Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
THREATS AND PROMISES
Colin laid out the situation for David and Nate, then leaned forward, arms wrapped around his knees. “I just wanted you both to know what’s happening.”
“Well, first off…” Nate leaned forward. “Screw going to a hotel. Stay with us!”
“Absolutely out of the question,” Colin told him.
“I’m not going to put the two of you at risk on top of what we’re already going through.
I won’t do it.” He touched Nate’s arm. “Buddy, the hotel they send us to will be picked for a reason—one entrance, upper floors, hard to get in or out. They’re designed to be locked down. Defensible. Your house isn’t.”
David nodded in agreement. “Colin’s right. Those hotel suites are set up for security. They’ve got one guardable entrance, and the windows are ten stories up. They’d be just as well off in their own home as we would in ours!”
“Well, that’s certainly what I’d prefer,” Joshua mumbled. “That we stay home!”
“And hopefully that’s how it’ll work out, Josh,” Colin said, drawing in a deep breath.
“We’ll know more on Monday. Esther might insist we stay at the hotel for security, given Moreno’s threat.
” He turned, covering Joshua’s hand with his.
“Baby, you know I’d rather be at home. But for now, while this is under investigation, I have to go along with what my bosses decide. ”
“Oh my god, Colin!” Nate blurted, fear sharp in his voice.
“Nate, it may come to nothing,” Colin assured him. “But with threats like this, they have to investigate to determine if the threat is credible. That means putting us somewhere secure—someplace easy to protect.” He squeezed Joshua’s hand and shrugged at David. “She’d never let us stay with you.”
“Colin, how long have you known about this?” Joshua asked. “You talk as though this plan has been in the works for quite a while.”
“Esther and Norm briefed me on Friday before I left work. That’s the first I heard of Moreno’s threat.
But the steps that law enforcement takes when dealing with a threat to a public official?
I’ve always known about them. They’re SOP.
” He wrapped an arm around Joshua’s shoulders and hugged him against his side.
“We’re lucky she let us come here. She threw a fit when I told her we were headed to the cabin, but I convinced her that it was safe. ”
“Is that why you insisted that we take my car instead of yours?” Joshua asked.
“It is.”
His hand gripped Colin’s arm. “My god, Colin! D’you think Moreno’s goons might go to our house?”
“City police are patrolling the house once an hour,” Colin told him. “Some of the campus cops… well, let’s just say a few of our friends are also watching out. Quietly. Though, again, I feel reasonably sure that none of this is necessary. It’s all simply prudent at this point.”
“And if they find that the threat is credible?” David asked.
Colin looked up at David and sighed. “Well, if that happens, it’s a whole new ball game, and I expect we’ll be staying at whatever hotel the CAO picks. At least until the threat is neutralized.”
“I’d recommend the Omni,” David murmured.
“I don’t get to pick the hotel. The Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office will choose whichever property offers the highest security. I doubt I’ll get to state a preference, let alone pick the location,” Colin replied.
“Then it’ll be the Omni,” David said without hesitation. “Their executive suites are on the top floor — ideal for controlled access — and they’ve already got advanced security infrastructure baked in.”
Joshua frowned slightly. “You sound awfully certain.”
David huffed a laugh. “Josh… Desmond Tutu spoke at UVA, for god’s sake. We host high-risk VIPs all the time. Of course, we know the secure venues.”
“Colin? Will Esther assign security to Rainier?” Joshua asked, referring to Rainier Clinic where he was director of the trauma division.
Colin pressed his lips together and stared down at the grass, thinking. “Babe, I don’t know,” he said finally. “She may.”
Joshua nodded but did not respond.
“She wants you and me to meet with her and Norm on Monday morning so she can go over everything. That would be a good time to ask. In fact, starting now, you may want to make a list of any questions you have about all of this.”
Joshua’s hand gripped Colin’s shirt, his head bowed. Colin covered it with his own. “It’s going to be alright.” He tipped Joshua’s chin up until their eyes met. “I know you’re scared. But I promise you…”
“Colin, don’t! Don’t promise me anything. Not yet.”
“I’m just asking you not to overthink this when chances are it’ll turn out to be nothing more than Moreno shooting off his mouth to act all big and bad.”
Joshua stared into his husband’s eyes. “I sometimes feel as though I’ve spent half our life together being scared to death that some fucking jackass is going to shoot you.”
“I do tend to piss people off,” Colin said with a wink, but his hand tightened on Joshua’s, and he leaned in to kiss his cheek.
