by Marie Force
“I’m not going to the ER and I’m done talking.”
“You are going to the ER, and we’ve only begun to talk.”
“I don’t want to be with you.”
“Okay.” As if she hadn’t said a word, he grabbed his keys, pulled on a coat, picked her up and carried her to his car in the garage.
Knowing she was no match for him, Shelby went along with it. But the minute she could, she would break free of him. Permanently.
* * *
Gonzo felt like he was having a heart attack as he watched the news unfolding in the city. A police source had named him as the chief suspect in the murder of his son’s mother. The talking heads rehashed the custody battle he’d waged with Lori, picking apart every detail and obsessing about the fact that he hadn’t disclosed his previous connection to the judge.
“Attorneys for Lori Phillips broke the news of the connection between Gonzales and Judge Leon Morton three days ago, and now she’s dead,” the CBC talking head said almost gleefully. “Coincidence or is the man recently hailed a hero actually a cold-blooded killer?”
“Oh my God,” he said as the shock ricocheted through his body, leaving him reeling. Didn’t all his years of impeccable service count for anything?
Christina came into the room.
“Where’s Alex?”
“With your mom. She’s reading him a story and trying to get him to nap.”
“This is totally out of control, Chris. They’re having a field day at my expense. I’m never going to be able to work again in that city if someone doesn’t fix this quickly.”
“We need a lawyer, and we need one now.”
“I’ve tried to call Andy.”
“We need a criminal lawyer. I want to call my brother.”
“I didn’t do anything!”
“Tommy, babe, I know that. You know that. We need to make sure you don’t get railroaded for something you didn’t do.”
“How can this be happening? The cops investigating this case are my friends. They’re like family to me. Why aren’t they saying it’s not true?”
“They probably haven’t had the chance because they’re trying to figure out who really killed her. Let me call Carson.”
“If I bring in a big-time criminal lawyer like him, I may as well declare my guilt at the same time.”
“You need to protect yourself.”
“If I lawyer up, Christina, everyone will think I’m guilty.”
“Baby, they already do! My phone is ringing off the hook.”
“Fuck. This is a motherfucking nightmare. And why the hell isn’t Sam returning my calls?”
“I’m sure she’s doing what she can... Oh, look! She’s making a statement outside HQ.”
Gonzo spun around and nearly fainted from the relief of seeing his boss and friend approaching the microphone.
“I have just a brief statement. This morning, the body of Lori Phillips was found in a parked car near West Potomac Park. Ms. Phillips had been strangled. You are correct in reporting that she is the mother of MPD Detective Sergeant Thomas Gonzales’s young son. You are incorrect in reporting that he is a suspect. I will repeat myself to ensure that you hear me. Thomas Gonzales is not a suspect in the murder of Lori Phillips. Whatever information you may have received from a so-called police source was erroneous. The only police source with credibility on this case is me.”
A bottle blonde from one of the local TV stations asked, “How can you investigate a case that involves one of your own people?”
“Did you just hear me say this case does not include one of my own people?”
“How was Detective Sergeant Gonzales eliminated as a suspect?”
“He has an alibi and is a decorated police officer who was recently grievously injured in the line of duty. In addition, we have a person of interest currently in custody and will have more information in the next few days. In the meantime, if you continue to broadcast and publish Sergeant Gonzales’s name in connection to this case, you’ll be opening yourself to civil litigation. I wouldn’t blame him for suing your asses off. That’ll be it.”
“When does your husband begin work at the White House?”
Sam rolled her eyes at the reporter who’d asked the question and turned away from the reporters to go back inside.
“There,” Christina said. “Do you feel better now?”
Thanks to Sam’s statement he was now able to get air to his lungs. “Yeah. But I won’t really feel better until they catch whoever actually killed her.”
Christina stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Hold on to me, baby. Just hold on to me.”
Her nearness, her affection and her support calmed him. He put his arms around her and did as she requested. She was the only thing holding him together and the only thing he couldn’t live without.
“How will I ever be able to do my job again with people thinking I’m capable of killing someone? I’ve spent my career tracking down killers, and now they think I am one?”
“Let me tell you something I know for sure. The news cycle has a limited lifespan. In a day or two, something else will happen and people will forget all about this.”
“That might be true, but I’ll never forget.” And he’d sure as hell find out which one of his brothers or sisters in the police department had seen fit to point the finger at him.
* * *
While Freddie took Hughes to Central Processing, Sam headed for the detectives’ pit to check in with the rest of her team. The first one she ran into was Gonzo’s partner, Detective Arnold. The young officer approached her tentatively. “It’s not true, is it, Lieutenant? He didn’t kill her, did he?”
“No, he didn’t kill her, but someone wants us to think he did. And I’m starting to think that someone is in this building.”
“Seriously?”
“How else would the press be hearing from a ‘police source’ with information about the investigation?” She released the clip that held her hair, ran her fingers through the length and then resecured it. “Where is everyone?”
