Slow Kill - Michael Mcgarrity [28]
“Sorry about that, Chief,” Ellie said as they arrived at Kerney’s motel. “I’ll call you when things shake out.”
“Leave me a message,” Kerney said as he climbed out of the unit.
Ellie watched Kerney unlock his motel door and step inside. He’d never once flared up under the pressure she’d put on him. Beyond that, he’d gathered important information to advance the investigation and had graciously accepted her apology without laying into her.
She’d come to Santa Barbara ready to ream Kerney out for meddling in her investigation. As she drove away, Ellie thought that Chief Kerney would be a hell of a good boss to work for.
Chapter 4
Kerney slept hard, got up early, showered, dressed, and studied a tourist map that promised to guide him to Santa Barbara’s finest dining, shopping, and entertainment experiences, including an adult video store and a gentlemen’s club featuring fully nude live dancers.
He located a restaurant that looked interesting at a place called Hendry’s Beach outside of town. On the drive there, he enjoyed the quiet of the morning, the absence of traffic, and a view of the bay with gentle waves of surf rolling in.
The restaurant, located next to the beach, wasn’t open for business when he arrived, although several servers were busy setting the tables on an outdoor patio. He took his boots and socks off, rolled up the cuffs of his jeans, and walked in the shade of the cliffs that lined the shore. Only a few people were out, including some joggers, a couple walking two dogs, and several tourists snapping pictures near some rocks where a young seal seemed to be calmly posing for a photo shoot. Out beyond the surf, a dolphin briefly surfaced, drawing the attention of a lone seagull circling overhead.
On top of the cliffs, which showed signs of constant erosion, houses surrounded by tall, skinny palm trees looked out at the ocean. Steep stairs, some rickety and dangerous, provided access down the cliff face to the beach. Kerney wondered how long it would take before the sea, the wind, and the rain brought everything crashing down. A hundred years? A thousand? Ten thousand? Eventually, it would happen.
His thoughts turned to Sara and the beaches they’d walked together on their honeymoon in western Ireland. There, cliffs of solid rock towered over them and a heavy surf threw angry plumes of white foam into the air. It had been a happy time on the shore of a turbulent sea under misty gray skies.
Sara had spent hours inspecting and gathering seashells, stuffing the choice ones in the pockets of her windbreaker, enlisting Kerney to fill his pockets as well. The shells now sat in a large, hand-blown glass bowl on Sara’s desk at the Pentagon.
He wondered how Sara and their son, Patrick, were doing back on the East Coast. He pictured her getting Patrick out of bed, fed, and ready for the day, Patrick banging his rattle on the high chair and giggling, Sara dressing hurriedly and running a brush quickly through her strawberry blond hair.
The restaurant was open when Kerney returned, and he took breakfast on the patio, careful as always not to eat too much. He’d been gut shot in a gun battle with a drug dealer some years back, and it had damaged his stomach badly.
He finished his meal and decided it wasn’t too early to call Penelope Parker. She answered on the first ring and readily agreed to meet with him again. He left the restaurant just as a smiling young couple with a toddler sitting happily on the man’s shoulders entered. The sight of the family made him miss Sara and Patrick all the more. But soon he’d be with them for two solid weeks. He would be teaching some classes and taking a top-cop seminar at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, thirty miles away from the small house Sara and he had bought in Arlington, Virginia.
The thought of seeing his family made the day seem much brighter. He smiled as he headed down the road to visit Penelope Parker.
Ms. Parker seemed pleased to see Kerney when he arrived. There was