Fatal Consequences Read online

  Christina’s hand landed on his back, and he glanced over at her to find that she, too, was overwhelmed.

  “What’s his name?” Gonzo asked.

  “I haven’t named him yet.”

  Startled, Gonzo looked up at her. “But he’s a couple of months old!”

  “Believe me, I know how old he is.”

  “You have to give him a name.”

  “So that’s how this is going to go? You come into my home and start telling me how to raise my kid?”

  “You called me, Lori. I never would’ve known about him if you hadn’t called. Did you expect me to just go on with my life and act like I’d never heard about him?”

  “Don’t try to pretend you have any interest in him.”

  “Of course I’m interested in him. He’s my son.”

  “Look, it’s really nice of you to come all the way over here to see him, but the only thing I need from you is some money for diapers and day care. I don’t expect anything else.”

  “I want more than that.”

  The front door swung open, bringing a blast of cold air and startling the baby. He began to wail.

  Even though he had next to no experience with babies, Gonzo patted his back.

  “I’ll take him,” Lori said, reaching for him.

  “I don’t mind that he’s crying,” Gonzo said.

  “The lady wants her baby back,” a deep voice said from the foyer.

  Gonzo glanced over to find a giant of a man glaring at him. He had a red bandana tied around his long hair and tattoos on his neck and arms.

  “Take it easy, Rex,” Lori said. “He’s a cop.”

  “Doesn’t give him the right to hold onto your kid when you want him back.”

  “He’s my kid too,” Gonzo said, using his best cop glare on the guy.

  Rex’s eyes widened with surprise. “That so?”

  Lori nodded.

  Rex glowered at her.

  “You really need to go now,” she said to Gonzo. This time when she reached for the baby he let her take him.

  “I’ll go,” Gonzo said. “But I’ll be back. Soon.” With one last look at his son, Gonzo ushered Christina out the front door. Once they were outside, he took a deep gulping breath of fresh air. The stench of cigarette smoke clung to their coats. “She hasn’t even given him a name,” he said, filled with despair.

  Christina pulled her cell phone from her coat pocket.

  “Who are you calling?” Gonzo asked.

  “Nick’s lawyer friend Andy. He specializes in family law.”

  “I should probably check with Sam. She might not appreciate me calling on a friend of Nick’s without asking her first.”

  “I’m sure Sam would want you to do everything you could to take care of your son.”

  He hoped Christina was right. “How could she not even care enough about him to give him a name?”

  Christina squeezed his arm. “Don’t worry. We’re going to take care of him, okay?”

  Gonzo nodded. His entire world had been turned upside down by one tiny dimpled chin, and he was grateful for her cool competence.

  “Give me something, give me anything,” Sam said to Dr. McNamara. Regina Argueta de Castro lay on the table under the glare of fluorescent lights.

  “Twelve weeks pregnant,” Lindsey said.

  “Well, that’s interesting. How soon until you know if the fetus’s DNA matches Senator Lightfeather’s?”

  “A couple of days. I’m running it now.”

  “Anything else?”

  “I got a partial print off the bruises on her buttocks. I ran it through AFIS,” she said, referring to the Automated Fingerprint Identification System. “But no hits. Also, I found semen from two different men in her vagina.”

  “Of course there were two,” Sam said, frustrated that her slam-dunk case against Senator Lightfeather seemed to be falling apart. “Let me know what the DNA shows.”

  “Will do. So how’re the wedding plans coming?”

  “Fine. I guess.” Her stomach clenched when she thought of the wedding she’d agreed to in six short weeks.

  “A proposal in the White House Rose Garden.” Lindsey sighed. “So romantic.”

  “He does have his moments,” Sam conceded. “Get me some info, Doc.”

  “I’m on it.”

  Sam left the morgue and headed for the pit where she found Freddie popping pills. “Are you hungover too?”

  He startled and looked up at her, a guilty expression marking his handsome face. “What? No. Are you?”

