Текст книги "Fatal Scandal"

Автор книги: Marie Force

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Текущая страница: 17 (всего у книги 23 страниц)

Chapter Nineteen

Stahl’s complexion turned that unattractive shade of purple she was so used to seeing. He used his sleeve to wipe the spit from his face and then delivered a punch to the same spot he’d slapped.

Sam fought through the darkness that descended upon her after the initial blast of pain, trying to stay conscious. Whatever happened, she had to keep her wits about her.

Stahl pulled a length of rope from his back pocket and moved to the back of the chair. He went for maximum pain as he tied her wrists and ankles to the chair. The one bit of solace she took was if she were tied like this, he couldn’t rape her. She figured she could get through just about anything but that.

“The stupid bitch at CBC took the bait,” Stahl said. “They’re reporting that the FBI is talking to Farnsworth about his whereabouts when your asshole husband was killed.”

“Very good,” Marissa said with a satisfied smile.

To Sam, he said, “I also heard that your fuck toy Cruz did exactly what we expected him to do and went into the jail last night to tune up Elliott.”

Sam processed that information, her foggy brain racing to keep up after the brutal punch. Cruz had gone into the jail to deal with the guy who’d hurt Elin. Had that been another setup?

Stahl cinched the ropes in tight around her wrist, so tight that her fingers immediately tingled from the lack of blood. He leaned in close to her. “You and your boys are going down.”

Sam blinked back the tears that filled her eyes from the pain shooting through her skull. She refused to give him the pleasure of seeing her break down. The fact that they were tying her up rather than shooting her was a small consolation. It meant there was something they wanted before they took her out.

Her people would be looking for her. At least she hoped they would. Nick would look for her when she didn’t show up at the reception. She just had to stay calm—and alive—until the cavalry arrived.

* * *

Gonzo got to HQ around four o’clock to find the pit deserted. He tried Sam on her phone, but it went to voice mail after it rang four times.

“Hey, it’s Sam Holland. Leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”

“It’s Gonzo. I’m at HQ. Where are you?” He ended the call and went to his cubicle, which had been cleaned and organized in his absence, mostly likely by his partner, Detective Arnold.

Speak of the devil. Arnold came into the pit carrying a stack of paper and a large coffee. He stopped short at the sight of Gonzo, his eyes bugging. “What’re you doing here?”

“The world has gone mad, so I figured I’d come do what I can to help.”

“It’s so good to see you here.”

“Thanks,” Gonzo said to the young man who’d saved his life by applying pressure to a wound that surely would’ve killed him without Arnold’s quick action.

“Did the doc say it was okay to come back?”

Gonzo picked up his ball of elastics and squeezed the tight rubber object. His strength still wasn’t what it used to be, but it was getting better every day. “Nope.”

“So, um, should you be here?”

“Probably not.”

“Gonzo.”

“Don’t start on me. I’ve already heard an earful from Christina all the way back to town from Harper’s Ferry. I need to be here. I can’t sit at home watching the media tear my life apart. Besides, something stinks to high heaven around here.”

“We were just talking about that in the cafeteria. Two people who’d made trouble for the department suddenly murdered in the span of two days? That feels calculated, you know?”

“Not to mention, how did Lori find out about my connection to the judge? How did Billy Springer know we were coming after him for the murder of his brother?”

Arnold took a look around the deserted pit, lowering his voice. “You think it’s an inside thing?”

“I don’t know what to think. Do you know where the LT is?”

“She was going to tell Springer’s wife and then coming back here last I heard.”

“How long ago was that?”

Arnold checked his watch. “A while ago now.”

“Is Cruz with her?”

Arnold shook his head. “He’s out today. Elin is still in the hospital.”

“So who’s with Sam?”

“No one.”

Tugging Arnold’s portable radio off his belt, Gonzo tried to reach Sam but got no answer. He got up too quickly and a dizzy spell had him grasping the cubicle wall.

“Are you okay?” Arnold asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just moved too fast.”

“I’d hate to see you screw up your recovery by coming back too soon.”

“I’m not going to screw up anything. And while it’s just us here, I want to say, you know, thanks for what you did that day. I don’t remember much of anything that happened after we got to Friendship Heights, but from what I’m told, you saved my life. I just want you to know I’m grateful. I’ve been meaning to tell you that for a while now, but there always seems to be other people around when we’re together.”

