Fatal Deception

by Marie Force

  “Maybe it’s time to let it go and move on. What happened between us was a long time ago. And you’ve spent enough time married by now to know it takes two people to make a marriage work, and it takes two people to mess it up. I wasn’t entirely blameless.”

  Sam tried to imagine what it would be like to have Nick taking care of a murdered friend’s wife for whom he had obvious tender feelings. For the first time, she could see that it hadn’t always been easy for her mother to be married to Skip. “I’ll think about it.” Sam got up and kissed his forehead. “I’ve got to get back to HQ. I’ve got a couple of Arnie Patterson’s flunkies sitting on ice waiting for the lawyers the Pattersons aren’t sending.”

  Skip’s mouth fell open in shock. “The Kavanaugh murder is tied to Patterson?”

  “Yep, and I’ve got the lackeys screwed, glued and tattooed. Still hoping to nail Patterson and his sons too, but that’s not a sure thing by any stretch. Either way, it’ll fuck up his campaign. How do you like them apples?”

  “Holy shit. This is gonna be huge!”

  Sam smiled. “Malone said it’s always huge when I’m involved.”

  “That’s my kid.” Skip’s eyes danced with delight. “I’m so freaking proud of you, Samantha Holland Cappuano.” In a whisper, he added, “So freaking proud.”

  Blinking back tears, she bent to kiss his forehead. “That means everything to me, Dad. Everything.”

  He grinned at her as best he could with one side of his face paralyzed from the stroke he’d suffered after he was shot.

  “Let me go see what my husband has done with your wife.” In the hallway, Sam saw Nick standing with Celia by the elevators. They were engaged in an animated conversation, and Sam’s insides melted a little when Nick tossed his head back and laughed at something Celia said. God, she loved him so damned much.

  He caught sight of her and smiled.

  She signaled for him to bring Celia back.

  When they strolled over to her, Sam hugged Celia. “Congrats, Granny.”

  “Thanks, Sam. I couldn’t be more excited if little Ella were my own granddaughter.”

  “Of course she’s your granddaughter. Don’t be silly.”

  “That’s sweet of you to say. Did you and your dad kiss and make up?”

  “Yes, we did.”

  “Oh, good,” she said. “He suffers so terribly when you two are at odds.”

  “I can hear you, Celia,” Skip said as he rolled his chair into the hallway to join them.

  Celia flashed him a saucy grin. “I only speak the truth, my dear.”

  “We’ve got to get going,” Sam said. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “See you then,” her dad said.

  When Nick tossed an arm around her, Sam leaned into his embrace.

  “Everything okay?” he asked.

  As the familiar scent of him surrounded and comforted her, Sam realized she’d gotten through a difficult hour in large part because of the strength she drew from his love. “Everything is perfect.”

  “Good.”

  “I need to stop at HQ very briefly, and then I’m all yours until seven o’clock tomorrow morning.”

  “Oh, I like the sound of that. As I recall, we have an important conversation to finish.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  As they stepped into the elevator, he slapped her lightly on the ass. “Liar.”

  Even as she tried to form a protest, every nerve ending in Sam’s body was tuned in to the spot where his hand had connected to her flesh.

  “Mmm,” he said, nuzzling her neck. “This is gonna be so hot.”

  Sam reached for him at the same instant he reached for her, his hands seeming to touch her everywhere at once, inflaming her to the point of combustion. She wanted to kiss him so badly she burned with the need, but her face was still too sore.

  “God, I miss kissing you,” he whispered harshly as he cupped her breasts and pinched her nipples until they were hard and throbbing.

  She squeezed his cock and made him groan. “Me too.”

  When the elevator dinged to indicate their arrival in the lobby, they broke apart. Breathing hard, they stared at each other, equally dazzled by the power of their desire. “We probably gave the hospital security guys one hell of a show.” It appalled her that she hadn’t considered that before the grope session.

  He grabbed her hand and all but dragged her off the elevator. “The stop at HQ had better be very quick, you got me?”

