“You okay?” Freddie asked. “I’m sure this case is triggering in some ways for you.”
“I’m okay about that.” She picked up her phone and typed a text to him. Vernon hit me in the feels just now. Thinking about Skippy and how one door closes… etc.
Vernon adores you.
Likewise. I enjoy him—and Jimmy.
They’re good guys to spend the day with.
For sure. Okay, that’s it. I’m over it.
LOL
“Hey, Jimmy,” Sam said. “You told me you’re married, but you never gave me the details. Fess up.”
“Oh, um, my wife’s name is Liz, and we’ve been together since ninth grade.”
“Of course you have,” Sam said. “That’s very sweet. What does she do?”
“She teaches kindergarten at Malcolm X Elementary in Southeast.”
“Ah, that’s amazing. I need to see a picture.”
He handed his phone to her. “That’s us in ninth grade. The next one is our wedding, and then after that is last weekend.”
Sam scrolled through the photos of the young blond couple, to a stunning bride and groom, to a third photo of a happily married couple. “You guys are adorable.”
“Thanks. We’re expecting our first baby this summer.”
“Congratulations,” Sam and Freddie said together.
“Do you know what you’re having?” Sam asked.
“A boy.”
“So fun. Can’t wait to meet Liz and your son.”
“She’d love that. She’s one of your many fans.”
“I have fans?” Sam asked.
The three men laughed.
“She has no clue,” Freddie said.
“And I like it that way,” Sam said. “What’s the latest with the Joint Chiefs and Nick’s mother?”
Freddie checked his phone. “Nick’s mother is being held without bail. The prosecutor described her as a flight risk.”
“That’s a relief. I was worried about the mayhem she might unleash if they released her.”
“There’s some talk about the Joint Chiefs not being prosecuted, but they’ll be dishonorably discharged from the military with their pensions put under review.”
“How can they not be prosecuted for plotting to overthrow the president?” Sam asked as outrage bubbled up inside her.
“I guess they were smart enough not to leave a paper trail. All the conversations were in person and weren’t recorded.”
“But didn’t they confess to it?” Sam asked.
“Not in so many words,” Freddie said. “It’s more that they didn’t deny the rumor that was passed on to Nick.”
“Wow,” Sam said. “So you can do something like that and continue to walk free, but people get thrown in jail for a million lesser offenses.”
She felt terrible for Nick, who’d been so badly betrayed by people who should’ve had his back.
“If I may…” Vernon said, glancing at her in the mirror.
“Please,” Sam said. “Speak freely.”
“Over time, he’ll show people what he’s made of. There may be bumps in the road, like this thing with the Joint Chiefs, but in the end, the people will know the truth about him.”
“Thank you, Vernon. That helps.”
“Every president gets put through the wringer, whether they were elected or not,” Vernon said. “While this is worse than what most deal with, he’s not any different that way. Any time someone reaches the pinnacle of their career, the haters are there to tear them down. You’ve seen that yourself.”
“Yes,” Sam said, “I have.”
“People suck,” Jimmy said bluntly.
“You’re speaking my language, and I very much appreciate the support,” Sam said. “Enough about the haters. Vernon, your turn to tell me about your wife and family.”
“My wife, Evelyn, and I have been married twenty-six years and have four daughters ages twenty-four to seventeen.”
“Whoa,” Freddie said. “You must have some stories.”
“I could entertain you all evening with the adventures of parenting four preteen and teenage girls at the same time.”
“No wonder why putting up with me is no big deal to you,” Sam said.
“You said that. Not me.”
Sam laughed along with Freddie and Jimmy. A few months ago, she’d chafed against having a detail. Vernon and Jimmy had made it so bearable that she now preferred for them to drive her. Who said she couldn’t learn and grow?
Back at HQ, Sam and Freddie convened in the conference room.
“I have to be honest,” Freddie said.
“I wouldn’t want you to be any other way.”
“I feel like we’re wasting time on this case that could be better spent cleaning up Stahl’s mess.”
Sam leaned against the conference room table. “I agree it’s starting to add up that someone who was a great husband and father could’ve blown under tremendous pressure and done something extremely out of character.”
“That’s how I see it, too. The lawsuit would ruin him. It would’ve engulfed them all in an epic scandal. Like you said, imagine them having to explain to kids in middle school that Daddy ejaculated on his patients. They would have been taunted by their peers, and Eloise was already under enough pressure.”
Sam cringed. “Pressure like that could make the sanest person crazy.”
“What I want to know is why a guy who had it all would do something like that in the first place,” Freddie said. “He’d dealt with the deeply personal medical issues of thousands of female patients over the years. What caused him to suddenly become a deviant?”
“I’d like to know that, too,” Sam said. “The fact that we’re still asking questions like that means we aren’t a hundred percent sold on murder-suicide, so we keep working the case.”
“Tomorrow, we’ll start at his office and talk to his staff,” Freddie said. “I’m willing to give it one more day and then see where we’re at.”
“That sounds like a good plan,” Sam said.
“Do you agree that there comes a time when we have to listen to the preponderance of evidence that’s pointing in a certain direction?”
