Fatal Jeopardy

by Marie Force

  “You have no way to know that for sure,” he said, even if her assurances bolstered his flagging confidence.

  “No, I don’t, but the truth is on our side. Don’t go in there looking nervous and uncertain. Go in there looking confident that justice will prevail. Alex belongs here with us, and the court will see that too.”

  “I hope you’re right, but just in case, don’t quit your job yet.”

  “I’m doing that no matter what. I need a break. I’ve worked really hard for years. I’ve saved a lot of money, and now I want to use that money to relax a bit and enjoy life.” He knew she took pride in the fact that she never touched the trust fund from her parents. “The campaign about killed me.”

  “Nick will be lost without you, honey.”

  “He’ll be fine. Terry is amazing. I’m sure he’ll promote him to chief of staff, and Nick told me I can come back any time I want. It’s all good.”

  “Tell me you’re really doing this for you and not for me.”

  “I’m doing it for me—and for us.”

  Gonzo kissed her forehead and then her lips. “I love you, and I want you to be happy. If this is what you need right now, then I’m all for it.”

  “Good,” she said with a sigh that sounded an awful lot like relief. “I love you, too, and I love our family. I want to be here for Alex and our other kids when they’re little. I can pick up the career later. It’ll still be there.”

  “How many other kids are we talking?” he asked with a raised brow, hoping to make her smile, which worked as planned.

  “I’ll take whatever we’re blessed to get.”

  “So will I. Sometimes I still can’t believe you picked me when you could’ve had anyone.”

  “Tommy... Why would you say that? You’re everything to me. You have no idea how much I love you. Every time you walk out the door to go to work I pray so hard that you’ll come home safe.” Her eyes filled and she blinked back tears. “Every time.”

  He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. She was the best thing to ever happen to him—right up there with the baby son he hadn’t known about until he saw him and fell instantly in love with him. The tiny dimple in Alex’s chin that was an exact replica of his own had sealed the deal for Gonzo.

  His ringing cell phone interrupted their embrace.

  “I’ve got to take this. The murders at MacArthur are my case.” He glanced at the caller ID, saw Sam’s name and took the call. “Hey, what’s up?”

  “I have a situation.”

  “Another one?” Gonzo had been shocked to hear that Sam’s niece might’ve been at the house before the murders. She’d done the right thing by coming clean about her potential personal connection, but he knew she hadn’t done so easily.

  “Several of them, actually. Scotty saw the drop-off at my place last night.”

  “Oh, shit.”

  “And Brooke is making the rounds on social media. Photos and video of the party before it went bad.” Sam let out a rattling sigh. “I’m between a rock and very hard place on this, Gonzo. I heard what the chief said, and I agree about the conflict of interest, but I can’t not be involved.”

  “So we’ll keep you behind the scenes.”

  “That’s what I hoped you’d say. I’m waiting to hear from the headmaster at Brooke’s school to figure out how the hell she got out of there last night. I want to know everything that happened from the time she left the school until I found her on my front porch.”

  “If you focus on that part, you’ll take a big load off me. I’ve got to figure out timelines for nine other kids. Cruz, McBride and Tyrone are working on that now. I called in Archelotta to get him going on the cell phones, and Dominguez and Carlucci are going home for six hours and then coming back. We may need some overtime on this one.”

  “Malone can authorize it.” She hesitated before she added, “I’m afraid this whole thing is going to come down on my niece somehow.”

  “You said she was totally out of it, right?”

  “Yeah, and the video shows she was out of it before some of the vics were dead, but still... Where are her clothes? Where’s her cell phone and purse? Probably in that pile of clothes and phones at MacArthur, so you’ll have no choice but to look at her, which will make this video that shows her being sexually assaulted by three guys necessary to her case, which will in turn ruin her life. The whole thing makes me sick.”

  “Let’s take it a step at a time. Any idea on the source of the pictures and video?”

  “It came from an account called WilsonSeniors. I assume that’s Wilson High School seniors, so I’m waiting for a call back from the principal.”

  “You know your friend Hill might be useful here. He could get us access to the FBI’s Cybercrimes Unit. You ought to give him a call.”

  “Ugh. Wouldn’t I owe him a favor then?”

  Gonzo laughed, relieved to see a spark of humor from his lieutenant and friend. “If it means shutting down the account and getting that video offline before it goes viral, will you care about owing him one?”

  “You’re right. I’m calling him now.”

  “Hang in there, Sam, and keep me posted on what you find out about Brooke.”

  “One other thing before I let you go. When Brooke comes to... She’s mine. No one else talks to her until I do.”

  “Sam...”

  “I mean it, Gonzo. I’d never do anything to fuck up your investigation. You know that. But she’s mine.”

  He couldn’t deny he’d feel the same way in her shoes. “And you’ve got my back when this whole thing blows up in my face?”

  “I’ve always got your back.”

  And that was exactly why he said, “Do what you’ve got to do, Lieutenant, and let me know how I can help.”