“Occupational hazard,” David said. “But he works with good people, Josh. I’ve known Esther and Norm for over twenty years. They won’t let anything happen to Colin. If I know Esther, she’ll be overly cautious out of concern for your safety. You guys will be alright.”
Joshua quirked his mouth and stared at Colin, his expression ironic. “You couldn’t just sell life insurance for a living, huh.”
“Not my style.”
On Monday morning, Colin and Joshua drove straight from David’s cabin to Charlottesville City Hall for their meeting with Esther Jackson. As they approached the parking garage, Colin was forced to stop at a temporary barricade stretched across the entrance. A security guard approached them.
“Morning, Mr. Campbell,” he said in greeting.
“Morning, Eddie,” Colin replied, then indicated the security measures. “This for us?”
“Not sure, Mr. Campbell. Ms. Jackson said this was my post today and that no one got in without proper identification.”
Colin fumbled for his wallet, but the guard shifted the barricade and waved him forward. “I don’t need to see yours, Mr. Campbell. You and your husband can go on ahead.”
When they emerged from the elevator on the third floor, they saw an armed police officer standing in front of the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.
“Holy crap, Colin,” Joshua breathed out.
Colin growled out an affirmative grunt as they stepped toward the door. “Yeah. Clearly, she’s taking it seriously.” He showed his badge to the guard, who moved aside to allow them to enter.
He paused at the receptionist’s desk. “Morning, Sheila.”
“Morning,” she said, then stabbed her finger toward Esther Jackson’s office. “In there,” she told him. “Boss wants to see you both first thing.”
Colin nodded. He gripped Joshua’s hand as they moved to the door, then knocked.
“Come!”
Colin led Joshua into Jackson’s office, where he saw his direct superior, Norman Clayton, seated in front of Esther’s desk.
“As soon as we’re done here…” she said, pointing at them, “…you two will be escorted to your home, where you’ll pack.”
Colin took two steps forward. “Esther, do you…”
“Plan to be gone at least a week,” Esther continued. “Could end up being longer, but we’ll start with a week.”
“Esther, wait a minute…” Joshua began. “Don’t you think…”
“No, Joshua,” she said, cutting him off. “There’ll be no discussion. You don’t get a say.” She pointed to two chairs. “Sit.”
Colin and Joshua slumped into the chairs. Joshua leaned forward, carding his fingers through his dark curls as Colin’s hand moved to his back and slid over it in a slow circle.
“You’re booked into an executive suite at the Omni,” Esther said.
“We picked it in coordination with the State Police and UVA’s emergency planning office.
It’s hosted high-risk federal witnesses before, and its security protocols meet state-level threat management standards.
You’ll have a three-person security detail. You’ll meet them today.”
“Esther, look…”
“Colin, has Hannibal Barrett worked for you in the past?”
“Yes, ma’am. He’s an informant—helped us with the Albemarle County task force, drug cases, even the Moreno RICO case.”
“He was murdered last night.”
Colin shot to his feet. “What?! By whom? Do we know?”
“No,” Norman said, “but we have some mighty strong suspicions.”
“Hannibal’s murder puts us in a very different place, Colin,” Esther told him.
“The second a CI is killed, protocol shifts. We’re treating it as a retaliatory homicide and working it as a high-priority case — not just because of what it means for you, but for every case we’ve ever prosecuted using him as a witness. ”
“He helped us put Lexi away. That puts a giant bullseye on his back.”
“We’ve already flagged every case where Hannibal’s name appears. If we find a connection to Moreno or his crew, we’ll coordinate with the feds. If they can prove retaliation against a government witness, it’s a slam dunk for obstruction and witness tampering — possibly even federal murder charges.”
“I’ve already called DOJ and the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” Norm added. “If we get even a whisper of Moreno involvement, this jumps to their court. Hannibal deserves that much.”
“You think it was Moreno?” Joshua asked, his voice thin with shock and horror.
“We think we have to at least consider the possibility that the two incidents are related,” Esther told him. “That this murder was Moreno’s way of sending a message.”
“Oh my god,” Joshua whispered.
“And that elevates the credibility of Lexi Moreno’s threat against Colin,” Esther said, staring down at the police report.
Norman added, “And since he’s being moved to Red Onion in the morning — complete with twenty-three-hour lockdown, no contact except monitored legal visits, he’ll be….”
“Effectively cut off,” Colin finished. “No calls, no letters, no go-betweens.”
Esther nodded. “Which means if he arranged anything, it had to happen before now. If there’s a threat in motion, it’s already out there.”