Tick Tock (Michael Bennett 4)

“It was terrific,” she said. “This really bright, young Oxford professor came to speak to us, a world-renowned expert on German architecture. He was really funny.”

“German buildings are fine,” I said, “but I’m more into Nordic Classicism myself.”

“I didn’t know you liked architecture, Mike. Were you peeking at my books?” Mary Catherine said.

“Bite your tongue, lass. Not all cops are meatheads.”

“I’ll have to remember that,” she said after a beat. “I’m afraid it’s too late to talk with the gang. They’re all asleep.”

“That’s okay. Just apologize and kiss them good night for me, okay?” I said.

“No problem,” Mary said. “Who are you going to kiss good night, I wonder?”

“What?” I said, startled. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, Mr. Bennett. Have fun all by yourself in the city tonight,” Mary Catherine said and hung up.

I stared at the phone. Then I cracked the cap on my beer. Sauce-hitting time had officially arrived.

“Nothing, Mr. Bennett,” I mimicked in a pretty good Irish accent as I tossed my phone at the opposite couch.

Chapter 60

I PUT ON THE TV with the sound off as I sorted through my notes and the case files.

It was a lot of paper. There was still so much to get through, so much to absorb. I wasn’t even sure if we were wasting our time with our latest theory. The very real threat of yet another insane, pointless copycat killing wasn’t exactly helping my concentration.

I was getting up to exchange my beer bottle for a coffee cup when my phone rang. I grabbed it from the couch.

Lo and behold, would you look at that? I thought, glaring at the screen. It was my boss, Miriam. Did the woman never sleep?

“Bad news, Mike,” she said when I made the mistake of accepting the call. “I just got off the phone with the commissioner. It looks like he wants to go in a different direction with the task-force lead. Major Case is out. Manhattan North Homicide is in. We’re both still on the task force, but he wants to, quote unquote, refresh the supervising investigative angle.”

“Refresh what? With the Manhattan North scrubs? He’s going to pull the plug on us now? Just when the ice is starting to break?”

“I know, Mike. This is just a bunch of backroom bullshit. The chief of detectives is just screwing with us because he can. We’ll still run the task-force meeting tomorrow, but then that’s it. I just thought you should know.”

“I’m sorry. I feel like I let you down, Miriam,” I said.

“How do you think I feel? I pulled you off your vacay only to get you jammed up. Don’t take this to heart. You’re still my go-to. Sometimes you just can’t catch a break quickly enough.”

I hung up, trying to absorb what I’d just heard. I was letting out a breath as my text jingle rang. It was Emily.

Hey, u still awake?

I’d almost forgotten that Emily was still out pounding the pavement. The original plan was to meet back up for dinner to brainstorm and crunch everything we’d learned, but she’d been tied up in an interview when I’d called earlier.

Just barely, I started texting back, but then remembered I was over the age of tw

elve and actually called her instead.

“Hey, yourself,” I said when she answered. I decided not to tell her the devastating news about my impending public demotion. She’d find out tomorrow along with the rest of New York.

“I thought we were supposed to meet and compare notes,” I said.

“The best-laid plans of mice and Feds, Mike,” Emily said. I could hear traffic in the background. “Turn left in two hundred yards,” Emily’s GPS system said in its annoyingly calm computer voice.

“I actually got lost after visiting one of the Grand Central bombing victims’ families. Newark is tricky with all those parkways and turnpikes.”