AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m so glad I’m studying communications in college. I’d hate to do such lonely, anonymous work. It doesn’t suit me.”
Ott stood still for a moment. Silent. Furious. Who the hell is this arrogant bitch to think she is better than me? In fact, he was widely recognized in the industry as one of only six or seven techs in the whole country who could do what he did. And he got paid well for it too. More than this bitch intern would ever make in communications or whatever useless degree she was getting.
His hand started to tremble with anger. Then he smiled with a new sense of purpose.
He always felt energized the moment he found a new victim.
Chapter 5
It wasn’t quite nightfall by the time I got home to my family. I’ve spent my career trying to keep my family life as separate from my work life as possible. If I’m thinking about some gruesome crime I’m investigating, I’m not focusing on the kids the way I need to be, and it’s important to focus exclusively on the children for a fair amount of time each day.
But today was one of those days that wore me down. The unidentified killer who’d violently murdered these women had gotten into my head. It was hard to stop thinking about the case, even as I was welcomed home by three beautiful, happy young girls.
Though frankly I’d expected more than 30 percent of my kids to greet me at the door.
That’s right, I have ten children. Six girls and four boys. All adopted. Each with his or her own unique personality and challenges. And I wouldn’t trade a single one of them for anything in the world, though as anyone with a lot of kids will tell you, it takes an enormous amount of energy.
My twins, Bridget and Fiona, were always good for a double hug, and my youngest, Chrissy, still insisted on a giant hug and a quick lift and whirl around the room. It’s possible she didn’t insist as much as she used to. But I still did it anyway, every day.
I wandered farther into the apartment and found my fiancée, Mary Catherine, sitting at a small writing desk in our bedroom, working on some wedding details. We were getting married in a matter of weeks, and the quick look she gave me revealed that she was feeling rather overwhelmed.
“I need some fresh air,” Mary Catherine said. “Get changed, real quick. You promised we’d ride our new bikes at least three times a week. Let’s go.”
I knew not to argue. Also, it’s bad policy to ignore commitments. And I never break a promise. It took me only a minute to slip out of my work clothes and into sweatpants and a Manhattan College T-shirt. Underneath the school’s logo it said, PHILOSOPHY, IT’S SO MUCH MORE THAN A MAJOR. The kids had gotten me the shirt as a joke gift for my birthday since that had been my major in college. I loved it. The joke was on them. Philosophy was a lot more than just a major.
As we slipped out the front door, Mary Catherine called over her shoulder, “Ricky, finish up dinner. Your great-grandfather will be here in a few minutes. He can get everyone organized. We’ll be back in thirty to forty minutes. Less if I have to call an ambulance for your father.”
Mary Catherine’s lilting Irish accent didn’t make these sound like a series of orders she expected to be carried out precisely. But both the kids and I knew that when she used that tone of voice, she was on a mission. In this case, it was our newest hobby: riding mountain bikes.
You might ask, Who buys mountain bikes when they live in Manhattan? The answer is, anyone who wants to work up a sweat without going forty miles an hour on a racing bike.
We collected our bikes from the basement and took off. Within twenty seconds of riding behind Mary Catherine, I knew we were headed to her favorite bike trail, which runs along the river next to the Henry Hudson Greenway. It was an easy trail to get to from our building, and if she wanted to work out hard—which she obviously did—this was the spot. When Mary Catherine got like this, it was all I could do to keep up as she pedaled with wild abandon. And God help any poor tourist who happened to step in front of her.
I was huffing and puffing a little bit as I pushed my Fuji off-road mountain bike to catch up to Mary Catherine. Between gasps for air, I managed to eke out, “Something you need to talk about? This isn’t just blowing off steam on the bike path. This is running your engine so hard you could blow a rod.”
That made her smile and slow her pace considerably. There really weren’t many people around. This was also where she liked to talk about sensitive subjects. It was about the only way we could be sure the kids weren’t listening in somehow.
Mary Catherine said, “Everything just seems to be happening at once. The wedding, the kids getting all sorts of new interests and making new friends, and Brian’s readjustment to life after prison. It’s a lot to take on.”
“No doubt. And you’ve done a phenomenal job.”
“I didn’t drag you out here for compliments. We both need the exercise. I’m going to fit into that wedding dress if I have to have my spleen removed.” Mary Catherine paused, then said in a serious tone, “I’d really like to talk about Brian.”
Even a smart-ass like me knew not to joke. “What’s up?”
Mary Catherine said, “He disappears during most of the day. Just slips out sometime in the morning and sort of reappears in the afternoon.”
I said, “I’ve been careful not to question him too closely. It’s important we show that we trust him.”
“Yes, but I feel like we’ve been walking on eggshells, maybe giving him too much leeway. He’s got to understand the rules we laid down when we allowed him to return home, the rules about making good use of his time. And I worry that he’s not making good use of his time. I worry that he’s breaking our trust.”
“I get it. But he hasn’t been out that long. He’s still readjusting. Let’s give it just a little time. At least a few more days. Then we’ll sit down with Brian and see what’s going on. How’s that sound?”
She looked over her shoulder and said, “Like we’re going to have to ride really hard for that to be okay with me.” She started pumping the pedals faster than I thought possible. If nothing else, this new hobby was going to shore up my aerobic ability. Not that I was planning to engage in any foot chases.
Chapter 6
We rode for about half an hour more, then returned home. It didn’t take long for us to store the bikes in the basement. We chained them in the storage area and gazed in amazement at the ten other bikes of various sizes locked up next to them.
