Fatal Jeopardy

by Marie Force

  “It’s vice president,” Lindsey whispered. “Of the United States.”

  “Oh jeez, is that right? He told me it was vice president of the local Elks lodge. I feel deceived.”

  “How can you joke about this?”

  “How can I not? It’s surreal.”

  “Terry said it was all going to come down to what you thought of it. So... What do you think?”

  “I told him he should do it,” she said with a shrug that she hoped indicated she had no plans to overreact. “I don’t have to move or quit my job or have suits following me around, so as far as I’m concerned, it’s business as usual.”

  “Are you out of your freaking mind?”

  “I very well could be. I’ve been accused of that before. Lots of times, in fact.”

  “This is some sort of coping mechanism, right? You play it down so you don’t lose your shit?”

  “Perhaps.”

  “So he’s going to do it?”

  “I think he might.”

  “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. That’s amazing. Totally amazing.”

  “Glad you think so. Can I go to work now?”

  “I know you’ll hate me for it, but I’ve got to hug you first.”

  Sam didn’t hate her for it. In fact, she was touched by Lindsey’s show of affection and friendship.

  “There,” Lindsey said when she pulled back from Sam. “Now you can go to work.”

  “You got anything for me?”

  “In fact, I do. Our friend Mr. Mitchell is a stone-cold liar.”

  “Is he now?” Sam said through gritted teeth.

  “He’s our fourth guy. Not only did he videotape the whole thing, his semen was found on her belly and between her legs. It was not found in her vagina, however.”

  “So he videotaped the whole thing and then got off on her?”

  “It appears that way.”

  “So disgusting.”

  “I couldn’t agree more.”

  “Thanks, Lindsey. Appreciate your help with this one.” As Sam walked toward the pit, her heart was heavy over what had happened to Brooke. “At least she’s alive,” she whispered to herself. It had been so very close... The pit was deserted when she arrived so she continued on to the lobby area, anxious to speak to the chief. Raised voices had her moving a little faster as she approached the lobby.

  There she found Bill Springer screaming in Chief Farnsworth’s face.

  “There’s no way you’re going to pin this on my son!”

  “Bill, you need to calm down and listen to me.”

  “Don’t tell me to calm down!” Springer’s face was bright red, his hair wild and his normally polished attire in disarray. And then, with Sam and other cops all around them, Springer whipped his arm back.

  With his intention obvious to her, Sam acted before he could deliver the punch to her chief’s face. She took him down hard and had him pinned to the floor with a knee to his back before he knew what hit him. As she cuffed him, she looked up at the chief, who seemed shell-shocked by what’d taken place in front of him.

  “Are you okay?” Sam asked him.

  “I’m fine. You?”

  “All good.”

  “As always, Lieutenant, your timing is excellent.”

  Sam smiled up at him and cranked the cuffs a little tighter. That’s what Springer got for trying to take a swing at her chief.

  “You’re going to be very sorry you did that,” Springer said through gritted teeth.

  “Guess what? I’m not afraid of you.”

  “If you think you’re going to come after my son and try to pin mass murder on him, you’re going to find out what I’m capable of.”

  “Was that a threat, Chief?” Sam asked.

  “Sounded like one to me.”

  Sam gestured for one of the wide-eyed patrolmen to come over to them. “Book him on attempted assault of a police officer and threatening a police officer.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “I’ll write it up for you,” Sam said.

  “Thank you.” The patrolman hauled Springer off the floor and dragged him away, kicking and screaming the whole time that someone was going to pay for this.

  “The guy is unhinged,” Sam said as she and the chief watched him go.

  “I feel bad for him losing his youngest son the way he did, but he’s got to accept that he can’t protect Billy from what’s coming.”

  “And how does he know what’s coming?”

  “I’m still trying to sort that out. Captain Roback is waiting in my office to discuss what happened overnight. Would you care to join us?”

  Sam had a sinking feeling as she nodded and followed him to his office. “I should ask Sergeant Gonzales to join us too.”

  “Of course,” the chief said, still seemingly shaken by what’d just transpired.

  “Could we get him a glass of ice water?” Sam asked the chief’s admin as she walked past the reception desk.

  “Coming right up.”

  “And please ask Detective Sergeant Gonzales to join us.”

  “I’m fine, Sam,” the chief said when they were in his office. “Don’t fret over me.”

  “You’re not fine. You’re pale and weird-looking in the eyes.”

  “He took me by surprise. That’s all. I’m not used to people coming at me the way they used to when I was in the field. I’m out of practice.”

  “What’s wrong?” Captain Roback asked.

  “He had an altercation with Bill Springer in the lobby,” Sam said, her tone accusatory, as was the glare she directed at the captain. “What I’d like to know is how he could possibly know we were looking at his son Billy for the MacArthur murders. It’s not like we issued a press release about our intention to arrest him this morning.”

  “I’m trying to find out what happened last night. All I know is Springer made my guys, and he’s in the wind. We’re trying to track him down now.”

