The Penitent One (Boston Crime Thriller Book 3), Brian Shea [best non fiction books of all time .TXT] 📗

getting home. Embry's in bed, but it's unlikely she'll stay there. And I’ve got an early day tomorrow."

"I heard about the situation down at Saint Peter's. Everybody has. A terrible thing."

Kelly looked down. Until now, he had managed to allow himself to mentally check out on the case. He'd taken his sergeant's orders to heart and disconnected, if only for a few hours, to enjoy some family time. But hearing it mentioned now brought everything crashing back to the forefront. "I'm doing the best I can."

"Michael Kelly, I've known you the better part of your life, and I've never once seen you not give 110% of your energy in anything and everything that you do. There was never a question in my mind that the case was in good hands when I heard it was in yours."

"Thanks, Pops. And I'll be in next Thursday. That's a promise.”

“Hopefully we'll see Bobby here too. It's been a while."

Kelly nodded as he walked out. It had been a while. Bobby McDonough, his closest friend turned mob enforcer, had been absent more than he'd been present in the past few months. Kelly knew why and didn't press his friend, knowing that recently things had gotten complicated. Not only in Bobby's life but in the relationship between Kelly and him. His position with his current employer had put their friendship in jeopardy.

"You sure you don't want me to lock up, Pops?" Kelly called back, knowing the answer.

"If I'm here, it's open."

"Happy Thanksgiving, Pops."

"You too, Mikey," Pops said as the door closed behind him and Kelly stepped back out into the night's cold air.

JoJo's Diner, located not too far from Saint Peter's Church, seemed a good place for Kelly to meet with Sterling Gray.

Gray had contacted him via text just before Kelly had gone to bed Thanksgiving night. When he got home, he’d had to read Embry a second round of stories to settle her back in for the evening. The FBI agent asked to meet with him and him alone. The two had bounced brainstorming ideas back and forth in the days following the murder of Father Benjamin Tomlin. Gray proved himself to be an intelligent, thoughtful investigator, and although they weren't any closer to solving the crime, his insight and wisdom were top-notch. Kelly didn't mind taking an opportunity to bend the man's ear.

He'd picked JoJo's to give Gray a taste of the local neighborhood. The diner offered breakfast and lunch only, closing sharply at 2:00 p.m. Typically, the kitchen ran out of its lunch menu about half an hour prior to that, and on most days, the breakfast line outside the small storefront stretched at least a block long, even in the colder months. The minimum wait was an hour, but people endured, the line seeming to grow with each passing weekend.

They'd chosen to meet at 7:00 a.m., ensuring they would make it to the office on time. Kelly beat Gray, but only by a couple of minutes. The agent was proving to be just as tenacious as Kelly and Barnes. Each day since he'd been assigned to their small task force, he'd arrived early and stayed late, showing his dedication and focus.

Gray approached and pleasantries were exchanged. Moments later, a heavyset waitress guided them to a corner booth, where they slid onto the worn brown vinyl seat.

The waitress brought a carafe of coffee and two porcelain mugs. "You boys look like coffee drinkers. I can get you something else if you want, too."

"Coffee’s fine by me," Kelly said.

"Same here," Sterling added.

The waitress retreated to tend to the sea of other patrons.

"What gives?" Kelly asked, not wanting to dance around with idle small talk.

"I wanted to meet with you first before I spoke with the group. I got a call from headquarters. They feel that the case is at a stalemate, that we've hit an impassable point. Even with everything the BAU has forwarded, plus the information I've given them on our progress so far, it appears that they cannot extend my time with the team any further."

"What?" Kelly asked, his annoyance conveyed both in his voice and the constrained look in his eyes. "They're calling you back? It hasn't even been a full week."

"It's been five days. And you know better than most, the first day or two of a homicide yields the highest percentile of solution. After that, it drops off dramatically, with the solvability dropping further with each passing day, a negative gradient curve. So, five days is a lifetime in terms of this case." Gray added a spoonful of sugar to his coffee. "I pushed to stay a little longer, just so you know, but they weren't hearing it. There are other cases and other things that I'm needed for."

"I’ll bring it up with Sutherland. Maybe he can run it up the flagpole. I'm not letting this go," Kelly said.

"I didn't expect you would. I just wanted you to know that it's been a pleasure. Your team is fantastic, but you, in particular, have shown great ability. Hey, and if you're ever looking maybe to switch sides and come play at the federal level, I'm a phone call away. I can grease the wheels if that's something you're interested in."

Kelly shrugged. "I appreciate it, but Boston is my home, and this is where I'm staying."

"I know. I just figured I’d offer," Gray said. "If something does break in the case, something that points you in a new direction, you'll give me a call. Right?"

"Absolutely. We’ve valued your expertise on this matter. If we do catch a break, you’ll be the first to know."

"We've been hunting him for a long time, Mike. This guy is a ghost and he's a dangerous one. When you're digging around, I want you to be extremely careful and watch your six. He's managed to elude federal and local law enforcement efforts for nearly a decade and a half. It's a testament to his skill and possibly his connections. Not sure which worries