Fatal Deception

by Marie Force

  “Sam,” he said, using her given name for the first time. “Stop. It’s fine. I agree with you.”

  Rattled by the familiarity and easy capitulation, Sam nodded and went into the next room. She gestured for Nick to follow them into the family room, where Derek was asleep on the sofa. Wearing a Cherry Blossom Festival 5-K T-shirt and ratty sweat pants that might’ve dated back to when he lived in this house, he hardly resembled the polished professional he’d been only two days ago.

  As much as she hated to disturb what was probably the first sleep he’d had since his world imploded the day before, she turned to Nick, knowing he would understand what she needed him to do.

  Sure enough, her husband went over to the sofa and gently shook Derek awake. “Derek, wake up. Sam is here, and she needs to talk to you.”

  Sam watched Derek’s eyes open and bore witness to the moment when the awful reality came rushing back to remind him that life as he knew it was over. When his eyes locked on her, he sat right up. “Is it Maeve? Did you find her?”

  Sam ached as she shook her head and dashed his hopes. What would it be like, she wondered, not to know where her child was? Unimaginable.

  Out of wild-looking eyes, Derek glanced from Sam to Nick to Hill and then back to her. “What? What’s happened?”

  Sam sat next to him on the sofa, wishing she could spare him what he was about to hear. “In the course of our investigation, we’ve discovered some...inconsistencies...regarding Victoria.”

  “What kind of inconsistencies?”

  “For one thing, we couldn’t find any record of her online before she worked at Calahan Rice.”

  “So what? That doesn’t mean anything.”

  “There’s more.” Sam took a deep, fortifying breath. “As a routine part of the autopsy, the medical examiner ran Victoria’s fingerprints through the Automated Fingerprint Identification System. Her prints were registered to a thirty-six-year-old woman named Denise Desposito, who died in a prison fight six years ago.”

  Looking totally stunned by what he was hearing, Nick stared at her without blinking.

  Derek stood and rested his hands on his hips. “Wait a minute... So what you’re saying...”

  “She wasn’t who you thought she was.” Sam tore off the bandage as quickly as she could.

  That didn’t stop the pain from registering on Derek’s face. “What do you mean?”

  “The Social Security number on file at the DMV was registered to a William Eldridge, who died eight years ago at the age of fifty-six.”

  Derek began to pace the small room. All at once, he stopped and turned to them. “I don’t understand.”

  “Neither do we,” Hill said.

  “There was a background check done, after we were married,” Derek said. “If she was lying about who she was, wouldn’t they have discovered it then?”

  “If the investigation was done by someone who wasn’t involved in whatever this was,” Hill said.

  “What does that mean? ‘Involved in whatever this was’?”

  “Exactly what I said,” Hill replied. “We suspect she was part of some sort of scheme. Whether she was a willing or unwilling participant remains to be seen.”

  “Are you implying that she...that we... It was all a lie?”

  “We don’t know that for sure, Derek,” Sam said, touched by the agony she heard in his voice. “You shouldn’t jump to any conclusions until we know more. It’s clear that someone has gone to a lot of trouble to set her up with a false identity that seems to have begun the day she arrived in Washington, which was about thirty days before she met you.”

  “So you’re trying to tell me that someone orchestrated our meeting? Our entire relationship, our marriage, our family... It’s all a lie? How could it be a lie? She loves me. Nick! Come on, you know that. You saw it!”

  “Yes, I did,” Nick said.

  “Tell them! It wasn’t a lie! She couldn’t have faked that kind of love!” Derek’s voice broke on the last word. He covered his mouth with a shaking hand. “It can’t be true,” he whispered. “She loved me. I know she did.”

  Sam stood and went to him, resting a hand on his arm. “We’re working really hard to figure this out. I promise you, we’ll get to the bottom of it.”

  “It wasn’t all a lie. You’ll never convince me of that.”

  “We need to know anything you can tell us about her past. Anything she might’ve mentioned about people from home, memories of school or friends or cousins, places she lived or worked.”

