by LS Sygnet
“We’ll have to keep digging for answers on that one, Helen. Not to abruptly change the subject, but are we spending the night in the governor’s mansion?”
I rolled my eyes in the darkness. “Joe insisted. Apparently, he felt it was the least he could do to make it up to us for ruining our wedding day, doubting the most loyal person in his entourage and as a way of thanking you for setting the record straight regarding my tenure with the bureau.”
“I’m exhausted,” David said. “Shall we get this part of the night over with?”
Joe, Johnny and presumably the reporter from the paper met us at the back door. I wanted to throw my arms around David and hug him to death.
He thrust out one hand to the reporter. “Supervisory Special Agent David Levine, FBI. And you are?”
“Rox Hammond,” he said. “Are you here on official business?”
David smiled that thin one that could dismiss the most self-important in the world. “If I were, my responses would all be no comment, Mr. Hammond. The FBI does not discuss ongoing investigations.” He turned to Johnny. “Good to see you again, Johnny. Joe, you’re looking well.”
“The governor tells me that OSI actually vetted Dr. Eriksson with you,” Hammond persisted at his own peril.
“Of course they did, sir. We were and still are feeling the pangs of our loss of such a fine profiler. Did Joe tell you what an integral part of our team she was?”
Hammond flipped open a notebook. “He did, but a quote from her former supervisor would be an asset to my story.”
David folded his arms across his chest. “If I didn’t know how serious Helen was about retirement, I’d be offering her position to her right now. She left a hole that we haven’t been able to fill. But I suppose that shouldn’t be too difficult to comprehend, considering the cases that she closed in Darkwater Bay, should it, Mr. Hammond?”
“And these allegations that the FBI had an investigation thwarted in the death of her ex-husband, there’s no truth to them?”
“In the case of Rick Hamilton, because of his affiliation with a prominent crime family, his suicide was thoroughly investigated – just to be sure that the family hadn’t eliminated a potential problem. At no time was Helen ever suspected of wrongdoing.”
I wondered at the ease with which he lied, if that line between cop and criminal was a whole lot thinner than anyone could possibly imagine. Then again, I might’ve been the virus that corrupted normally incorruptible men.
“As for Rick’s death,” David continued, “it was obvious to me immediately that he committed suicide. He was facing a long prison term. He betrayed his wife. The Marcos family would’ve killed him if he considered cutting a deal with the federal prosecutor. Can you imagine another way out of that sort of predicament?”
“I guess not. I’m curious how the bureau managed to vet Dr. Eriksson however. Isn’t it true that her father was somewhat of an infamous criminal, currently incarcerated for life?”
Sparks arced between David’s eyes. “Because we always punish the children of criminals, right?”
“No, but –”
“I’m sorry, but that’s a ridiculous question, Mr. Hammond. If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to get some rest. It’s been a very long day.”
“Dr. Eriksson, anything you’d like to add to my interview?”
Johnny made a slight slicing motion across his neck out of Hammond’s sight.
“I’m retired,” I said.
“Commander Orion says you consulted on a rather high profile kidnapping case in Darkwater Bay last week.”
It was my turn for a little perverse news-telling. I slipped past the reporter and snaked one arm around Johnny’s waist. “Well, I suppose any time my husband asks for my opinion, he could call it consulting. I am, however, happily retired. Have a good night, Mr. Hammond.”
Johnny chuckled as I dragged him down the corridor. “And I got scolded for being blunt about our marriage? Sweetheart, dropping a bombshell like that on the press might not have been the greatest idea.”
“I’m still mad at you about that, Johnny.”
“Did you and David have a nice chat on the way home from the airport?”
“This isn’t home, and don’t change the subject.”
“I already apologized.”
“Not to Devlin.”
Johnny sighed. “If I must.”
“I don’t mean apologize for marrying me. You could’ve let me tell him alone.”
“Why was that so important to you, Helen?” He waved me toward the back staircase. “Did everyone else rate a private conversation? I have a lot of friends who will read about our wedding in a nasty newspaper article thanks to your comment tonight. Do you owe them an apology?”
“I’d develop laryngitis apologizing to all the soon-to-be-devastated women in your life.”
“Oh, so that’s the qualifier for Mackenzie, huh?”
My mood took a dangerous slide in a bad direction. “Are you telling me that I should apologize to them because they have genuine feelings for you and that you can’t bear the idea that my insensitivity might’ve really hurt them?”
“You can’t bear that I hurt him? Jesus, Helen, you make it sound like you love the guy.”
“I do love him.”
Johnny froze with the door to the bedroom where we planned to spend the night hanging open. I stepped inside.
“What, you don’t love your friends?”
He shook his head and slammed the door on his way out.
Chapter 32
Less than a week ago, we were in a different courtroom listening to more attorney antics, those trying to delay what I thought was an inevitable trial for Danny Datello. Today, it was a simple arraignment.
As I predicted, Zack was tickled pink that the FBI was in attendance. Any leverage he could exert was welcome.
“We request that the defendant be held without bail,” Zack said.
