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“Yep,” she said, “you’re going to the show, kid.”
He sighed again. “Lovely. Am I meeting you at the airport or the office?”
“The office. I guess the Boss likes me again. He’s briefing us on the case.”
Michael nodded. “All right. I’ll be there in twenty.”
“Sounds good. Turk and I will meet you there. Tell Ellie I’m sorry.”
Not a chance, he thought. “Will do.”
He hung up and finished dressing. He stopped and regarded himself in the mirror. He would be thirty-nine years old next week. The uniform he wore was the same one he received fifteen years ago. The physique underneath the uniform was fit and trim—maybe not quite so much as it was when he was twenty-four, but close enough.
The face wasn’t bad either. No one would guess him to be in his mid-twenties, but most would probably be at least decently surprised to learn he was only an orbit and a hair away from turning forty. His hair was still dark and full with only a few stray grays at the temples.
His eyes were where the age showed. How did that line go from that old movie? It ain’t the years, honey, it’s the mileage.
Well, Michael wore his miles in his eyes, which stared back at him with an exhaustion that went far beyond physical. He had seen things that would drive most people insane, and he had seen them at a rate of four or five times per year for over a third of his life. He had spent almost as much time away from home as at home and like many career law enforcement agents, he had never married.
Like many veteran agents, he was trying desperately to change that.
Like many veteran agents, he was failing.
He walked from the bedroom, moving as slowly as a man walking to his execution.
Ellie was in the kitchen making dinner. A stockpot simmered on the stove while she chopped potatoes, her movements as efficient as when she dressed earlier. She didn’t look up when he walked into the kitchen and didn’t slow her chopping when he leaned over and kissed her cheek.
“I have to go to work,” he said softly. “There’s a case.”
“Okay,” Ellie said with false cheerfulness. “I’ll see you later.”
“I love you,” he said.
She didn’t respond, continuing to chop away at the potatoes with brisk, businesslike strokes.
Michael waited a moment longer, then turned away and left.
CHAPTER FOUR
“What’s up with the long face?”
Michael looked at Faith and replied, “I could ask you the same question.”
Faith shrugged. “Boy problems. You?”
“Girl problems.”
Michael looked down at Turk, who barked happily and offered the open-mouthed pant that substituted for a smile. Michael chuckled and reached down to ruffle the dog’s fur. “At least one of us is happy.”
Faith nodded and they started inside. They had recently decided to keep details of their love lives to themselves after conflict over Michael’s relationship with Ellie had driven a wedge into their friendship. Besides, Michael was in no mood to talk to anyone about Ellie, and Faith seemed to feel the same about David.
So, Michael and Faith walked inside with grim expressions.
Meanwhile, Turk marched in with clear excitement, wagging his tail and trotting like a puppy three steps ahead of his humans as they entered the building. Michael and Faith received a few polite greetings, but most of the attention was, of course, lavished on the big German shepherd, who had become something of a mascot for the Philadelphia Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and after playing a key role in a series of high-profile investigations had achieved a level of notoriety among the Bureau as a whole. A month ago, Faith had brought Turk to Quantico for a seminar teaching prospective K9s and their handlers how to detect evidence. Since then, Turk had walked with an air of authority and gravity that Michael found adorable.
But not today. Today, Turk was a puppy again, wagging his tail, barking enthusiastically and rolling over for belly pats, which the agents and analysts present were all too happy to provide.
Michael smiled slightly. He liked the big goofy mutt. He had called in several favors to get Turk assigned to Faith after the Donkey Killer incident, and he was grateful for that. Faith and Turk had developed a close bond and Michael suspected that the dog’s solid presence in Faith’s life was often the only thing that kept her getting out of bed.