Sam fanned her face.
Freddie’s brows furrowed. “What’s the matter with you?”
“My little grasshopper is using words like ‘preponderance.’”
“Shut up. I’m being serious.”
“So am I.”
He huffed out an exasperated breath. “Do you agree with what I said?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Why couldn’t you just say that?”
“Because it’s far more fun to bust your balls.”
“My balls aren’t interested in being busted by you.”
“It’s far too late to tell me that.”
“Get busy reading the rest of the texts and emails, and don’t talk to me again until you have something useful to say.”
“Yes, sir,” Sam said, saluting him.
“Eff off.”
“Freddie! You almost said a swear!”
“You drive me to it.”
Deputy Chief Jeannie McBride appeared in the doorway to the conference room. “Am I interrupting?”
“We were just bickering,” Sam said.
Jeannie smiled. “Ah, so business as usual?”
“That’s right. What’s up, Chief?” It made Sam so damned proud to see her former detective wearing the deputy chief’s uniform. Jeannie’s pregnancy was beginning to show under her untucked white uniform shirt.
“I’ve been working with Green and Lucas on the Davies case.”
“Refresh my memory,” Sam said.
“Eric Davies was convicted sixteen years ago on rape charges. He’s denied the accusations vociferously every step of the way. Stahl investigated, tied him to the crime and testified at trial. Davies has always claimed that the evidence was manufactured to make him look guilty. With what we know now about Stahl, we’re giving the case a fresh look.”
“And finding irregularities everywhere we look,” Cameron Green said when he joined them, holding a manila file folder. “We’re unable to locate any of the so-called evidence that was used to convict Mr. Davies. The rape kit has magically disappeared, the alleged victim is ‘missing,’ and I found a complaint that Mr. Davies made against Stahl after a traffic incident when Stahl was in Patrol.”
“Oh my God,” Sam said.
“My thoughts exactly,” Jeannie said. “It’s unbelievable.”
“I think it’s time to bring the USA in on this,” Cameron said.
“It’s sixteen years past time for that,” Sam said, feeling sick to her soul for the man who’d spent sixteen years in prison for a heinous crime he most likely hadn’t committed.
“I wanted your input before I called Forrester,” Jeannie said to Sam.
“Why? You’re the deputy chief.”
Jeannie smiled. “And yet, your opinion is still the one I want at times like these.”
“My opinion is always free of charge to you. Before you call the USA, I’d brief the chief.”
“Will do. And by the way, Detectives Green and Lucas did great work on the review of this case.”
“Duly noted.” After Jeannie left, Sam said, “Am I the only one who feels sick?”
“Nope,” Green said. “I’ve been feeling sick since I found the complaint Davies launched against Stahl, who roughed him up during a routine traffic stop. Stahl was suspended without pay for three days.”
“And exacted his revenge the minute he could,” Freddie said, shaking his head.
“On rape charges, of all things,” Sam added. “Other than murder, the vilest accusation there is.”
“From what I can tell, Stahl persuaded a woman to seduce Davies, had a rape kit performed on her and then charged him. We believe the woman in question was facing drug charges that were suddenly dropped after she slept with Davies.”
Sam heard the words he was saying, but could barely process the implications.
“This’ll be another massive scandal,” Freddie said.
“What will?” Malone asked as he came into the conference room.
Sam looked to Green to update the captain.
After Cameron filled him in, Malone’s expression was one of shock and outrage. “Does the chief know?”
“Jeannie was going to brief him before she calls the USA’s office,” Sam said.
Malone sat in one of the chairs and seemed to sag into himself. “Just when we think we’ve seen the full extent of his depravity…”
“There’s more,” Sam said.
“Yeah.” Malone ran his fingers through his hair. He seemed to rally all at once as he stood. “I need to talk to Joe.”
Fueled by outrage and despair, Jake Malone walked from the detectives’ pit to the chief’s suite. “May I?” Jake asked Helen, the chief’s admin, as he pointed to the closed door to Joe’s office.
“Go ahead.”
She could probably tell he was set to boil as she waved him in.
He knocked once on the door and went in. Deputy Chief McBride was seated in one of the two chairs that faced Joe’s desk.
The chief glanced at Jake, his gaze full of despair. “I take it you’ve heard.”
“I have.”
Jake sat next to Jeannie. “What’s the plan?”
“I was about to call Tom Forrester.” Joe picked up the receiver on his desk phone and asked Helen to call Tom for him, telling her to use the word urgent. While they waited, the three of them sat in uneasy silence.
The phone beeped a minute later. “Tom Forrester on line one for you, sir.”
Joe took the call, putting it on speaker. “Hi, Tom. I’m here with Deputy Chief McBride and Captain Malone.”
“What’s up?” Tom asked in the distinctive New York accent he was known for.
“We have a situation. I’ll let Chief McBride brief you.”
Jeannie went through the facts of what they’d uncovered in a review of the Davies case. For a full thirty seconds after she finished speaking, Forrester was silent.