  He ran his fingers through his hair, leaving it standing on end. “She didn’t talk about the past a lot. I got the sense that her childhood was painful, so I left it alone.”

  “When you say you got the sense it was painful, what do you mean?” Hill asked.

  Derek returned to the sofa and dropped down to the cushions, expelling a weary sigh. “From time to time, she’d get an almost haunted look to her, as if it was unbearable to go back in time. I didn’t push her. I never wanted to cause her that kind of pain. And besides, it didn’t matter to me. All I cared about was who she was now. That was who I loved.” He stopped himself, thought for a moment and then looked up at them beseechingly. “Was I a total fool?”

  “I don’t believe it’s ever foolish to care about someone,” Sam said.

  “Sometimes it is,” Hill muttered.

  Sam turned to him. “What did you say?”

  “Nothing.” He waved his hand at her. “Proceed.”

  Sam studied the agent for a moment before she turned back to Derek. “What about when you were planning your wedding? Did it strike you as odd that she had no one to invite?”

  “She had friends here in D.C. by then, so she had people to invite. Besides, it was a small wedding.”

  “If you could think about it and let us know if you remember anyone she spoke of from her past, that would help.”

  “Was she really from Ohio?” Derek asked.

  “We don’t know,” Sam said.

  “I’ll think about it,” Derek said.

  Sam wondered how he’d think about anything else. “Thank you. We need to get back to the city, but you have my number.”

  Derek nodded.

  “I’m so sorry to have had to tell you this.”

  He shrugged helplessly. “I’m sorry that everything about my life with her was built on lies.”

  Nick went to sit next to Derek. “It wasn’t all lies, Derek. I saw you two together. She loved you. No one will ever convince me otherwise.”

  “Thanks. That helps.”

  “Unfortunately, I have to get back to the Hill for a town hall meeting,” Nick said. “I’ll check on you later, and Harry will be back shortly.”

  “Thanks for coming out,” Derek said flatly. “I know how busy you are.”

  “It’s no problem.”

  “Um, Derek,” Sam said, “it’s really important that you not tell anyone—even your parents—what we’ve uncovered about Victoria. If this is part of a larger scheme, we don’t want to tip our hand that we’re on to them.”

  “I understand.”

  “I’ll call you later,” Nick said. “And you know how to reach me if you need to. Any time. Day or night.”

  “Thanks, Nick.” Derek stretched out on the sofa and covered his face with his hands.

  Nick tipped his head toward the door, indicating they should go.

  “I feel bad leaving him like that,” Sam said.

  “I do too,” Nick said.

  “I’m sure he wants us to go figure out what the hell is going on,” Hill said.

  “I’ll give you a lift back to the city,” Nick said to Sam.

  She glanced at Hill, torn between what she should do and what she wanted to do. “Oh, um, well...”

  “Go on ahead,” Hill said. “I’m going to look into who did the security clearance update when Derek married Victoria. I’ll meet you back at HQ.”

  “Sounds good,” Sam said. When they were ensconced in Nick’s cozy BMW,
she said, “You might’ve asked rather than told me I was going with you.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I don’t need you acting all...husbandly...in front of my colleagues.”

  Nick snorted out a laugh. “I am your husband, and I shall act accordingly for the rest of my life.”

  “Not in front of the people I work with!”

  “I hate to point out that you don’t actually work with Hill, thank God.”

  “Nick! That’s not the point!”

  Chuckling, he reached over to cover her hand with his and resisted her attempts to push him away. “I’m sorry if I went about it the wrong way, but I won’t apologize for wanting to spend whatever time I can with you, especially when you’re injured, in pain and trying to hide it from me.”

  Oh, she hated when he said stuff like that right when she was working up a good mad! “Don’t try to charm your way out of this.”

  “Why not? It usually works.”