  Sam stared at him, shocked but not surprised it had transpired exactly as she’d feared it would. “So you let him get away.” She nodded to Gonzo when he came into the room and shut the door behind him.

  “We didn’t let him get away. It didn’t happen like that.”

  “How did it happen then?”

  “I told you. I’m awaiting a report from my team, but their priority at the moment is finding Springer.”

  “This is exactly what I was afraid of,” Sam said to the chief, who was seated now behind his desk. “Based on what his father said, he knows we’re looking at him for the murders. How would he know that?”

  “I don’t know,” Farnsworth said in a weary tone. “Jack, you promised me if I gave you one more night to complete your operation that we’d have this sewn up. Now our number-one suspect in a mass murder is in the wind, and you can’t even tell me how that happened.”

  “I’m working on getting more information from my people,” Roback said, chastened by the chief’s dressing-down.

  Farnsworth waved his hand in Roback’s direction. “Go. Don’t come back until you have some answers.”

  The captain took his leave, and Sam dropped into a chair. “So we didn’t get him for either set of charges.”

  “We haven’t gotten him yet.”

  “The fact that he’s tipped off to our intentions makes him a hundred times more dangerous,” Gonzo said as he, too, took a seat.

  “I realize that, and I also realize I made a huge mistake yesterday by putting the vice investigation ahead of the homicide investigation.”

  “I’m still trying to understand why you did that.”

  “Because! I have to fight for every dime this department gets from the city, and not allowing vice to complete what had been six months’ of expens
ive and time-consuming undercover work would’ve come back to bite me in the ass at budget time.”

  “This was about money?”

  “Sam, everything is about money. You know that by now.”

  “What’s going to happen when the press catches wind of the fact that we fucked this up so royally?”

  “I’m hoping it’ll get un-fucked before they find out.” He looked at her with those steely eyes that could be both intimidating and compassionate. “I’m putting you in charge of finding him. Get your whole squad on the job and find him, Sam, before I find myself out of a job.”

  Because the thought of anyone but him in that chair struck fear in her heart, Sam and Gonzo were on their feet and heading for the door before he finished speaking. She went straight to Roback’s office. “The chief has put me in charge of figuring out where Springer is. I want every member of your team that worked on his case in the main conference room in thirty minutes.”

  “Where do you get off giving me orders? Need I remind you I’m a captain and you are not?”

  “I don’t need any reminders. Get your people here in thirty minutes.” With Gonzo in tow, she walked out before he could reply and headed for the pit. Freddie, Jeannie and Tyrone were gathered around Freddie’s cubicle sharing a box of doughnuts and discussing the plan for the day.

  “New plan, people,” Sam said, eying the doughnuts with lust and longing. She brought her squad up to date with what had happened overnight.

  “Unreal,” Jeannie muttered. “How did I know this was going to happen?”

  “Right?” Freddie said. “I told Elin last night this was going to go bad on us.”

  “It’s not going bad on us,” Sam said, “but it will go bad on the department and the chief. So we’re not going to let that happen, are we?”

  “No, we’re not,” Gonzo said. “What’s the plan?”

  “We’re going to hunt him down and arrest him the way we should’ve yesterday,” Sam said. “I’ve given the vice detectives thirty minutes to get here to explain to us how they managed to fuck this up so royally. After we know more, we’ll talk to Springer’s father, who’s in custody for attempting to assault the chief and threatening me.”

  “Damn,” Freddie said. “When did that happen?”

  “About twenty minutes ago. I want everyone on this,” she said as Dominguez and Carlucci joined them. “Do you have a few more hours left in the tank, ladies?”

  Both third-shift detectives nodded.

  “Absolutely, LT,” Carlucci said.

  “All right, I want every single word we can find on William Springer Jr. He’s known as Billy, and clearly he’s been involved in drug trafficking. I want to know about any involvement we’ve had with him, no matter how insignificant it might be. Carlucci and Dominguez, you focus on the internal. Tyrone and Arnold, get me external—school, work, known associates. Anything and everything. One hour, people.” The four detectives took off to follow orders.

  “McBride and Gonzales, I want you to talk to Brody, Hoda and Nico before their arraignments this morning and find out anything they know about Billy Springer. They were friends with his brother—at least Hoda and Brody were. Nico might know something too. Get me anything you can.”

  “On it,” Gonzo said as he and Jeannie headed for lockup.

  “We’re going to talk to Brooke,” Sam said to her partner. Because she hadn’t gotten around to eating breakfast, she said, “Bring me one of those circles of fat and don’t you dare say a word about the fact that I’m eating it. Am I clear?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  They got their coats and walked out to Sam’s car. When they were buckled in, Freddie silently handed her the doughnut wrapped up in a napkin.

  Sam took the first bite and nearly moaned from the pleasure of the sugar and grease exploding on her tongue. Aware of the half hour she’d given the vice commander to rally his troops, Sam drove faster than she should have through the city’s congested streets.

  “Can you even believe this crap?” Freddie asked.

