Fatal Reckoning Page 23
Jake took a deep breath and blew it out. “Something like this... It could bring us all down if it somehow comes back to Conklin.”
“Believe me, I know.”
After a long pause, Jake said, “Let me think about this. I need time to process it. We’ll talk in the morning?”
“See you then. Call me if anything breaks overnight.”
“I will.”
Joe ended the call and plugged the phone back into the charger. He reached for Marti, and she snuggled up to him, putting her arm around his waist and resting her head on his chest.
“No matter what happens, everything will be all right. We have each other, and that’s all we need.”
He tightened his hold on her. “I know.” She was all he needed, but he wished he believed her when she said everything was going to be all right. He had a bad feeling about where this investigation was leading.
* * *
SAM’S FIRST ORDER of business in the morning was a text to her mother. Give me a call when you’re up and about.
Her phone rang ten minutes later as Sam was getting dressed. “Hey.”
“Morning.”
“Do you have time to grab coffee this morning?”
“Absolutely. Do you want to come by my place? I’ve got coffee and corn muffins.”
“That sounds good. I’ll be there shortly.”
“Looking forward to it.”
They ended the call, and Sam finished dressing in jeans, a sweater and running shoes in anticipation of pounding some pavement as she followed up on leads from the tip line. It wasn’t what she wanted to be doing, but it was what she was allowed to do. Keeping busy was critical, especially when all she really wanted was to take to her bed and pull the covers up over her head to keep everyone away.
Everyone except Nick, of course. There was never a time she didn’t want him close by.
A soft knock sounded on the door to the room she used as a closet. She opened the door to Nick, who held a steaming mug of coffee fixed just the way she liked it.
“Step into my boudoir.”
Nick came into the room, shut the door and handed over the coffee. “How is it that you can make four little words sound so sexy first thing in the morning?”
“It’s my special talent.”
“One of your many special talents. I’ve been thinking about some of your other special talents that were on full display last night.” He leaned in to kiss her, sending shivers down her spine.
“I did some rather good work last night, if I do say so myself.”
“All your work in that department is good work.”
“Glad you think so. You’re my best customer.”
“I’d better be your only customer.”
She smiled at him, amazed that he could make her laugh and smile and think about things other than the pervasive blanket of grief that hung over her. “Where are my children?” He’d taken the early shift, getting the kids up and dressed so she could sleep in a little.
“Having breakfast with Shelby and Noah.” His gorgeous hazel eyes skirted over her face, looking for signs of trouble. “How’re you doing, babe?”
Sam took a sip of the coffee and put the mug on a nearby shelf. “I’m okay. Trying to stay busy so I don’t give in to the urge to take to my bed and pull the covers over my head.”
“No one would blame you if you needed to do that for a few days.”
“That’s not my style.”
“Not usually, but you’ve never lost your dad before.”
“No, but we’ve also never been closer to finding out who shot him either, and I can’t sit on the sidelines while that’s going on.”
“Understandable, as long as you promise me you’ll take good care of my wife. I love her more than anything, and I know how bad she’s hurting right now. If you need to walk away, do it. And if you need me—at any time—you call me, and I’ll come running.”
Touched by his sweet words, she caressed his freshly shaved face. “You can’t come running. The Secret Service won’t let you.”
“Let them try to stop me if my wife needs me.”
Sam rested her head on his chest and sighed as his arms came around her. “You always know just what I need.”
“That’s my superpower.”
“As awful as it is to lose my dad, I’d be out of my mind without you to prop me up.”
“I’ll always be here to prop you up. No matter what.”
“That makes everything better. Thank you.”
“I’m so sorry you’re hurting, sweetheart.”
“I know, but I keep telling myself he’s free, and that brings comfort. He’s running around up there in heaven, dancing like a fool and throwing big parties with not a wheelchair in sight.”
“That’s a good way to think of him.”
“It’s the only way I can stand to think of him not being here anymore.” She looked up at him. “How do you think Scotty is doing?”
“He’s quieter than usual, but he seems okay. We’ve been talking a lot about Skip and things we both remember. Last night I told him about the day I met Skip and how I was sure he was going to have me killed for being in your bedroom. He loved that.”
“That was pretty funny—and the best part was that even as a quadriplegic, he could’ve done it if he’d wanted to.”
“I know! Why do you think I was so freaked out?”
“He never would’ve killed you after he saw how much I love you—and more important, how much you love me. That made him very happy.”
“I’m glad he had peace of mind where you’re concerned.”
“As much as he ever had where I’m concerned.”
Nick laughed. “You must’ve been one hell of a handful when you were younger.”
“I kept him on his toes.”
“I can only imagine. What’s on your docket for today?”
“Breakfast with my mother and then pounding the pavement with some of the leads that have come into the tip line.”
“You’re not doing that alone, are you?”