The young detective looked like he might cry but then pulled himself together. “It was nothing you wouldn’t have done for me. Or at least I hope you would.”

Gonzo laughed. “If you’re stupid enough to get shot in the neck like I was, I’d do the same for you.”

“That’s comforting, Sarge. Thanks.”

“What’s with all the papers?” Gonzo asked.

“Lori’s phone records. Slow going.”

“I’ll let you get back to it. I’m going to find Malone and see if he knows where Sam is.”

“Keep me posted on what you hear.”

“Will do.”

Gonzo left the pit and went in search of the captain, who he found in a conversation with Farnsworth outside the chief’s office.

“Sergeant Gonzales,” Farnsworth said. “You’re back.”

“So it seems,” Gonzo replied.

Malone gave him a shrewd once-over. “Funny, I don’t recall seeing your return-to-work form.”

“It’s in the mail,” Gonzo said. “I’m good as new.”

“At the most, light duty, Sergeant,” Farnsworth said sternly.

“Absolutely.” Gonzo breathed a sigh of relief when he realized they weren’t going to send him home. “Does anyone know where Lieutenant Holland is? I tried to get her on the radio and on her cell and got her voice mail. She told me she had one quick thing to do and would meet me here, but that was more than an hour ago. Last Arnold knew, she was going to inform Marissa Springer.”

“That was hours ago,” Farnsworth said, his brows furrowing. “She was going there when Conklin and I parted company with her around eleven. She called me about seeing an investigator Mrs. Springer had hired to follow her husband but that didn’t pan out. No one’s heard from her since?”

Malone pulled his phone from his pocket and placed a call, frowning when he apparently got her voice mail. He then sent a text and watched his screen intently. “It delivered but it wasn’t read.”

“Let me try Cruz and see if he’s spoken to her,” Gonzo said with a growing sense of alarm. More than an hour off the grid. That wasn’t like her. At all. “Hey, Freddie.”

“What’s up? Where are you?”

“At HQ with Malone and the chief. We’re wondering if you’ve spoken to Sam recently?”

“Not since this morning when she called about Springer. Why?”

Gonzo shook his head and watched Malone and Farnsworth exchanged concerned glances. “We haven’t heard from her in a while, and we’re just trying to see if anyone else has.”

“Did you call Nick? She usually keeps in touch with him all day, but today may be different since it’s his first day at the White House. I can call Shelby too. She’s probably talked to Sam.”

“Let me know, will you?”

“Yeah, will do.”

“How’s Elin?”

“Sore but better. They’re sending her home soon.”

“What the hell happened?”

Freddie told him about the guy who’d been hassling her at the gym and the fight that had led to her injuries.

“Do we need to have a conversation with this guy?”

“Already done.”

Gonzo turned his back to the chief and captain and walked a short distance away. “What’d you do, Cruz?”

“I took care of it. That’s all you need to know.”

“Took care of it how?”

“I’m going to call around to try to find Sam. I’ll get back to you when I hear something. You do the same?”

“Yeah, but we’re going to talk about the other thing later.”

“Fine, see you.”

The line went dead and Gonzo was left with yet another uneasy feeling. He placed calls to all of the Homicide detectives, none of whom had heard from Sam in the last hour.

“What’re you hearing, Sarge?” Malone asked.

“Nothing. Nothing at all.”

“Should we call Nick?” Malone asked. “If anyone’s heard from her, he has.”

“What if he hasn’t, though? He’ll be in a panic. I’d prefer to wait a bit on making that call.”

Malone went to a house phone on the wall and dialed a number. “Archie, it’s Malone. I need you to put a trace on Lieutenant Holland’s phone. Do you have the number?” He paused and then groaned. “So it doesn’t have GPS capability?” After another pause, Malone said, “She’s getting a new phone. Immediately. Thanks anyway, Archie.” He slammed down the receiver.

“I’m going to the Springer house since that was the last place we knew she was,” Gonzo said.

“I’m going with you,” Malone said.

“Me too,” Farnsworth replied.

As they left HQ and headed for MacArthur Boulevard, Gonzo’s chest tightened. He had a bad feeling about this.

