Fatal Fraud: A Fatal Series Novel

by Marie Force

  “Just over two years ago. He got ‘reorganized’ out of a job after thirty years with his firm.”

  “Huh, isn’t that around the time that the Feds allege Ginny’s scheme began?”

  “Right around then.”

  Sam consulted her notes. “He was an estate attorney.”

  “Right.”

  “How does a guy his age in that profession get reorganized out of a job? Wouldn’t he be a partner in his firm by then?”

  “In most cases. He never achieved partner status. It was something that made him—and Ginny—bitter. They sued his firm when they let him go, but it didn’t go anywhere.”

  “He told me she had a gambling addiction.”

  “No, she didn’t.”

  “You’re sure of that?”

  “One hundred percent sure. She never gambled in her life. Ginny liked money—gathering it, having it, spending it. No way she’d ever gamble it. That wasn’t her nature at all.”

  Now Sam knew Ken Sr. and Mandi had both lied to her. That was enough to charge them with impeding her investigation, which would buy her time to figure out the rest of what they’d lied about. She had a feeling there’d be additional charges coming their way.

  “Thank you for your time, Ms. Milton. This has been very helpful.”

  “Do you know who killed my sister, Lieutenant?”

  “I’m not completely sure yet, but we’re getting closer.”

  “Will you let me know when you do?”

  “I’ll do that. If you think of anything else that might be relevant, please call me back on this number.”

  “I will.”

  “Thanks again.” Sam ended the call with the usual satisfying slap of her flip phone and sat back to ponder what she’d learned from Janet. Then she picked up the phone on her desk and put through a call to Patrol, trying to remember who had taken Hernandez’s place after his arrest. She had no idea.

  “Patrol. Officer Baker.”

  “This is Lieutenant Holland. Could you please ask someone to pick up Kenneth McLeod at his brother’s home in Chevy Chase?” Sam recited the address. “He’s apt to be confrontational, but I don’t expect him to be armed or dangerous. Read him his rights and tell him he’s being charged with interfering in a homicide investigation.”

  “Yes, ma’am. We’ll get right on it.”

  “Thank you.”

  Sam hung up and thought it through from every angle. The call to Janet had been illuminating in more ways than one. Not only did she know for sure that Mandi and Ken Sr. had lied to her, she also knew Ken Jr. was most likely innocent of any involvement in his mother’s death. She just needed Archie to confirm that for her.

  An hour later, the man himself appeared at her door. “I’ve got the cell phone data you requested.”

  “Gimme,” Sam said.

  He handed over several pages that had names on the top. “I did the daughter, the son, the husband and Ginny’s phone too.”

  “Perfect, Archie. Thanks.” As Sam tried to read what was written on the page, the words swam before her eyes into a mixed-up jumble of letters and numbers. Goddamned dyslexia reared its ugly head at the worst possible times. She glanced up at Lieutenant Archelotta. “Give me the gist?”

  “Sure, no problem. I could find no record of a call from Ken Jr.’s phone to his sister’s on Sunday afternoon. His phone only shows pings from his home and a nearby park on Sunday.”

  Wow, Sam thought. So much for Mandi’s efforts to pin the murder on her brother.

  “There was a two-minute call from Ken Sr. to Mandi that was made at one twenty. She was at school when she received the call.”

  “And where was he when he made it?”

  “At his house.”

  “And not on the golf course like he told us. Hot damn. That means not only did he lie, but the three friends who told us he was playing golf with them all afternoon lied too. We’ve got a lot of people to arrest.”

  “Sounds that way.”

  Captain Malone came to the door. “We’re getting ready to start the meeting with the AUSA and Gonzales. You coming?”

  Sam glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that it was one minute before nine. “I’m coming.” She gathered the cell phone info to take with her. “Thanks for this, Archie. You just made my case for me.”

  “Happy to help.”

  “You always do,” she said with a warm smile.

