AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“All right,” Faith said. “We’ll have you escorted to a different platform and placed on a train to your hotel. Thank you for your cooperation.”
“I didn’t really have a choice, did I?” he said with just the slightest hint of irritation.
Faith didn’t answer him.
***
“So, Turk screwed up?” Michael asked.
Faith took a deep breath and said, “Yeah, looks like it.”
Michael nodded. “Well, he probably smelled the phenol and thought it was the killer.”
“Yeah,” Faith said, “that’s my guess.”
“Don’t feel bad about it. Everyone makes mistakes. You, too, Turk,” he said, ruffling his head. “Don’t feel bad.”
Faith sighed. She knew a part of Michael was happy that Turk had misidentified the killer because it meant he could be wrong about Ellie too. She didn’t begrudge him this, but it wasn’t guilt over Ellie that soured her mood.
“I don’t feel bad, Michael,” she said. “I feel frustrated.”
“Yeah, I get that.”
They were enjoying a late lunch at the food court on the ground floor of the terminal. Or rather, they were eating a late lunch. Though the stir-fried beef and vegetables and lo mein noodles were actually a step up from most of the fast-food Chinese Faith had tried, Faith wasn’t in much of an enjoying mood.
“So, where do we go from here?” Michael asked after a moment.
“We need to establish a motive,” Faith said. “It’s possible that this is just location-based, and we’re dealing with a psycho who gets off on planting dead people on benches, but I think it’s more involved than that.”
“So, why these victims?” Michael asked rhetorically.
“Exactly,” she said. “Everett Richardson was a jerk, so it makes sense that people would want him dead, but we don’t know if Chester McIlhenny was the same.”
“We know he was estranged from his family,” Faith said. “Maybe there’s a reason for that.”
“Have you talked to his kids yet?” Michael asked.
“No,” Faith admitted. “I was distracted by the discovery of Richardson’s body.”
“Well, let’s talk to them,” Michael said. “You still have the contact info?”
Faith checked her phone. “Yeah, I got it right here.”
“Anyone local?”
“The oldest son, Brandon. He has a New York phone number. Not sure if he’s still here, but I’ll try him first.”
Brandon was, in fact, local. He worked as a foreman in a plastics factory in Greenpoint. He agreed to meet the agents near his office.
The agents were quiet on the drive over. Faith realized that she missed talking with Michael. They used to joke and banter with each other like friends, but lately, these periods of silence were the most comfortable they felt with each other. Faith wondered if part of her dislike of Ellie could be due to the fact that she was jealous of her for pulling Michael away. She didn’t feel jealous, but she knew that sometimes jealousy could manifest in different ways. Maybe she was finding reasons to be wary of Ellie because she missed Michael’s friendship and blamed Ellie for the growing rift between them.
She would ask Doctor West about it when they returned home. For now, she would focus on the case.
They reached the factory in fifteen minutes, a minor miracle in New York traffic. Brandon McIlhenny met them in the lobby and led them to the building’s cafeteria.
He ordered a coffee for himself and one for each of the agents. “The dog drink coffee?” he asked with a slight smile.
When the agents didn’t return his smile, he shrugged and said, “Just a joke. I used to have a German shepherd when I was a kid. Best dog breed on the planet.”