“Jeannie and Tyrone tracked down some of Lori’s coworkers, and they went to interview them. Carlucci and Dominguez are with Crime Scene at Lori’s place.”
“Warrant?”
“Yes, ma’am. Captain Malone was able to secure it for them.”
“Excellent.”
“I’m working the phones trying to track down the social worker who oversaw Gonzo’s case. She’s out of town for the holidays, but I left several messages on her phone.”
“Good work. Thanks for the update and keep me posted.” Sam went into her office and did a quick scan of her email, where she found a report from Lindsey detailing the findings of the autopsy. Lori had been manually strangled, but there were no usable prints on her neck. “Of course there weren’t,” Sam muttered. The semen found in Lori’s vagina had been sent out for DNA analysis that would take about forty-eight hours, and Lindsey had included detailed information about the drugs and alcohol found in Lori’s system. No defensive wounds to the victim’s hands, indicating that the fatal attack had possibly taken her by surprise. “Someone she trusted,” Sam deduced. “We need to get closer to her inner circle.”
“Talking to yourself, Lieutenant?” Captain Malone asked as he came into her office.
“Working the case, Captain.”
“What’ve you got?”
“A woman who worked hard to turn her life around found strangled in a parked car belonging to her brother. She had an elevated blood alcohol count and traces of cocaine in her system.”
“So she was off the wagon.”
“Seems that way. And all of this is happening days after she went public about Gonzo’s previous connection to the judge who heard their custody case. Wh
at I want to know is what ‘police source’ is telling the media he’s our prime suspect.”
“We’re looking into that.”
“What did Conklin find out when he talked to Ramsey?”
“Ramsey said he didn’t do it.”
“I don’t believe him. I saw him on the stairs this morning, and he told me to fuck off when I said hello to him. I reported it to Davidson, for all the good that’ll do.”
“What beef does Ramsey have with you?”
“Who knows? I worked with him on the Kavanaugh investigation and have had a couple of other brushes with him, but nothing that would cause him to do something like this. And I don’t believe for a second he had nothing to do with it. We had words this morning, I complained about him to his lieutenant and a couple of hours later my second in command is being accused of murder by an ‘inside source’? You do the math on that one.”
“It does smell fishy. We’ll stay on it. In the meantime, where are we with figuring out who really did it?”
“We’ve got a guy in custody I’m going to talk to as soon as Cruz gets him through Central Booking.” She told him about Hughes, the outstanding warrant on child support charges and the new warrant being processed to search his house for evidence in the Phillips case.
“You’re working with Baltimore on that?”
She nodded. “They’re getting the warrant and are aware that we arrested him.”
“Excellent. I’ll be sure to include ‘plays well with others’ on your evaluation. Speaking of playing well with others, Hill’s Deputy Agent Terrell is here to consult on the case.”
“Why not Hill?”
“Apparently, he had a personal matter to attend to today and was unavailable.”
“Huh, interesting.” Since the only personal life Hill had, that Sam knew of, involved her assistant, she was immediately curious. And then she told herself that his personal business was certainly none of her business. “Where is Terrell?”
“I put him in the conference room until you got back.”
“I’ll bring him up to speed on what we’ve got so far.”
“Thank you for that and for what you’re doing for the chief in the morning.”
Sam almost asked him what he meant and then she remembered promising to make the rounds on TV with the chief. The thought of it made her stomach quiver with nerves. But she’d do it for him. “The bullshit may as well be good for something, right?”
Cruz came to the door. “Hughes has been processed. He’s in Interrogation Two with Beckett watching him.”
“Go see to Elin.”
“Are you sure? I can wait until after we talk to him.”
“Arnold is here and the FBI dude. We got it covered.” To Malone, Sam said, “Detective Cruz’s girlfriend was assaulted this morning at her place of employment.”
“The gym on Sixteenth?” Malone asked.
“Yes, sir.”
“Heard about that. Word is she took one hell of a hit. We got the guy in custody. He’s cooling off downstairs.”
“Go, Cruz. Report in later and let me know how she is.”
“I will, thank you.”
“She’s okay, right?” Sam asked Malone.
“I think so. Officer Andrews is the one who said she took a bad hit, but that’s all he said.”
In a day full of things to worry about, Sam thought, now there was something else.
Chapter Eleven
Freddie rushed out of HQ, pushing through the scrum of reporters still lingering in the courtyard on his way to the parking lot. He wasted no time pulling out of the lot and into traffic on his way to the George Washington Hospital emergency room. On the way, he tried to call Elin, but the call went straight to her voice mail, indicating her phone was probably off or dead.
She was forever forgetting to charge it. He’d bought her a charging case for Christmas, not that she ever used it. The woman drove him crazy in more ways than one, but he loved her anyway. And the thought of her hurt, assaulted... He gripped the wheel tighter in response to the flash of rage that seized him.