“Yeah, but I’m visiting my mom and Alice Fitzgerald, so I’ll be fine. What’re you up to?”
“Meetings on top of meetings. Another day in paradise.”
“Not sure how you stand the excitement.”
His eyes glittered with anticipation. “We’re doing more budget stuff today.”
“You’re not right in the head if you find that exciting.”
“Someone’s gotta do it, and the president has asked me to take the lead in dealing with Congress to get the budget hammered out so we can be done with this continuing resolution and have an actual budget in place.”
“Did I just pass out from boredom? I think I blacked out for a second there.”
He gave her a gentle spank and a quick kiss. “Don’t make fun of your policy-wonk husband. It’s not nice.”
“That was me being nice.”
Leaving her with a smile, he headed for the door. “Call me if you need me today. I mean it, Samantha. I will come running.”
“I know. Thank you.”
“Be careful with my cop today. I love her so much.”
“Be careful with my VP today. I love him so much.”
Winking, he went out the door, leaving her feeling settled and loved and well supported. She finished the coffee he’d brought her and headed downstairs to see her kids before she left for the day.
* * *
FORTY MINUTES LATER, Sam approached her mother’s townhouse in Arlington. The house had a white brick facade with black shutters and a black door, as well as pumpkins on each of the three cement stairs that led to the front door, where Brenda waited to let her in. Sam tipped her face to receive the kiss her mother placed on her cheek.
“
This is a nice surprise.” Brenda had her shoulder-length brown hair up in a bun and her brown eyes were warm with welcome for her youngest daughter.
Sam wondered if this was as weird for her mother as it was for her, seeing each other and acting normal, like there’d never been twenty years of silence between them.
“Sorry it’s been a while since I stopped by.” In fact, Sam hadn’t been there once since she and her sisters helped her mother move in earlier in the year.
“Like your father, I suspect it takes an act of Congress to get you to cross the Potomac.”
Sam sent her a sheepish grin. “That’s kinda true.”
Brenda laughed. “That’s okay. I know how busy you are. I’ll take what I can get. Come on back.” She led the way to the kitchen, which was painted a dark taupe that somehow made the room seem brighter than it would’ve been with a lighter color of paint.
“I like that color.”
“Do you?” Brenda glanced at the wall. “I’m not a hundred percent sold on it.”
“It works in here.”
“I’m glad you think so. I needed a second opinion. I just did it a couple of weeks ago and was hoping it would grow on me.” She poured coffee for Sam and put it on the high-top table along with a small porcelain creamer. “You don’t take sugar, right?”
Touched that her mother remembered that kind of detail from so long ago, Sam shook her head. “No, I don’t.”
Brenda toasted two corn muffins, buttered them and put them on plates that she delivered to the table.
Sam broke off a piece of the muffin and popped it into her mouth. “Thanks for feeding me.”
“My pleasure. I’ve been thinking about you nonstop. I know how hard it must be for you since losing your dad. He loved you all fiercely, but you...”
“I know.” Sam’s throat closed as her eyes filled. To keep from losing her composure, she focused on the coffee and picked at her muffin. “It seems impossible to imagine going on without him.”
“I’m sure it does. I remember when my father died. I wondered if I’d survive it. At the time, my mother said something that’s stayed with me ever since. She said it’s the circle of life, and it’s important to remember that life is a fatal illness. Ain’t none of us getting out of here alive.”
“That’s true, but it sure does suck when someone has to leave us.”
“It really does. No way around that, especially when it’s your soul mate.”
“One of them anyway.”
“He was so damned proud of you, Nick and Scotty. The day I stopped to see him and Celia, he glowed when he talked about all of you. He absolutely loved how happy you are with Nick, and Scotty was the apple of his eye.”
“I’m glad he got to meet Nick and Scotty and the twins.”
“How’re they doing? I think about those poor babies all the time too.”
“They’re adjusting remarkably well. They still have their difficult moments, but we’re trying to get them back on a regular schedule, and Shelby has just been a godsend. They adore her, but then again, we all do.”
“She’s amazing. You’re lucky to have her.”
“And we know it. Nick and I say all the time that she’s the glue that holds the whole operation together. We’d be lost without her.”
“What will happen with the twins when their brother graduates from college, or maybe I shouldn’t ask?”
“It’s okay to ask. Nick talked to him about that yesterday, and he agreed that we’ll figure something out that’ll keep them in our lives.”
“I hope you’re not setting yourself up for more heartbreak, Sam.”
“I hope not either but offering to help them didn’t feel like a decision. It just felt necessary.”
“I can understand that. They sure are cute.” Brenda had met them at the reception that had followed Skip’s funeral, when Shelby brought them to the Hay-Adams.
“Yes, they are, and they’re very sweet too. We love them very much.”
“I can see why.” Brenda stirred sweetener into her coffee and then glanced at Sam. “As much as I love catching up and any excuse to see you, something tells me you didn’t cross the river for small talk. That never was your strong suit.”