* * *

Nick’s first day at the White House passed in a blur of meetings and briefings on everything from national security to the latest situation in Iraq and Syria to an update on the Ebola outbreak in Africa and the efforts being made by the Centers for Disease Control to keep the disease from further encroaching on U.S. borders. Within the West Wing, a fierce debate was under way about sending ground troops to Africa to help contain the virus and offer aid.

He could see both sides of the debate. Containing the disease was in the U.S.’s best interest, but he could also understand the military’s resistance to send troops into such a hot zone.

At quarter to five, Terry knocked on his door and came in. As he took a seat on the other side of Nick’s desk, he looked energized and invigorated by the day they’d put in. “So.”

“So?” Nick asked.

“So far, so good?”

“Yeah, I’d say that. Pretty intense day.”

“I’d venture to guess most days around here are intense.”

“I thought I’d see Nelson at some point.”

“You’re having lunch with him on Friday, and I’m sure he’ll pop in to the reception if he’s able to.”

“Sure, whatever.” Nick aligned the wedding photo of him and Sam on the corner of his desk. That and Scotty’s recent school photo were the only pictures on his desk.

“What’s up?” Terry asked.

“Nothing’s up other than the first day on a new job.”

“Why do you seem, I don’t know, out of sorts maybe?”

Nick shrugged. “I guess I’m sort of hoping I haven’t made a huge mistake.”

“How do you mean?”

“Everything today... It sort of feels like...”

“Like what?”

“Busywork. Stuff they’re throwing at me to keep me involved but on the periphery.”

Terry thought about that for a minute. “They might be easing you in.”

“Maybe.”

“But you don’t think so?”

“It occurs to me that Nelson has already gotten what he needed most from me.”

“A boost in poll numbers,” Terry said, nodding. The numbers showed the American people very much approved of the president’s choice of a new vice president.

“Bingo.” Nick held a pen between his index and middle fingers, letting it dangle. “He used me, Terry.”

“You don’t know that for sure.”

Nick raised a brow. “Don’t I? I haven’t heard a single word from him or any member of his team, except Derek, who I talk to regularly anyway, since the day I was sworn in six weeks ago. Not one word.”

“It was the holidays. Everyone was out of town from Thanksgiving to New Year’s. You know how this city works.”

“We still have a country to run. Are you going to tell me Nelson didn’t work—at all—for six weeks? And why did they encourage me to wait until after the first of the year to officially start work?”

“Because they knew you needed time to put a team in place?”

“Six weeks, Terry. That’s a long time for radio silence between the country’s top two leaders.”

“You should talk to Derek about it. Get his feel.”

“You think he’d tell me if Nelson was purposely leaving me out of things?”

“I think you guys have been friends a long time, and if he can tell you anything, he will.”

“True.” While he agreed with Terry, Nick still hated to put Derek in the middle of potential issues between his boss and his longtime friend.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about it—yet. It’s early days. It’ll all shake out in the next couple of weeks.”

“I don’t want to be bored. I want to be busy.”

“Then we’ll keep you busy. To start with, you have a slew of interview requests. They want you everywhere—all the Sunday shows and most of the news magazines are clamoring for you.”

“Sure, I’ll do them. Let’s make the rounds. Do we need to clear it with Nelson’s people first?”

“I don’t see why. He asked you because you’re popular, so it’s safe to assume he’d approve of you capitalizing on your popularity.”

“I don’t like that word.”

“Which word? Popularity?”

“No, assume,” Nick said with a chuckle. “It gets people, even vice presidential people, in trouble. Let’s clear it with his team before we do anything. I don’t want to start off on the wrong foot.”

“Yes, sir, Mr. Vice President.”

Nick scowled at his friend. “Can it.”

“So I wanted to share a bit of personal news with you.”

“What’s that?”

“I asked Lindsey to marry me on New Year’s Eve and for some strange reason she actually said yes.”

Nick laughed at his choice of words and his befuddled expression. “Congratulations, Terry. I couldn’t be happier for both of you.”

“Thanks. I’m pretty happy too. A year ago, I never could’ve imagined the life I’ve got now.”

“Right there with you.” Nick’s personal cell phone rang and he took the call from his friend Andy. “Hey there.”

“How’s life in the White House?”

“The jury’s still out. Anything new?”

“I met the guy this morning. Scotty looks like him.” That news had Nick’s heart sinking. He enjoyed thinking that Scotty looked a little like him. “I told him I represented his adoptive parents and asked if he’d be willing to sign away his parental rights so that Scotty could be adopted by a loving family.”

