Fatal Identity Read online

  “I... Um, okay. I’ll do that.”

  “Take a cab so you don’t have to drive. I’ll tell them to let you in.”

  “He’s going to be okay, isn’t he?”

  “I really hope so.”

  “I’ll be right there,” she said on a sob.

  “Brant, will you please let them know outside that Elin Svendsen will be arriving by cab? Tell them to let her in.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Thank you.”

  Nick sat next to her on the sofa, his arm around her shoulders. “Lean on me, babe.”

  For the first time ever, she didn’t want him to touch her. She didn’t want him to comfort her or speak to her in that soothing voice that usually worked wonders on her nerves. Before she could do something stupid like shake him off, she stood, wrapped her arms around her torso and began to pace.

  She felt his gaze on her, watching over her the way he always did.

  The front door opened and Shelby came rushing in, stopping short at the sight of them. “I got your text,” she said to Nick, “but I didn’t think y’all would be here.”

  “I didn’t think so either,” Sam said. “Freddie is missing. I got sent home because I’m suspended, and now I’m losing my shit.”

  Shelby took off her coat, dropped it over the sofa and came to Sam. “What can I do?”

  “There’s nothing any of us can do because I’m fucking suspended.”

  To her credit, Shelby didn’t react to Sam’s harsh tone. She knew by now how much Freddie meant to her and how panicked she had to be at the thought of him in grave danger.

  “Sorry to drag you out in the cold for no reason, Shelby,” Nick said. “I didn’t think we’d be home so soon.”

  “I don’t mind at all. It’s good to see you up and around again. You gave us a heck of a fright.”

  “Sorry about that.”

  “I’ll make some coffee.”

  Sam resumed her pacing, stopping only to grab her phone off the table.

  Wearing pajama pants and a sweatshirt, Elin came running in a few minutes later, going directly to Sam, who hugged her as she sobbed. “It’s okay,” Sam said even though she had no idea if it was. It just seemed like the right thing to comfort her.

  “I can’t lose him, Sam.”

  “We’re not going to lose him,” Sam snapped, immediately regretting her sharp tone. “Any minute now we’re going to hear that he’s fine.” She only hoped that was true.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  AVERY STOOD WITH MALONE, Conklin, Farnsworth and Roback while the SWAT commander, Captain Nickleson, quickly briefed them on the plan for gaining access to a freestanding home on First Street Southwest, located just off Potomac Avenue between the Anacostia River and the Washington Channel. Standing outside the house, Avery stared at the windows, wondering what they’d find when they went in. Was Cruz dead? Was Josh?

  Upon hearing Nickleson’s plan, the chief nodded in approval. “Do it.”

  “Green light,” Nickleson said into his radio.

  Dressed all in black, SWAT commandos appeared out of the darkness to batter their way into the house through windows and doors. The sound of glass shattering preceded cries of surprise from people inside the house.

  Over the radio, Avery heard one officer after another say “Clear” as they went through the place room by room.

  “I’ve got something in the basement” were among the best words he’d ever heard. He wasn’t prone to praying, but he sent up a request to the Almighty that Freddie Cruz and Josh Hamilton would be found unharmed. He couldn’t imagine Sam without Freddie, and he didn’t want to. And if Josh was Taylor Rollings...

  “I’ve got Cruz. No sign of Hamilton. Get the paramedics in here.”

  Avery was cautiously relieved. If they were calling for EMS and not the ME, Cruz wasn’t dead.

  As the paramedics, who’d been on standby, rushed into the house, SWAT team members brought three men out in handcuffs.

  “Someone needs to call Sam,” Avery said.

  “I’m on it,” Malone said.

  Avery heard him telling Sam that they had Cruz, that he was injured and on his way to the GW ER.

  “I don’t know,” Malone said. “EMS is with him.” After a pause, he said, “Yes, you’re allowed to go to the ER, and no, we can’t send you home from there.” He rolled his eyes at the chief as he said the words.

  Avery smiled at her feistiness. He’d feared she would actually explode in the HQ lobby when the chief told her she couldn’t help look for Cruz.

  “There was no sign of Hamilton,” Malone said. “I’ll let you know if I hear any more.” He ended the call and said to Farnsworth, “Cruz’s fiancée is with Sam. They’re heading for GW.”

  The EMTs rolled Freddie out five minutes later, their haste ramping up the tension in the group of officers that had been relegated to the sidelines. Avery was able to see his face as he went by and realized he was unconscious with dried blood on his forehead and face. Shit.

  Nickleson came out after the EMTs. “He was zip-tied in the basement. They did a number on him, but he was breathing on his own.”

  “How do you want to proceed?” Malone asked the chief.

  “I’ll go to GW with Detective Cruz,” Farnsworth said. “You get to HQ and find out what you can from them.” He nodded to the two Patrol cars that contained the three men who’d been arrested. “We need to find Josh Hamilton. Fast. Brief the media on Troy Hamilton’s murder and Josh’s abduction.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Avery rode with Malone to HQ. “What’re you thinking, Captain?”

