His tough-guy brother broke down sobbing.
“I’m sorry this happened, Peter. Truly sorry.”
“Who kills a fucking dog?”
“The same people who killed Caroline.”
“But why? It’s a dog.”
McNeal nodded.
“Why would they do that, Jack?”
Peter wiped away the tears with the back of his sleeve.
McNeal explained, “They’re sending a not-so-subtle message. ‘We can get you any time we like.’ Remember what I said? They’re fucking with us.”
“What do I tell the kids?”
“Tell them the truth. You found him dead.”
“What do we do now?”
McNeal knew it was important not to have a gut reaction. He needed time to think. But Peter wanted answers, and he wanted to crack some heads. “We take stock.”
“Then what? What the hell is really going on? Are they watching us?”
“Maybe. We might be under surveillance. Maybe electronic.”
“We need to get new phones.”
McNeal nodded.
“The question is, do we just sit here and wait?”
“There is no ‘we.’ This is not about us.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Jack. They killed my dog. My brother is in their sights. I can’t just sit back and take this.”
McNeal stood, hands on hips, cursing the mound of earth. “Motherfucker!”
“They’re not going to divide us.”
“I need more time to figure this out.”
McNeal’s cell phone interrupted the conversation.
“Sorry for taking so long to get back to you, son.” The gruff voice of O’Brien bled through. “You okay to talk?”
“Not a problem. You find out anything from the police files?”
“It makes interesting reading.”
“How so?”
“Your late wife reported a prowler to the DC police. This was noted. Police arrested a guy a couple hundred yards from her home matching the description.”
“You got a name?”
“Frank Nicoletti. He was released after he was questioned. Pled the Fifth. I’ve been doing some digging. He’s onetime CIA.”
“What else?”
“He’s also a close associate of Henry Graff.”
Thirty-Nine
McNeal ended the call and relayed the news to his brother.
“I think the time has come,” McNeal decided.
“For what?”
“You need to get back home to your family.”
“What about you?”
“Gimme your cell phone?”
“What?”
“Do it.”
Peter handed over his LG phone.
McNeal took out the battery, then did the same for his own Samsung as well.
“Let’s assume they have a roving bug on us.”
“Possibility,” Peter acknowledged.
“First things first. The documents belonging to Caroline. All that information that we copied for the Feds.”
“It’s inside the family safe deposit box,” Peter said.
“We both have access, right? It’s got everything?”
“Everything. And I also made copies of it all, just on the million-to-one chance something happens to us.”
“Where did you put that?”
“Gave it to my lawyer.”
McNeal cocked his head. “You’ve got a lawyer?”
“He’s a former cop. Has a practice in Jersey City. It’s in his safe. Only to be opened in the event of my death.”
McNeal nodded. “Extreme situations require extreme measures.”
“You got it. So, what now? You going to disappear?”
McNeal shook his head. “On the contrary. I want them to know where I am. Put the batteries back in ten minutes from now. Then we split. If they want to follow me, they can follow me. They’ve been tracking me from the start. Let’s use that to our advantage.”
“This is all too fucking crazy. You’re Internal Affairs. You investigate bad cops. Don’t jeopardize everything you have.”
“What the hell do I have? I have nothing. I’ve lost everything. My wife. My son. They have me in their crosshairs. I’m not going to hang around like a sitting duck to see how it plays out.”
“So, what’s the plan? You want them to come to you? Make the next move, right? Like as bait? Is that it?”
McNeal nodded. “That’s exactly it.”
“You’re going after Graff?”
“I want him to think that I’m coming for him. And see where it leads me.”