Long Shadows

Chapter 98

Decker had only been in his apartment for about an hour, and he’d had only two beers with more to come, when the knock came.

He opened the door to find Kasimira Roe standing there.

“I missed you by a few minutes in Florida and jumped on the corporate jet.”

“Why?”

“Can I come in?”

He stepped back and let her pass. She had on jeans and a dark green sweater and low-heeled leather boots. Her hair was down around her shoulders, making her look younger, but she appeared anxious, at least to Decker.

“How did you know where I lived?”

“I called in a favor at the Bureau, I hope you don’t mind.”

“No. You want a beer?”

She hesitated and then said, “Sure.”

They sat in the small living room. As she looked around at the modest space he said, “Not exactly what you’re used to, I know, but if you stand at the corner of that window and lean to the left you get a pretty good view of the Anacostia River.”

She sipped her beer. “This is fine. I didn’t always live where I do now.”

“So, what can I do for you?”

“First, I wanted to thank you personally for finding out what happened to my father.”

“I’m sorry it couldn’t have been better news.”

“It’s closure. That’s far more than what I had.”

“You could have just called or emailed, you know. You’re a busy CEO.”

“In many ways my father was the most important person in my life. So I wanted to do this face-to-face.”

“I can understand that.”

“I also realized that the man I had placed on a very high pedestal all my life was a human being, with the flaws and faults we all have.”

“Some more than others.”

“And in addition to finding out what happened to my father, you taught me a lot about him, far more than I knew before.”

Decker glanced over at the trash can, which held the torn-up letter from the Cognitive Institute. “We all keep things hidden, Kasimira, all of us.”

“That certainly applies to me,” she said, her gaze downcast. “As you know.”

“That doesn’t make you any less of a person, it just makes you more of a human being. I’ve never met a perfect person in my life, nor would I ever want to.”

“I know that. Now. Also thanks to you.”

“I think you would have figured it out, with or without me.”

“And then there’s the other reason I flew up here.”

“Oh yeah, what was that?”

She glanced up and smiled. “Would you like a job with Gamma? I know you are not an office person, but how about running our field investigation division? I think you would be a wonderful addition to the Gamma family, and I would consider it an honor to work alongside you.”

“That’s a great offer and I really appreciate it.”

Her smile weakened a bit. “But?”

“But I’ve got a brand-new partner who’s probably going to be moving down here from Baltimore, and she’s got little kids, and I can’t leave her high and dry.”

“That’s very good of you, Agent Decker. Very loyal.”

“I’m not a real agent, Kasimira, and I sure as hell don’t play one on TV. Just make it Decker.”

“Okay, Decker. I think Agent White is lucky to have you as a partner.”

“Funny, I was feeling pretty lucky to have her.”

She took out a card and slid it across. “If you ever change your mind, or just want to talk. And if you’re ever back down in Florida, please look me up.”

“I have to admit, I was almost getting used to that sand thing.”

They shook hands and he saw her out. He went back to the table and finished his beer while he looked down at her card. He glanced over at the trash can, rose, and lifted out the torn-up letter from the Cognitive Institute.

He slowly and methodically pieced it back together, just like he would any case he was working on. He still remembered what it said, and yet he reread every word twice over.

He popped another beer, placed it in a paper bag, put on his jacket, and walked out of the apartment. There was a bench down by the river where he liked to sit and just watch the water flow and the occasional boat pass by.

The letter from the Institute had predicted a great deal of change coming his way, at least in the way his brain functioned. That might be good, or that might be bad, he had no way of knowing. And neither, really, did they.

My superpower served me well on this case, even if it all dropped into place near the end. Better late than never.

And then his thoughts turned to his old partner.

Mary Lancaster didn’t have the best memory, but she had all the other attributes of a good detective. She actually read people better than Decker ever could. And her instincts had become so refined over time that her deductions sometimes had been truly eye-popping. A great many people thought she was just the tugboat sidekick to Decker’s ocean liner. But the fact was, Mary Lancaster had more than held her own with him and everyone else. And she had taught Decker a lot.

And I will miss the woman every minute of every day. Because she understood me better than anyone other than my wife. And she was my friend.

As Decker stared out at the water, he began to wonder what his new partner’s kids looked like. Whether they took after their mom. And he thought of Donte, the child she had lost. And whether White’s mother would actually like him when they met. And whether she really was a good cook. And what the next case they would work on might be about. And about how Freddie White might become just as good a friend to him as Mary Lancaster had been.

And me to her.

Just regular stuff that people thought about every day.

That was the thing about life. You actually had to spend time living it.

Or else what the hell did any of it really matter?

So he sat there with his beer and his thoughts and watched the river cruise on by.