by Robin Mahle
“You knew he was fucking around on you and did nothing? Said nothing?”
“You think I’m the first politician’s wife to be cheated on? I knew what I signed up for from the very beginning. My God, Phil, did you kill those women because Grant was screwing them?”
“I had no choice. He was destroying everything I built. He was destroying you.”
“You built?” Grant lunged toward him. “I’m the one who was elected, not you. Who the hell do you think you are? You killed them? Janine?”
Vega pulled his weapon and pointed it at Grant.
“No!” Sue screamed out. “Don’t. Please. Don’t.”
“Why do you care after what he’s done? I was trying to protect you. Don’t you see that?”
Copeland peered at him. “How could I have missed it? Something that is now so utterly obvious. You’re in love with her. You’re in love with my wife.”
“I have something to show you.” Vega continued to point his weapon at Copeland. “Go. Both of you. Or I swear, I’ll shoot this son of a bitch right in front of you, Sue. Do as I say now. Go sit down.”
Sue cast her gaze between the two of them and appeared ready to heed Vega’s warning. “What is it you want me to see?”
Vega moved toward the couch and retrieved his laptop, placing it on the coffee table. He booted up the computer. “Sit down. Both of you.” With the laptop running, he opened the files and a video began to play.
Sue and Grant Copeland watched as the images displayed on the screen. It was the apartment they were in now.
“You put cameras in here?” Grant looked to Vega. “You’re fucking sick.”
“I warned you to stop. That it would not only destroy your marriage, but also your career. But you didn’t listen and now four women are dead.”
“What do you mean, four? Phil, who was it this time? Whose life did you take as a way to what? Get back at me?”
Sue watched as the video played. It was Janine Atherton and she was in bed with her husband. The sounds of their lovemaking made her cringe and look away.
“Look at what he did to you. He humiliated you,” Vega said. “And this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many others.”
“Stop. Turn it off—please. How could you turn against us, Phil? How could you do this to me? If you are in love with me, then why put me through this? Did you really believe I could ever forgive you for murdering innocent women?”
“Innocent? Is that what you think they were?” Vega shook his head wildly. “They were whores. And I made sure everyone knew it. They were just as much to blame as Grant and they got what they deserved. And now it’s his turn.”
“You can’t keep us here. They’ll figure out where we are,” Grant said.
“Probably, but it’s not like I thought I’d get out of this unscathed. The point now is to make you suffer as much as you’ve made your wife suffer. I have loved you, Sue. For a very long time and I’d hoped you’d see who Grant really was. I guess maybe you did, but didn’t care.”
“I did care, but not enough to destroy my family. Ruin my children’s lives and burn down Grant’s career. He could’ve gone so much farther and you’ve annihilated that now. If anyone has destroyed me, Phil, it’s you.”
The medical examiner pulled the sheet over the victim’s head. “I’m sorry, but that’s everything I have right now. I wish I had more.”
“So do we,” Kate replied.
“What do you think we should do now?” Quinn folded his arms and considered her like a teacher guiding his student.
“Find Mrs. Copeland. Find Vega and the congressman too. What else can we do?” She retrieved her cell. “Thank you again, Dr. Carr. We’ve still got a lot of work ahead of us.” Kate pushed through the door and made the call. “Where are you? Nothing yet from the ME’s office. Anything on CCTV? The prints?” Kate’s eyes widened as she looked to Quinn. “You did? That’s good. Some good news. Sure, we’ll head back to the station now.” With renewed confidence, Kate slipped the phone back into her pocket. “Vasquez says they got Copeland and Vega on surveillance from the hotel. Vega was seen going into the room with a suitcase after Copeland checked out. Came out a few minutes later. It was reported that day that sheets had been taken from the room.”
“That doesn’t help us find either one of them.”
“No. But it’s safe to assume who the murderer is and I bet the prints will match too. It’s Phillip Vega.”
