Page 4 of Paranoia

It felt like forever, but we finally reached a quiet table in the corner. Cantor sat right next to me and leaned in close so no one would overhear our conversation.

She said, “You heard about Ralph Stein and Gary Halverson. And poor Tabitha Arnold. Now we have Lou Sanvos. We all know the statistics on police deaths. But for four retired cops to die this close together … makes me a little nervous. They were all members of the Land Sharks. Sooner or later, you start to see a pattern.” She reached over and squeezed my arm. “I was hoping you’d come to the wake, Mike. You’re one of the few people I really trust.”

I saw where she was going but kept my mouth shut. No way I wanted to volunteer for something. I was going to make her say it out loud.

She looked me in the eye and said, “I want you to look at these deaths. But quietly. Just you on it for now. I don’t want to start a panic. I can get you a special assignment. You can report only to me. What do you think?”

I didn’t want to speak too quickly. I considered several options. Then I said, “I’m not sure why we need to keep it quiet. A little coverage might help flush out information, if there’s anything to it.”

“That’s where personal and public interests overlap. Obviously, it’s no secret I’m running for City Council. If these deaths turn out to be something other than what they appear, it’ll look bad for me on the campaign trail that I didn’t catch it. This is the sort of thing that falls directly under me as an inspector. But if I have you look into things, and if it turns out to be more than random deaths, I look proactive in having recruited you to solve them. You’re the best homicide detective out there. Hands down. No one will question me about these deaths if they know I assigned you the investigation.”

I appreciated her honesty about how this could affect her campaign. She was also right. These deaths alarmed me and deserved to be investigated.

I slowly nodded. “I’ve got some time. But I don’t need to be reassigned to you. Harry Grissom is on vacation. I’m the acting supervisor on the squad. I should be able to cover this without drawing too much attention.”

Cantor patted me on the arm. “I knew I could count on you. As I get closer to my retirement date, I find I have less and less time for real police work. As I said, you’re one of the few people I trust to do it for me. I’ll get you some reports to read over the weekend so you can get a head start.”

Just as I was about to temper her expectations, Cantor stood up to greet a well-wisher. Whether it was official or not, she was already on the campaign trail.

CHAPTER 7

I GOT HOME a little earlier than usual, but I now had on my iPad copies of police reports from White Plains and Hollywood, Florida, along with a report from the Westchester County Medical Examiner. My initial look through the details of these retired cops’ deaths told me that the investigating detectives hadn’t suspected anything beyond either suicide or accidental causes.

I made it all the way to the kitchen before any of my kids even noticed I was home. Chrissy jumped up from her homework to give me a hug. Jane, who was walking out of the kitchen, gave me a gentle pat on the belly. At least it was better than the stern look my teenager often threw my way these days.

Trent sat at the opposite end of the dining room table, doing his own homework. I leaned in as a concerned parent, willing to offer assistance.

“Whatcha working on?”

“Algebra.”

I tried not to recoil too violently. I patted my son on his shoulder, mumbled, “Good luck,” and eased my way into the living room. Ricky and Eddie were playing a video game from the couch. The rest of the kids had to be around here somewhere.

I took notice of my wife, Mary Catherine, sitting on a lounge chair on our balcony. She wasn’t typically one for “lounging” during the day. In fact, I could easily imagine Mary Catherine calling an Army general too soft for giving his soldiers an hour off during a combat tour. Maybe that’s an exaggeration. But maybe it’s not.

The flip side was that, as exacting as her standards could be, Mary Catherine was also the kindest and most loving wife and mother imaginable. Though we were technically still newlyweds, for the better part of a decade now she’d been acting as mother to the ten children I’d adopted with my late first wife. And now we were embarking on a brand-new experience for the both of us, being in the early months of expecting an eleventh child after a grueling IVF process.

The more I thought about a new baby around the house, the more terrifying it became. I’d never considered having ten kids a huge challenge. We had fun. We worked well together. And now that a couple of the kids were older, life had gotten a lot easier for me. I didn’t know why I kept thinking adding one more would drive me over the edge. I calmed myself down and tried looking at it from a different perspective.

I had to admit the idea of a smiling infant held a lot of appeal. I loved a baby’s laughter. I wanted this baby every bit as much as Mary Catherine did. The kids were on board as well.

I went to the balcony and leaned down to kiss her hello, taking a moment to look at her. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Just a little tired. I thought I should get off my feet for a few moments. What about you? How was the funeral?”

I shrugged. That’s like asking how someone enjoyed their visit to the dentist. Most people don’t like funerals. Unless you’re Rob Trilling, who was a little odd. I said, “I might’ve agreed to do something for Celeste Cantor.”

“Something like an investigation, or something like maintenance around her apartment?”

Mary Catherine’s Irish accent made most things sound cheerful and funny. Basically, any time she told a joke, I laughed out loud. This time was no exception. I shook my head. “It’s not a big deal. I should be able to clear it up before Harry gets back from vacation.”

Mary Catherine smiled. “It’s hard to think of Lieutenant Harry Grissom actually leaving the job for a few weeks to visit a beach in the Caribbean. I’m gladyou’vealways recognized there is a whole world outside of the NYPD. Of course, Harry never had any kids, so he doesn’t understand how much time a real family can take.”

“He knows how much time a wife can take. He’s already experimented with those three times,” I said. Then I added, “This vacation might have something to do with Lois Frang, theBrooklyn Democratreporter he met during the sniper investigation. She seems nice.”

Mary Catherine giggled and sat up in the lounger. I gave her a hand, helping her to her feet. She used the opportunity to give me a hug. We walked into the living room together.

I saw both Ricky and Eddie immediately set down theirvideo-game controllers. They never did anything like that when I walked into a room. Mary Catherine was definitely influencing these kids.

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