Page 111 of Return of the Spider
“Exactly,” Sampson said.
“You tell the NYPD detective?”
“Called Slattery on the spot. He was pretty happy, said he knew it had to be the Butcher of Sligo’s work.”
CHAPTER
93
Before i could respondto John, Maria came down the stairs with Jannie swaddled in her arms. All thoughts of work went by the wayside. And Sampson got to hold his goddaughter for the first time.
As long a body as Janelle had for being a two-day-old, she looked like a peanut in the big man’s arms.
“She’s gorgeous,” Sampson said. “Just a miracle, isn’t she?”
Maria smiled. “She is.”
“How you feeling?”
“Like my stomach got beaten by a two-by-four and I’m a whole lot tired,” Maria said, yawning. “She didn’t sleep well last night.”
Nana Mama called us to dinner. Big Bird and Cookie Monster were not allowed on Damon’s high chair, but my grandmotherstopped his crying by propping up the puppets on the counter beside him.
She had used a Creole recipe on the Virginia ham that made it both sweet and a little fiery. Her potato and red onion pancakes came out perfectly crispy on the outside and savory on the inside. The green beans roasted with slab bacon chips were a vegan’s nightmare and a carnivore’s dream.
“That’s the best Christmas dinner I’ve ever had,” Sampson said, putting his napkin down after consuming a gargantuan quantity of food.
Nana Mama grinned. “Same thing you said last year and the year before that and the year before that.”
“What can I say? You keep outdoing yourself.”
“You do,” Maria said.
I said, “Absolutely, Nana.”
That pleased my grandmother even more.
“I have an announcement,” Maria said as I helped serve pie and ice cream.
“You’re not pregnant again already, are you?” Sampson said.
“Ha-ha,” Maria said and gently punched his arm before looking at me. “I’m going to leave St. Anthony’s when I’m ready to go back to work.”
That was a big surprise to me, since she’d been working at the hospital since we’d met and always said she loved it.
“And go where?” I asked.
“There’s a social work position open where I grew up, in Potomac Gardens.”
Nana Mama winced. “That’s a tougher place than you remember.”
“Which is exactly why I’m needed there,” Maria said, gazingat me. “I think I can do more good in Potomac Gardens than I can at St. Anthony’s.”
I could see the conviction in her eyes and hear the passion in her voice. Feeling concern as much as pride over her decision, I said, “As long as there’s ample security for you, I’m all for it.”
Maria beamed at me. “The position doesn’t start for another three months, and I’ll make sure about the security.”
“Perfect,” I said, though again, there was hesitation in my thoughts. Potomac Gardens was one of the roughest projects in the District of Columbia.