  “Not me. Gonzo. Called in sick today.”

  “He wasn’t drinking that much because he had to work today.”

  “So what’s your excuse?”

  “I have a headache, if you must know. And it’s not from drinking. I didn’t sleep very well.”

  “Spare me the gories.” Sam was surprised when he didn’t fire back with the usual retort. “What’s the matter?”

  “Nothing.” He reached for some papers on his desk. “I’ve got McBride’s report from last night. She spoke with several security people at the Capitol who reported seeing Senator Lightfeather there yesterday afternoon into the early evening. One of them reported seeing him leaving around six, and he seemed to be in a rush.”

  Just as he’d said, Sam thought. “We’ve got a DNA match to his semen, but there was a second guy. Lindsey’s running it.”

  “McBride reported that they ‘interrogated the lock’ on his office door and his key card swipes matched up with his timeline.”

  “Let’s get him back into interrogation to cross the Ts before we let him go.”

  “You got it, boss. One other thing. We’ve had several calls from the media asking for confirmation that we’re holding Lightfeather in connection with the murder of a member of the Capitol cleaning staff.”

  “No comment for now.”

  “That’s what I figured you’d say.”

  Sam nodded. “Go get him.”

  “On my way.”

  Sam watched him go, noting the slight hunch to his shoulders. Yes, something was definitely troubling her partner. Before the day was over, she’d get it out of him.

  A few minutes later, she joined Freddie and the senator in one of the interrogation rooms. Lightfeather’s night in jail seemed to have diminished him.

  “Were you aware that Regina was pregnant?” Sam asked.

  Lightfeather’s hands trembled. “Yes.”

  “Was it yours?”

  He nodded.

  “You’re certain of that?”

  “Of course I am.”

  “You’re sure she wasn’t seeing anyone else?”

  “We were together most nights, so I can’t imagine how she’d have time for anyone else.”

  “Didn’t she work nights cleaning the Capitol?”

  “Five nights a week, four to midnight.”

  “You said you were together ‘most nights’. What did she do on the nights she didn’t spend with you?”

  “I’m not sure. She never said.”

  “Did you ask?”

  He nodded. “It was a…a bone of contention between us.”

  “Did she have girlfriends? Anyone she would’ve confided in?”

  “She was quite friendly with several women she worked with, but I’m not sure what she confided in them. I’m confident she told no one about our relationship. She knew what was at stake.”

  “For you or for her?”

  “For both of us. She couldn’t risk losing her job.”

  “What about what was at risk for you?”

  “Obviously, she was well aware of that too.”

  “Was she pressuring you for more? She’s carrying your child, facing possible deportment. I imagine she was quite desperate for some safety and security.”

  “She knew I’d take care of her and the baby, but she wasn’t pressuring me. She was painfully aware of my marital status.”

  “How were you planning to take care of her and the baby whe
n you didn’t have enough money to get an apartment in Washington?”

  Lightfeather’s slumped in his chair. “I was going to do whatever I could for her.”

  “Which wouldn’t have been much, am I right?”

  He shrugged.

  “She had to be feeling quite desperate. Another mouth to feed, day care, diapers. How would she swing all that when she was supporting her family back home?”

  “We didn’t talk a lot about that. We were going to work something out. I told her not to worry. I’d find the money. Somehow.”

  Freddie gestured to Sam, and she nodded to him.

  “Senator,” he said. “Are you familiar with the term ‘anchor baby’?”

  Lightfeather sat up straighter in his chair. “I am.”

  “I’m not,” Sam said. “Enlighten me.”

  “When babies are born to illegal immigrants, they ‘anchor’ their mothers to the United States because the 14th Amendment grants automatic citizenship to anyone born in this country,” Lightfeather said.

  “Ahhh,” Sam said, seeing where Freddie was going with this. Proud of his initiative, she waved her hand to give him the floor.

