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“Not yet.” I paused, but I could have been just as easily yelling, I ignored you and went out on my own. Instead, I said, “I wanted to make sure it wasn’t a prank.”
Santos calmly said, “I’m listening.”
“So to ensure the information was good, I took a ride across the river.”
Santos glared at me and raised his voice. “What?”
It was about as emotional as I had seen an FBI agent.
Santos said, “Was there something not clear about your place in this task force and how the investigation was going to be conducted?”
I shook my head. “All I can say is that it was not a prank. Marat’s aunt and uncle moved here years ago and are still in touch with their nephew.”
Now Santos slipped into the chair next to me and said, “Tell me everything they said.”
“Oh, so I can’t break the rules unless I find out something important?”
“No, but this case is bigger than politics.”
I ran down the information I had gathered from Konstantin and Vera Nislev.
Both Darya and Santos took notes with interest.
Finally, when I had come clean and told them everything, Dan Santos looked at me and said, “This is good stuff. Now collect your shit and hit the road.”
I stared at him for a moment. “What are you talking about?”
“It’s a privilege to work on a case like this, on a task force like this. We all have certain procedures and everyone was briefed. Yet you are the only one who decided to go out on his own.”
Darya started to come to my defense and I was afraid she was going to mention our earlier interviews. I held up a hand to stop her. I knew when a decision had been made. It didn’t matter why it was made.
Without saying a word or acting like a spoiled brat, I picked up my notebook and a few other things I needed and strolled out of the task force with my head held high.
Chapter 23
That evening, I sat on the couch after dinner and doodled on a pad, making a few notes and my own version of a chart that showed the connection between everyone in the case.
The only call to the NYPD I had made since I left the FBI was to my lieutenant, Harry Grissom. I told him exactly what had happened, what I had found out, and that I had been told to leave. His response was pure Harry.
Grissom said, “On the bright side, at least you weren’t kicked off the task force for stealing something.”
I gave him half a chuckle.
He said, “Seriously, Mike, this isn’t going to change anything between us or on the squad. Maybe some bosses will be pissed off, but they’re so used to the FBI bullshit that I doubt anyone will care. I’ll talk to Santos, then call you back when things have leveled out.”
That made me feel better. Seeing the kids and having one last dinner of Thanksgiving leftovers set my head on straight. I also decided that just because I wasn’t officially on the task force investigating the attack on the parade, that didn’t mean I couldn’t do anything about it. I was still a cop.
Now I was a pissed-off cop. And I wanted to find out what the hell was going on. Things were not as they appeared, and my unrelenting need to understand events kept pushing me.
Jane plopped down on the couch next to me and said, “What’cha workin’ on?”
“Nothing, really. Just putting a few thoughts down on paper.”
She laid her head on my shoulder and pointed at the page where I’d been doodling and said, “I especially like your thoughts about this boat and the giant shark behind it. Did you watch Jaws again last night?”
I let out a laugh. “No, but I’ll let you in on a little secret.”
She turned that beautiful face toward me and looked at me like I was about to explain the meaning of life.