  “Yeah,” Sam said, rattled and undone to realize she loved dominant Nick as much as she loved sweet, tender Nick. “I got you.”

  * * *

  Because it was too hot to wait outside, Nick came into HQ with her. As they made their way to the pit, Captain Malone waylaid them. “Lieutenant, the lab report is back with a match for Jerry Smith’s DNA with the skin found under Victoria’s nails.”

  “Yes,” Sam said, pumping her fist. “Fan-fucking-tastic!”

  Smiling at her choice of words, Malone said, “We’ll be filing formal murder charges in the morning.”

  “You can add kidnapping to the charges against Smith,” Hill said as he joined them. “I tracked down two associates of Bobby Ray’s who’ll testify that they met Smith in a bar, and when Smith said he had a kid who needed to be watched, Bobby mentioned his mother.”

  “Excellent,” Sam said, feeling positively giddy as all their ducks lined up into a neat little row. “With that testimony, we won’t even need forensics to tie Jerry to Bobby’s murder.”

  “I was thinking the same thing,” Hill said. “Why do you think they didn’t kill Maeve too?”

  “Maybe even scumbags like Jerry Smith have scruples when it comes to defenseless kids.”

  “Maybe so. Great work, Lieutenant. You called the Patterson connection, and you were spot-on.”

  “Thanks,” Sam said, unnerved by the praise coming from a man who admired her in more ways than one, especially with her husband standing right next to her. No doubt he’d have something to say about Hill handing out compliments, but she didn’t have time to worry about that now.

  “What do you say we move our guests to their accommodations for the evening?” Like Gonzo had been earlier, Sam was tuned in to how much fun her job could be at times like this when they had their suspects nailed from every possible direction, and everyone knew it—except for the suspects.

  “What’s your plan, Lieutenant?” Malone asked, looking a little gleeful himself.

  “We’re going to house Jerry and Porter together for the evening. Cruz set up manned surveillance. We’re hoping one of them will be stupid enough to speak freely. My money is on Jerry.”

  “Remind them of their rights,” Malone said.

  “I’ll do it when I get them in the cell, so it’ll be recorded.”

  “Good,” Malone said. “Try not to enjoy this too much.”

  “Why not?” Sam asked with a cheeky grin she instantly regretted. “How often do we get to have genuine fun on this job? Did you hear Porter pissed himself?”

  Hill laughed at that news.

  “Sure did,” Malone said with a chuckle. “Beckett has been bitching about the stink all night.”

  “Let’s go rescue him,” Sam said, heading for the pit. She was dismayed to find Lieutenant Stahl skulking around the nearly deserted area. “What’re you doing in here?”

  “I was cutting through, not that it’s any of your business. And speaking of your business, the department counsel tells me she can’t get five minutes of your time.”

  “She’ll get my time when I close the Kavanaugh case and not before. What business is it of yours, anyway?”

  “Everything is my business, Lieutenant.” His beady eyes narrowed as he spoke, making Sam’s skin crawl.

  “Step aside,” she said. “I have work to do.”

  “What’s he doing here?” Stahl asked, nodding to Nick. “He’s not authorized to be back here.”

  “He’s authorized to be a
nywhere that I say he’s authorized to be, so fuck off and let me do my job.”

  His face turned the shade of purple that Sam had become accustomed to from him. “You need to watch yourself, young lady. That is no way to speak to a superior officer.”

  “So put me up on charges. You don’t seem to have anything else to do with your free time.”

  “I might do that.”

  “Fine. Now move so I can get to work.”

  Stahl glowered at her for a good long time before he waddled off to bother someone else.

  “Jesus,” Nick said. “Is he always so pleasant?”

  “That was actually one of our friendlier exchanges.”

  “I hate to think you have such formidable enemies here.”

  “It’s only him, and he’s hardly as formidable as he thinks he is.” She unlocked her office. “You can wait in here, but by all means please resist the urge to clean.”

  “I’m unable to resist that urge.” He patted her bum. “And a few others, so you’d better hurry up before my urges get the better of me.”

  “Stop it,” she growled, giving him a little shove. “Don’t get my motor running here, for Christ’s sake.”