  “Seeing as Regina’s immigration status was in question, I’m wondering if her pregnancy was planned or not.”

  “It was most definitely not planned.”

  “How does that happen? I have to assume you both knew how to prevent an unwanted pregnancy.”

  The senator’s hands, Sam noted, were trembling.

  “We think it happened that first time. In my office.”

  “You didn’t use protection?” Freddie asked.

  “She said she was on the pill and I believed her.”

  “But she wasn’t?”

  “She was. I saw them later in her purse.”

  “Did she take them?”

  “She swore she did. When she first discovered she was pregnant, she was furious that the pills hadn’t worked.”

  “Or,” Sam said, “they’d worked exactly as she’d intended.”

  Lightfeather’s dark eyes narrowed. “What’re you insinuating?”

  “That you might’ve been duped, Senator. Seduced by a woman who knew exactly what she was doing when she allowed a United States senator to impregnate her.”

  “How dare you say such a thing about her? We were in love! Once I assured her I’d do everything I could to care for her and the baby, she was overjoyed about her pregnancy.”

  “She was overjoyed to be having a baby in the U.S. of A.,” Sam said. “That it was the child of a high-ranking official was a bonus.”

  “I can’t believe you’d say such a thing about a lovely woman who was brutally murdered. You don’t care about her at all. I never should’ve called you.”

  Sam smacked her hand on the table, which startled him. “Don’t tell me who and what I care about. I’ll find out who killed her, and I’ll make sure her killer pays for what he did to her.”

  Lightfeather broke down. “I’m sorry. I know you will. I’m just…I still can’t believe this has happened.” He turned tear-filled eyes up at Sam. “May I please call my wife? I can’t have her hearing about this through the media.”

  Sam glanced at Freddie. “She may have already heard it. We’ve received numerous calls today from reporters who know we have you in custody.”

  The senator moaned and dropped his head into his hands.

  “Detective, please arrange for an outside line for Senator Lightfeather,” Sam said to Freddie.

  “Yes, Lieutenant.”

  Sam stood up. “We’ll give you a minute to make your call. Please be aware that we will be monitoring the call.”

  Freddie brought in a phone and plugged it into a jack. Handing the receiver to the senator, he hit the button to get an outside line.

  Sam and Freddie left him alone and stepped into the observation room where they found Captain Malone and Chief Farnsworth waiting for them.

  “What’ve you got, Lieutenant?” Farnsworth asked.

  “Not enough to charge him,” she said, frustrated. “Let’s listen in for a minute.”

  “Annette,” Lightfeather said, his head resting on his free hand. “Something has happened.” He began to weep as he told his wife about his involvement with Regina. “I need you to come. Can you come?” He listened for a moment. “I know, honey, but I really need you. I’ve made a terrible mistake.”

  Sam wondered if he meant that. From what she’d seen, he’d hardly considered his affair with Regina a mistake. Part of her wanted to call Annette Lightfeather and tell her to stay put in Arizona. Sam hated when political wives stood by their scumbag husbands after they’d embroiled their families in scandal.

  As the conversation ended, Sam deduced that Annette would arrive in Washington before the end of the day. She turned to the chief. “I’m going to release him with orders to stay in the city until we close the case. Even though he’s got motive galore, his alibi for the time of death is tight.” To Freddie, she said, “Tell me more about this anchor baby thing.”

  “I remember reading about it in the paper last year. The numbers were quite startling—something like 8 or 9 percent of all babies born in the U.S. in 2008 were anchor babies. There’s been a lot of talk about repealing the 14th Amendment to close the loophole in the immigration laws.”

  “Didn’t they just pass a new immigration bill?” Sam asked, thinking of the O’Connor-Martin bill that Nick had worked so hard on as John O’Connor’s chief of staff. Ensuring passage of his friend’s bill had been Nick’s first order of business as a senator.

  “Yes,” Freddie said, “but it didn’t address this issue.”

