by Marie Force
“Will do. What else?”
“Dig into his life. I need all the usual info, including financials.”
“Got it. Where’d you find him?”
“In a Dumpster behind Air and Space.”
“Whoa,” Gonzo said. “Tossing him in the trash. That makes a statement, huh?”
“Sure does. Freaking sports in this country. Totally out of hand.”
“No kidding. I’m on it and will report in when I have something. So Farnsworth released you from time-out, huh?”
“Um, not exactly.”
Gonzo’s bark of laughter made Sam smile. “I love it,” he said.
“Get to work, Detective.” She ended the call and passed the phone back to Freddie, who handled it gingerly before jamming it into his coat pocket. “Where the hell is McNamara?”
“Here I come,” Lindsey called. “Sorry for the delay. The streets are a mess. What’ve we got?”
Sam filled Lindsey in and then told Cruz to help the M.E. into the Dumpster.
As she came over the top, Lindsey’s nose wrinkled at the scent. Her ponytail bobbed from side to side as she landed next to Sam. She took a series of photos of the victim. “Help me turn him over.”
Sam held her breath at the stench as she took his feet while Lindsey worked the shoulders. His face was unmarked, but a huge pool of blood covered what had once been a white dress shirt.
Lindsey took more photos. “Looks like a stab wound,” Lindsey said, moving in for a closer look.
“Only one?”
“I can’t tell for sure until I get him back to the morgue.”
“No defensive wounds on his hands,” Sam said.
“No other visible injuries.” After she encased his hands with paper bags to seal in any evidence, Lindsey signaled for her team to bring over the stretcher and body bag. “Let’s get him out of here.”
Sam and Lindsey worked together with Cruz’s help to lift Willie out of the Dumpster into the waiting hands of two members of the medical examiner’s staff.
One of them was a young man with blond hair and blue eyes that bugged when he recognized the victim.
Sam repeated her tight lid orders to Lindsey and her team. “Don’t tell anyone about this. That means no one.”
“Y-yes, ma’am,” the blond kid said. He and his partner zipped Willie into a body bag.
With her hands on the edge of the Dumpster, Sam jumped down to the alley, narrowly missing Cruz, who scooted out of her way. He’d been watching the removal of Willie’s body and hadn’t seen her coming. She flashed him a grin as he recoiled from the smell of her.
“Commandeer a patrol car to take me home to change,” she said to her partner.
“Do I have to go with you?”
She dropped her keys into his hand. “After you get my phone out of the car, you can bring it to HQ.”
“Oh, thank God,” he said as he walked away to break the bad news to one of the patrolmen.
Sam reached up to help Lindsey down.
When she was back on terra firma, Lindsey pulled off her latex gloves. “This is going to be huge.”
“Aren’t they all?”
“Some are bigger than others.”
“True.” Sam’s mind raced, putting together a dog-choking to-do list. She’d wanted a juicy murder to sink her teeth into. This was about as juicy as it got. Maybe there was something wrong with her, but she lived for this shit.
Before the word got out about their victim’s identity, she needed to consult with the department brass about making sure the city was as locked down as it could be to prevent more rioting and violence. However, the minute she contacted Farnsworth she’d probably be put back in time-out. That couldn’t happen, she thought, mulling the dilemma as she walked with Lindsey from the alley to Independence Avenue.
She saw Freddie point to her, and the patrol officer he was talking to shook his head. Sam nearly laughed at the pained expression on the officer’s face.
“I’m going home to change. I’ll see you at the morgue shortly.”
“I’ll get right on it,” Lindsey assured her.
“Thanks, Doc.”
Lindsey shook her head, dismay stamped into her expression. “Just think, this time yesterday he was getting ready for the biggest game of his career, and now he’s dead.”
“Sad to think that one error in a distinguished career could’ve led to this.”
“Some disgruntled fan probably decided to teach him a lesson.”
“Probably,” Sam said, although she’d learned to look beyond the obvious when investigating murder. “See you back at HQ.”
“See ya there.”
After Lindsey got into the passenger side of the medical examiner’s van and it sped away, Sam called Cruz over. “Get crime scene here and have them do a thorough search of all the Dumpsters and nearby trash receptacles. We’re looking for the murder weapon, most likely a knife. Remember—tight lid. This can’t get out until we’re ready to let it out.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Cruz said, sucking up as always, but she could count on him to manage the scene until the CSU detectives took over. He handed her phone over.
“I’ll meet you back at HQ in an hour.” When she was satisfied that he had the situation under control, Sam went to make the day of the patrol officer Cruz had tapped to drive her home.
Once settled in the back of the patrol car with an extremely disgruntled patrolman driving her home with all the windows open, Sam made the call to Hill.
“What’s up?” he asked when he answered.
“WV is dead,” she said, keeping her voice as low as possible so the patrolman wouldn’t hear her.
“What? I can’t hear you.”
“The person we spoke of during the night... Dead.”
“Oh, fuck. Seriously?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Stabbed in the chest and tossed in a Dumpster behind Air and Space.”
“Christ.”
