Manuel stared at the phone. A chick? This would be easy. Carlos would get the last name, and then they would make sure Margaret kept her mouth shut.
This added some excitement to his life, and hadn’t that been what he wanted? If Margaret was young and hot, this might even be fun.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Mitch wasn’t sure what to expect when he showed up for work the next morning, but it sure as hell wasn’t Adam all chipper and chatty.
“You ready to get to it?” Adam asked with a smile and a faint black eye. He must have iced it right away to not have a full-on shiner right now. Guilt washed over him.
“Um, actually, I got a text from the LT, and I have to go check in with him first thing.” He didn’t trust people in general, but it made him very suspicious that Adam was acting as if nothing had happened. He shot Adam a doubtful look and headed upstairs.
“MacDonald. Again. Get in here.” The LT was expecting him, and his ass had no sooner hit the seat when the LT started in.
“Well, dumbass, I gave you a shot, and you blew it. Not too smart. Especially not right now, with the Juarez sighting and all. What the hell were you thinking?”
“Listen, LT, did Adam tell youwhyI hit him? I found out—” The LT held up a hand for silence, and his expression made Mitch shut his mouth midsentence. Apparently, it had been a rhetorical question.
“Adam didn’t say a damn thing. In fact, when I asked himwhat happened, he said he walked into a fucking door.” The LT rolled his eyes, and Mitch almost laughed.
“Even though he denies it, plenty of others saw it. Word spread like a motherfucker, and I had a call from IA within thirty minutes. Your options are simple. Ride a desk and still get paid or take unpaid admin leave until they decide what to do about your dumb ass. Either way, you’re not getting anywhere near Manuel’s manhunt.”
Shit. He wasn’t surprised about IA stepping in, nor about being put on probation, but he was utterly dumbfounded that Adam hadn’t turned on him. Why wasn’t he pissed? What was his angle? Mitch would have to watch his back.
“I already know what you want.” The LT knew he didn’t need the money and would cut off his own hand before sitting around doing paperwork all day. “Go home. I’ll let you know how all this is going to go when I find out.”
Mitch stood slowly and said softly, “I’m sorry, LT. You went to bat for me, and I fucked up. I swear, Iamtrying.”
His apology clearly caught the LT off guard. Wiping the stunned look off his face, he responded solemnly. “I know, son. I believe you. We’ll get this worked out. Go home and get some rest. You look like shit.” His sympathetic smile softened the insult.
With a half-hearted salute, he left without further comment.
To avoid walking through the bullpen, he took the stairs and left out a side door. He’d just left the building when he received a text from Adam.
Maybe it’s better this way. Fewer rules. I’ll be in touch.
Mitch couldn’t believe it. Not only was he not pissed, he was still willing to help him? He didn’t know what to say, so he didn’t say anything.
Adam did have a point. Now he could focus on his own investigation full time and not have to worry about “police procedures” and all the red tape bullshit. Maybe this was for the best. Once it came to an actual arrest, he would doeverything by the book, but until then, the gloves were off. He was free to do whatever he felt necessary to find the son of a bitch who had killed his best friend. Getting closure on that would give him peace of mind for sure. Maybe then, he could get on with his life.
Feeling marginally better, he hailed a taxi and went home to get organized. He needed to consolidate all the information he’d been gathering bit by bit over the years, reread his piles of notes, and make a plan to catch this bastard once and for all.
***
“What do you mean broken into?” Maggie was still huffing and puffing from her morning run when she answered the call from Brett.
“Well, the glass on the front door is broken, and things are all thrown around inside. I called the police, and they said to wait outside, so I don’t know if stuff’s missing or not. You’d better get down here ASAP.”
“I’m on my way. Thanks, Brett.”
She did an about-face in the doorway and headed back downstairs. A shower would have to wait. Why would someone break into her place? The store was in a decent part of town, right near Central Park, and it wasn’t like there was anything of real value there.
It had been three days since the bank robbery. Maggie didn’t have to lie to any reporters because none had contacted her. The police must have done a good job of buttoning up the information about a witness. That was good news for her.
When she arrived, two policemen were talking with Brett in front of the store. He pointed at her as she got out of the cab, and the officers turned toward her. Dang, she was hoping Adam and Mitch would handle it. A pang of regret struck as she realized she wouldn’t get to see Mitch.
She couldn’t get over the fact that he’d punched Adam. After he came to, he’d laughed and said, “Well, that went about like I thought it would.” Someone had thought to get an ice pack for his face. And since he hadn’t bumped his head when he fell, there was only a small cut near his eye.
When the commotion had died down, and Adam and Maggie were alone, he explained that he’d told Mitch about his new relationship with Jenny, and that’s why he punched him. He told her about his reputation in Boston and figured Mitch knew about that, too. Adam said he wouldn’t fault him for looking out for Jenny and was so blasé about the whole thing, Maggie figured it would be pointless to be indignant on his behalf. If he could forgive Mitch, then she could, too. Itwaskind of sweet, sticking up for her like that.
