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“I know. I just like to be engaged with the family when I’m at home.”
“Aren’t you able to do a few personal errands during your workday?”
“You know I try to be efficient.”
“Then there’s no problem working on a case at home once in a while. There’s no need to look like a teenage boy caught looking at porn on his computer.”
I stood up and took my beautiful wife in my arms. I didn’t deserve someone as understanding as her. We embraced and kissed.
As things became more heated, we eased over to the bed. I paused for a moment to listen for kids.
As if she was reading my mind, Mary Catherine said, “Everyone but Brian and Juliana are asleep. They’re watching TV in the living room. And I locked the door when I came in.”
I smiled. “So, this wasn’t spontaneous.”
Mary Catherine snuggled in close to me on the bed. “The doctor said trying to have a baby by the natural method wouldn’t interfere with any treatments I might get.”
I kissed her and said, “I’m definitely on board with the method that both is fun and doesn’t have a deductible.”
For the first time today, something took my mind completely off our investigation.
Chapter75
AT ALMOST EXACTLY8:30 the next morning, I met Terri Hernandez at a place on Columbus Avenue called Birch Coffee. Harry Grissom had planned to meet us too but had backed out when he realized he’d double-booked with a doctor’s appointment. It occurred to me that Harry was going to more and more medical professionals. I hoped it was just routine.
We sat at a round high-top table and looked out the glass window onto Columbus Avenue. Thomas Sloan’s veterinary office was a few blocks down, at about 100th Street. There was a Starbucks on the corner of that block, but whenever possible, I preferred to frequent local businesses that showed more interest in the neighborhood and its people beyond gouging them for extra-large lattes.
Terri looked across the table at me and said, “You look nice.”
I shrugged. “Lately, I’ve noticed people are more open to talking with me if I’m wearing a sport coat and tie. Maybe it’s just the professional look.” I ran my hand down the tie to straighten it. Mainly to emphasize said professional look.
Terri giggled. Or as close to a giggle as she ever came. “This is Manhattan. Men wear five-thousand-dollar suits. If anything, they look at you and feel sorry.That’sprobably why they’ve been talking to you.”
I had to smile. The trash talk between cops, even when it’s directed at me, is generally pretty high quality. Probably a notch higher than you’d hear from NFL or NBA players. Part of it is because we know how to launch missiles at one another’s very specific idiosyncrasies. I tried to think of a dig to shoot back at Terri. Preferably one focusing on fashion. I couldn’t find one. She looked great as always.
Sharp as ever, Terri picked up on my failed effort to retaliate. She smiled and said, “Can’t say shit about this blouse and slacks. Can you?”
I shrugged. I didn’t have anything else to say.
Now Terri looked a little concerned. She reached across the table and put a hand on my forearm. “What’s wrong?”
I could’ve said,Nothing,and moved on. But she was my partner—at least on this case. I also knew she was a damn good friend. I said, “We spent a lot of energy on Kyle Banning and his brother. It feels like we have to start all over again. Sometimes it’s the same record that just keeps repeating.”
“Not to rain on your pity party, but no one has listened to records in over a decade. You need to update your references. The fact is, wearesort of starting over. But that’s okay. What’s the alternative? Ignore three homicides?”
“No, of course not.”
Clearly, Terri was trying to get my mind off my troubles. She said, “Tell me about this veterinarian.”
I opened up my notebook and looked down at the sheet Walter Jackson had given me. “You saw his photo. Pretty average-looking. Graduated from SUNY Buffalo, then got his veterinary degree from some place in the Caribbean I’d never heard of before.”
“Must be nice.”
I skimmed more of the sheet and said, “He’s divorced. His ex-wife called the cops on him for battery. That was somewhere in Westchester County. Two years later, a live-in girlfriend called again for the same reason. Both times the women wouldn’t cooperate once the cops got there.”
“Typical. But he sounds like a creep. How big is he?”
“Low end of average. Five foot eight and about 165 pounds.” I showed her the photo again.
