was gone.
I’m not even sure how I made it back to the apartment. I was on automatic pilot.
Now I stood in the doorway and still couldn’t shake all of my fears about Natalie Lunden. Whoever she was involved with meant business. I believed she was in Estonia. In fact, I knew it. But I had no idea if she was there by consent or if she’d been forced to go.
This was troubling on a number of levels. Having my oldest daughter, Juliana, greet me at the door only emphasized my fears. How would I feel if Juliana disappeared like Natalie? I’d be calling in all the favors I could. I was starting to understand the mayor a little better.
I made my rounds in the apartment, greeting each kid individually. I could tell that Mary Catherine was still worried about me. Sometimes I wondered if she and Harry Grissom secretly traded phone calls about my mental state and general health.
Eventually I found myself next to the computer with Eddie. After I caught up on his daily life, school, and basketball, I got to the point. “Eddie, I’m having a little trouble comprehending some kids who are drawn to working with a certain hacker in Estonia. I know the money is pretty good, but is there something else?”
Eddie’s face positively lit up. “Dad, you have no idea. It’s the closest a kid like me will come to having a superpower. Just because I understand computers and most people really don’t. Once I found out I understood what hackers were talking about, it was easy. I follow a couple of forums online and read some blogs by hackers. It doesn’t surprise me the hacker is based in Estonia.”
“Why’s that?”
“Estonia is considered the most wired republic in Europe. The government views access to the internet as a human right. They spent a fortune on infrastructure to attract high-tech companies.”
“Most kids your age don’t even know where Estonia is. I’m very impressed.”
“We studied it in history class. How, after World War II, the Soviet Union essentially took control of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. That makes their rise as a computer power all the more impressive.”
I sat for a moment, thinking about Holy Name. I knew it was a good school. I’ve sent all my kids there. But I didn’t remember learning anything like that when I was in school. Of course, my interest in history didn’t come on until I was in college.
Then Eddie explained to me the draw of young people to crack security systems at different companies or government facilities. It was the cyberpunk’s version of climbing Mount Everest. Basically, they did it because it was there.
I settled back in my chair and said, “Eddie, would you mind showing me some of the forums and blogs that you read?”
By the smile on my son’s face you would’ve thought I’d given him a Jet Ski. He loved this kind of stuff.
CHAPTER 49
AT EIGHT O’CLOCK, we all gathered around the speakerphone on the breakfast nook counter. I’d bought the phone at Best Buy specifically for these nights. Sure, it was a little crowded with twelve people trying to get close enough to both hear the speaker and be heard when they spoke.
This was our weekly call from Brian. It was the one night no one ever argued about what we were going to do. No one wanted to miss even a moment of talking to their brother.