  “Farnsworth told me it was because of the huge investment they’ve made in the undercover operation.”

  “He let this guy get away because of money?”

  “It’s more complicated than either of us can possibly understand. The chief is under a lot of pressure to justify the city’s investment in the department, and if they didn’t get a successful prosecution out of all the hours that went into that investigation, it could affect what we get next year.”

  “Still, the guy killed nine kids. How is money more important than that?”

  “They asked for one night to finish their investigation.”

  “I’d really like to know how they managed to lose him.”

  “So would I. You gotta figure they’re not having the best day of their careers.”

  “Yeah. True. Is this going to turn into a big scandal?”

  “Not if I can help it.” Sam figured she had about twelve hours before it would blow up into a scandal. Too many people knew they’d let Billy Springer get away. Someone who was looking to get Farnsworth fired, who had an ax to grind, who was looking to get ahead in their careers could blow the lid off the whole mess. As much as she liked to think the department was one big happy family, it was also a very dysfunctional family full of hidden agendas and ulterior motives.

  At the hospital, they hustled into the ICU where they learned that Brooke had been moved to a regular room. By the time they found it, they’d used twenty-five of the thirty minutes she’d given the vice commander.

  Sam knocked on the door and tucked her head inside to gauge the situation before she brought Freddie in with her. Brooke was awake and staring at the ceiling. Tracy sat next to the bed, staring out the window. Uh-oh. “You’d better wait out here,” Sam said to Freddie.

  She pushed the door open all the way. “Morning,” Sam said, going for cheerful in a room thick with tension. “How’s everyone today?”

  “Fabulous,” Tracy said flatly.

  “Great,” Brooke said with an equal lack of animation.

  “Something wrong?” Sam asked. “Um, other than the obvious?”

  “Nothing new,” Tracy said. “Same old attitude, same old song and dance. I’m sitting here wondering what has to happen for someone to get the message that she needs to make some changes in her life.”

  “And I’m sitting here wondering if someone could get me a knife so I can stab myself in the neck so I won’t have to listen to her lectures anymore.”

  “You might want to watch your mouth,” Tracy said, “or you’ll find yourself locked up in the psych ward where you probably belong.”

  “As much as I’m enjoying this conversation,” Sam said, “I’m on a bit of a schedule. I need to talk to Brooke. About the case.”

  “What about it?” Brooke asked.

  Sam propped herself on the foot of the bed. “What do you know about Billy Springer?”

  “He’s Hugo’s brother. Or he was Hugo’s brother. I still can’t believe he’s dead.”

  “I know, honey, but if you can tell me anything you might’ve heard about him, like who his friends are or where he hangs out. Something that seems trivial to you might be huge to us.”

  “Is he... Is he in trouble?”

  “He might be.”

  “Hugo said he’s got some scary friends.”

  “Scary how?”

  “They were into drugs and guns and stuff. Hugo said Billy was out of control, but he didn’t care because their dad could get him out of anything.”

  “If Hugo knew that about him, why would he steal drugs from him?”

  “Because his parents were away, and he wanted the party to be epic.”

  “He wasn’t afraid Billy would come after him?”

  “He said
Billy wouldn’t dare touch him or their parents would kill him.”

  “Sounds like a charming family.”

  “Hugo liked to say he was the spoiled rotten baby. He was used to doing whatever he wanted.”

  “Quite a few of your friends seem to have that in common, Brooke. Their parents let them run wild, and now two of them are dead, another is in jail. You’re in here. I don’t know what you and your mom are fighting about, but you might want to remember what became of your friends. No one wants to see that happen to you. This is bad enough.” She leaned over to kiss Brooke’s cheek. “I’ve got to get back to work, but I’ll check on you later.”

  Tracy walked out with her. “I keep telling myself to be grateful she survived, but I’m wondering what it’s going to take for her to get a clue.”

  “What’s the problem?”

  “She’s being bitchy and contrary and acting like all of this is someone else’s fault. The usual shit.”

  “Um, Mrs. Hogan?”

  Tracy turned to a dark-haired boy holding a bouquet of flowers with a balloon attached. “Hi, Justin.” Tracy hugged him. “This is Brooke’s Aunt Sam. Sam, her good friend Justin from all the way back to elementary school.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Sam said.

  “You too. I’d like to see Brooke if that’s okay.”

  “I’m sure she’d love a visit with an old friend. Let me check with her to make sure she feels up to it.”

  “I’ll see you later, Trace,” Sam said.

  “Bye, Sam.”

  “Anything?” Freddie asked when she rejoined him at the elevators.

  “Nothing specific, but apparently it was common knowledge in the Springer family that Billy was bad news. Into drugs and guns. He was convinced he was untouchable because of who his dad is.”

  “He sounds like a typical sociopath.”

  “And not-so-shockingly he turned out to be one.”

  On the way back to HQ, Sam called the chief to brief him on what was being done. “I assume we’ve got people at his place?”

  “Crime scene is there as we speak.”

  “And we’re trying to locate his car and cell?”