“Your honor, Mrs. Sherman poses no flight risk, has strong ties to the community in which she resides and –”
“Has no family living in Montgomery anymore, your honor,” Zack interrupted. “I’d like to remind the court that the dying declaration the defense has proffered to excuse Mrs. Sherman’s culpability in this crime was offered by the man who murdered the infant’s father. There is absolutely no evidence whatsoever to support this ludicrous claim that Danny Datello somehow orchestrated his daughter’s adoption from behind bars.”
The judge peered down from the bench. “I’m curious if the FBI presence here isn’t intended to serve as a reminder of how seriously the federal government views kidnapping, Mr. Carpenter.”
David squared his shoulders and gave an officious nod at the bench.
“The defendant is remanded without bail,” the judge peered at the defense table. “What’s up next?”
“We’d like to move for a change of venue,” Marcel said. “I’m convinced that given the popularity of this gangster Danny Datello in Darkwater Bay, that it’s impossible for my client to receive a fair trial.”
“Hmm, and I suppose you’d suggest that Montgomery would be more amenable to fairness than the good folks in Bay County.”
“As the prosecutor said, your honor, not even he believes that Mr. Datello, a man who killed one of his former colleagues, could’ve possibly arranged for his child to be adopted by Mrs. Sherman from the confines of jail. Clearly, the entire community is biased toward this infamous family.”
“I think you can find twelve jurors who will be objective, Mr. Marcel. Motion denied. What say we set a date for this little event?”
“Defense moves for immediate trial,” Marcel said.
Zack squirmed.
“Any objection to that, Mr. Carpenter?”
“Your honor, the prosecution can be ready within…” he glanced over his shoulder at me of all people. I’m not the badge in this case. I held up one finger.
“A week.”
“Sounds reasonable. Is that speedy enough for
you, Mr. Marcel?”
“I was hoping that we could start seating a jury this afternoon.”
The judge laughed softly. “Well even if Mr. Carpenter was in the rush that you are, I’d say no to that. We’ll start to impanel our jurors next Tuesday. And with that, unless you’ve got something official to file with the court, Mr. Marcel, we’re finished.”
David leaned over and whispered in my ear. “You’re being very optimistic that we’ll have enough evidence in a week, Helen.”
“I’m not worried about Zack adding additional charges to this indictment. We’ve got enough on her as things stand.”
“I thought Holmes had an ironclad alibi for her whereabouts the night the baby was abducted.”
“She did,” I said. “But that doesn’t change the fact that Sherman still had Sofia Datello in her custody after she was snatched from the hospital. Zack can make mincemeat of Preston’s dying declaration. It won’t matter that he was FBI.”
“We still don’t know how she got from Darkwater Bay to Montgomery.”
“And we’ve got more than a week to answer that question. Hopefully a lot of other ones too.”
David rose and walked with me from the courtroom. “Where next?”
I turned my cell phone on. “I’ve got a message. Let’s see what’s going on with the rest of our investigation.”
A moment later, Crevan’s voice floated into my ear. “Hey, Helen. We’ve got a little snag here. Dev and I showed up to meet with Destiny Gerard this morning, and she’s refusing to cooperate with us. Could you give me a call when you get out of court this morning?”
I dialed his number. “Want to meet me at Celeste’s place?”
“It looks like we’re going to have to go that route, Helen.”
“Did she give you an excuse for her lack of cooperation?”
“Nope. Just said if we wanted another crack at Danny boy’s books, we’d need a new warrant.”
“Wait a minute. Zack has his financial records from the case he planned to prosecute?”
“I have no idea. I didn’t think he would’ve had any reason for them, Helen. The case against Danny was murder for hire, not something related to the businesses.”
“Interesting. What do we know about this woman? Has she been a fixture in the business for years?”
“Yeah, she’s the one who took over operations at the casino after Salvatore Masconi disappeared, Helen. She’s been here through it all.”
“So based on the gaming commission’s scrutiny, we know she has no criminal background.”
“I wouldn’t count on that. Masconi slipped under their radar after all,” Crevan reminded me. “We’ll run a background check on her. Dev and I are across the street in the downtown office.”
LaPierre Tower. Johnny’s old penthouse before he moved in with me had become Crevan’s new home. I wondered if Johnny was there. We endured a tense drive home from Montgomery before the hearing this morning. He left the house before David and I did and didn’t bother joining us at the district courthouse.
“We’ll be right over,” I said. “I think we should head out to Hennessey Island right away. Meet us in the lobby.”
“Johnny’s with you?”
“David Levine,” I said. “He’s tagging along for the duration.”
“Where’s Johnny?”
“I have no idea. He didn’t say where he was going this morning.”
“You didn’t ask? Helen, I thought you would’ve settled that other thing yesterday.”
“I think it might have something to do with Joe and that news story. He was pretty nonverbal after the interview with the press.” Some lies come so easily.
“Great. That’s all we need now.”
A hulking frame I couldn’t ignore lumbered around the corner and down the wide hallway of the courthouse.
“Oops. Take that back, Crevan. Johnny just walked in. We’ll be over in a few minutes.”
Johnny pumped David’s hand enthusiastically. “Thank you so much for intervening with Governor Collangelo. I was so tired this morning, it took all my focus to drive back to Darkwater,” he said. “Joe and I conferenced this morning after we had a chance to read the article that Hammond published. He actually quoted you.”
