Fatal Flaw Read online

  “Thanks, Trace. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  “We’ll be here.”

  Sam felt less guilty about leaving after receiving her sister’s blessing. On the way to her car, she sent a text ordering a staff meeting in thirty minutes at HQ. She needed to get her team together and shift all these investigations into high gear. Her first stop when she arrived at HQ was the morgue.

  “Hey,” Lindsey said when Sam came through the double doors. “Did you get my email from last night?”

  “Not yet. Haven’t been near a computer.”

  “Before we get to that, how’s your dad?”

  “They say about the same, but he seemed to be breathing easier in my educated opinion.”

  Lindsey smiled. “I’m glad to hear that. Everyone here is pulling for him.”

  “I appreciate the concern. So what’ve you got for me?”

  Lindsey explained the findings of the autopsy and her theory about a hammer as the probable murder weapon. “No defensive wounds, no skin under her nails. I believe she was attacked from behind and never saw it coming.”

  “Thanks for the quick work, Doc.”

  “Wish I could’ve given you more to go on.”

  “I do too. I’ve got a well-liked woman killed in her own home while in the midst of reconciling with a man who’d cheated on her but seemed genuinely distraught over her death.”

  “You’re not looking at him?”

  “His alibi checked out. Cruz was running the financials last night. We’ll see if he found anything. He could’ve hired someone to knock her off if he was faking the reconciliation thing.”

  “I suppose anything’s possible.”

  “I’ll be heading back to Chevy Chase today to see if the Trainer family hammer is missing.”

  “Before you go, I wanted to tell you—I saw Terry last night.”

  “How’d it go?”

  “Actually, quite well,” Lindsey said, her pale skin flushing with color.

  “Are you blushing?”

  “I don’t know.” Lindsey raised her hands to her face. “Am I?”

  Sam leaned in for a closer look. “Yep. Must’ve been some night.”

  “It was just pizza. Nothing special.”

  “Then why are you blushing?”

  Lindsey laughed. “You’re a pain in the ass.”

  “So I’m told—often. Does this mean you’ve decided to give him a chance?”

  “I’ve decided to take it slow and see what happens.”

  “That sounds like a smart move.”

  “I guess we’ll find out if it was smart or the stupidest thing I’ve ever done.”

  “Even though I can’t stand all this cross-pollination between my husband’s world and mine, I hope it works out for you.”

  “Gee, thanks. I think.”

  Sam laughed. “Well, come on! First Gonzo gets engaged to Nick’s chief of staff, and now you’re dating his deputy chief of staff. Where does it end?”

  “While I can understand your dismay over the cross-pollination, don’t forget I spend most of my time with dead people. I gotta grab hold of a live one whenever I can.”

  “When you put it that way…”

  “Keep me posted on your dad.”

  “Will do. Keep me posted on your boyfriend.”

  “He’s not my boyfriend,” Lindsey said.

  “Yet,” Sam shot over her shoulder as she exited through the double doors.

  Nick was getting ready for a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security Committee when the receptionist let him know that Irene Littlefield, the director of the home where Scotty lived, was on the phone for him. Right away, Nick was worried that something had happened to the boy.

  “Mrs. Littlefield?”

  “Good morning, Senator. Thank you so much for taking my call, and please, accept my profound thanks for your help in getting our funding restored for the coming year.”

  Nick relaxed a bit when he realized there was no emergency. “It was my pleasure. Your program is extremely worthy.”

  “I’m glad you think so. These children mean the world to all of us, which is why I’m calling. You’re coming later to pick up Scotty, am I right?”

  “Yes, I’m due to pick him up around seven. Were you able to clear the day off tomorrow with the school?”

  “I spoke to the principal. This is the first day he’ll miss this year, so she was fine with it.”

  “Ouch,” Nick said with a wince. “He didn’t tell me he’d be ending his perfect attendance record.”