“Son of a bitch,” he finally said. “Let me talk to my team. I’ll be back to you ASAP.”
“Thank you.”
“Please tell me we’ll be filing additional charges against Stahl after this is dealt with,” Jake said after the chief disconnected the call with Forrester.
“Hell yes,” the chief replied. “Even though he’s already serving a life sentence with no chance of parole, we’ll still charge him for every egregious violation he committed while wearing a badge. If for no other reason than to put everyone else on notice that we won’t tolerate criminal behavior in our ranks.”
“How much more do you think there is?” Jake asked.
“I think we’re going to find other similar cases,” Jeannie said.
“Motherfucker,” Jake whispered.
“At least this one happened before I was chief,” Joe said, “so they can’t blame me for it.”
“But they will anyway,” Jake said.
“No doubt, but hopefully we’ll get some credit for doing the right thing when we discovered the irregularities.”
“Let’s hope so,” Jake said as he stood. “Keep me posted on what you hear from Forrester.”
“Will do,” Joe said.
When Jake returned to his office, Lieutenant Archelotta was waiting for him. “What’s up?”
Archie held up a flash drive. “I think I’ve figured out who was archiving reports for Stahl.”
“Who?”
“Remember Lieutenant Gibbons?”
“Who headed IT before you? What about him?”
“I believe he gave himself captain-level access so he could do Stahl’s bidding.”
“And you’ve got proof?” Malone asked, gesturing to the drive.
“I do.”
Resigned to this day going completely to hell and another former officer being charged with a crime, Malone said, “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
Sam and Freddie spent the remainder of their shift going through the printouts the rest of their team had put together from the Blanchets’ financial institutions, their social media and more emails and text messages from the parents’ phones and computers.
“It’s amazing how one couple amasses a mountain of paper, isn’t it?” Freddie asked as he worked through their social media posts.
“People never think about how their messages might someday be reviewed by law enforcement investigating a crime. If so, would they text or email their true feelings about anything?”
“Probably not,” he said. “It’s always in the back of my head that my own words could be used against me.”
“You really think about that?”
“All the time, and you should, too, since your public-facing comments and posts will be archived for history in Nick’s presidential library.”
As Sam cringed to let him know what she thought of that, the BlackBerry rang with a call from Nick.
“Hey,” she said. “Speak of the devil. How’s things?”
“Just ducky,” Nick said with an edge of sarcasm in his tone that told the true story. “I’m with the kids, and we’re wondering if we should hold dinner for you.”
“No, go ahead. I’m going to pop into the grief group meeting before I head home.”
“Oh, that’s right. You told me you were doing that.”
“No worries. I’m sure you’ve had a long day since we had that conversation.”
“I’ll feed them and wait to eat with you.”
“Sounds good. I won’t be long at the meeting. I just like to show my face in support of the effort.”
“Maybe you ought to stay this time and participate.”
“We’ll see.”
“Whatever you need, babe.”
“I’ll text when I’m on the way home.”
“Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
“How is he?” Freddie asked after she put the BlackBerry back on the table.
“He sounds exhausted.”
“I suppose that’s to be expected when your top military officials plot to overthrow your government,” Freddie said, “while your mother is in jail on racketeering charges and your disgraced former secretary of State is trashing you to anyone who’ll listen.”
Sam sighed. “That’s a hell of a mouthful.”
“It’s a hell of a crap storm.”
“Yes, it is. I worry about him buckling under the weight of it all.”
“He won’t. He’s tough, and he knows how to handle himself in all situations, including these.”
“I hope so.”
“He’s got this, Sam. You don’t have to worry.”
“And yet, I do.”
Freddie stood to stretch and then returned to his seat. “I’m looking at Liliana’s Instagram posts. They validate everything the grandmother told us.” He put the printouts on the table in front of her. Marcel was shown with each of his kids, playing in the yard, pushing them on swings, painting a canvas on an easel with little Gus.
Sam zeroed in on the painting photo and then reached for the autopsy report.
“What?” Freddie asked.
“Let me see the rest of the Insta photos.”
He handed them to her.
Sam sifted through them until she found one of Marcel helping Eloise with her homework. “See that?” She pointed to the hand that held the pen and then to the photo of him holding a brush.
“What about it?”
“He was left-handed. The autopsy report said there was gunpowder residue on his right hand.” She found the reference in the autopsy report, highlighted it with a marker and then looked up at him.
“Holy crap. He was left-handed.”
“We should confirm that with his mother,” Sam said.
Freddie put the call on speaker and dialed the number he had written in his notebook.
“Hello?”
“Mrs. Blanchet, this is Detective Cruz. I’m sorry to disturb you, but I have a question for you. Was your son right- or left-handed?”
“He was a lefty,” she said. “The only one in our family.”
“That’s very helpful. Thank you so much.”
“Of course.”
“I’ll be in touch.”
Freddie pushed the button to end the call. “Someone put that gun in his right hand and pulled the trigger, which eliminates the murder-suicide angle.”
Sam was oddly relieved to realize Marcel hadn’t turned on his wife and kids. “Now we just have to figure out who wanted them dead.”