“Was it as damaging as Joe feared it would be?” I asked.
Johnny avoided eye contact. “It wasn’t a great piece, but it was a hell of a lot fairer than it would’ve been if he hadn’t done any damage control at all. What happened at the arraignment?”
David’s eyebrows dove when the question was directed at him. “Remanded. Marcel requested a change of venue which was denied. Jury selection begins next Tuesday.”
“So soon?” He finally stole a peek at me.
“We’ve got enough on her for the Datello kidnapping, Johnny. I just got off the phone with Crevan. He’s across the street. They didn’t have any luck with Gerard this morning, so we’re heading over to Hennessey Island to see if Celeste can make a dent.”
“I’m headed out to OSI. Thought I’d take a run at Sarah Holmes. David, I don’t suppose I could impose on you to sit in on the interview.”
“Uh, sure,” David said.
“Maybe you could have a conversation with Florence Payette too,” I suggested. “I’m sure it would help Zack a great deal to have a second opinion on how she’ll hold up on the witness stand.”
Lines crinkled at the corners of his eyes. “All right, Helen. I guess I’ll see you at lunch?” He stepped close and kissed my cheek.
“Dinner. Then I’ve got that thing with Fantasia tonight. Hopefully, we’ll have some more leads after that conversation.”
“I’ll give you two a moment,” David said. “Meet you out front, Johnny?”
He nodded.
“So you’re still on for your date tonight?”
“It isn’t my date. It’s Devlin’s.”
Johnny snorted. “Then I won’t keep you.”
“Johnny, what I said last night –”
“Spoke volumes. I don’t need the recap. Don’t expect me home for dinner. I’ve got a ton of work at the office, and Joe really wants some results on Sanderfield’s campaign contributions.”
“Is that how this is gonna be, all because I admit that I love my friends?”
“It’s the way they love you back, and the fact that you don’t discourage it that told me everything I needed to know.”
Johnny turned around and walked away before I recovered from my shock enough to set him straight. Maybe it was a blessing. We could’ve probably closed this case last Friday if it hadn’t been for all the emotional distractions.
Chapter 33
Celeste Datello opened the door to her penthouse looking more than a little harried. Enough of this. I gripped her arm and led her into the open living area. “We need to talk. Where is Ms. Gerard?”
“Working. What’s wrong now?”
“We’ll get to that in a minute, Celeste. You look exhausted. I thought Destiny was staying here to help you.”
“She is helping –”
“When was the last time you slept?”
She twisted her arm away from my grip and huffed a little indignantly. “It’s not easy having a newborn baby, Helen. Of course I’m not sleeping like I should, but I refuse to take Destiny’s advice and hire a nanny.”
Given what Celeste had been through in the past week, I couldn’t blame her on that count. It wasn’t what I meant anyway. “Sit down,” I gestured toward the sofa. “I want you to listen to me, Celeste.”
She perched on the edge of the sofa and crossed her arms over her chest. “All right. What is it this time?”
I crouched in front of her and reached for her hands. “I feel responsible for what you’re going through right now, Celeste, all of it. Danny’s arrest, his death, and I cannot hold my tongue sometimes. The last time we spoke, you said that you feel like I’m still family, so I want you to listen to me, because I’m saying this to you as someone who cares about family
.”
Her eyes filled with tears. Celeste barely nodded.
“You need to make peace with your family, Celeste. Believe me when I tell you that there comes a point when it is too late to make amends. I know for a fact that your parents are still here in Darkwater Bay. Your mother should be the one here helping you. Please, for the sake of what really matters in life, reach out to her. Don’t count on one of Danny’s old employees to be here for you, not when you’ve got flesh and blood who would love nothing more than to reach out to you.”
“They could’ve come to me. It’s not like what’s happened isn’t well known in the city,” she whispered. “Where have they been?”
“Honey, it’s not that simple. Sometimes we have to be the ones to take the first step. Were your parents with you at Christmas?”
She nodded.
“And they were horrified by Danny’s arrest, weren’t they?”
“Yes.”
“Asked you to come home with them, put this Datello chapter behind you in life, right?”
Celeste nodded again. “I loved him. I couldn’t turn my back on him like everyone else did.”
“Of course not.” Even though I had done that very thing to Rick when his legal woes resulted in an arrest, I understood the concept of standing by your man in theory at least. I didn’t doubt that it was love that motivated Celeste to stay with Danny. Sometimes reality needed to take precedence over sentimentality, even loyalty. “But he’s gone now, honey. Making peace with your family isn’t being disloyal to Danny. Do you think he’d want you struggling alone like this?”
“No,” she crumbled like a sandcastle hit by heavy surf.
“Would you like me to call your parents for you?”
Her wet blue eyes fixed on me in a gaze of gratitude. “I told Danny you were really a good person, Helen.”
“I’ll call them right now. Detective Mackenzie will stay with you –”
“The number is programmed into the speed dial on my phone,” Celeste said. “Number two. Before you call, I’d like to know why you really came over here.”
I cleared my throat and stared at the floor for several seconds.