  “To go to Fenway Park? I think it’s safe to say he’s okay with it.”

  Nick laughed. “I suppose he’s probably a little excited.”

  “Just a little. I wondered if you might be able to get here a few minutes early tonight. There’s something I’d like to speak with you about.”

  “I hope there’s nothing wrong.”

  “No, no. Nothing like that. I know you’re awfully busy, and I’ll only keep you a minute.”

  “Of course. No problem. I’ll see you about six forty-five if the traffic cooperates.”

  “Thank you very much, Senator.”

  Now what was that all about, Nick wondered, as he gathered his files and headed to the hearing.

  Sam had just enough time to set up a murder board for Crystal Trainer before the meeting she had called.

  Freddie ambled in carrying a couple of donuts and looking well rested. “Hey,” he said. “How’s Skip?”

  Sam filled him in and then took a minute to study his face. “Did you talk to your mom?”

  “Nope.” Putting his feet up on the conference table, he took a bite of his donut. “She called a couple of times, but I’m not ready to talk to her.”

  “You know she’ll worry if you don’t call her back.”

  Freddie shrugged. “I’m sure she’s keeping so busy hanging out with my dad behind my back that she won’t have time to worry about me.”

  Sam frowned her disapproval.

  “I’m moving in with Elin.”

  Her mouth fell open at that news. “Since when?”

  “Since last night. We talked about it, and we agreed it’s what we both want.”

  How had he gone from seeing other women the day before to making a huge commitment to Elin? The shock of seeing his mother with his father had clearly addled his brain. “Freddie, are you sure—” Before she could finish the thought, Gonzo came into the room with his partner, Detective Arnold. Jeannie and Tyrone were right behind them with Captain Malone bringing up the rear. The conversation with Freddie would have to wait until they were alone.

  “Thanks for coming in,” Sam said, gesturing to the murder board. “I want to go over what we’ve got so far on the Trainer murder. Cruz, what did the financials show?”

  He wiped the donut residue from his lips with the sleeve of his shirt. “Nothing out of the ordinary for any of their accounts. No large sums of money in or out in the last twelve months.”

  “That rules out the husband paying someone to kill her,” Sam said, picking up Lindsey’s report. “Dr. McNamara has determined the murder weapon was a hammer or a similar flat-surfaced weapon. She places time of death right around noon, which was three hours before her daughter came home and found her. Cruz and I will be heading back to Chevy Chase today to talk to Mrs. Trainer’s friends and to look into the places where she did volunteer work. Moving on to baffling mystery number two, Gonzo, where are we with the cards?”

  “No word yet from the lab. They’re backed up and the exact words of the admin were ‘We’ve got real cases and don’t have time to work on pranks.’”

  “What the hell?” Freddie asked. “Since when do threats against a police officer and a United States senator not count as not a real case?”

  “They’re only perceived threats,” Sam said, and Gonzo nodded in agreement.

  “I’ll see what I can do to move things along,” the captain said from the back of the room.

  “I’d appreciate t
hat,” Sam said. She gestured to the bag of cards that had arrived at her dad’s, to which she’d added the new batch that had been delivered to her own house. “We’ve got more.”

  Gonzo groaned. “Why do you two have to be so popular?”

  “I ask myself that question every single day.”

  “We’ll go through them,” he said, eyeing the full bag with disdain.

  “Um, remember to keep all the envelopes.” This was so embarrassing! “Nick has to acknowledge a lot of them.”

  Gonzo rolled his eyes.

  Before he could crack a joke about her new status as a senator’s wife, Sam turned her attention to Jeannie. “What’ve you got on the Fitzgerald case?”

  Jeannie glanced at her partner before meeting Sam’s gaze. “Nothing yet. We talked to the parents yesterday, and we plan to speak to one of the brothers today.”

  Sam nodded. “Stick around for a minute when we’re done, please.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Jeannie said.