  “Urges. I have them. I need you to control them.”

  “Stay,” she said. “Don’t clean. I’ll be right back.”

  “Hurry.”

  She told herself she was hurrying because she wanted to, not because he’d all but ordered her to. She didn’t take orders from anyone, except her higher-ups in the department, and only when absolutely necessary. Why, then, did the thought of Nick bossing her around in bed make her so hot her skin felt like it was on fire? She shook her head to rid it of salacious thoughts. No time for that now.

  Stepping into interrogation room two, she nearly gagged at the stench that greeted her. Porter was pacing back and forth like a caged animal. When she entered, he stopped and turned to her. “I hope you’re prepared for one hell of a lawsuit, madam.”

  “You can call me Lieutenant, Mr. Gillespie, and on what grounds do you plan to sue the department?”

  “Police brutality! I was hauled out of my home, humiliated in front of the media, strip-searched and held here like a common criminal for hours!”

  “And what part of that was brutal? I’m not seeing it.”

  He stared at her as if she was insane, and the wild look in his eyes had her wondering if he was having some sort of breakdown. “All of it!”

  “Mr. Gillespie,” Sam said in her best condescending tone, “I realize that being a criminal is all new to you, but everything you’ve experienced is common procedure. If the first words out a suspect’s mouth are ‘I want a lawyer,’ then our hands are tied until the lawyer shows up. Suspects being charged with felonies are strip-searched as a matter of procedure, and we can’t control where the media chooses to camp out on public premises. So I’m afraid your lawyer, if he or she ever gets here, will agree that you have no case against us. I’m sure he or she will be far more concerned about the accessory to murder and kidnapping charges, and you should be too.”

  “I will tell you the same thing I told that other officer who dragged me in here—I had nothing to do with any murder or kidnapping.”

  “We’ll be happy to discuss that with you when your lawyer arrives. Any idea when that might be?”

  Porter glowered at her. “No.”

  “Were you permitted to make a phone call?”

  “I was offered it, but I chose to wait.”

  “Would you care to make that call now?”

  “Yeah, I guess. I can’t imagine what’s taking so long.”

  Sam nodded to Beckett, who left the room and returned a minute later with a phone that he plugged into a wall jack. He pushed the speaker button and got an outside line before he gestured for Gillespie to make his call.

  He glanced at Sam. “I have a right to privacy.”

  “Of course you do. We’ll wait right outside. Make it snappy.”

  Sam and Beckett joined Hill and Malone in the observation room where they watched the fury and indignation roll off Porter in waves as he punched out the number from memory. The phone rang and rang until voice mail picked up. “This is Colton Patterson. I can’t take your call right now. Please leave a message, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks, and have a great day.”

  “Colton,” Porter said with a hysterical edge to his voice, “where the hell is the lawyer? I’ve been here for hours! Send him over here, and tell him to bring me a change of clothes. Cam can get them. Hurry up, will you?” He punched the off button.

  Beckett unplugged the phone and removed it from the room.

  “Unfortunately, we need this room for other matters, so we’ll be moving you to a cell in the city jail shortly.”

  “I have to stay here? Overnight?”

  “Until your lawyer arrives, everything is on hold.” She checked her watch. “Since it’s now eight p.m. with no sign of the lawyer, I’m guessing this’ll be going into tomorrow.”

  “When will I get to leave?”

  “Depends on when the lawyer shows up and whether the judge approves bail, but I’ll warn you that’s highly unlikely in light of the charges.” Sam watched as it settled on him that he might be in jail for quite some time. “Officer Beckett will escort you to your cell.”

  “You won’t get away with this,” Gillespie spat at her as she turned to leave.

  “Neither will you,” Sam said, leaving him with her most charming smile, even though the pain nearly made her faint. The agony was well worth the blatant fear that replaced the arrogance on his smug face.

  “God, that was fun,” she said to Malone and Hill as they stepped out of the observation room.

  “Nothing quite like taking a pompous ass down a few pegs,” Hill said.