Nick felt like his heart was going to stop while he waited for the other shoe to drop. “And?”

“He had no idea he has a son. His shock was quite genuine. He’d like to meet him before he signs anything.”

“Ugh,” Nick said with a groan. “And how do we do that without him finding out who Scotty’s adoptive parents are?”

“I believe the Secret Service detail might be a giveaway.”

“Damn it, Andy. What do we do? Can we offer him money?”

“You’re getting way ahead of the game worrying about that. And besides, no matter what happens, I wouldn’t do that. It can come back to bite you in the ass in a number of unpleasant ways.”

“If you’re talking politically, I don’t care about that.”

“I mean legally. The court frowns on money changing hands in custody situations.”

“Son of a bitch,” Nick whispered. “What if he doesn’t want to meet his real father?”

“I don’t think he has a choice if he wants the adoption to go through. The other option is to continue to be his legal guardian without formally adopting him. If his father doesn’t file for custody, then there’d be nothing preventing him from living with you until he’s legally an adult.”

“I don’t like that option. I want him to be my son legally and every other way. It’s what he wants too.”

“Then we have to go through the motions, I’m afraid.”

“I want to know everything there is to know about this guy.”

“My investigator is working on a report. I’ll get it to you as soon as I have it. In the meantime, why don’t you talk to Scotty and see what he has to say about it?”

The thought of talking to Scotty about this topic made Nick queasy. Just when the boy was starting to feel comfortable in his new home and life, this was going to rock the foundation of that new life. “I’ll do that and get back to you.”

“Sounds good. I know this is a tough situation, but if we do it by the book, we shouldn’t have any trouble.”

“I don’t like that word—shouldn’t.”

“There’re never any guarantees, but I’ll do everything I can to get you all the outcome you want.”

“Thanks, Andy. I’ll talk to you soon.” He ended the call and tossed his phone on the desk.

“That sounds worrisome,” Terry said.

“It is. His biological father didn’t know about him and wants to meet him before he’ll sign away his parental rights.”

“Damn.”

A knock on the door preceded Lauren, one of the receptionists from his Senate staff who had come with them to the White House. “Are you available for a Mr. Scott Cappuano, sir?”

“Always,” Nick said, his smile wide even though his heart ached from what he needed to tell Scotty. “Send him in.”

“This is so freaking cool,” Scotty said when he came into the office wearing his “work clothes,” as he referred to the navy blazer, light blue dress shirt and blue and red striped tie that matched Nick’s. The khaki pants were new since he’d grown out of the others.

“I believe ‘freaking’ is on Mrs. Littlefield’s swear list,” Nick said as he got up to hug his son.

“Sam says it’s not a swear.”

“Do not take her advice on swearing, buddy. You’ll end up in detention.”

Terry laughed. “I gotta say your dad makes a good point.”

“She does have a potty mouth,” Scotty said.

“Speaking of my lovely wife, is she with you?”

Scotty shook his head. “My detail brought me over.”

“So she wasn’t home yet when you left?”

“Nope.”

To Terry, Nick said, “Sam was worried about being able to get in here if she wasn’t able to come with Scotty and his detail. Is there someone we need to tell at the gate?”

“I’ll go check on that.”

“Thank you. Please tell them to make sure the second lady gets in when she arrives or there’ll be hell to pay.”

Smiling, Terry said, “Will do.” He left the office, closing the door behind him.

“I can’t believe you actually work here now,” Scotty said. “It’s so, so cool.”

“I’m glad you think so.”

“The kids at school think so too. They treat me different now.”

Immediately on alert, Nick said, “Different how?”

“Like I’m super cool because my dad is the vice president. Don’t worry. It’s a good kind of different.”

“Oh,” Nick said, relieved to hear that. “Okay. You’d tell me if something bad was going on at school, right?”

“Sure, I would. But I don’t want to talk about school now. I want a tour of the White House! Can we walk around?”

“We can take a walk.” Amused by Scotty’s enthusiasm, Nick put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Before we do, though, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.” He’d promised to be honest with Scotty about the adoption proceedings, so he knew he couldn’t delay in telling him the news.

“Is it bad?”

“It’s not bad so much as it’s kind of a weird situation.”

“What is?”

