Chapter 4
Ryan’s apartment
Park Slope, New York
Ryan stirred, rolling onto his back on the bed, and folding his arms beneath his head as the first pale rays of dawn peeked through his windows.
He hadn’t slept a wink. How could he when all he could see was Shane’s lifeless body, all he could hear were Kennedy’s wrenching sobs?
He’d stayed put at his parents’ house until Kennedy’s body gave in and she passed out from sheer exhaustion. Then, he’d carried her up to Fiona’s old room and tucked her into bed.
He sat beside her for a long time, just staring off into space.
Sometime later, his mother had come in. “It’s time for you and Claire to go home,” she’d instructed him.
“I just shooed your brothers and sister out of the house. You’re dealing with your own pain and shock.
And, knowing you, you’re ready to take on this investigation by yourself, with the help of your team.
You need to recoup for that. Dad and I are here.
We’ll stay at Kennedy’s bedside all night. You’ll come back tomorrow. Now go.”
Ryan had been too spent to argue. Acting on his mother’s orders, he and Claire had gone back to his place, where he’d collapsed on the bed out of total emotional exhaustion.
Claire had waited long enough to send a Slack message to the entire FI team, providing them with all the information she’d been privy to, and arranging for a seven AM meeting in their first floor conference room.
Customarily, the meeting would be held in their main conference room on the second floor, but everyone wanted to spare Casey the effort of walking the long, curvy flight of stairs.
That done, Claire had lay down beside Ryan, linking her fingers with his, silently being there to offer her strength and her support.
The rest of the night had passed in silence.
Moments ago, Ryan had vaguely heard Claire leave the room. She returned shortly thereafter, perching at the edge of the bed and handing Ryan a cup of coffee and two ibuprofen tablets.
“Hey,” she said softly. “These will help your headache.”
Ryan gave her a grateful look, pushing himself up until his back was propped against the headboard, and then popping the tablets into his mouth and washing them down with a swallow of coffee. “Thank you,” he said, regarding Claire through red-rimmed eyes.
Claire lay her hand against his jaw. “No thanks necessary.”
He turned his lips into her palm. “I barely heard you leave the room.”
“I know. I was hoping you were resting.”
“Yeah, well, that’s not happening,” he replied, his tone hollow. A deep sigh. “I’m guessing you Slacked the team. What did you tell them?”
“That we’d be meeting at the brownstone at seven am,” Claire said. “I got responses from everyone. They’ll all be there—including Casey.”
Ryan nodded, taking another gulp of coffee. “What time is it now?”
“Five-forty. Do you want a PowerBar?”
“I don’t think I can swallow it.”
“Try,” Claire responded. “You need to be at full strength—for Kennedy, and for Shane.”
Ryan squeezed his eyes shut. “I know.”
Claire rose. “I’ll even eat one, along with my herbal tea, suffer though I will.” She attempted the light humor, even though she knew Ryan wouldn’t respond in kind. She was still accessing her inner strength and insights in order to best help Ryan cope. It wasn’t going to be an easy process.
Ryan opened his eyes and turned to meet her gaze. “I don’t even recognize myself. You know me. I can handle anything. Fix anything. But this time—I’m frozen, flailing, with no firm footing and no working strategy.”
Claire ran her fingers lightly through his hair. “That will change. Once you’re at work, with the team’s support and your brilliant mind, you’ll develop a plan and a strategy. Please…cut yourself some slack. This is a crisis that not even a superhero like you can surmount overnight.”
She turned to go get the PowerBars and tea.
“Claire?” Ryan’s voice stopped her, and she looked back at him in question.
“I love you,” he said simply.
Her expression grew tender. “I know. I love you, too. And we’ll get through this.”
Offices of Forensic Instincts
1st Floor, Small Conference Room
Tribeca, Manhattan, New York
Saturday, 6:55 a.m.
The entire team was already settled in tub chairs, their work stations in front of them, when Ryan and Claire arrived. Between what Marc had briefly told them about the crime scene, and the details Claire had laid out in her Slack message, everyone was up to speed—at least on the basics.
