by Marie Force
“Is it the same guy who killed the other women?” Darren Tabor asked.
“We’re waiting on the lab to tell us that.”
“So he did leave DNA on the detective?”
“No comment.”
“What do you mean no comment? Either he left DNA or he didn’t. Which is it?”
Sam turned a frosty stare his way. “No. Comment. Need me to spell that for you, Darren?”
“How close are you to a suspect?” another reporter asked.
“Not as close as I’d like to be, but we’re following every lead and one of them will be the one that closes this case. He’s got a mob of angry cops looking for him, that’s for sure.”
“Where did Senator Cappuano fly off to so early this morning?” Tabor asked.
“That’s it,” Sam said. “We’re done.”
Chapter 18
Sam entered Jeannie’s room a short time later to find her sleeping. Her face was swollen and the bruises had darkened to a deep purple overnight.
Michael was standing in front of the window, staring outside. When Sam came in, he turned to her, his face a study of exhaustion, worry and sadness.
“How is she?” Sam asked.
“They gave her a sedative a couple of hours ago, and she’s been sleeping ever since.”
“If you want to get something to eat, I’ll be here for a while.”
Seeming torn, he glanced at the bed and then at Sam.
“You’re no good to her if you get sick,” Sam said.
“I’m sensing there was more to this attack than anyone is telling me.”
Sam worked at keeping her expression neutral. “What matters right now is getting her back on her feet and out of here.”
“Would you tell me? If there was more to it than a kidnapping and beating?”
“No.”
He took a moment to absorb that. “I guess I can understand that.” Looking at Jeannie, he said, “I hope she knows I love her, and I’d do anything for her.”
“I have no doubt that’ll make all the difference to her. Go on and get something to eat. I’ll sit with her.”
“She speaks so highly of you. I can see why.”
“Thanks,” Sam said, taken aback by the compliment. “That’s nice to hear.”
“I’ll be back. Shortly.”
“I’ll be here.”
Michael leaned over to kiss Jeannie’s forehead before he left the room.
Sam stepped up to her bedside.
“Thanks,” Jeannie whispered, her eyes still closed. “For not telling him.”
“Not my place to tell him anything. That’s up to you.”
Tears leaked from Jeannie’s closed eyes. “I can’t imagine telling him. Telling anyone…”
“You don’t have to think about that right now.” Sam placed a comforting hand over Jeannie’s. “Can I do anything for you?”
“I’d love some water.”
Sam poured some from the pitcher on the bedside table and held the straw up to Jeannie’s cracked lips.
She winced as she took a sip. “Everything hurts today.”
“I can only imagine.”
“You need to know what happened. That’s why you’re here.”
“That’s not the only reason I’m here.”
“You need to know. For the case.”
“Only if you feel up to talking about it.”
Jeannie’s face tightened with pain as she tried to sit up.
Pressing the button on the hospital bed took Sam right back to the grim days following her father’s shooting and all the hours she’d spent by his bedside. “Is that okay?”
“Yeah,” Jeannie said. Grimacing, she reached for a device tied to the bed rail and pressed the big red button. “Pain meds.”
“We can do this later if you want.”
“I’d rather get it over with.”
Sam tried to be subtle when she reached for the notebook in her back pocket. “You said the last thing you remembered was a prick to your neck?”
“Yes. I was about two blocks from Michael’s house.” She gave Sam the Foggy Bottom address. “There’s never anywhere to park near Eye Street, so I usually walk a short distance.”
“Do you remember anything about who was on the street with you?”
Jeannie shook her head. “I was in a rush because Michael only has so much time before he has to be at work. I wasn’t paying much attention, to be honest. I was thinking about seeing him.”
“I can understand that. He seems quite devoted to you.”
“He is,” she said softly. “Although after this…”
“Jeannie, he loves you. This won’t change anything for him.”
New tears rolled down the other woman’s cheeks. “I guess we’ll see, won’t we?” She carefully wiped her sore face and seemed to be summoning the fortitude to continue her story. “The last thing I remember is someone bumping into me from behind and then the needle in my neck. Everything went dark.”
“And when you came to? Can you describe where you were?”
Jeannie closed her eyes. “In a room with just a bed. The walls were yellow and there was a small window. They had…he had…my clothes. They were gone and I was tied to the bed. I was shaking so hard, and I remember I had to pee desperately. I started screaming. I screamed until my throat hurt, but no one came for the longest time.”
Sam wondered if her abductor had been out moving her car from Foggy Bottom to the Capitol Mall area. “How long do you think you were awake before he returned?”
“An hour. Maybe two. It was really cold in the room, and I was freezing with no clothes. Between that and the fear, I was shaking like a leaf.”
Sam had taken a lot of victim statements in the course of her twelve-year career, but this had to be one of the more excruciating. She forced herself to stay focused on Jeannie and getting her through this as quickly as possible. “What happened then?”
“I heard a key in the door.”
“Did it sound like a padlock or a deadbolt or something else?”