  “I have no idea what the hell to think of any of this.”

  “No question the murder of Troy and the abduction of Josh are related.”

  “I’d be hard-pressed to deny that, but what’s the motive?” Malone asked.

  “If I had to guess, I’d suspect we’re going to learn that Josh is Taylor Rollings, and whoever took him thirty years ago is covering his or her tracks.”

  “That’s a good guess and a decent theory to start with.”

  “What do they accomplish by eliminating Troy?” Avery asked.

  “He must’ve known something that they feared would be revealed when it was proven that Josh is Taylor.”

  “So why take Josh? We’ve already got his DNA, and we don’t need him to investigate how he ended up with the Hamiltons thirty years ago.”

  “I don’t know.” The captain sounded tired.

  “When was the last time you slept?”

  “I don’t know that either. Crazy couple of days with my top two Homicide detectives out.”

  “You guys should bring Holland back to work this case.”

  “It’s not my call.”

  “You have influence with the chief. You need her on this.”

  “I don’t disagree, but he’s dug in on keeping her off the job until her suspension is up. He’s got to think about the officer she assaulted.”

  “Who’s a douche bag.”

  “Agreed, but...the chief can’t keep cutting her breaks when she screws up, or he’ll have issues with other officers crying favoritism. She doesn’t need that any more than he does. She won’t see it this way, but he’s doing her a favor by digging in on this. If he relents, everyone will say it’s because of who she is to the chief, who her father is, who her husband is, and she’d hate that.”

  “Yeah,” Avery said. “She would.”

  They were met by Detectives McBride, Tyrone, Carlucci and Dominguez when they arrived at HQ, where the three arrested men were being booked.

  “Freddie,” Jeannie McBride said. “He’s all right?”

  “We’re not sure yet,” Malone said. “He was unconscious when he was brought ou
t. They roughed him up pretty good.”

  Carlucci sighed audibly. “He has to be okay.”

  Dominguez put a comforting arm around her partner. “Is Elin with him?”

  “She’s with the lieutenant, and they’re on their way to GW. In the meantime, we have work to do. What do we have on Troy Hamilton?”

  “Archie is dumping his phone,” McBride said, “and Crime Scene is still there. Dr. McNamara is conducting the autopsy. They both said they’ll have more for us in the morning. We had one witness who saw someone running away from Hamilton’s home earlier, but he wasn’t able to give us too many details other than that he saw the person around three-thirty. Archie’s team is reviewing our cameras in the area and we’re working with the company that provides the security at Hamilton’s house to get footage.”

  “Crime Scene is also processing Cruz’s car,” Tyrone said.

  The sergeant overseeing Central Booking let them know the three men were available for questioning.

  “Get them into rooms,” Malone said. “McBride and Tyrone, you take one. Carlucci and Dominguez take the second. Hill and I have got the third. Let them think the others are talking. You know what to do.”

  “Don’t bother,” Conklin said grimly when he joined them. “They’ve lawyered up. They’re not talking.”

  * * *

  “BRANT, WE NEED to get to the GW Emergency Room right away,” Nick said.

  “Oh, um, I don’t think that’s a great idea, sir.”

  “We’re going. With you or without you.”

  Sam reached for Nick’s hand and smiled up at him. “Thanks.”

  His jaw pulsed with tension as he nodded. She knew how much he hated the restrictions his new job put on his ability to move freely.

  Elin had been sobbing since she heard that Freddie was hurt. “Can we go? I want to be there when he arrives.”

  “You guys go ahead,” Nick said, his frustration apparent in every word. “I’ll be right behind you.”

  “I’ll take you all,” Brant said. “I just hope you can find a job for me somewhere after I lose this one.”

  Nick’s entire disposition changed when he heard he’d be able to accompany them. “I’ll take care of you. Don’t worry.”

  “We’ll have two other cars with us, so just give me one minute to make that happen.”

  “Thanks, Brant.” To Elin he said, “Sorry to hold you up.”

  “It’s okay. I’d be freaking out by myself. It helps to be with you guys.”

  Sam hugged her. “It’s going to be okay. He’s young and strong and...” Her voice faltered when she thought about the possibility that he might not be fine.

  Nick’s hands landed on her shoulders, providing the support she needed to comfort Elin.

  “He’s going to be fine,” Sam said firmly as if that would make it so. “I know it.” Any other alternative was not worth considering.

  It took ten minutes, but Brant worked his magic and had them on the way to the ER in a smaller-than-usual motorcade.

  “You have to go through this to go anywhere?” Elin asked.

  “Unfortunately, yes,” Nick said in the irritated tone that had become more familiar to Sam since he took the new job.

  “That kind of sucks,” Elin said.

  Nick laughed. “It sucks balls.”

  “It beats the alternative of someone deciding to harm him simply because of the office he holds,” Sam said.

  “That’s true.” Elin stared out the window, her big blue eyes shiny with unshed tears. “Should I call Freddie’s parents?”

  “Probably,” Sam said. “They’d want to know.”

  “Would it be better to wait until we know what’s wrong with him?”

