Page 27 of Crosshairs

I caught Lois’s satisfied expression. The reporter had Harry eating out of her hand.

I said, “Not a lot of leads. We’re working on it.”

Now Lois said, “C’mon, Bennett, at least give me something I can write about.”

“I don’t know what to tell you but the truth. We really don’t have a lot of good leads. It’s not particularly exciting and probably doesn’t play well in a newspaper column. But that’s exactly what’s going on.”

Lois said, “I tried speaking to some of the victims’ families. But no one is talking. At least not to me. The second victim, Thomas Bannon, the fireman from Staten Island?”

I nodded, interested in hearing what she had to say.

“His family is a real piece of work. A couple of them are firemen too. Classic close-knit Irish Catholic city workers. And they don’t like outsiders coming into their neighborhoods.”

I said, barely concealing my grin, “I’m not sure I can relate to a close-knit Irish Catholic city worker and his family.” I did like Lois’s insight on the second victim’s family. By coincidence, that’s where I was heading today. I wanted to talk to the firefighter’swidow and see if I could find out any details from her that other detectives had missed.

Harry’s glare told me my time bantering with the reporter was over.

I took that opportunity to head in to speak with Walter Jackson. I could see a light on in his office and wondered if he had anything new for us to look at since yesterday. When I knocked on his door, I found the big man involved in a detailed search of records for one of the other detectives. Even so, Walter handed me a folder with all the information on the firefighter’s family that I’d asked for yesterday.

He also passed along a new lead on a woman who supposedly worked out at a gym in the Bronx every day around 2 p.m. The woman, Wendy Robinson, was a former Army sergeant who had been part of a special program bringing women into the ranks of snipers. Someone had called in a tip about her and how she’d occasionally brag about shots she’d taken in Afghanistan. The caller said the way she talked about shooting people made them uncomfortable.

I took the folder. It was as good as any lead we had now.

CHAPTER 34

I SAT AT my desk, looking through the folder Walter Jackson had given me and feeling a little uneasy because Lois Frang was still sitting in Harry Grissom’s office. Every couple of minutes I heard Harry’s cackle. That was not common.

Rob Trilling walked in carrying coffee and donuts for the entire squad. That’s a classy move that everyone remembers. After setting down the donuts and coffee, Trilling marched directly to my desk and sat in the chair across from me. He had a serious look on his face.

I said, “When you said you were going to appointments, I didn’t realize you were taking a class at Columbia.”

“That wasn’t the appointments. My class is at night.”

That was it. He offered no further explanation about his appointments and why he left in the middle of the day. I decided it was something I’d deal with if it became more of aproblem. I was more concerned about the dour expression on Trilling’s face.

I said, “What’s wrong?”

“That obvious?”

“Even for you who’s a sourpuss, as my grandfather likes to say.”

Trilling hesitated, then said, “I need to be up-front with you, but I don’t want to get anyone in trouble.”

I said slowly, “I’m listening.”

“Juliana texted me this morning and asked if I wanted to hang out sometime in the next week or two.”

It took a moment to digest what he’d just said. My voice was louder than I’d intended when I blurted out, “My Juliana?”

Trilling nodded.

“What did you tell her?”

“Nothing. I haven’t replied yet. I thought I should discuss it with you first. Even if she is legally an adult, I’d never come between a father and a daughter.”

“I appreciate that, but I’m not crazy about my daughter dating a cop. Though you’re right, I try not to dictate to her or Brian what they have to do. They’re both old enough and smart enough to make their own decisions.”

Trilling thought about that. Then he said, “I’ll decline her invitation. That way you don’t have to seem like the bad guy. It also avoids any stress in your family.”