“A deadbolt. Definitely. He…” She took a deep breath. “He came into the room wearing a ski mask over his face, but I could see his eyes.” Shuddering from the memory, Jeannie began to breath faster. “They were dark and mean. I could see there were some lines at the corners, so I don’t think he was young.”
“Can you describe his build?”
“Tall. Six feet, maybe a little more. Broad shoulders. Bulky muscles, like he spent a lot of time at the gym.”
“How about race?”
“White.”
“Did he say anything?”
“No,” Jeannie whispered. “He just started taking off his clothes. I was crying and begging him to let me go, but he never said a word as he took off everything but the ski mask.”
“Can you describe his body at all? Any scars, tattoos, distinguishing marks?”
“He had a lot of gray in his chest hair and some scratches on his neck, but I can’t say I noticed anything else.”
“What happened next?”
Blinded by tears, Jeannie used her free hand to wipe them away. “He…he got on the bed.” Sobs wracked Jeannie’s body.
Sam started to get up, but Jeannie held up her hand to stop her. She took a moment to get herself together. “I asked him why he was doing this. What had I done to him? He just laughed.” Sniffing and wiping her face frantically, she focused on a point on the far wall. “And then he…he started to rape me. I screamed for him to stop and he hit me in the face. Twice. I think I blacked out for a short time. When I came to he was…inside me. I tried to fight him off, but I couldn’t move because I was tied to the bed. I bit his shoulder, and he hit me again.”
“Take a minute,” Sam said, her own hands shaking.
“After he was…done…he grabbed my throat and started to squeeze. He got really close to my ear and said, ‘Tell your boss to back off on the dead whores, or she’ll be next.’”
A shudder rippled t
hrough Sam. This case was rattling her in a way that not many did.
“I really think he meant it, Lieutenant. You have to be careful.”
“Don’t worry about me. Just focus on what you need right now.” Sam tapped her pen against the pad. “Did he have any kind of accent or dialect that stood out to you?”
“Not that I noticed.”
“What happened after he said that?”
“He raped me again. It just seemed to go on forever. I was crying and screaming the whole time. I thought it would never end. At some point, I lost consciousness again. He might’ve given me something.”
“But you don’t remember him giving you a shot?”
She shook her head. “The next thing I knew I was in the ambulance with you.”
“How did you break your wrist?”
“I assume it happened when he dumped me in the alley. It wasn’t broken yet when we were in that room.”
“How about your throat?”
“I don’t know when that happened. I assume it was after I was knocked out because I didn’t feel it.”
Sam reached up to squeeze her detective’s arm. “You did great. You gave me a lot to work with.”
“I didn’t give you much.”
“It could be enough to break this case wide-open.”
“What if we never get him? How will I ever walk down a street again without worrying about who is behind me?”
“We’ll get him,” Sam assured her. “The entire department is out looking for him. I wouldn’t want to be him right now.”
“He won’t care that we’re all looking for him,” Jeannie said.
“Why do you say that?”
“He thinks he’s above the law. That’s the only reason he’d be so brazen as to grab and assault a cop.”
“Lindsey said the same thing.” Sam’s cell phone chimed. A text from Gonzo reported the cell phone records were being transmitted. She passed the information along to Jeannie.
“Took them long enough,” Jeannie said.
“No kidding. I was hoping it would be Nick. He flew out to Cleveland this morning. I need to know he got there okay.”
Against all odds, Jeannie chuckled. “Your fear of flying extends to other people’s flights too?”
Chagrined but encouraged by Jeannie’s lighthearted reply, Sam smiled at her. “Yep.”
“What’s in Cleveland?”
“His deadbeat mother. She’s in the hospital and somehow didn’t have anyone else to call but the son she hasn’t seen in five years who recently came into a truckload of money.”
Jeannie winced. “Ouch.”
“I’m worried this’ll go badly for him. After everything with John and Julian…”
“He doesn’t need any more right now.”
“No,” Sam said. “Sorry. I shouldn’t be dumping my worries on you.”
“Don’t be sorry. It’s nice to think about something besides my own problems for a minute. And besides, after what we went through together yesterday, I’d like to think that maybe we crossed the threshold from great colleagues to good friends.”
Sam leaned over the bed to carefully hug the other woman. “Definitely,” she whispered, caught off guard by a rush of emotion. “Call me if you remember anything else or if you need anything at all. Day or night.”
“I will. Thanks.”
“We’ll get you through this, Jeannie. I promise.”
As tears swam in her eyes, Jeannie nodded.
“I’ll be back later.”
“I’ll be here—at least until tomorrow the doctor said.”
Sam stepped into the hallway and found Michael leaning against the wall.
He straightened when he saw her. “I figured you two needed a few minutes to be cops.”
“We did, thanks.”
“I want to know what happened to her, but I’m not sure I can hear it, you know?”
“What she needs right now is to know that you’re here, you love her and that no matter what happened to her it won’t change anything between the two of you.”
“It won’t.”