  “Exactly,” Sam said. To Beckett, she said, “Get Gillespie and Smith settled in the cell that Cruz designated for surveillance earlier and let me know when they’re there.”

  “Yes, ma’am, Lieutenant.”

  Since she had a few minutes, she wandered back to her office, checking the voice mail on her cell phone as she went. One of them was from Cruz. “Sam, I have the info you wanted me to get on Gibson. Give me a call when you get this message.” Sam exited out of voice mail and returned the call. “Hey,” she said when he answered. “What’ve you got?”

  “Hi.” He sounded sleepy and dopey, the way he often did since he’d been living with Elin. Sam rolled her eyes to high heaven. “I did a little digging into the Gibson situation. It was tough to find out anything because of the privacy laws, but I went over to see if one of the nurses could be charmed.”

  “And of course she swooned at the sight of you.”

  “Naturally.”

  Sam laughed. “And?”

  “And he’s going to be fine. He didn’t take enough of whatever he took to kill himself. She said it seemed more like an attention-getting scheme. So I’d say you did the right thing to stay away. You would’ve been giving him exactly what he wanted if you’d gone over there.”

  As she listened, she went into her office where Nick had his feet on the desk, his hands crossed on his belly and his eyes closed. She wondered if he was asleep, but the second she crossed the threshold, he opened his eyes. Her gaze met his in a flashpoint of awareness that arced between them like an electrical charge. They’d always had a crazy attraction to each other, from the first night they met, but this was something all new and even crazier than what she was used to.

  Apparently, he felt the charge too, because he sat up a little straighter in the chair and dropped his feet to the floor. “Done?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “Thanks for the info, Freddie. I really appreciate you doing that.”

  “No problem. How’s Angela?”

  “She’s great. She’s got a gorgeous new daughter named Ella.”

  “That’s awesome. How are you?”

  “I’m good,” she said, touched by his concern. “I’ll see you
in the morning.” Putting the phone in her pocket, she went around the desk and rested against it, facing her husband. “Cruz found out that Gibson survived the fake suicide attempt. The nurse said it seemed like an attention-getting scheme. In other words, typical Peter.”

  “Do you feel better now that you know?”

  She nodded. “I hope you understand—I only asked Freddie to look into it because I wanted to know if he was dead or alive. That’s it.”

  “Sam, honey, I know you don’t have feelings for him. How could you after all the shit he’s pulled on you—on both of us? He took six years away from us, not to mention everything he took from you.”

  “It threw me when he listed me as his next of kin and wrote me a letter and all that.”

  “Of course it did. You wouldn’t be human—you wouldn’t be you—if it didn’t. But now you know it was more of the same, so don’t give it another thought.”

  She reached for his hand and linked their fingers. “I won’t.”

  “I hate how you have so many things in your life that cause you angst. How you manage to stay so balanced and sane is amazing to me.”

  “Am I balanced and sane?”

  “Extremely.”

  A knock on the door had her dropping his hand and turning to face the doorway.

  “They’re in the cell, Lieutenant.”

  “Thanks, Beckett. Sorry you had to spend your entire tour babysitting stinky pants.”

  “It was pretty gross,” he said, grimacing. The young man was in his first year on the job. “I had no idea pee could smell that bad.”

  “Welcome to police work, where the offensive aromas never end.”

  “Good to know,” Beckett said with a smile. “See you tomorrow.”

  To Nick, she said, “Five more minutes, Senator, and then I’m all yours.”

  “Get to it. I’m running out of patience. It’s time for you to take your punishment for making me wait all day for you and your idea of funny text messages, not to mention having to stand by silently while you receive compliments from your not-so-secret admirer.”

  Sam’s mouth fell open and then snapped shut, making her gasp from the pain. Astounded by the game they were suddenly playing, she bit back the snotty retort that was sitting on the tip of her tongue, aware of him watching her as she walked away. The rational, feminist side of her said she really shouldn’t let him get away with a statement like that, but the other side of her, the side that was ridiculously turned on by their game, told the rational side to shut the hell up. She couldn’t deny she was painfully curious to see where this night might lead.