After finishing their cigars by the river, the two men parted ways. Jack headed to the District Attorney's office to pick up Eileen. Together, they picked up her daughter from school and dropped them both off at the Reagan family villa—Frank's home—where they would be staying for the foreseeable future.
This routine continued for three days as tensions in New York City escalated. News outlets regularly reported on crimes committed by the recently released convicts, stirring public unease.
The NYPD was doing its best, though it was impossible to monitor all the released criminals. High-profile offenders, however, were under constant surveillance. Danny made it a point to patrol near Dick Reed's mother's house every morning and evening, even though detectives were stationed there around the clock. He just couldn't shake the feeling that Reed would strike again.
Jack's psychological profile had not only left him disgusted but had also reinforced his conviction that the ultimate mama's boy would inevitably reoffend.
It was Saturday afternoon when Jack drove to the Reagan villa to pick up Eileen and take her to the District Attorney's office. That evening was the Reagan family's customary weekend dinner, for which Jack had been invited. However, he had been preoccupied with renovations for his future office over the past few days.
The small two-story building, located between JFK Airport and Long Beach, had once belonged to a disreputable insurance company. After the FBI busted the company for fraud, the property had been left abandoned for years. Jack wasn't sure how the FBI had ended up owning the building, but it had clearly been sitting unused for at least seven or eight years. While the structure was sound, everything else—windows, walls, plumbing, and electrical systems—needed repairs or replacement.
Dana Moser had given him over six months to set everything up, but Jack didn't trust American efficiency. He was pushing the logistics department to hire a construction company to start drawing up plans immediately.
After finalizing the designs earlier that day, Jack rushed to the Reagan villa. Upon entering, he noticed the atmosphere was off.
Linda had taken the kids and Grandpa Henry out after dinner. James Reagan, the youngest of the siblings, was in a rush to meet his girlfriend and left after briefly greeting Jack. The remaining Reagans in the kitchen were quietly cleaning up, their heads hung low as if weighed down by exhaustion.
"What's going on?" Jack asked bluntly. He was familiar enough with the family by now to skip formalities.
"Apparently, I'm not fit to be Commissioner," Frank said with a self-deprecating chuckle.
"Dad…" Eileen hugged his arm in a comforting gesture. Danny, ever the explainer, filled Jack in.
It all boiled down to the lingering fallout from the DNA contamination scandal. With nearly every family member either a cop or a prosecutor, the week had been exhausting for all of them. Even James, still a patrol officer, had been overwhelmed by the surge in 911 calls.
The tension culminated at dinner, where the normally quiet meal was disrupted by the candid remarks of Danny's sons and Eileen's daughter, who inadvertently hit everyone's emotional breaking point.
James started complaining about the frustration of surveilling obviously guilty criminals released due to procedural issues. He questioned how long this absurd situation could continue. This sparked another argument between Eileen and Danny, as was their usual dynamic. Finally, Frank, already irritated, lost his temper, silencing everyone.
Jack shook his head, amused. "Seems like this is just how the Reagans show their love. I was hoping you'd share some good news for a change. Didn't Eileen just take care of one of those scumbags?"
Danny perked up. "What did my dear sister do?"
Even Frank's expression softened slightly as he looked at his daughter. "Was it that copper fetishist? Did you find new evidence?"
"I invoked the Mental Hygiene Law and subjected him to involuntary civil commitment," Eileen explained, rattling off legal jargon. Everyone, including Frank, frowned at her convoluted explanation.
"English, please," Danny said, his brows furrowed into a tight knot, echoing the thoughts of the entire room.
"I had two psychiatrists declare him mentally ill and sent him to a psychiatric hospital," Eileen said with a triumphant smile.
Danny gaped in mock astonishment. "Who are you, and what have you done with my sister? The one who's all about protecting civil rights and opposing abuse of power?"
Frank, as always, was quick to praise his daughter. "Well done, dear. You're learning to be more flexible."
Danny wasn't ready to let it go and was about to launch into another playful argument when his phone rang, interrupting him. "Yeah, what is it? Damn it, I'll be right there."
"What happened?" Frank asked, concerned, as Danny grabbed his coat and headed for the door.
"A woman was found injured in the public restroom at Columbia Park. Her face was slashed, and the method matches Dick Reed's MO," Danny said, glancing at Jack, clearly wanting him to tag along.
Frank's face darkened. "I thought your people were watching him. Jack, you go with him. I'll take Eileen to her office later. And don't forget, tomorrow morning, you and Ms. Moser need to come to my office. It's time to settle some matters."
By the time Jack and Danny arrived at the park, the scene had already been cordoned off, and an ambulance was on-site. The injured woman had been loaded onto a stretcher, but thankfully, her injuries weren't life-threatening.
"The method matches—same binding techniques and similar facial cuts. Jack, what do you think?" Danny asked after speaking with the responding officers.
Jack sighed. "It's clear that Dick Reed has a copycat. While the cuts are similar, they're too shallow, and the attacker wasn't decisive. This was a rookie's work. Most importantly, the victim wasn't sexually assaulted."
Danny nodded, agreeing with Jack's assessment. "I just called the detectives tailing him. They said that piece of trash hasn't left his mother's house since last night."
"This is going to be a field day for the media. We'll need to identify those fans who met him at the station when he was released," Jack said, rubbing his temples. He remembered there weren't any cameras at the station that day, which meant dealing with reporters to obtain photos of the event.
Danny suddenly had a eureka moment. With a sly grin, he turned to Jack. "Say, when he got out of prison, he didn't have a backpack or suitcase, right?"
"Uh, no," Jack replied, puzzled. "Why?"
"Then where do you think all the fan mail he got in prison ended up?" Danny asked, a mischievous glint in his eye.
"Obviously still in the prison mailroom… Oh, wow. Looks like more than one Reagan is using their brain today," Jack said, smirking as he caught on to Danny's plan.
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