June 24
“Investigators are refusing to comment on potentially new explosive information surrounding the gruesome murder of Yukon Corporation’s chairman of the board and second-largest shareholder, Rupert Olen,” Elizabeth Blake’s voice blared from the television set while Nik stood in Samantha Whyte’s bathroom toweling himself off after a shower.
“You hear that?” Nik called to Sam, who was in the kitchen making coffee and scrambling eggs for breakfast. Nik and Sam had only just reconciled after falling out over Sam’s surprise courtroom testimony, and the relationship, while still on shaky ground, was slowly returning to normal.
“Yeah, I heard,” Sam replied.
“Could you turn it up?”
“However, this reporter has learned that DC Detectives Yvette Jenks and Jason Goetz suspect that Olen was killed elsewhere and that his body was moved to Yukon’s parking garage, where it was discovered by company CEO Dwayne Mack,” Lizzy continued.
“Did I hear that right?” Nik shouted.
“Yup.”
Nik cinched the towel around his waist and walked hurriedly into the living room, where he stood in front of the TV, a puddle of water forming on the hardwood floor at his feet. Sam joined him and handed Nik a cup of black coffee and a slice of buttered toast with strawberry jam spread on top.
“Thanks,” he said, and took a bite of toast and began to chew.
“What time’s your baseball game?” Sam asked, pulling her phone out of the pocket of the cotton robe she was wearing and checking its clock.
“Early. I gotta get a move on, but I want to hear this first.”
“Based on information harvested from heart rate and GPS apps on the smartwatch Olen was wearing, investigators were able to pinpoint the time and location of his death when his heart stopped beating. Sources tell this reporter that the evidence indicates that the crime took place outside of the District of Columbia in an unincorporated area of rural Northern Virginia County.”
“Wait,” Nik said, perplexed. “Did she just say unincorporated Northern Virginia?”
“Hush. Listen.”
“This is Elizabeth Blake . . .”
“Sam?”
“For Channel 13 News reporting.”
“Olen was killed in Northern Virginia County. That’s your jurisdiction, Sam.”
Sam picked up the TV remote from a coffee table in front of the television and hit the Mute button. She could feel another storm brewing between them, and she wanted to head it off.
“Look, Nik, we’ve been down this road. I don’t want to fight again. We’re just getting over our last argument.”
“Tell me, did you know about this information beforehand?”
“Maybe.”
“And is there more to it?”
“Possibly.”
“Who’s Lizzy’s source?”
“How should I know?”
“Sure it’s not you?”
“Don’t go there, Nik. I told you she was sleeping with the county prosecutor.”
“You don’t trust me, Sam. That’s a problem,” Nik said angrily.
Blood rushed into Sam’s cheeks, turning them a sunburned red. “The problem here is you, Nik. You don’t respect me or what I do.”
“Whaddya expect, Sam, you’re a flack,” Nik snapped and regretted it the moment it left his mouth.
“You need to go,” Sam said coldly.
“Don’t worry, I plan to.”
“I mean now.”
She spun around and stormed back into the kitchen, and Nik headed to the bedroom. Over her shoulder, Sam added, “And wipe up that water on the floor before you do, and make sure you leave the house key on the hallway table on your way out. You’re not going to need it.”
___________
The baseball game was a travesty. Nik’s fight with Sam had rattled him, and he had a hard time concentrating. He booted two easy ground balls, flubbed a relay at second base, and had a throwing error. Worse still, it was against Chase Hurley’s Washington Supremes team, and the whole time Nik could hear Hurley hectoring him from the dugout. After the game when the teams lined up to shake hands, Nik was tempted to punch Hurley in the mouth.
Nik called Sam at least a half-dozen times to apologize, but she didn’t answer her phone. He decided against sending her a text and thought about driving over to her house with flowers following the game, but he remembered he had agreed to take Maggie out for a drink to celebrate her courtroom victory. He briefly considered canceling on Maggie but wanted to find out if she knew anything about the Bullwhip contract. He had a vague recollection that the Justice Department had looked into the project at one time when Maggie still worked for the US attorney’s office.
Nik dashed home, took a quick shower, and fed Gyp before rushing back out to meet Maggie. When he opened his apartment door to leave, though, Gyp bolted out and tore down the hallway.
“Gyp, whoa,” Nik commanded, but the dog bounded away, and, not for the first time, Nik felt the money he had spent on obedience training was a complete waste. He found Gyp in the lobby sitting quietly next to an attractive woman in running shorts, shoes, and a T-shirt who was stroking the top of the dog’s head.
“Sorry,” Nik said and grabbed Gyp’s collar. “Bad dog.”
“That’s okay, I like dogs.”
“You might have a different opinion if you knew him better.”
“He’s got a beautiful coat. What is he?”
“A vizsla. Thanks for corralling him for me.”
“Don’t mention it. Name’s Reese, by the way. Moved in recently. I’m subletting from a woman who’s on assignment for the World Bank in Vietnam,” she said and extended her hand.
He grasped it and said, “Nik, nice to meet you. This is Gyp. Headed out for a run?”
“Yeah. Still trying to get my bearings and figure out the best routes around here,” she said, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Reese had an angular face; developed shoulders; and long, lean arms and legs. Nik wondered if she might be a competitive swimmer or rock climber.
“Try Kalorama. That’s where I usually run. Take a right out of the building on Connecticut Avenue, then a left on Kalorama Road, and that will take you right into the heart of the Kalorama neighborhood and past all the embassies. The Obamas have a house there.”
“I’ll give it a shot.”
“I think you’ll like it.”
“Thanks, and nice to meet you. Nice to meet you, too, Gyp,” Reese said and bent down and patted the dog’s head. Gyp responded by lifting a paw for a shake. Reese wrinkled her nose, laughed, and grasped his paw. “I do love dogs. If you ever need anybody to watch him, I’d be happy to help. I work from home.”
“Really? If you’re serious, I’ll drop off a key to my place. The pet sitter isn’t always available, and it would save me a trip running home from the office during the day to give him a walk or feed him.”
“Happy to,” Reese said, gave Nik and Gyp a quick wave, and headed for the door.
“I got to hand it to you,” Nik said, tugging at Gyp’s collar as they walked back up the staircase. “You always seem to find the good-looking ones to take you in.”