  Because she could no more resist his charm than she could a box of chocolates when it was put right in front of her, she linked her fingers with his, tipped her head back and closed her eyes. The pain was making its presence known, giving her a sick, queasy feeling that dulled her usually sharp senses. “I hated having to do that to Derek.”

  “I know, babe.”

  “Whenever he thinks about the moment he learned she wasn’t who he thought, he’s going to remember it was me who told him.”

  “He knows you’re doing your job.”

  “Sometimes I hate my job.”

  “I always hate your job.”

  That made her laugh, which helped. Being with him always helped.

  “But you’re so good at it,” he added. “What you did today in that store was nothing short of amazing. You saved a lot of lives—your own included.”

  As always, receiving compliments, even from him, made her twitchy. “I was glad I was there. It worked out well.”

  “For everyone but the gunman and your face.”

  “I’m sorry this happened today of all days, but don’t worry. I’ll be there tonight with bells on.”

  “You don’t have to go if you don’t feel up to it. I’d totally understand.”

  “I’m going, and that’s the end of it.”

  When Nick’s cell phone rang, Sam released his hand so he could retrieve it from his coat pocket. He handed it to her. “See who it is.”

  She glanced at the caller ID and smiled. “Scotty.” They’d bought him a phone so he could call them any time he wanted. “Hi, buddy,” she said.

  “Sam! Oh my God! I saw the video! Are you okay?”

  She hated the worry she heard in his voice. It hadn’t occurred to her to call him, but with hindsight, she realized she should have. “I’m totally fine. Where did you hear about the video?”

  “I heard people talking about it at swimming camp, and when I got home, Mrs. L and I watched it on the computer. You were so awesome. Mrs. L thought so too. She said you were like Wonder Woman.”

  “Aww, thanks. It was kind of crazy, but all’s well that ends well.”

  “Did it hurt when he hit you with the gun? Duh, that’s a dumb question, huh?”

  Sam laughed. “It didn’t feel great, but they stitched me up, and I’m back to work.”

  “Are you with Nick?”

  “Yep, he’s giving me a lift. You want to talk to him?”

  “In a second. Can you keep a really big secret?”

  “Dude, are seriously asking me that?”

  Scotty snorted out a laugh that sounded an awful lot like the way Nick often laughed at her. “Sorry. Of course you can. That’s kinda your job, right?”

  “Duh.”

  Nick flashed her a grin, as he was no doubt enjoying her side of the conversation with the boy they both adored.

  “So what’s the big—”

  “Don’t say it! I don’t want him to hear!”

  “All right already. Sheesh!”

  “Senator O’Connor invited me to the fundraiser tonight. Mrs. L is going to drive me up to Ashburn. We’re leaving in a little while. I wasn’t going to tell you guys, but I figured since you were hurt and stuff, you might not go.”

  “I am for sure,” she said, more determined than ever now that she knew he would be there. “That’s a good one. He’ll be thrilled.”

  “Don’t make him wonder what we’re talking about.”

  “Yes, sir,” she said, thoroughly charmed. “We’re looking forward to this weekend—and the next three weeks.”

  “I am too. Counting down the days!”

  Sam smiled and rested a hand on Nick’s leg. “Do you want to talk to Nick?”

  “Sure, if he can.”

  “He’s always got time for you. We both do. I hope you know that.”

  “I do. That’s cool, Sam. Seriously.”

  “Can’t wait to see you.”

  “You too.”

  She handed the phone to her husband and leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder while he conducted an animated conversation with Scotty, more than half of it centered on Red Sox stats as well as talk of the Washington Nationals and their incredible season.

  “Do you mean Willie Vasquez?” Nick asked.

  Sam recognized the name of the Nationals’ star center fielder.

  “He’s coming to your camp? Wow, that’s great. I might have to call in sick to work that day and go to camp with you.” Nick paused and laughed at whatever Scotty said in response. “All right, pal. I’ll see you Sunday. Can’t wait.”

  Sam took the phone from him and returned it to his suit pocket before resuming her position on his shoulder, breathing in the familiar scent of his cologne.