  Sam made a mental note to read up on the amendment and to get Nick’s thoughts on the anchor baby issue. “It’s time to start digging into Regina’s life,” she said.

  “Agreed,” Malone said.

  “Go ahead and spring the senator,” Farnsworth said. “But dig into his life too. He certainly had motive.”

  “We’re on it,” Sam said. “Cruz, let’s have him make the call to Regina’s family before we release him.”

  “One thing, L.T.,” Freddie said, “McBride let me know that she’s getting stonewalled by the cell phone company. They’re not willing to release records for Regina or especially Lightfeather without subpoenas.”

  “McBride told them she’d been murdered?”

  Freddie nodded. “The direct quote was something like, ‘We’re not giving you the private cell records of a United States senator without a subpoena. We don’t care what he’s suspected of.’ Don’t forget—her cell was in his name. He got it for her and paid for it, so they’re both listed as his.”

  “Well, then get them the subpoenas. I want that data ASAP.”

  “You got it,” Freddie said on his way out.

  “I don’t get these powerful guys who risk everything and think they’re never going to get caught,” Malone said.

  “I don’t get the passive political wives who stand by their men,” Sam said. “If my husband cheated on me, there’s no way he’d get me to stand meekly by him while he tried to explain away his failings.” She watched as the two men exchanged amused glances. “What?”

  “Given this some significant thought, huh?” Farnsworth said.

  “Hardly,” Sam said with a snort. “My future husband knows if he ever cheats on me I’d shoot him before I’d ever stand by his side like the humiliated little wife.”

  The two men laughed.

  “You think I’m kidding?” Sam asked.

  “Oh, we know you mean it,” Malone said, making a poor attempt at a serious expression. “Poor Nick. Someone really ought to warn him.”

  “No one needs to warn him,” Farnsworth said. “He knows he’s got the best of the best at home. Why would he ever look elsewhere?”

  Embarrassed by the compliment, Sam smiled at the man she’d called Uncle Joe as a child. “Thank you for that.”

  “I only speak the truth.” He headed for the door with Mal
one following him. “Keep us in the loop.”

  “I will.” When she was alone, Sam got to work on her murder board, beginning at the left side with photos from the crime scene. She made a column for information about Lightfeather.

  Freddie returned to the room. “Um, boss, we have a small problem.”

  “What’s that?”

  “The building is surrounded by press. They know we’ve got Lightfeather here, and they’re clamoring for the story.”

  Sam thought for a second. “Here’s what we’re going to do.”

  Chapter 6

  Nick slid into the back of the sedan and quickly shut the door. “Jesus,” he said to his driver, Tony. “That was insane.”

  Tony chuckled. “You’re more popular than ever, Senator. Never seen anything like the numbers you’re drawing on the stump.”

  “Senator O’Connor had similar turnouts.”

  “Not like this he didn’t.” He glanced into the rearview mirror. “Ready for your next stop?”

  “Yes.” Nick rested his head back against the seat. “Thanks.” He watched the VCU campus roll past. “What do you suppose it is, Tony?”

  “Sir?”

  “That brings them out in such numbers.”

  Once again, Tony laughed. “You’re young, handsome, full of hope, humble. People relate to you and your story.”

  “Senator O’ Connor was all those things too.”

  “He didn’t have the same…what’s the word I’m looking for? Charisma.”

  “It’s because I took his place after he died.”

  “You’d be selling yourself short if you think it’s just that. There’s something about you they’ve connected with.”

  “Yeah, my love life. They’re all connected to that.”

  “Doesn’t hurt,” Tony said, smiling into the mirror. “It’s a combination of all those things. You were the right guy at the right time.”

  “I guess.” Nick pondered what Tony had said. He’d known the man a long time as he’d been John’s driver for years. Living as close as he did to the state he represented, Nick—and John before him—relied on Tony to get him around to campaign stops that were within driving distance.