The Metro Police station was still swarming with reporters. Word spread quickly that the congressman hadn’t shown up to get a statement on record. And it was no longer a local story. In Washington, with a political climate as volatile as this one, everyone wanted in on the deal. The national stage had been set and the time had come for Kate to jump into the fray.
“You’re here. Good.” Phelps spotted Kate and Noah Quinn in the doorway. “Get inside and close the door. The rest of your team are here too.”
“Any luck on your end tracking down Vega?” she asked.
“Not yet. I’ve got people searching his known hangouts, his house, parents’ house. Any place we can think of where he might hole up with the congressman. And, we did get prints back. It confirms what we already know.”
“That it’s Vega,” Kate replied. “And what about Mrs. Copeland? Any sign of her yet?”
“No,” Vasquez said. “It’s looking like she may be with them, either voluntarily—or not.”
“What about Karen Hildebrand? Is she safe?” Kate looked to Dwight.
“I reached out to her via Scarborough. She’s safe.”
“Thank God. What about any others?”
“We did see another on the CCTV footage. I’ve asked our people to run the images through FACE in hopes of getting a positive ID,” Vasquez began. “I did have an interesting call from Pearson regarding Tasha Brenner. She wasn’t captured on video with Copeland. Though that’s not a surprise considering the length of time that had passed since their relationship. I think it’s now safe to say Vega knew where she lived and waited.”
“Why’s that?” Kate continued.
“Pearson said he and Ramos cleared the man she’d been with earlier in the evening. His prints turned up on a bottle of beer in her living room. Given what we know about Vega now, I figure he broke into her house and did the deed after that guy left.” Vasquez looked to Phelps. “There is one thing. Do we know if the Copelands have just the one property? Is there a vacation home we don’t know about where Vega might be?”
“We aren’t aware of any additional properties.” Phelps returned to his computer and began typing. “But I can search and find out for sure.”
“What about a BOLO on Vega’s car or Copeland’s?” Kate began pacing the room. “Someone has to have seen them. Are your people on the lookout?”
Phelps shook his head. “I’ll get one issued now.” He nodded to an officer standing near.
“What the hell? That should’ve been done hours ago when neither showed up here.”
“I got it handled, okay, Reid? Just back the fuck off.”
Dwight stepped in. “That’s enough. We don’t need any in-fighting right now. Not when there could be more lives at stake.”
Kate appeared disgusted. “Unbelievable. You do realize the gravy train is off the track, right?”
“Excuse me?” Phelps moved nearer to Kate. “What the hell did you just say to me?”
“You heard me. You’re a real piece of work. You think we don’t all know what you’ve done?”
Phelps refused to let go her gaze. “Agent Jameson, you’d better call her off. I think her leash is a little too long.”
“Reid, get the hell out of here,” Jameson replied. “Don’t make me do something we’ll all regret.”
“Come on. Let’s get some coffee. There’s still a lot of work to be done.” Vasquez took Kate by the shoulder and led her out of the room.
“I’ll go with them. Let you two hash this out.” Quinn followed.
Kate tossed back a bottle of water in the breakroom where Vasquez remained by her side. “Can you believe this? He didn’t even think to put out a BOLO? Are you kidding me with this?”
Quinn arrived to find them consoling one another. “You can sit here and be pissed, or you can do something to find Sue Copeland and make sure she’s safe.”
“And that would be?” Kate replied.
“I’d suggest asking a colleague to search the DOT cameras for Vega’s car or either of the Copelands’. Don’t need a BOLO for that.”
There was one person Kate could ask who could get this information with little effort. “I’ll make the call.” She pulled her phone from her pocket and placed it against her ear. “It’s Agent Reid. Listen, I know I said I wasn’t going to ask for another favor…”
Having decided there was no other solution than to recruit Agent Fraser once again, Kate, Vasquez, and Quinn headed back to the WFO, leaving Dwight to handle Phelps. It was probably the only way Kate could ensure she’d make it through the night holding on to her job. Perhaps having Quinn along wasn’t the best decision she’d ever made. He was seeing a side of her she hardly knew existed, the impact of which remained to be seen.