  “Good luck with the meeting,” Archie said. “I think it’s madness they’re going to charge him with a crime after what happened to Arnold. A lot of people think that.”

  “Appreciate that. I know he would too.”

  Archie nodded and took off toward the stairs to go back to his kingdom on the second floor.

  Sam walked with Malone to the chief’s conference room. “I think the husband killed Ginny, and the daughter helped him after the fact. I also believe the two of them know where the money is.”

  “I heard the Feds expended a big effort trying to find it.”

  “They focused their efforts on Ginny and Ken Sr. They never investigated their kids, which Green did, and that’s what led to Mandi’s trips to the Caymans.”

  “That’ll make for a rather nice headline, especially with the FBI investigating us at the moment.”

  “That thought never occurred to me, Captain.”

  His bark of laughter echoed through the hallway. He gestured for her to go ahead of him into the conference room, where Chief Farnsworth, Assistant U.S. Attorney Faith Miller, Gonzo and Christina waited for them with Nick’s lawyer friend Andy Simone.

  Sam was surprised to see Christina there too. “Morning, everyone.”

  “Morning,” Gonzo said.

  He looks good, Sam thought. Really good. Like the Tommy he was before disaster struck.

  Captain Malone shut the conference room door and sat next to Sam across from Tommy and Christina. The chief and Faith sat at either end.

  “Faith,” the chief said, “this is your meeting.”

  “Thank you for coming in, Sergeant,” Faith said. “As you know, we’re here to discuss the possibility of a plea deal pertaining to the charges of possession of narcotics as well as illegal acquisition of narcotics, both of which are felonies. We’ve agreed to plead the charges down to misdemeanor counts.”

  “He’s not taking that deal,” Christina said.

  Gonzo smiled at her. “I’ve got this, honey.” He glanced at Faith. “No deal.”

  Faith cast a confused glance at Andy. “I thought we had an agreement.”

  “My client has had time to consider all his options and has decided not to accept the deal,” Andy said.

  Faith looked to the chief for direction.

  “Sergeant Gonzales,” Farnsworth said, “the floor is yours.”

  “Thank you, Chief, and to all of you for your support over the last ten months, the worst time of my life. Losing Arnold the way we did nearly ruined me, and I allowed that to happen because the grief was so immense, it swallowed me whole. I don’t say that lightly. It drowned out everything else in my life, even the two people I love the most.” He took Christina’s hand and held on tight. “I did things during that time I’m not proud of, many things, including scoring pain meds on the streets out of desperation. Whatever it took to drown out the pain. I’m not proud of how I behaved or the things I did to survive. In rehab, I learned I have to forgive myself for those things, or I won’t be able to stay sober. I’ve learned I have to put my sobriety and health above everything else in my life, even my fiancée and son. If I want to stay healthy for them, I have to do it for myself first.”

  He looked right at Faith. “In my right mind, Ms. Miller, I never would’ve done what I did. I was sick—with guilt, grief and regrets I’ll carry with me forever. I walked that amazing young man straight into a slaughter. I’ll relive the horror of that night every day for the rest of my life. But I’m not a criminal. I’m a victim of the same man who killed my partner, and that’s why I’m not accept
ing the deal.

  “I understand that you have a job to do, and I respect that. I understand that by not accepting the deal, I’m forcing you to consider taking my case to trial. If that’s what you and USA Forrester believe needs to happen, so be it. But I won’t willingly sign anything that effectively ends the career I’ve worked so hard to have. I’m a good cop, Ms. Miller. I’m good at what I do, and I want to continue doing that job for as long as I possibly can. If I plead guilty to these charges, that won’t be possible.”