  “That might be best,” Nick said.

  “I don’t know how to handle this,” Elin said, her eyes filling again. “When he got shot last year, we had just started seeing each other. But now we’re engaged and...”

  “Everything is different now,” Sam said, “and you’re handling it the way he’d want you to. You’re staying calm and thinking things through. You’ll be an excellent cop’s wife.”

  “You think so? Really?”

  “I do.”

  “That means so much to me coming from you. Freddie... He thinks the world of you.”

  “The feeling is entirely mutual,” Sam said. “I love him.” Before the incident with Stahl she wouldn’t have said such a thing out loud. But now she refused to hold back. After Stahl took her hostage, and after Arnold was gunned down, she knew life could be taken in an instant, and she wanted the people she loved to know how she felt. She reached for Nick’s hand, linked their fingers and held on tight to the love of her life. He and Scotty were everything to her, and having him right there next to her made whatever she had to face with Freddie more bearable.

  Of course he knew that, which is why he’d insisted on coming.

  She smiled up at him, hoping he knew how much she appreciated his support.

  He looked down at her with warm, sexy eyes that told her everything she needed to know. He was there for her now. He would be there for her always, and there was such comfort in knowing that, in having faith in it.

  They arrived at the Emergency entrance at the George Washington Hospital Center, which Sam often joked was her home away from home. They were forever patching up her or a member of her team—and only yesterday, they’d patched up Nick.

  Chief Farnsworth was with several Patrol officers when Sam ran in with Nick and Elin by her side. She went right to the chief. “What do we know?”

  “He was still unconscious when we arrived, and we’re waiting to hear more.”

  Hearing Freddie was still unresponsive, Elin covered her mouth to hold back her sobs.

  Sam put an arm around Elin and held her while she cried.

  They waited a long time until a doctor came through the doors looking for the family of Frederico Cruz.

  “I’m his family,” Elin said. “We all are.”

  “He’s awake and asking for Elin and Sam.”

  “That’s us,” Elin said.

  “Right this way.”

  They followed the doctor into the cubicle area. When Elin saw Freddie in bed, his eyes open and alert, she rushed to his side, all but crawling onto the bed to get closer to him.

  He put the arm without the IV around her. “I’m okay, honey.”

  Overwhelmed by relief at the sound of his voice, Sam studied his pale face and the abrasion on his forehead. He met her gaze over Elin’s head.

  “What can you tell me?”

  “Happened really fast. We were at the light and they surrounded us. They were heavily armed, so I didn’t try anything.”

  “You did the right thing.”

  “Where’s Josh?”

  “He wasn’t in the house. We’re looking for him now.”

  “What the hell is this, Sam?”

  “I don’t know, but we’re sure as fuck going to find out.”

  * * *

  BEFORE SHE LEFT Freddie in the capable hands of Elin and his parents, Sam sent a text to her entire squad letting them know he was on the mend and would be spending the night in the hospital. They were watching him for a possible concussion. He didn’t remember anything following a blow to the head knocked him out shortly after he was shoved into the van.

  I’m asking everyone who’s available to be at my house at zero seven hundred to work this case. I can’t go to you, but you can come to me and bring me everything you’ve got. It’s your call to come or not. This is not an order.

  One after the other, her squad members replied with relief to hear that Freddie was okay and to say they’d be there in the morning. The only one she didn’t hear from was Gonzo, but at least she knew why.r />
  Confident that Freddie was in good hands and that a plan was in place to manage the case, Sam went to find Nick. He was sitting in the waiting room with the chief. They stood when they saw her coming.

  “How is he?” Nick asked.

  “He’s got one hell of a headache, and they’re keeping him for observation, but he’s going to be fine.”

  “Thank God for that,” Farnsworth said.

  “Yes, thank goodness,” Nick said.

  Every set of eyes in the busy waiting room was on them. It was still unnerving the way they were recognized everywhere they went. Of course the Secret Service agents sprinkled throughout the room didn’t help to lower their profile.

  “We can go home,” Sam said, eager to get away from the prying eyes.

  “Look,” the chief said, pointing to the TV in the corner. Malone was briefing the press, and they moved closer so they could hear.

  “At approximately eighteen-thirty, Troy Hamilton, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, was found dead in his Northwest home. The MPD is working the case in cooperation with federal authorities. We’ll release more information on the director’s murder as it becomes available.”

  “How does this relate to the APB that was issued earlier for Hamilton’s son?” one reporter asked.

  “We’re looking into the connections,” Malone said.

  “What happened with Detective Cruz?” Darren Tabor asked.

  “How does he know everything?” Sam asked.

  “Detective Cruz and a passenger were taken hostage by a group of armed men who are now in custody. Detective Cruz has been located and is receiving medical attention.”

  “Was this related to the director’s murder?”

  “We don’t know.”

  “And the passenger?” Darren asked.

  “Dogged little bastard,” Sam muttered.

  “We’re looking for the passenger.”

  “Who was the passenger?” another reporter asked.

  “We’re not releasing that information at this time. I’ll have more for you in the morning. That’s it for now.”