  “He’s so excited about the camp and spending three weeks with us,” Nick said. “I hope he decides to stay forever.”

  “I think he’ll get there eventually, babe,” Sam said. “You can’t blame him for being afraid to make such a huge change.”

  “I don’t blame him for that. Not one bit. We’re asking him to change his whole life.”

  “We’ll make him feel so at home with us that he’ll never want to leave.”

  “That’s the goal. Now tell me, what’ll I be thrilled about?”

  “I’m not at liberty to disclose that information.”

  “I don’t like you two ganging up on me.”

  “Now you know how I feel when you guys do it to me.”

  As they encountered bumper-to-bumper traffic on Route 66, he raised his arm and put it around her. “Close your eyes for a few minutes. I can tell you’re running on fumes.”

  “Don’t act like you know me so well.”

  “It’s not an act.”

  Laughing, she nudged him with her elbow.

  “Behave yourself while I’m driving and take a snooze. We’re going to be here awhile.”

  As her eyes burned closed, Sam’s mind raced with the details of the case, the fundraiser, Scotty’s impending visit, the conversation she needed to have with McBride and Tyrone about the Fitzgerald case, and then the conversation they all needed to have with her dad about that situation. Her brain was as tired as the rest of her by the time she gave in and let the darkness take her away from it all.

  Chapter Ten

  “Babe, wake up. We’re at HQ.”

  “Not yet,” she muttered, snuggling closer to him.

  He tightened his arm around her and let out a tortured-sounding groan. “You know I’d much rather be with you, but I’ve got to get to the Hill. I’m running late thanks to the hideous traffic.”

  Reluctantly, Sam sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, gasping when she connected with her injured face. How had she managed to forget about that? She shook off the cobwebs and turned to him. “Thanks for the lift.”

  He studied her with those sharp hazel eyes that never missed a thing where she was concerned. “Feel any better after the nap?”

  “I’m sure I will when I wake up.” She took a look around and n
oticed they were at the morgue entrance. “Was the main entrance crawling with reporters?”

  “Crawling is the right word. Hundreds of them. I knew you wouldn’t be up for that.”

  “I’ve already had my encounter with them for today.” She leaned in to kiss him and gasped when her face throbbed with pain. “Thanks for thinking of that and delivering me to safety.”

  “Any time. Take it easy on yourself this afternoon. You took quite a hit this morning, even if you’re trying to play it down.”

  “I’d tell you not to worry—”

  “But that would be a waste of time.”

  “I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”

  “Yes, you will.”

  Sam braved the pain and treated herself to one last lingering kiss.

  “That was mean.”

  She grinned at him as best she could with only half her face working. “See ya, Senator.” Now fully awake and firing on all cylinders, she got out of the car and jogged through the sizzling heat into the cool dankness of the morgue.

  Lindsey McNamara was coming down the hallway toward Sam. “Hey,” she said, grimacing when she caught sight of Sam’s injured face. “Double ouch.”

  “No biggie. Looks worse than it is. Anything new for me?”

  Lindsey shook her head, making her ponytail swing back and forth. “Not yet. I’m leaning on the lab to get me something on the DNA we found under Victoria’s nails.”

  “Good. Thanks.” Sam started off down the corridor.

  “So I’ll see you tonight? At the fundraiser?”

  Sam turned back to her. “You’re going?”

  Lindsey’s face turned bright red. “Terry asked me to go with him. I hope that’s okay.”

  “Sure it is,” Sam said, annoyed as always when her world collided with her husband’s. With two of her people dating two of his people, it happened far too often. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

  “No reason. I wanted to make sure you were okay with it.”

  “It’s a free country,” Sam said, immediately regretting the snotty comment. “I’m sorry. I’m still trying to figure out how all this works.”

  “All what?”

  “My job, his job, how they connect, how you connect with Terry and how Gonzo connects with Christina. It’s all kinda...messy.”