“You’ve been in tough situations before. Even when Maeve was dying, you stayed on the scene of a hostage situation. And you did it because you have a sense of duty. A strong sense of duty. This is no different. You can’t stand the thought of any killer going unpunished.”
“Emily was my friend. I can’t even tell you how much it means to me.”
Seamus nodded. “I understand. I liked Emily too. She was a lovely woman.”
“What I’m saying is, I’m torn. I miss my family when I’m not here. But I know it will haunt me the rest of my life if I don’t find Emily’s killer.”
“You have to follow your heart.”
I smiled and looked at my grandfather. “You used to say, ‘Trust in faith.’”
“It’s essentially the same thing.”
“Sometimes I worry that wanting punishment for the killer is too close to vengeance. I’m not sure how Jesus would feel about that.”
“God threw down some punishments over the years. Everything from a flood to turning a woman into a pillar of salt. He did what he needed to do. Just like you need to do this for your friend. I truly feel we both found the right careers. You just did it at a much younger age.”
I turned on the couch and embraced my grandfather. When I felt his thin body in my arms, it made me worry about life without him. But at least I had him for now. And once again he was making sense.
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.”