“I’m on my way home to shower after digging him out of the Dumpster, and then I’m heading back to HQ. I could use your help on gaining access to the team if you’re game. No pun intended.”
“Sure, yeah. I can help with that.”
“Let me get with my brass and figure out how we’re going to play this one, and then I’ll get back to you.”
“Thanks for letting me know.”
“I’m sorry to say you were right about this.”
“Hell of a thing to be right about.”
“Judging from his appearance, he’s been dead a while.”
“Where do we even begin to get to the bottom of this one?” Hill asked, his tone weary.
“I haven’t the first clue, but we’ll get it done. We always do.”
* * *
Gonzo arrived at the apartment he shared with his fiancée, Christina Billings, and his young son. Alex crawled to the door when he heard Gonzo come in. The crawling was new, and while keeping track of the baby had become more complicated since he’d figured out how to get around on his own, Gonzo loved watching his son grow and thrive.
“Dada,” Alex said, raising his chubby arms.
Gonzo’s heart melted as he scooped up the dark-haired little boy who looked just like him and spun him around.
“Careful,” Christina said, emerging from their bedroom in one of the sharp, sexy suits she wore to work as Nick’s chief of staff. Her blond hair was tamed into a sophisticated twist that Gonzo loved to mess up when she got home from a long day on Capitol Hill or on the campaign trail. “He’s got a belly full of oatmeal that won’t look good all over you.”
“Ohhh,” Gonzo said to Alex, “Mama saves the day.” Rather than swing the little guy around, Gonzo tickled his belly, drawing a deep chortle from Alex. “I love that laugh.”
“And you go to astonishing lengths to make him do it,” Christina said, sliding into sky-high heels as she smiled at them.
“Want me to take him to Ang?” Gonzo asked. Sam’s sis
ter Angela watched Alex for them during the day.
“It’s on my way. I don’t mind dropping him off.” She came over to him, caressed Gonzo’s scruffy jaw and kissed him.
Alex made a kissy face that made them both laugh.
“Long night, huh?” Christina said.
“Very long and not over yet.” Because he trusted her with his life as well as his son, he told her about Willie.
“Oh my God, you’re kidding.”
“Wish I was.”
“God,” she said again. “What’s wrong with this world?”
“Too many things to list when you’ve got somewhere to be.”
Her wistful expression had him wondering what she was thinking, but Alex yanked on his hair, wanting his attention. Gonzo kissed his son’s neck until he was giggling madly. “You need to go see Ang and the kids, buddy.”
“Jack,” Alex said. Angela’s son’s name had been the boy’s first word, which had been an endless source of hilarity to all of them. No mama or dada for his boy. Nope, he was already out making friends.
“You’ll see Jack after school, but baby Ella will be there,” Gonzo said as he handed Alex over to Christina. “Thanks for watching him, babe.” He still felt guilty when his work kept him away from home for long hours.
“You know I love him as much as you do.”
“I know.” He kissed her cheek and then her lips. “We need a night alone. Soon.”
“I’d be all for that. Name the time and place, Detective.”
“I’ll work on that.”
“Will you be here later?”
“I gotta sleep at some point, but I’ll be working from here for a while today. Not sure what’s going on, schedule-wise. Let me know if you need me to get Alex from Angela’s later.”
“We’ve got a free night on the campaign tonight, so I may be home at a decent hour. I’ll text you.”
“Sounds good. Love you guys.”
“Love you too,” she said on the way out the door with his son in her arms. She’d been such a trouper about stepping up for Alex—and for him—since he’d learned about the son he’d fathered with a woman he’d been with exactly once. Lori Phillips. The name had barely registered with him when he first heard about the baby. Now it gave him nightmares as a custody battle loomed.
He’d kept a lot of the details from Christina, not wanting to worry her in the midst of Nick’s reelection campaign when she was so busy and distracted. Thinking now of Lori, he recalled the message he’d received yesterday from his lawyer Andy. He’d put off returning the call because he’d been in such a great mood before the baseball game and hadn’t wanted to hear whatever bad news Andy might have for him.
Now, however, he placed the call to Andy, knowing he couldn’t put it off forever, as much as he wanted to.
“Hey, Tommy,” Andy said when he came on the line a minute later. “So I’ve heard back from Lori’s attorney. Apparently, she’s successfully completed rehab, ended her relationship with Rex and moved into a two-bedroom apartment.”
Each bit of information hit Gonzo like knives to the heart. He had no illusions about why Lori was working so hard to get her life together.
“Tommy? Are you there?”
“I’m here. Waiting for the really bad news.”
“Here it is—she intends to file for full custody.”
The breath left his lungs in a whoosh. His legs buckled, and he dropped onto the sofa. “You can’t be serious. He’s lived with me for more than six months. All that time she’s had hardly any interest in him.”
“I don’t think that’s exactly true. She’s been in rehab for a lot of those months.”
“And in the meantime, we’ve become a family. My fiancée has become his mother.”
“She’s not technically his mother, and you both know that.”
“Still...”
“I get it. Trust me, I definitely see this from your point of view, but the fact remains that Lori is his biological mother, and she does have rights.”