“So you know that as part of your adoption, we had to make an effort to find your biological father so he could sign away his rights to you.”

“Yeah. Did you find him?”

“Yes.”

“Oh. So what does that mean?”

“You know my friend Andy, who is handling the adoption for us?”

Scotty nodded.

“He went to New Jersey this week to meet him. Your father.”

“He’s not my father! You are. You’re the only father I’ve ever had and the only one I want.” Scotty’s chin trembled and his brown eyes glistened with unshed tears. “You can’t let him take me away from you and Sam. You can’t.”

Nick felt like he’d been sucker punched both by what Scotty had said and how undone he was. He hugged him.

Scotty wrapped his arms around Nick and held on tight.

Nick ran his hand over the boy’s back. “No one is going to take you away from us, buddy. No matter what happens, you’re old enough to tell a judge where you want to live, and that will matter more than anything, if it comes to that.”

“What do you mean, if it comes to that? What’s going to happen?”

Nick stepped back from Scotty, but kept a hand on his shoulder as he led him to one of the sofas that made up the small sitting area in his office. “He says he didn’t know about you. He wants to meet you before he signs the document we need that will relinquish his rights to you.”

“What does that word mean? Relinquish.”

“Give up.”

“How is it possible that he didn’t know about me?”

“Well, sometimes women don’t tell the father about a baby.”

“Why would they do that?”

“Sometimes it’s because they don’t want the man in their child’s life. Other times, the couple breaks up before they find out about the baby, and the mother chooses not to tell the father.”

“That doesn’t seem fair to the dad.”

“It’s not, but it happens.”

“He really wants to meet me?”

“He does. How do you feel about that?”

“I’ve always sort of wondered about him.”

“Of course you have. That’s totally normal.”

“Where is he?”

“In New Jersey. In a place called Atlantic City.”

“They have casinos there. I saw a commercial.”

“That’s right and there’s a really cool boardwalk that runs along the beach too.”

“Will we go there to meet him?”

“I think we’ll have to if we want him to sign the paper. Would you be okay with that?”

Scotty was quiet for a long moment as he thought about it. “If we went there, the Secret Service would have to go with us, right?”

“Where we go, they go. And just think, we’d have to ride on Air Force Two to get there.”

“That’d be cool,” Scotty said with an uncharacteristic lack of enthusiasm. “So he’d know who you are.”

“He’d probably figure it out. Yes.”

“What if he’s not a nice guy? What if he tries to get money from you before he’ll sign the paper?”

Nick was impressed by Scotty’s grasp of the possibilities. “That could happen, I suppose. If it does, we’ll deal with it then.”

“How will we deal with it? Will you give him money to get him to sign the paper?”

“I’d give him anything he asked for if it meant clearing the way for your adoption. However, Andy has advised me that it’s not a good idea to let money change hands in these situations. The court tends to frown upon it.”

“Because it’s skeevy.”

“Right,” Nick said with a laugh. “Exactly.” He rested a hand on Scotty’s shoulder. “Listen to me. Are you listening?”

Scotty looked at him with those big brown eyes and nodded.

“There is nothing and I do mean nothing Sam and I wouldn’t do to keep you exactly where you belong. I don’t want you to be worried about this or sick over it or stressed out or anything else. It’s all going to be fine. We’ll go up there, we’ll meet him, he’ll sign the paper and we’ll get a judge to finalize your adoption.”

“It may not be that simple.”

“Maybe not,” Nick conceded, “but the end result will be the same. You’re ours. We’re yours. That’s not going to change. No matter what.”

“You’re telling me everything, right?”

“I promised you I would, and I always will. You can count on that.”

“He’s not my father,” Scotty said fiercely. “You are. I don’t want anyone to call him that.”

“You’re going to make me cry, buddy.”

“Men don’t cry.”

“They do when a boy they love with all their heart says something so sweet.” He reached for Scotty and enveloped him in another hug. “It’s all going to be okay. I swear to you.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“I’m always right.”

Scotty snorted with laughter. “Now you sound like Sam.”

Laughing, Nick released him and stood. “Let’s go do our tour before the party starts.”

“Hey, Nick?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you too. You and Sam, you’re the best parents ever, and I feel really lucky that you want me so much.”

“We’re the lucky ones. We say that every day.” As he followed Scotty out of the office, he silently vowed to protect him and the family that meant so much to him with everything he had.