  Sam wanted to stand up and cheer. Her Gonzo was back, with the same fire in his eyes he’d had for the job before that tragic night last January. “If I might add something,” Sam said. “I believe the only reason you’re aware of the lengths Sergeant Gonzales went to in the effort to survive the loss of his partner is because of the vendetta Sergeant Ramsey has undertaken to try to discredit me and my squad. After the grand jury failed to indict me for assaulting Ramsey, he’s been hell-bent on causing trouble for my officers and me any way he can. The information about Sergeant Gonzales purchasing drugs on the street, which sparked the investigation, came from one of Ramsey’s informants. That doesn’t make what Sergeant Gonzales did less of a crime. However, it does indicate the lengths that some people within this department will go to in order to harm others.”

  “I’ve suggested that Tommy give a media interview,” Christina said, “during which he’ll take ownership of his struggles in the aftermath of Arnold’s murder as well as the things he did to feed his addiction. If he comes clean and does so within the context of the larger story surrounding Arnold’s death, I believe he’ll be tried in the court of public opinion and forgiven for his so-called crimes.”

  “I agree with that one hundred percent and was going to suggest the same strategy,” Sam said to the woman who’d been an adversary during her investigation of John O’Connor’s murder. They had since become friends.

  “I’m glad you think so, Lieutenant,” Gonzo said. “Even though I hate the idea of going public with this nightmare, Christina is right. If I tell my story in my own words and take ownership of the mistakes I made, I can only hope most people will understand that the crimes I committed were due to my illness, not my character.”

  “Your character has always been unimpeachable, Sergeant,” Chief Farnsworth said. “I’m sorry if we didn’t do enough to support you after Arnold’s tragic death.”

  “You did what you could, sir. I believe now that everything that happened since the night Arnold died occurred because of a greater purpose. It was meant to teach me things I can use to be a more empathetic police officer and human being. There had to be some meaning in this. I refuse to believe Arnold died for no reason.”

  “You’ve given me a lot to consider, Sergeant,” Faith said. “I need to speak to USA Forrester and determine whether he intends to pursue the charges.”

  “I understand, but I’m giving the interview either way.”

  “That is, of course, your prerogative. I’ll take your input back to Forrester and let you know how we plan to proceed.”

  “Thank you for your consideration,” Gonzo said.

  “Of course. For what it’s worth, I was never comfortable with these charges, but it wasn’t my decision to make. I can’t promise you anything, but I’ll remind USA Forrester that I’ve had concerns about this case from the get-go.”

  “I appreciate your support.”

  “I’ll be in touch.”

  After Faith had left the room, Gonzo said, “I want to thank all of you for sticking with me through this nightmare. Knowing you all have my back has made a huge difference.”

  “We do have your back,” Sam said. “We always will. What happened was such a tragedy. I came in here ready to fight to keep you from compounding that tragedy with another one. But you took care of that for me. I’m proud of you, Tommy.”

  “Thanks. I’m trying.”

  “We can all see that,” Malone said. “Whenever you’re ready to come back to work, let us know.”

  “I’m aiming for around the first of December, if that’s okay.”

  “Works for me,” Sam said. “You should give the interview to Darren Tabor. He’ll do it right.”

  “That was my thought too.”

  Sam nodded, feeling confident that Gonzo and his story would be in good hands with Darren. “I’ve got to get back to it. We’re closing in on Ginny McLeod’s murderer. We think it was the husband, which means the three golfing buddies who vouched for him are going to need to be arrested too. Lots of paperwork in my future.”

  “Don’t you mean in Cruz’s future?” Gonzo asked with a smile.

  “Of course that’s what I mean.”

  “Glad to see some things around here haven’t changed.”

  “Nothing has changed, except we miss you—and Arnold.”

  “Thanks. It’s nice to be missed. Christina and I would like to invite you and your families to our place for dessert on Thanksgiving.” He glanced at the chief. “You too, of course, sir.”

  “I do love me some apple pie,” the chief said.

  “I’ll make sure there’s plenty with your name on it.”

  “My wife and I would be delighted to join you, Gonzo.”

  “Holy crap. The chief is coming, honey.”

  Christina smiled at him. “So I hear.”

  “We’ll be there,” Sam said.

  “Us too,” Malone added.

  “This is going to be the best Thanksgiving ever,” Gonzo said to Christina.