“Rights,” Gonzo snorted. “What about my son’s rights?”
“He has them too, and the court will take them into consideration.”
“So you see this going to court?” Gonzo asked, a sinking feeling invading his abdomen.
“I do, unless you and Lori are able to come to some sort of arrangement on your own.”
That was highly unlikely, Gonzo thought, as he hadn’t even spoken to the woman in months.
“How do you wish to proceed?” Andy asked. “I could set up a meeting with Lori and her attorney. Give you two a chance to hammer this out amicably.”
“Do you recommend that?”
“It’s always advised to keep things as friendly as you can for as long as you can. Perhaps you can work out something that works for both of you, short of going to court.”
“I don’t want anything less than full custody.”
“You need to be prepared for the fact that she wants the same thing.”
“She can’t possibly have as strong a case as I do as the parent who has cared for him all this time.”
“Maybe not, but she is the child’s mother, Tommy, and the court will be pleased by the changes she’s made. It shows that she has good intentions.”
“Where were her good intentions when she hadn’t even bothered to give my son a name months after he was born?” Gonzo couldn’t keep the bitterness from creeping into his tone.
“Should I set up the meeting?”
Gonzo thought about it for a long moment, weighing the pros and cons. “Yeah, go ahead. See if you can make it for after the election. Christina has enough on her plate between now and then.”
“I’ll see what I can do and be back in touch. Hang in there, okay?”
“I’m trying. Thanks, Andy.”
“No problem. Talk soon.”
Gonzo put his phone on the coffee table and reached for one of the teddy bears Alex slept with. The scent of baby shampoo and powder clinging to the bear brought tears to his eyes. Thinking of a long, protracted, expensive battle with Lori only added to his weariness. All he wanted was a peaceful life with Christina and Alex and any other children they might be blessed with. Was that too much to ask?
Apparently, he thought bitterly. He could never regret the one-night stand that had brought Alex into his life so unexpectedly last winter. At the time, he’d been stunned to learn he had a son with a woman he barely remembered. Now he couldn’t imagine a day, let alone a life, without the boy at the center of it. He’d fight for him with everything he had for as long as it took to ensure their family stayed together.
The thought of telling Christina that they might be in for a fight with the baby’s mother filled him with pain. They’d both submitted to the fantasy of letting Alex think of her as his mother. Why wouldn’t they when his real mother barely showed an ounce of interest in him?
Christina was amazing with him, as devoted to him as she was to Gonzo. They’d barely begun dating when Lori dropped the bomb on him about Alex, but Christina had rolled with it from the beginning. It was simple, she always said, she loved him, and she loved his son.
Gonzo got up and flipped on the radio, tuning it to WFBR, the station owned by the Feds. Then he went into the kitchen to brew a pot of coffee that would be critical to remaining awake after the night without sleep. He got busy on his laptop digging into Willie Vasquez’s life and listened to the hate spewing forth from angry fans on the radio. But all the while, his thoughts were on the little boy he loved and the looming fight to keep him where he belonged.
Chapter Four
Sam arrived home in time to catch Nick as he was about to leave for the Hill. When she came in the door, his gorgeous face lit up with that sexy grin she loved so much.
“This is a nice surprise,” he said, approaching her, his intentions obvious.
She held up her hands to stop him from getting any closer and started stripping out of her foul clothes right inside the front door.
&nb
sp; “Scotty and Shelby?”
“Left ten minutes ago.”
Removing the holster that held her service weapon, she put it on a table next to her badge and cuffs.
Nick’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open as he took in the striptease. “To what do I owe this unexpected show?”
“I’ve been Dumpster diving.”
“Seriously?”
“Yep. That’s where someone tossed Willie Vasquez after they stabbed him to death.”
All the color drained from her husband’s cheeks as he gasped. “No...”
“Afraid so.”
“Oh my God. Scotty...”
“I know. That was my first thought too.” She picked up her clothes and sneakers. “Sorry, but I’ve got to take a shower.”
“Sure,” he said absently, still processing the news. “Go ahead.”
“Come up with me.”
He checked his watch and then followed her upstairs to their bedroom where she dropped her clothes and sneakers into the washer located in their bathroom, dumped in twice the usual amount of detergent and set the water to the hottest setting.
Then she turned the water to boiling in the shower. “I’ll be quick,” she said to her husband.
“I’d rather you be thorough.”
That drew a laugh from Sam as she stepped under the hot water and got busy scrubbing every square inch of her body. The last time she’d scrubbed her skin so hard was after Clarence Reese blew his brains out while standing right next to her. Thinking about that awful day made her shudder as she turned her thoughts to the latest case.
Where to even begin figuring out who killed Willie when every person in the metropolitan area had motive after his blunder cost the home team an easy victory the night before?
As she worked conditioner through her long hair, she pondered that question and others, including whether she’d even be allowed to work the case. That was a battle she’d willingly fight as the most seasoned homicide detective in the city. Farnsworth would be crazy to trust such a potentially explosive case to anyone but her, and while the chief could be stubborn at times, he was far from crazy.