Page 17 of At Midnight Comes the Cry
Harrison pointed to his laptop. “Because this is where the actionis these days. Every year, more and more of the organization and recruitment for domestic terrorism comes online. Our cyber investigation team can track thousands of persons of interest as opposed to maybe ten by an agent or officer in the field. And ultimately, it comes down to where can we get the most bang for our limited bucks.” He shared a knowing look with the chief. “I’m sure you’re all too familiar with that dance.”
“Oh, I am.”
“Did Flynn leave any work hanging at the end of the operation? Anything he might have been coming back to work on?” After the security routine she and the chief had gone through, Hadley knew Flynn’s trips to Albany, if he’d been returning to this building, must have been logged.
“Nothing related to his investigation.” Harrison allowed himself a small smile. “We have a baby assistant attorney who was shadowing the domestic terrorism team. Joy Zhào. I think they were a bit of a thing. He may have stopped by the office to pick her up for a date. Or whatever young people are calling it these days.”
Hadley felt frozen to her seat. A date. Some attorney. Oh, God, what if he’d been shacking up here in Albany the whole time, avoiding his large, nosy clan?
The chief was asking if they could speak to her and Harrison was pressing a phone button and talking, but all Hadley could think of was what an idiot she was going to look like.
She and Flynn hadn’t had a relationship exactly—or maybe they had; her nightmare ex-husband had screwed up her ability to understand her own emotions, let alone someone else’s. But they had been lovers, secretly, so they wouldn’t get tangled up in the MKPD’s no-fraternization rule. She didn’t know why she hadn’t confessed it by now—Van Alstyne and Flynn were both off the force—except for the burn of shame and humiliation. She had wanted more, had hoped for more, and Flynn had walked away without a word, unable to deal with her ugly history.
The most pitiful part? She couldn’t let go. She still watched for him, worried about him, wanted him.Loser.
“Knox?”
The chief had asked her something. She shook her head and swiped a hand over her face. “Sorry. The kids kept me up late.”
He frowned, but whatever he might have said got swallowed by a knock on the door.
“C’mon in,” Harrison said.
“You wanted to see me?” The girl—and that was the word for her, she was at least ten years younger than Hadley—stepped into the office.
“Joy, come on in. These are some folks from where Kevin Flynn used to work, the, um…”
“Millers Kill Police Department.” The chief rose and shook the girl’s hand. “Russ Van Alstyne. This is Officer Hadley Knox.”
Joy Zhào was model-gorgeous, even in her two-for-one-sale JCPenney suit. Flawless skin, shining dark hair, huge brown eyes with lashes that had to be extensions, except she wasn’t wearing any makeup, and who paid for fancy fake lashes and didn’t glam up the rest of her face? Hadley knew she had looked like that once. But it was fifteen or twenty years and two kids ago. And of course, the best she had done was getting her GED as opposed to, you know, college and law school. Which would make Zhào a much better match for Flynn, a guy who kept books stacked everywhere in his apartment.
“Happy to meet you,” Joy said. “How can I help?”
“Mr. Harrison tells us you might have been seeing Kevin. Socially.” The chief smiled in a confiding way. “Not to embarrass you, but we’re trying to locate him. He’s been out of touch with his family and work for a couple months now.”
“I’m afraid I don’t know where he is.” Joy dropped her eyes and blushed a perfect pale pink. Hadley wanted to stab her. “I haven’t seen Kevin since October.”
“Did he ever talk to you about why he took leave from Syracuse? Maybe give you an idea about what he was thinking of doing with his time off?”
She tucked a strand of silk-straight hair behind one ear. “He was unhappy about being taken off our investigation.” She glanced atHarrison, who nodded. “He wasn’t looking forward to going back into uniform in Syracuse. And there was something about a lawsuit? Someone in California?”
“Huh.” The chief turned to Hadley. “That’s an angle we didn’t think of.”
“Lawsuit?” Harrison asked.
“Officer Knox’s disgruntled ex. Flynn was named as a defendant, but the town is taking care of everything. And he’ll have to appear here in New York, not out where the plaintiff lives.”
“You’re not doing a good job if you haven’t been slapped with a few nuisance suits.” Harrison smiled knowingly. “The better the law enforcement, the fewer people like you.” He tilted his head toward Joy. “Anything else you can add?”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I wish I could be more helpful.” She smiled at Hadley. “I hope you can find him.”
She closed the door on her way out. “Thanks for giving us the time,” the chief said. “We’ll put out a few feelers toward California, see if Kevin thought he could straighten things out himself. It wouldn’t be the smartest move, but—”
“But young men aren’t known for making the smartest moves. God knows I didn’t.” Harrison stood. “Happy to have been able to help, if only a little.” He shook Hadley’s hand. “Stay safe out there.”
The chief waited until they had turned the hallway and were heading to reception. “What the hell, Knox? That was supposed to be your meeting. I was just the ride-along.” He kept his voice low, but she could hear his frustration.
“I’m sorry, Chief.” She had no idea what to say. “I was… I guess I was…” She was saved, of all things, by Joy Zhào, hustling to intersect them in front of the elevator.