  “I’ve got to take this call from the headmaster. I’ll talk to you later—and Gonzo, good luck in court.”

  She was gone before he could reply.

  * * *

  “Lieutenant Holland.”

  “This is Gideon Young. I have some information for you.” He cleared his throat, which hadn’t needed clearing, so Sam knew he was nervous about what he had to say. “Ms. Hogan was checked out at nineteen hundred hours yesterday by her older sister, Danielle, who produced a driver’s license and a notarized note from your sister, Mrs. Tracy Hogan, allowing her older daughter to pick up Brooke.”

  “That would be all well and good if Brooke had an older sister! What kind of rinky-dink operation are you running down there? My sister and her husband paid you twenty thousand dollars to keep their daughter safe, and now she’s lying in the ICU fighting for her life.” She wasn’t exactly fighting for her life anymore, but Young didn’t need to know that.

  “With all due respect, Lieutenant—”

  “Save your due respect for someone who cares. I want a description of this so-called older sister, and any security video that might show the pickup.”

  “You’ll need a warrant for the video.”

  “You’ll need a lawyer for the lapse. Maybe if we help each other out, I’ll encourage my sister and brother-in-law to settle out of court rather than making a public spectacle out of your egregious lack of security.”

  “Are you threatening me, Lieutenant?”

  “What do you think? Send me that video within one hour. Here’s my email address. Are you writing it down?” She gave him her personal address so it wouldn’t go through the department server. “One hour or get ready for some very ugly press.”

  Sam hung up before he could reply to that. She took a moment to run her fingers through her hair as she contemplated her next move. Willingly calling in the FBI went against everything she believed in, but Gonzo was right. Their Cybercrimes Unit was second to none, and if anyone could track down the origin of those pictures and vid
eos, the Feds could. Since time wasn’t on her side, Sam reached for her phone with tremendous reluctance.

  Avery answered on the first ring. “Miss me, Lieutenant?” That sweet Southern accent would make a lesser woman swoon. Sam was never so grateful not to be a lesser woman.

  “Yeah, like a whore misses the clap when it finally clears up.”

  Ringing laughter had her holding the phone away from her ear. “What can I do for you this fine day?”

  “I need a favor. A personal favor.”

  His silence was just as loud as the laughter had been. “What’s going on, Sam?”

  She told him what had happened to Brooke and the murdered teenagers. “I need help tracking down the source of that video, and I need to get it offline before it ruins her life. You guys are the best at the cyber stuff. I need the best.”

  “You’ll have it. I was planning to head home to Charleston for the holiday today, but I can change my plans.”

  “Avery, no. Don’t do that. Surely you have people you can call.”

  “I’ll see to this personally.”

  Sam leaned her head on her hand. “I have no right to ask this of you.”

  “We’re friends, right? Friends help each other out.”

  What went unsaid was that he’d expressed an interest in being much more than friends with her, which was never, ever going to happen. Though they both knew that, his help had been invaluable on the Vasquez case this past summer, and she did consider him a friend as well as a colleague. “Yes.”

  “Wow, that was the longest pause in the history of long pauses.”

  “I’m sorry. I have a lot on my mind, and I’m not good at asking for help. I got taken off the case.”

  “Because of the possible connection to your niece.”

  “Right.”

  “So what’s your plan?”

  Sam smiled, because he thought like she did and knew she’d have a plan. “I’m pursuing the portion that involves Brooke, trying to figure out how she ended up in the ICU when she was supposed to be on lockdown at school in Virginia.”

  “Why lockdown?”

  “The usual reasons. She was nasty and willful and in with the wrong crowd and on track to go very bad. Her parents felt they had no choice.”

  “Sounds like they’re good parents who love their kid.”

  “They are and they do.”

  “Then let’s make sure all their love and care isn’t for naught. Have you requested a warrant for her room at the school yet?”

  “Not yet. It was next on my list.”

  “I’ll get you one. Our involvement will help with the jurisdictional shit.”

  “I’ll owe you one.”

  “Yes, you will.”

  Sam’s mouth fell open in surprise.

  His soft chuckle made her realize he was joking. At least she thought so.

  “I’ll be back in touch shortly.”

  “Thank you, Avery.”

  Sam ended the call, put down the phone and rested her head on her hands, her head spinning with so many threads to pull she had enough for fringe.

  “Why the hell are you talking to him?”

  Sam spun around to find her husband in the doorway looking fierce and furious. He’d picked right up on Agent Hill’s interest in her and had made it clear he wanted the agent nowhere near his wife. Unfortunately, their work kept throwing them together and they’d formed a collegial, if often uncomfortably reluctant friendship despite her husband’s alpha tendencies.

  “I need his help.”

  “What for?”

  “He’s got access to cyber-geeks who can get the videos of my niece being raped off the Internet faster than I can with my resources. He can cut through jurisdictional warfare to get me a warrant to search her room at school. I need his help.” This was said softly the second time as the adrenaline she’d been running on seemed to leech from her bones all of a sudden. She was so fucking exhausted and had miles to go before she could sleep.

