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Chapter 41
After a coupleof hours in my hotel room to clear my head, I started to think about dinner. Dinner alone. I was tired of talking to people. Very few people had been particularly nice to me today. That made me miss Mary Catherine. The nicest person I knew. With just a look, she made me feel like I could conquer the world. But she was so much more. She got me. She got the kids. She’d found a way to integrate her life with ours and make all of our lives better. It made my heart hurt to think about her and my kids in New York City. And me stuck in DC.
Then my phone rang. At least I’d get to talk to them. I sprang up from the bed and jumped for my iPhone on the cramped hotel desk. When I looked at the screen, I felt a wave of disappointment. It was Harry Grissom. He knew I was officially on vacation. This wasn’t a call from a friend.
As soon as I picked up, all I heard was “Mike, what the fuck!”
“Hey, boss, nice to hear from you too.”
“Cut the shit.”
This was un-Harry-like. He rarely got rattled. It made me pause and just listen for a change.
“I’ve gotten calls from our captain all the way up to the commissioner. Who’d you piss off in DC?”
“Actually, Harry, there’s a whole list of them.”
“Come home. Now.”
“Harry, I have a gut feeling on this. My gut tells me no one’s going to solve this if I don’t stay here.”
Harry’s voice was even but scary. “I have a gut feeling you’re going to be fired. Let the goddamn FBI handle this.”
“C’mon, Harry. If it was someone close to you, would you let the FBI handle it?”
There was just silence. Finally, Harry said, “Sometimes it’s tough being your friend. That doesn’t compare to being your boss.”
A smile crept across my face. I said, “If it means anything, you’re a good boss and a better friend.”
Harry said, “When you get to be my age, you realize that’s really all there is. Friendship. That’s also why I’ll try to buy you some time.”
“I won’t forget this, Harry.”
“When we’re working together at McDonald’s, I’ll remind you of that.”
It was good to have friends like Harry.
