Eddie had heard enough. “I don’t like it here.”
Skylar watched him closely. “Why not?”
He kept his eyes closed as he answered. “I don’t hear any birds. Not a bluebird, not a sparrow, not even a starling.”
“What do you hear?”
“A squeaky swing set. Old dogs. Four of them. There is a highway approximately five blocks away. There are a lot of trucks on the highway. Most of the trucks are at least ten years old. Some of them are much older.”
McHenry looked at him with interest. “How can you tell how old the trucks are?”
“New trucks sound different from old trucks, just like young people sound different from old people.” Eddie stopped rotating his head and opened his eyes.
“Are you comfortable yet?” Skylar knew not to push.
“I’m hungry.”
Skylar nodded slightly. “I’ll take that as a yes.” Eddie carried his precious devices and followed McHenry into the house.
The detective picked up several days’ worth of mail, which was strewn around the faded hardwood floor of the entryway below the mail slot. The home’s decorations and furnishings were from another era. Wallpaper that was once white was now a mild yellow. The Formica countertops were well worn. The dining-room table was noticeably warped, and the rug in the kitchen had dozens of stains of all variety and vintage. The house was a time capsule. “I just had to put my mother in a home. She couldn’t take care of herself after she broke her hip.”
“I can’t take care of myself, either.”
McHenry led them into the kitchen and searched through the cupboards until he found a box of graham crackers. “Bingo.”
“What does bingo mean?”
“It’s something you say when you find what you’re looking for.”
Eddie turned toward Skylar. “Bingo.”
For just a second, he looked her in the eyes. Not because he was instructed to, like he had been in so many practice exercises with so many different doctors over the years. He did it because he wanted to see her reaction. Because it mattered to him. Because he felt connected to someone for the first time in his life.
Skylar caught it. Felt it in her spine. She had been on alert for such a moment ever since their walk to nowhere in particular, but she honestly hadn’t expected it this soon. She had once shared a similar moment with her younger brother, Christopher, but that had taken years. It happened just before she went to college, which was incredibly unfortunate. Skylar had reached him just before she had to leave him, and he never recovered from it. Skylar never forgave herself for his death, which had everything to do with the emptiness she’d felt all these years.
As she returned Eddie’s gaze, she promised herself she would not allow the same thing to happen to him. In fact, she swore on her life. She would rather die than see anything happen to him. Because if she couldn’t save him, she could never save herself. And she’d been living in a cell of her own making for quite long enough.
That, and, given the circumstances, she needed someone to cling to.
Butler handed Eddie the box of graham crackers. “Can we go now?”
“I haven’t eaten my afternoon snack yet.”
“You can eat in the car.”
Eddie stared at him. “Is that a joke, Detective McHenry?”
“Do I look like I’m joking?”
Eddie studied the man’s face closely. “I have difficulty interpreting facial expressions.”
Skylar put her hand on Butler’s shoulder. “Just . . . let him eat here. We’d only have to pull over, anyway. Trust me.”
She asked the detective if there was a glass Eddie could use. He gave her one, and she carefully poured Eddie a six-ounce serving of milk. She then removed two graham-cracker sheets from the box and handed them to him. Eddie broke one of the large rectangular pieces into two squares, then broke each of the squares into two smaller rectangles. He did the same with the second sheet and neatly stacked the eight small rectangles on top of each other. After placing a napkin on his lap, he took a bite of graham cracker and chewed it carefully. “Three. Not fresh.” He took another bite and a sip of milk. “Four. This milk is just the right temperature. Nice and cold.”
Skylar was about to explain, when Butler cut her off. “I don’t even want to know.”
She smiled slightly. “Eddie, I would like to speak to Detective McHenry privately for a few minutes. Would you mind staying here?”
“How many minutes is a few?”
“Not more than fifteen.”
He scanned the kitchen for any visible signs of purple food. There were none he could see. “No, I would not mind.”
They left Eddie alone in the kitchen with the echo box to enjoy his graham crackers and milk while they spoke in the hallway. Skylar glanced at the numerous family photos on the walls. She focused on several of Butler with two small children. “These your kids?”
Butler nodded. “Clayton’s my son. He’s thirteen now. Katherine’s nine.”
“They’re beautiful.”
“They live with their mother in Colorado Springs.” His voice was tense.
“How often do you get to see them?”
“Not as much as I’d like.” It was clear he wanted to change the subject.
She turned to an older picture, which featured Butler when he was about the same age as his son was now. He stood beside a muscled, stern-looking man. “Your father?”
“Stepfather.” His eyes went cold. “How about you start from the beginning so even an idiot like me can understand what the hell is going on.”
CHAPTER 43
Butler McHenry’s Townhome, Queens, New York City, May 27, 2:06 p.m.
Lutz and Hirsch peered inside the windows of Butler’s town house. The lights were off. No car in the driveway. Didn’t look like anyone was home. They walked around back to the kitchen door. Lutz scanned the neighbors’ houses as Hirsch went to work on the lock. They were inside McHenry’s residence in less time than it took most people to find their keys.
With well-rehearsed precision, they fanned out through the house. Butler wasn’t there. Lutz called Barnes. “Nobody’s home.”
“Enough hide-and-seek. Let’s make him come to us.”
“How, sir?”
“I’m reporting to Homeland Security that New York Detective Butler McHenry is harboring fugitives in possession of stolen classified technology. Federal warrants will be issued for all three.”
“Hard core. Love it.” Lutz actually thought it was dumb as hell, but a little ass kissing seemed to be in order.
“It won’t take long for McHenry’s lieutenant to contact him and ask what the hell is going on. The detective will try to explain and get nowhere. He’ll be ordered to report to his precinct, which he’ll agree to because he’ll want to play the box for them.”
“Doesn’t it concern you what they might hear?”
“Anything they hear would be inadmissible. But they’re not going to hear anything, because you’ll intercept them outside the precinct and take them into your custody.”
“On our way.” Hirsch and Lutz exited the way they came, locking the door behind them. McHenry would never know anyone had been there.
CHAPTER 44
McHenry’s Mother’s House, Queens, New York City, May 27, 2:09 p.m.
Skylar had been talking to Butler for just over twelve minutes when she completed her account of recent events. He hadn’t stopped pacing the entire time. The more he heard, the more anxious he became. Detective McHenry was now sure of only one thing. He was in way over his head. “The only shot you have at going after your boss will be to prove this mystery guy acted under his instructions, but that’s never going to happen.”
“Why not?”
“He killed Professor Hendrix in front of eighty-seven people, and no one can describe him any better than ‘He was a homeless guy with a beard.’ Whoever he is, he’s a professional. We’ll be lucky to ever find him, much less arrest him.”
“If you’re trying to scare me, it’s working.”