  “I don’t like you being indebted to him.”

  “I don’t like it either, but I like those videos a whole lot less than I don’t like him.” The statement didn’t even make sense to her, but hopefully he got the gist. And frankly, she wasn’t up for fighting with him. She had too many other things to do.

  “Your dad is here. He wants an update on Brooke and the case, and he said Darren Tabor is outside hoping for a word with you.”

  Sam’s exhaustion quadrupled at the news that the pesky Washington Star reporter was sniffing around. Of course he was. An ambulance had been called to her house last night. He and others would want to know why. First things first, she thought, as she got up to see her dad.

  Nick stopped her progress by putting his arm across the doorway.

  Sam looked up at him, unused to being so consistently annoyed by him. “What?”

  “When are you going to sleep?”

  “Later.”

  “That’s not the right answer.”

  “It’s the only one I’ve got right now.” Careful not to brush against his injured side, she scooted under his arm and went to the living room where her dad was talking to Scotty.

  Skip’s sharp blue eyes shifted to Sam as she walked into the room with Nick right behind her. Seeing her dad in her house reminded her of how thankful she was for the husband who’d had the foresight to install a ramp at their house so her paralyzed father could come and go as he pleased. That ramp had effectively doubled the number of places Skip could visit whenever he felt like it.

  Sam bent to kiss his cheek and squeeze the right hand that retained sensation.

  “Hey, baby girl. What’s the latest?”

  Sam glanced at Scotty, reluctant to speak freely in front of him despite what he’d already seen and heard. “How much do you know?”

  “Enough to be sick with worry—and fear for our Brooke.”

  Upon closer scrutiny, she could see the exhaustion etched into his face and deduced he hadn’t slept much the night before. A flash of anger directed at Brooke overtook Sam. With a huge and potentially life-threatening surgery pending, her dad needed all the rest he could get, not sleepless nights worried about a granddaughter gone wild.

  “Scotty, will you do me a favor, buddy?” she asked.

  “Sure.”

  “Will you make me a coffee? I’m about to fall over. I need a boost.”

  “No problem.” He got up and dashed out of the room. After Nick taught Scotty to make hot chocolate in the Keurig, he’d taken over all the coffee-making duties. They called him their barista.

  While they had the room to themselves, Sam gave her dad a quick summary of everything she knew so far about what’d happened the night before and recited her list of unanswered questions. Not wanting to upset him any more, she purposely skimmed over Scotty’s potential involvement as well as the part about pictures and videos cropping up on the Internet.

  “What else?” Skip asked, eying her shrewdly.

  “What makes you think there’s more?”

  “Because I know you, and you never could lie to me. Not sure why you’d try to start now.”

  “You’re supposed to be resting and relaxing and gearing up for surgery. I don’t want to lay a pile of shit at your feet right now.”

  “You didn’t. Brooke did. Tell me the rest.”

  With tremendous reluctance, she told him how Scotty had witnessed the drop-off at their house and about the photos and videos online.

  “Goddamn it,” he whispered. “This’ll crush poor Tracy. And Mike...”

  “They’ll get through it,” Sam said with more confidence than she felt. How did one get through having their teenage daughter gang-raped and then having the attack broadcast to the world? “If there’s any blessing, Br
ooke was so stoned she won’t remember any of it.”

  “Until she sees the video.”

  “Hopefully we can make it go away before then, but...”

  “But what?”

  “The video, along with her tox screen and BAC, proves she was stoned out of her mind before the murders. It might be the only thing that keeps her off the suspect list.”

  “Jesus.”

  Scotty came back carefully balancing a steaming cup of coffee presented in her favorite Redskins mug. “Here you go, Sam.”

  “You’re the best. Thanks.”

  “Did I do the cream and sugar right this time?”

  Sam took a sip. “Mmm, perfect.”

  He beamed at her.

  She extended her arm to him. “Come sit by me.”

  Careful not to jostle her when she held hot coffee, he sat next to her and allowed her to put her arm around him.

  He dropped his head onto her shoulder as Nick watched them, arms crossed and a stormy expression on his face that told her he was still wound up about her call to Agent Hill. Too bad. She’d do it again if it meant getting Brooke out of this awful mess.

  She turned her focus to Scotty, running her fingers through his silky dark hair that was so much like Nick’s they could’ve been biological father and son. “How you holding up, pal?”

  “Okay.”

  “You want to talk about it?”

  He was quiet for a long moment. “Not really.”

  “You saw some upsetting stuff about your new cousin. It’s only natural to have questions.”

  “I was wondering...”

  “You can say it. It’s okay.”

  “Why did she let them do that to her?” This was said with a quiver of his chin that broke Sam’s heart. She wanted to go back in time to the night before at the ice rink and bring Scotty to the ER with them. Maybe he wouldn’t have seen such upsetting things if he’d slept at home the night before.

  “She didn’t let them, buddy. She was drunk and high, and they took advantage of her.”

  “Why would they do that?”