It took twenty painful minutes to get to the hospital. He ran into the ER and up to the desk. “Detective Cruz, Metro PD.” He flashed his badge to the receptionist. “My girlfriend, Elin Svendsen, was brought in by EMS.”
“Let me check with the nurses to see where she is. Have a seat, and I’ll let you know.”
“I’m not going to have a seat. I want to see her. She wants me with her.”
“Hang on just a minute, Detective.”
Sam had taught him to dislike receptionists, but he’d never disliked one more than the woman who stood between him and Elin. He shot off a text to Elin. I’m out here. Tell them to let me in.
He had no idea if she’d get the text or if her phone was even on.
While he paced in front of the reception desk, waiting for permission to go to Elin, he was stunned to see Avery Hill and Shelby Faircloth emerge from the treatment area.
“Hey,” he said to Hill, who seemed distracted and maybe upset about something.
“Oh, hi,” Hill said. “What’re you doing here? Did Sam get hurt again?”
“No, my girlfriend, Elin, took a hit to the face at work today.”
“Is she okay?” Shelby asked.
“I think so. I haven’t seen her yet.” In a quick glance, Freddie noted Shelby’s red, puffy eyes, the torn tights and bandaged knees. “Are you okay?”
“I will be. Took a fall on the sidewalk and messed up my knees.”
“Sorry to hear that,” Freddie said, surprised to hear that skinned knees had brought her to the ER.
“I’m going to get Shelby home,” Hill said.
“I hope you feel better,” Freddie said.
“Thanks,” Shelby said with a small smile that didn’t reach her eyes. Something was definitely amiss.
They walked away—slowly—and disappeared through the automatic doors. Freddie pulled out his phone and dashed off a quick text to Sam. Just saw Hill and Shelby at GW ER. She said she fell and busted up her knees. Seemed like maybe something more going on, but they didn’t say. Thought you’d want to know.
Sam wrote right back. Thanks. How’s Elin.
Still waiting to be allowed back. About to flip out on receptionist.
That’s my boy. Go get em tiger. Let me know how she is later.
Will do.
The harried receptionist came back out. “Right this way, Detective.”
Freddie stashed the phone and followed the woman, his heart beating fast as he prepared himself to see Elin and her injuries. But all the preparation in the world couldn’t have readied him for the sight of her swollen face, the huge bruises, the cut and swollen lip. She was attached to an IV and several monitors. Blinking back tears, he rushed to her side. “Baby, I’m here,” he said as he kissed her forehead.
She came awake slowly, moaning as she tried to find a comfortable position.
“Don’t try to move.”
“Freddie...”
“Yeah, honey, it’s me. I’m right here. Sorry it took me so long to get here.”
She reached for his hand and held on tight. “S’okay. You were working.”
“What’re the doctors saying?”
“I have broken bones in my face. They want to keep me overnight. They’re waiting for a room upstairs.”
Freddie’s entire body went rigid with rage at the words broken bones. “Who did this to you?”
“There was a fight at the gym.”
“Did you know the guy who hit you?”
She looked up at him with those iridescent blue eyes that had slayed him from the first time he ever saw her during the O’Connor investigation. “Yeah, I know him.”
“Do y
ou feel up to telling me what happened?”
“You’re going to be mad at me,” she said, her eyes filling with tears.
Freddie brushed the white-blond hair back from her forehead. “I won’t be mad.”
“Yes, you will.”
“Baby, I love you. There’s nothing you could tell me that would change that.” Though he said what she needed to hear, he was deeply fearful of what she had to tell him. Had she been unfaithful? He could handle just about anything except for that. That... That would kill him.
She began to cry in earnest, tears spilling down her cheeks. “I thought I could handle it on my own.”
“Handle what?”
“This guy at the gym who was hassling me.”
“A guy at the gym was hassling you.” It took every bit of self-control Freddie could muster to keep from losing his shit at that news. “For how long?”
“Awhile now.”
“And you never told your boyfriend, who happens to be a cop, about this?”
“I was handling it.”
“Elin...” Freddie took her into his arms—carefully, so as not to hurt her. “Why would you try to handle something like this on your own when you don’t have to anymore?” He wanted to weep at the thought of her being so deeply troubled by something and not asking for his help. “Don’t you know you’ve got your own personal cop in your bed who would do anything for you?”
She was sobbing now, the tears leaving wet spots on her hospital gown.
Freddie took a tissue from a box on a table next to the bed and worked carefully to dry her face. “Tell me everything. Don’t leave anything out.”
“I’m afraid to.”
“Why, honey?”
“I don’t want you to go after him and get yourself in trouble. That’s why I didn’t tell you. I was afraid for you.”
“I won’t get in trouble. I promise. Now tell me.”
She let out a sigh and settled into her pillow, wincing at the small movement. “His name is Andre and he joined the gym about a month ago.”