“No, it isn’t, and you’re right.” Sam used a paper napkin to wipe her mouth after devouring the rest of the delicious muffin. “We’re actually making some headway in solving Dad’s case—the first real headway since it happened.”
“Wow, that’s amazing. You must be thrilled.”
Sam shrugged. How to describe how the elation of getting much-needed answers was muted by the pervasive grief of his death? “I am, but part of me feels like it doesn’t matter as much now that he’s gone.”
“It matters very much. The person who shot him robbed you and your sisters and your children and Celia of possible decades with him. And don’t look at me like that. I loved that man for most of my adult life, and even after everything that came between us, I never stopped loving him. The day of his shooting...” Brenda shook her head and looked down. “I’ll never forget that call from Tracy. My heart broke right along with all of yours.”
Her mother’s passionate words touched Sam deeply. In all the years she’d spent estranged from her mother, it hadn’t occurred to her that her mother might still love her father. “Could I ask you—”
“Anything you want.”
“If you loved him so much, why did you leave him for someone else?” It was a question that had tormented Sam for twenty years, and even though it wasn’t the question she’d come here to ask, there’d never been a better opportunity to put it out there.
Brenda sighed and sat back in her chair. “Marriage is a complicated thing, as you certainly know. After Steven Coyne was killed, nothing was ever the same between your dad and me. I felt like I lost him almost as completely as Alice lost Steven. I tried for a long time to make things right between us, but after a while, when I didn’t get anything back from him, I quit trying. By the time I met Bill, I didn’t feel married anymore. It was wrong. I knew it then, and I know it now, but my only defense is that I was lonely and vulnerable, and I liked the way he made me feel important again. None of this is intended to excuse my behavior. I should’ve asked your father for a divorce, and I’ll always regret how I handled that time in my life. I hurt you and your sisters and your father, the four people I loved the most. I’m very sorry for that. You have no idea how sorry I am.”
Sam appreciated the apology, as she had the first time her mother offered it.
“I hope you believe me when I tell you it’s my biggest regret, the one thing I’d do differently if I had to do it over.”
“I believe you. But we can’t go backward. Only forward, and I’m glad you’re back, that we can see each other again.”
“You have no idea how glad of that I am.” Brenda blinked back tears as she placed her hand over Sam’s. “No idea. I missed so much with you.”
Sam gave her mother’s hand a squeeze.
“Enough of that.” Brenda wiped her eyes and smiled. “You came here to talk about the case. What can I do to help? I’ll do anything I can.”
“Talk to me about Paul Conklin.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
BRENDA’S BROWS FURROWED with surprise. “What about him?”
“Anything and everything. I’m looking for perspective from way back when.”
Brenda gave that some thought. “He and your dad met at the academy, came up through the ranks together. Paul had some problems with alcohol, and your dad brought him home to stay with us for a while after his first marriage ended.”
“Why don’t I remember that?”
“You were really young. He stayed in your room while you slept with Angela.”
Sam tried to remember but drew a blank. “Were you friends with him too?”
“I
was friendly with him, but not friends the way I was with Joe, Jake and Steven.”
“Were they competitive with each other?”
“Somewhat. Your dad and Joe were the rock stars of the group. They all said that. Jake never wanted to be chief or move beyond captain. He’d say he didn’t want the headaches, but Joe and your dad... They wanted to go as far as they could on the job. Steven used to say he just wanted to go home to Alice every night. He didn’t think much beyond that.”
“What about Conklin?”
“I don’t recall him being part of those conversations, at least not while I was around. What has you asking about him?”
“I’m not supposed to talk about this, but we’ve learned that he knew more about Dad’s shooting than he let on.”
Brenda’s mouth fell open. “What did he know?”
“We interviewed a man who rendered aid to Dad, and that man has contacted Conklin on every anniversary of the shooting. I heard his name for the first time two days ago. Conklin swears he wasn’t on G Street that day, but we have a paramedic who can put him there.”
“But why? Why would he withhold that info? Your dad was his friend.”
“We don’t know, but we’re going to find out.”
Slumping in her chair, Brenda shook her head. “This is just so hard to believe.”
“For all of us.”
“Joe must be reeling.”
“He is.”
“You should talk to Alice. She and Steven were closer to Paul and his first wife than we were. She might have some insight.”
“I’ll do that.” Sam checked her watch. “I need to get going. Thank you for breakfast and the insight.”
“Anytime.”
Brenda got up to walk her to the door and gestured to the keypad lock. “The code is my birthday. Come by anytime and let yourself in. My home is your home.”
Sam hugged her. “I’ll do that.”
“I’m here if I can help.”
“Thank you.”
When she was in the car, Sam put through a call to Malone.
“What’s up?” He sounded rushed and stressed.
“I’m doing some background work. I’ll be in shortly.”