  “All right, everyone,” Sam said. “We’ve all got work to do. Let’s get to it.” They began to file out of the room. “Gonzo? Give me a minute with McBride and then I need you.”

  “You got it, L.T.” He closed the door, leaving Sam alone with Jeannie.

  “How’s it going?” Sam asked her.

  “Fine.”

  “I was sort of surprised to see you back again today. Are you sure you’re up for being back full time?”

  “I’m taking it a day at a time. For right now, I’m feeling okay.”

  “Good. Just make sure you’re not overdoing it.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Jeannie pursed her lips, as if there was something else she wanted to say.

  “Something on your mind, Detective?”

  “I was just wondering…”

  “About?”

  “Why didn’t you ever look into the Fitzgerald case yourself?”

  “I’d always planned to when I got around to it, but then my dad got shot and finding his shooter has sucked up all my extra time—such as it is. Plus he told me not to bother, that he’d exhausted every avenue, and it was a waste of time to reopen that one.”

  An odd look flashed across Jeannie’s face, but then it was gone as fast as it had come. “Oh, I see. That makes sense.”

  “Something else you want to talk about?”

  “No, I’m good.”

  “Then I’ll let you get to work.”

  Sam watched her go, wondering what her friend wasn’t telling her. Something. But the last thing she wanted to do was push her when Jeannie had been so fragile lately.

  Gonzo came in and closed the door. “What’s up, Lieutenant?”

  “What’ve you found on Leroy?”

  “We’ve got more than two hundred active records with the name Leroy.”

  “Seriously? It’s not that common of a name.”

  “I ran first and last names, since Gardner only gave us that one name.”

  “Good thinking.”

  “I’m working my way through them,” Gonzo added. “So far I have two possibilities. I’ll keep you posted.”

  “Thanks, and sorry to stick you with card duty, but I need to keep working the Trainer case.”

  “Yeah, yeah. You’d rather work a murder than open wedding cards. You can’t fool me.”

  Sam laughed. “You are so right about that.”

  Gonzo’s scowl only fueled her amusement.

  “How’s the baby?” He’d recently learned he’d fathered a baby with a woman with whom he’d had a brief relationship. After a contentious hearing, he’d been granted temporary custody of the boy he’d named Alejandro or Alex, as Gonzo called him. To say his life had been turned upside down was putting it mildly.

  “He’s great. I can’t believe how big he’s getting.”

  “Happens fast the first year.”

  “So I’m told.”

  Sam cleared her throat, knowing she needed to show interest, but damn this colliding worlds thing bugged the shit out of her. “And the wedding plans?” He was engaged to Christina Billings, Nick’s chief of staff.

  “Coming along. We’re looking at next spring. We’re moving in together in the next month or two.”

  “Sheesh, it’s an epidemic.”

  “What’d you mean?”

  “Cruz is shacking up too.”

  “With Elin?”

  “So he says.”

  “Wow. Is that a good idea?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine.”

  “Very interesting.”

  “By the way, any movement on figuring out who’s pissed about the wedding?”

  “He hasn’t talked to you yet?”

  “Who?” Sam asked, confused.

  Looking annoyed Gonzo went to the door. “Arnold! Get in here.”

  Gonzo’s partner came running from the pit. “What’s up?”

  “You were supposed to tell her something.”

  “Oh. Yeah. Um, well, the whole wedding invitation thing with Stahl is probably my fault.”

  “How so?” Sam asked the young detective.

  “Well, the day of your wedding, I was, um, taking a leak in the men’s room along with another officer, and I made a crack about getting stuck working so everyone else could go to your wedding. Then a toilet flushed and Stahl came out with this creepy smile on his face. My stomach sank, because I knew he’d probably find a way to use that against you. I’m really sorry, Lieutenant.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to invite you.”

  “Oh, please, it’s fine. I know you couldn’t have everyone, and I didn’t mind working that day at all. Really. I was totally kidding around.”