  “It sure is.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  As Sam left the chief’s conference room, a disturbance in the lobby had her running to find out what was going on. Two young Patrol officers had Ken McLeod Sr. in custody and were attempting to get him to Central Booking. He was fighting them every step of the way.

  “You stupid bitch!” he screamed when he saw Sam. “What’re you thinking arresting me? I’ll have your badge and your ass! I have an alibi!”

  “That’s full of holes,” Sam replied.

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  “You’ll find out soon enough.” To the officers, she said, “Get him booked and take him to interview two.”

  Ignoring the man’s continued diatribe, Sam walked to the pit.

  “McBride,” she said, “spring Ken Jr. from interview two. Tell him he’s free to go and thank him for his cooperation.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  While Jeannie took care of that, Sam went into her office, downed half a bottle of water and took another look at the cell phone reports Archie had compiled. This time, the words behaved themselves so she could actually read them. She focused first on Ken Sr. The pings put him on the golf course from noon to one ten. At one forty, the phone registered a ping at his home, and by two ten, he was back on the golf course.

  “Hey, Cruz!”

  Freddie popped up from his cubicle and looked into her office. “You bellowed?”

  Sam signaled for him to come in. “The three men who said Ken Sr. was playing golf with them all afternoon—can you please make arrangements to have them arrested?”

  “All of them?”

  “All of them.”

  “Who’s gonna do those reports?”

  Sam sent him a salty look. “Who do you think?”

  “Why did I know you were going to say that?”

  “Why do you ask questions you already know the answers to?”

  “What am I charging them with?”

  “Obstructing a homicide investigation by lying for their friend.”

  “I’ll take care of it. Does this mean we’ve found Ginny’s killer?”

  “I believe we have—along with most of the money she stole from her victims.”

  “I thought the Feds couldn’t find it.”

  “They couldn’t, but Green did.”

  “Wow, that’s awesome.”

  “It is, and it’s just what we need right now.”

  “No kidding. All right
, let me go start arresting people.”

  “It’s going to be that kind of day. We’re charging Ken Sr. and possibly Mandi too. Stand by for paperwork.”

  “I’m standing by,” he said. “I live to serve you.”

  “That’s why you’re the best partner I ever had.”

  “Yeah, yeah, save the charm, Lieutenant. I’ll still do your paperwork whether you charm me or not.”

  “I am rather charming when I’m about to arrest a bunch of scumbags.”

  “Arresting scumbags does bring out the best in you.”

  A red-faced young Patrol officer appeared in the doorway to her office. “Mr. McLeod is in interview two, Lieutenant. My partner is watching him.”

  “Thank you, Officer…”

  “Daniels, ma’am.”

  “Officer Daniels. Appreciate the assist.”

  “I’d say it was no problem, but Mr. McLeod put up one hell of a fight.”

  “Guilty people tend to put up the biggest fights.” Sam couldn’t wait to square off with Mr. McLeod. After Officer Daniels took off, Sam said to Freddie, “I’m taking Green in with me. He did some great work on this case.”

  “He does great work on all of them.”

  “I like to spread things around when I can.”

  “No worries. I’ll be buried in paperwork.”

  “You’re a good sport, Freddie Cruz.”

  “I have to be to put up with the likes of you,” he tossed over his shoulder as he left the office.

  Sam picked up her folders and notes and prepared for battle. “Green!”

  “Yes, ma’am?”

  “You’re with me. Let’s go.”

  Cameron seemed surprised, but he responded quickly, walking with her to interview one.

  “Follow my lead,” Sam said.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Sam burst into the room, once again startling Mandi. That never got old.

  “Can I leave now?” Mandi asked.

  “Not so fast.”

  “Why not? I told you I didn’t do anything.”

  “Well, you lied to us.”

  “No, I didn’t!”

  “Yes, Mandi, you did.” Sam put the cell phone report in front of Mandi. “See this? The proof is in the pings.”