“Thanks for doing this, Fraser. What’d you find?” Kate stood at his desk while the others hovered near.
“Looks like Vega’s car has been on the move for much of the late morning and into the afternoon. DOT cameras caught him heading into Fairfax. That was around 1pm.”
“Three hours after he missed the appointment at the station.”
“Yep,” Vasquez replied. “And we have to assume he went there to collect Mrs. Copeland.”
“Right. When we checked the house, no one was home. And that was at around, what, 2pm?”
“Around that time,” Quinn added. “Was he spotted anywhere after that?”
“Yes. They picked up his car again heading onto Massachusetts Ave.”
“That’s on the way back into D.C. He wouldn’t be stupid enough to come back here, would he?” Kate asked.
“Depends if he’s got a place to go,” Quinn continued.
“Can you run a property tax check to see if Vega owns anything in the vicinity?”
“Sure.” Fraser eyed Kate. “So he’s the guy you’re all after?”
“Almost certain.”
“And what about the congressman?”
“We can’t confirm his direct involvement. Though I suspect, if we’re to find one, we’ll find the other and get our answers.”
“Okay, so according to county property tax records, Vega just has the one property, at least in his name.”
“Can you check Copeland? I was booted out of Metro PD before we could find out.”
“Sure, give me a second here. Okay, yeah, so Copeland’s got the house in Fairfax. No. I’m sorry, Reid, I’m not seeing anything else in his name.”
“Damn it. They wouldn’t come back here without a place to go.” Kate looked to Vasquez. “Any ideas?”
“What about a company?”
“A company?”
“Yeah. That Copeland might have ownership in. If he has one, it’s entirely possible he could’ve purchased a property in the company’s name.”
Kate smiled and looked to Quinn. “She’s good.” Upon returning her attention to Fraser, she continued, “Can you run a check with the corporation commission for any ownership details on Copeland?”
“I’m on it.”
They waited in silence for Fraser to get what they needed.
“Bingo. Agent Vasquez, you were right. Copeland is the managing partner of an LLC. That LLC owns a condo Downtown. You want the address?”
23
The city lights shimmered through the apartment window as Sue Copeland remained on the sofa, gun pointed at her, and sitting next to her cheating husband. As if that was the worst thing that could happen to her. What was worse was that she’d begun to watch Phillip Vega unravel before her eyes. A man who had professed his love for her and insisted the reason behind the murders was for her own protection. To show her the kind of man her husband really was.
However, Sue had already been well aware of who Grant Copeland really was and how his behavior had worsened over the years. Seemed the more political power he gained, the more power he wielded over those who worked around him, particularly of the female persuasion. And she was not blameless in his transformation. The money and the prestige she had greatly coveted. Her blind eye refused to acknowledge what was happening. And it seemed the greatest impact had fallen upon Phil Vega’s shoulders.
“You can’t keep us here,” Sue began. “You have to realize they will find us. You say you love me, and the best way for you to show it is to let us go and surrender yourself.”
The television played in the background as Phil watched the news. “It’s too late for that. They’ve all but convicted Grant of the murders.”
“I didn’t kill them!”
Phil raised his weapon. “Maybe you didn’t pull the trigger, but they’re dead because of you. Don’t kid yourself.”
“So what now, Phil? Look, I know I’m the cause of this. I get that. But Sue, she’s got nothing to do with my conduct. She doesn’t deserve this. You did what you set out to do and that was to humiliate me in front of my wife, in front of the world. It’s over now.”
“The only thing that’s over is your career, Grant.” Vega returned his attention to the news broadcast. “The people are tired of corrupt politicians. They’re tired of them assuming they are above the law. What I did will been seen as heroic.”
“Are you insane? You murdered innocent women. You’ll be seen as a monster.” Grant looked upon his one-time friend and advocate. “I never would’ve believed you were capable of such things.”
“Nor I of you, Grant. Yet here we are.”