  “Thanks for clearing that up.”

  Arnold scurried out the door.

  “Mystery solved,” Sam said to Gonzo. “Thanks for getting to the bottom of it.”

  “No problem. I about smacked him upside the head when I realized what he’d done.” He walked over to pick up the bag full of cards. “Better get to work.”

  “Thanks again for dealing with the cards.”

  “You owe me one—a big one.”

  “Put it on my tab.”

  Chapter 16

  Darren Taber from the Washington Star was waiting for Sam when she emerged from HQ on her way to Chevy Chase.

  “Not now, Darren.”

  “I just need a minute, Sam.”

  Since he’d done her a favor or two in the past, she slowed to a normal pace as she headed with Freddie to the parking lot. “What?”

  “Is there any truth to the rumor that you’ve received threatening mail?”

  “Where’d you hear that?”

  “Answer the question.”

  “Off the record?”

  “Aw, come on, Sam.”

  “Off the record or no deal.”

  “Fine.” He jammed the reporter’s notebook into his back pocket and held up his hands.

  “We received a few strange messages in some wedding cards that were sent here and to Nick’s office while we were away.”

  “Define strange.”

  “We’re looking into it. That’s all I’m saying. Now tell me how you heard about it.”

  “Phone call to the paper’s tip line.”

  At that Sam stopped walking and turned to face him. “Explain.”

  “We got a call that you’ve received threatening mail, and the caller was wondering why they hadn’t seen any mention of it in the media.”

  “Is that right? So our pen pal is looking for some publicity. Was the caller a man or woman?”

  “We couldn’t tell. I listened to it four times, and I still wasn’t sure.”

  “Did you make me a copy?”

  “Sam, you insult me.” He withdrew a thumb drive from his pocket and handed it to her.

  She took it from him before he could change his mind. “I hate being indebted to you.”

  “I know,” he said with a big grin.

  “What’s this going to
cost me?” Sam asked.

  “What’ve you got on the housewife murder in Chevy Chase?”

  “Not a damned thing yet.”

  “When you do, how about an exclusive for your favorite reporter?”

  “I’ll see what I can do. Now, we’ve got to get to work.”

  Darren stepped aside to let them pass.

  “Hey, Darren?” Sam called over her shoulder. “Thanks.”

  “No problem.”

  “He’s not as bad as some of them,” Freddie said when they were out of earshot from Darren.

  “True.” Sam would never forget that Darren had tipped them off that one of the rags was going to run a story about her near-abortion years ago. Thanks to the tip, they’d been able to get ahead of the rag with the truth—that she’d actually suffered a miscarriage.

  When they were in the car, Freddie pulled his laptop out of his bag and plugged in the thumb drive. They listened to the recording five times, and neither of them could place the voice as someone they knew. Nor could they tell if it was a man or woman. As Darren had indicated, the caller was clearly looking for some publicity about the letters.

  “Seriously narcissistic,” Sam said.

  “No kidding.”

  On the way to Chevy Chase, Sam tried to come up with a tactful way to broach the subject of Freddie’s plans to move in with Elin. “Are you sure you’re ready to shack up with Elin?” Okay, so tact wasn’t her thing. “You’ve only known her a couple of months.”

  “You got married after a three-month relationship.”

  He had her there. “We’re older,” Sam said. “And more experienced.” That sounded lame, even to her. Apparently, he thought so too because he snorted.

  “I’m sorry you don’t approve, but I’d appreciate you dropping it. I’m through with doing what everyone else wants me to do. It’s my life, and I’m going to live it the way I see fit.”

  Sam glanced over at him, wondering where her sweet, accommodating partner had gone. Seeing his mother with his father had clearly contributed to this new hard edge. “Did you tell Elin about seeing your mom with your dad?”

  “Nah. It’s got nothing to do with what happened with her.”

  “Except you weren’t even thinking about shacking up until yesterday.”