Shattered

The fourteenth installment in the Michael Bennett series opens with a prologue in which an unidentified woman jogging near the Potomac River in Washington, DC, is seized from behind and strangled by an attacker she appears to recognize. Her last words are "This is a mistake."

Michael Bennett, an NYPD homicide detective, is on the final day of his honeymoon in Ireland with his new wife, Mary Catherine. As they hike near Dublin, Bennett notices several missed calls from FBI agent Emily Parker, a close friend who once helped protect his family during witness protection. He decides to return her call the next day.

The couple flies home to their apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Bennett's grandfather Seamus, who has been supervising the ten children, is cleaning up after a poker night. The children greet them with a welcome banner, and 14-year-old Trent excitedly announces that his essay, "The Black Face in the Crowd," has won a citywide writing contest, with a ceremony at City Hall to follow. Bennett notices that Jane, an avid journal-keeper, seems unhappy about her brother's achievement.

The next morning, Bennett's boss, Lieutenant Harry Grissom, delivers grim news: Emily has gone missing in DC. Her car was found in a grocery store parking lot, and her purse, credentials, phone, and gun are all missing. Bennett extends his vacation and travels to DC. Through Roberta Herring, a former colleague at the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, he learns that Emily had been dating powerful people, including Supreme Court Justice Robert Steinberg, who is married to the daughter of New York Senator Lom Wellmy. Roberta arranges for Bennett to meet Bobby Patel, the lead FBI agent on Emily's disappearance. Mary Catherine gives her full support, asking only that Bennett return for Trent's ceremony.

In DC, Bobby reveals that Emily's car was found at a Whole Foods where she regularly parked for training runs. Security footage is incomplete: The main system had broken down, and one DVD from the backup system covering the relevant time period is missing. They agree to work together unofficially, keeping their arrangement hidden from the FBI.

Bennett investigates The Burning Land, an anarchist group Emily had been tracking, and is beaten by Jeremy Pugh, a dangerous member with arrests for stalking and assault. DC police detectives warn Bennett to leave the city, but he refuses. Through interviews, he learns that Steinberg's sister, Beth Banks, serves as his chief of staff and fiercely guards his privacy. Emily's mother reveals Emily has disappeared before during bouts of depression, giving Bennett fragile hope. Emily's sister, Laura Nardo, confirms the relationship with Steinberg, adding that his wife appeared to accept the arrangement.

That hope is destroyed when schoolchildren discover a body in Rock Creek. Bobby confirms it is Emily, and the autopsy determines the cause of death was strangulation. Bennett resolves that the case is now a homicide investigation and he will not leave DC without finding the killer.

Bennett interviews Congressman Marty Bryant of Delaware, who reveals he was only friends with Emily. At the townhouse of oil lobbyist Donald Minshew, Bennett speaks with Ellen Minshew, the lobbyist's wife, who provides a crucial lead: A woman named Michelle Luna, connected to the Steinbergs, was found strangled in her car in Baltimore almost two years earlier. In Baltimore, Detective Stephanie Holly briefs Bennett on the case. The killer sprayed the car with WD-40 to destroy evidence, but DNA was recovered from the back of Luna's earring with no database matches. A homeless witness confirms that two people arrived in the car and one white person walked away alone.

Senator Wellmy confronts Bennett at his hotel, attempting to bribe him and warning him to stop investigating Steinberg. Bennett refuses. He infiltrates the Supreme Court's administrative offices and confronts Beth Banks, who furiously orders him out. During later surveillance at a gym, Banks catches him and kicks him in the head. Bennett considers her his top suspect due to her physical capability and protectiveness of her brother. Meanwhile, an NYPD detective confirms that Pugh was in New York on the night before Emily disappeared and remained there for days, eliminating him as a suspect.

Bennett follows Justice Steinberg to a Home Depot, where the justice reveals he knows who Bennett is. Steinberg explains that he and his wife, Rhea, considered themselves soul mates and that Rhea and Emily were very close. He insists he had no motive to harm Emily. An NYPD tech analyst later confirms that Banks's cell phone was in Baltimore on the date of Luna's murder. However, while following Banks, Bennett observes her meeting Rhea at a coffee shop for a heated conversation. Banks takes her cup when she leaves, but Rhea leaves hers. Bennett retrieves Rhea's cup as a DNA sample and asks Bobby to expedite a comparison with the Luna evidence. He also revisits the Whole Foods and notes the distinctive handwriting on the other security DVDs.

The FBI lab confirms the DNA from Rhea's cup matches the DNA from Luna's earring. A joint team arrests Rhea Wellmy-Steinberg at a diner for Michelle Luna's murder. Rhea confesses: She strangled Luna from behind using a chokehold Banks had taught her, driven by jealousy over Luna's relationship with her husband. When Bennett asks about Emily, Rhea vehemently denies involvement, insisting she loved Emily. Bennett believes her. Rhea adds that shortly before her disappearance, Emily may have been seeing someone new who gave her an expensive gift that made her uncomfortable.

Bennett accompanies Emily's mother and sister to the FBI field office to collect Emily's personal effects. Among the items, he finds a cigar tube containing a blue Montblanc pen inscribed "From BP with love." He realizes BP stands for Bobby Patel. Mrs. Parker notes that Emily's emerald ring, a treasured childhood keepsake, was not recovered with her body. Bennett connects the unwanted gift Rhea mentioned to Bobby's pen and realizes Bobby has been steering the investigation to cover his own involvement.

Using a hide-a-key from Bobby's car bumper, Bennett accesses the vehicle and finds a fragment of a broken DVD with handwriting matching the style he noted on the Whole Foods DVDs, confirming Bobby stole the missing footage. At Bobby's apartment in Alexandria, Virginia, he discovers a hidden safe behind drywall in a closet containing Emily's cell phone and emerald ring, kept as trophies by her killer.

Using Emily's phone, Bennett texts Bobby and summons him to the Lincoln Memorial. He confronts Bobby with the evidence: the pen purchase, traced to Bobby's credit card by DC Detective Dave Swinson; the DVD shard; and the items from the safe. Bobby denies everything, then attacks, throwing Bennett to the ground with judo and wrapping his hands around Bennett's throat, the same method used to kill Emily. Bennett breaks the chokehold by remembering that judo forbids strikes, landing kicks and punches. Bobby sprints toward his car, but Swinson, whom Bennett positioned nearby as backup, drives his vehicle into Bobby, stopping his escape. Subdued and bloodied, Bobby confesses: He was frustrated that Emily dated many others but would never consider him romantically.

Roberta arranges a flight home on a Department of Justice jet. Bennett takes a frantic cab from JFK to City Hall and arrives just in time for Trent's ceremony, where the mayor recognizes the essay. Jane, whom he had worried would be jealous, applauds her brother enthusiastically.

Bennett settles back into family life. At Sunday mass, Seamus and his collaborator Shawna unveil a stained-glass window dedicated to Bennett's late first wife, Maeve, to be installed at the church. Senator Wellmy is retiring following his daughter's arrest, and Justice Steinberg is in seclusion. That night, Mary Catherine reveals she has learned she cannot become pregnant. Bennett holds her and says her health is all that matters and their family is already complete. They fall asleep in each other's arms.