Casey rose from her tub chair at the head of the room and walked over to Ryan, giving him a caring hug. “I’m so very sorry,” she said quietly. “Your work family is here for you. And once you fill in all the blanks, we’re going to solve this case.”
“Thank you,” Ryan replied, touched as the whole team stood, reaching out to him, and reiterating Casey’s words. “That means a lot to me.”
Yoda’s voice resounded through the room. “My sympathies, as well, Ryan. I’m on standby for whenever you need me.”
Ryan’s lips curved a bit as he absorbed one of the very humanlike traits he’d added to Yoda’s underlying AI model during retraining. “I appreciate that, Yoda.”
He and Claire walked over to the JURA station, where Ryan poured himself a cup of coffee and got Claire her herbal tea. They then both joined the group, taking their respective seats.
Casey turned on her iPad, interlaced her fingers, and addressed the team.
“Before we begin, let me tell you the additional information Hutch passed along to me a half hour ago. As you know, he’s personally heading up this investigation.
He’s already hand-picked the Violent Crimes squad supervisor he wants and assigned him the case.
Ditto on the case agent, and the co-case agent.
Not to mention all the others who’ll comprise the team.
A task force with agents from different squads will be organized.
An Official Press Release will be issued about Shane’s murder, Caitlin’s disappearance, and the barebones facts about the ongoing investigation.
There’ll be an official media briefing on TV.
Also, there’ll be a press release added to the New York field office’s website. ”
Casey concluded, “They’ll be asking for leads pertaining to Shane’s murder. They’ll also obviously be seeking the public’s help with regard to Caitlin’s whereabouts. That’s as much as Hutch can disclose, no matter how much he cares.”
Marc nodded. “His hands are tied. We get it. Which is our weakest link. We don’t know what cases Shane was working now, or what he worked during his past eight years in the Bureau. And the FBI sure isn’t giving us access to any of that.”
Casey continued, her tone softening, as she looked directly at Ryan.
“All that’s true. So we have to lean in with our strengths.
The obvious one is the familial connection—you.
I realize how painful this is, but we need as many personal details as you can provide, in order to be most effective.
” She paused, uttering her next words gently.
“You and your cousin were very close, I assume?”
A muscle worked in Ryan’s jaw. “Very.”
Casey’s fingers were poised over her keypad, as the rest of the team followed suit. “Tell us everything you can about him. Personal as well as professional. That will give us our first leg up on law enforcement.”
Ryan took a swallow of coffee, then began.
“My mother and Shane’s mother were sisters.
Shane was an only child, and both his parents are gone now.
He is…was…a few years older than me. Even so, we’d been tight since we were kids, probably because we were both into gadgets and, later, into every conceivable sport.
But Shane walked the straight and narrow, whereas I was the rebel.
From the time he was in his teens, he was dead-set on being a cop.
He blasted his way through his BS in Criminal Justice Administration, joined the NYPD, and earned his way up to detective.
Then, eight years ago, he was accepted into the FBI, Violent Crimes, New York field office, where he stayed. ”
“What about Caitlin?” Casey asked, typing rapidly into her iPad. “When did she and Shane meet? Marry?”
A reminiscent look crossed Ryan’s face. “They were high school sweethearts. That’s why Shane and I stopped hanging out as much.
He and Caitlin were pretty much inseparable.
They got married a few years after I dropped out of MIT.
Kennedy came along a short time later. I’m not really a kid person; that’s never been my thing.
But Kennedy and I just connected, even when she was a toddler clinging to my leg.
We’ve had a special bond since then, even though I don’t get to see her a lot.
Months will pass where we’re all too busy to get together, and yet things with Kennedy stay the same.
She kind of adheres to me like a peppermint stick. ”
Ryan broke off, hiding his emotions by taking another swallow of coffee.
Casey steeled herself, knowing that her next question was going to push Ryan over the edge. She wished she didn’t have to ask it. But she did.
“So Shane and Caitlin’s marriage was solid—right up to the end? No affairs, problems, or issues that you know about?”
Ryan’s mug clattered to the table, and his head shot up. “Are you suggesting that Caitlin killed Shane?”