Sue watched the two exchange jabs at one another, working on a solution to this nightmare. “The only thing you can do now, Phil, is to let us go. Grant will not be free from persecution, but you stand a chance at escape. That’s what I want for you. To be free of our lives and our choices.” She felt the glare from her husband’s eyes. “If you go now, there’s still a chance you’ll get out. There’s no mention of roadblocks on the news. Not yet. Don’t squander this opportunity.”
“What the hell are you saying?” Grant eyed her with confusion.
Phil appeared to consider her argument. “Maybe there is still a chance. I—I never wanted to hurt them. But they shouldn’t have done what they did. And when I saw him trying to warn one of them on his computer, I got even angrier.”
“I know. In fact, I saw it too and went straight to the police. That’s when I knew his cowardice had no bounds. Imagine, sending an email to someone with a warning that her life could be in danger.” Sue inched closer to the edge of the sofa, almost within arm’s distance of him. She caught the look of shame on Grant’s face before returning her attention to Phil.
“You went to the police?”
“I had to. I did it to protect you. You see, I couldn’t be sure what was happening. I do care about you, Phil, very much. But this isn’t really about those women, is it?”
He shook his head, turning his gaze down to his feet. “I love you, Sue. And that love made me do things—bad things—and I see how it has hurt you. I see that now.”
She reached across the space between them, resting her hand on his knee. “It’s okay. I forgive you. The country will forgive you.”
Phil watched her hand and turned slowly to meet her eyes. He began to nod. “I’ll go. Then you two can leave and go to the police. Just please, give me a little head start.”
“Of course we will.” Her hand slipped from his knee as Phil stood. She fixed her eyes on his weapon as he lowered it to his side. A quick look to Grant and he seemed to understand what it was she was doing. The muscles in her stomach tightened and her pulse raced.
When Phil had returned fully to his feet, she stood. A smile laced with feigned compassion arose on her li
ps. She moved closer and was now only inches from him. “Can I at least say goodbye? I’ll miss you. I’ll miss our talks. If only I’d known sooner how you really felt.” Sue pressed her lips onto his and as he surrendered to the warmth of her body, her arms raised as though she was about to embrace him. And when she felt confident his guard was down, she ripped the weapon from his limp hand and pushed hard against him. He stumbled back and fell over the chair from which he’d just stood.
Shock masked his face as he eyed the gun now firmly pointed at his head. “What are you doing? Why are you doing this? After everything you’ve said to me?”
Sue’s only response was in firing the weapon, striking Phil in the cheek. He wailed in pain until she fired again, this time, striking him in the forehead. No more sound emerged.
“Jesus Christ!” Grant was on his feet, eyeing Phil on the ground and the woman who had shot him. His wife. “We have to get out of here.”
“Why? This was self-defense. And that’s what we’ll make clear, you understand? I just stopped a killer. It’s the only way we get out of this with our freedom and reputation intact.”
The arrival of Kate and her impromptu team to the apartment building was stopped short by the presence of the man who’d worked hard to keep his investigation close to his chest.
Kate stepped out and quickly approached him. “What are you doing here?”
“Got a call of shots fired.” Phelps lit up a cigarette. “We found them. Copeland and his wife are being treated for shock but are otherwise unharmed.” He pointed to the ambulance. “Phillip Vega is dead.”
“Dead?” Vasquez approached with Quinn trailing behind.
“Yep. Sue Copeland shot him. Claims self-defense and by the looks of it, I’d say she’s probably right about that. So I guess it’s over.”
“Why didn’t you call us?” Kate asked.
“No time. Sorry about that. Your boss is here, though, inside, so have a word with him about it if you want.”
Kate wondered if her jaw was actually on the floor or it just felt that way. The likelihood that all three were here was the easy part to understand, but to have Copeland’s wife be the one to take Vega down. Not that any woman wasn’t capable of such a thing, but it seemed—contrived. Too clean. Like the congressman wanted it that way to take the heat off himself. “Can I talk to the Copelands?”