“Keep telling her that. It’s what she needs to hear.”
He nodded. “Thanks.” Seeming to fortify himself to be strong for Jeannie, he went back into the room.
As Sam watched him go, she didn’t envy the long road they had ahead of them as Jeannie recovered from the trauma of her attack. But Sam was more optimistic today than she’d been last night that Jeannie would bounce back.
Eventually.
The minute the plane touched down Nick powered up his phone to send Sam a text, knowing how she worried when anyone she loved was in the air. Before he could finish composing his message to her, the phone beeped with an incoming message.
Tell your girlfriend to back off before she gets hurt.
Nick sat up straighter in the seat and fumbled with the phone, looking for the sender’s number, which was unavailable. He immediately called Sam.
“Hey,” she said. “Did you get there?”
“Babe,” he said, filled with relief at the sound of her voice. “I got a text.” He relayed the message.
“Damn it,” she muttered. “How did he get your number? Unless it’s someone you know who would already have it.”
“Sam! I don’t give a shit how he got my number! What are you going to do about the threat he made against you?”
“I’ve got a tail assigned to me, so don’t worry.”
“Which means this isn’t the first threat.” He gritted his teeth. “You’d better start talking, Lieutenant. Right now.”
“You’ve got enough to deal with today with your mom. I’ll tell you about it when you get back.”
“Samantha, I’m not ending this call until you tell me what the hell is going on.”
“McBride came back with a message for me. Similar to the one you received.”
Nick closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the seat as the plane taxied to the gate. “I never would’ve come here if I’d known that.”
“There’s nothing you can do that’s not being done. Farnsworth put a tail on me.”
“Which I’m sure you objected to.”
“It’s ridiculous! I don’t need two patrolmen following me around like I can’t take care of myself.”
“Samantha, I swear to God, you’re to do exactly what they tell you to do or you’ll answer to me.”
“Oh boy,” she said. “I love when you get all bossy with me like that. It makes me hot.”
“I’m not joking!” he said loudly enough that the people sitting near him on the plane turned to look at him. He lowered his voice. “This isn’t funny. He’s already abducted and done God knows what to one of your detectives. Don’t you dare be so cocky as to think he can’t get to you too.”
“I’m not being cocky, don’t worry.”
“Don’t worry. Right.”
“Can I have permission to dump your cell phone? We might be able to trace the source of the text.”
“Whatever you have to do.”
“Try not to worry. We’re taking every precaution.”
His mind immediately went to the recent day when he’d been absolutely certain she’d been shot in Clarence Reese’s house. In fact, it had been Freddie who’d been shot. Shuddering from the memory, he said, “Not every precaution. If I had my way you’d be locked up somewhere until this freak is found.”
“I’m okay, Nick. I’ll continue to be okay. Focus on your mother and what you’re there to do today. I’ll be waiting for you when you get home.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
“I’m not even going to tell you to be careful.”
“I always am. You know that.”
“I’m counting on it.”
“Let me know how it goes with your mother.”
“I’ll call you when I’m back at the airport.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
“Don’t let anything happen to my fiancée,” he
said gruffly. “I love her very much.”
“She loves you too. I’ll talk to you later.”
Nick followed the stream of people off the plane. Once inside the terminal, he called Skip Holland. When Celia put him on the phone, Nick said, “I thought you should know that the guy who grabbed McBride threatened Sam.”
Sam would be pissed with him for alerting her father, but Nick had no doubt Skip would make sure the cops were doing everything they could to protect her.
Chapter 19
In the cab to the hospital, Nick tried to brace himself to see his mother, to expect that nothing would have changed since the last time, to accept once again that she would never be the mother he’d yearned for all his life. He hated the way thoughts of her took him right back to that tiny apartment he’d shared with a grandmother made bitter by the unwanted responsibility of raising her son’s child. His grandmother used to love to remind him of what a good-for-nothing bitch had given birth to him and then saddled her with “the kid.”
So many times his mother had called to arrange visits that never materialized. As often as she’d disappointed him, though, he never stopped hoping she’d change, even if she’d rarely given him any reason to hope. He’d worked long and hard to build a life for himself that wasn’t based on bitterness and disappointment. Seeing his mother set him back like nothing else ever could. It had happened before and would happen again if he wasn’t careful.
This time, he was determined not to let her rip him to shreds. He was a grown man, about to marry the love of his life and inherit a family of in-laws he liked and respected. He had great friends and colleagues, was closer to his father than he’d ever been and he still had John’s family, which considered him one of their own. Keeping all those positives in mind, Nick stepped into the elevator.
As he approached her room, the doctor stepped out. “Senator Cappuano?”
“Yes,” Nick said, extending a hand. “How is she?”
The doctor shook his hand. “Anxious to see you. I told her you were on your way.”
Hearing she was anxious to see him put Nick immediately on guard. To his knowledge, she’d ever been anxious to see him in his entire life. At least not that he could recall. Sam’s warning echoed through his mind. He’d be wise to keep that guard up.
