Chapter Eighteen #2
Sam felt unreasonably sad for a woman she’d never met. “Did the boyfriend check out?”
“He reported her missing the first night she didn’t come home and has cooperated every step of the way. The poor guy is distraught. He says they had plans.”
“And there’s no chance she was back to her old ways and the boyfriend didn’t know it?”
“No chance.”
“Hmm, that’s a tough one, for sure. What did you need to see me about?”
“I was hoping you might have some ideas for me, having worked the scene where she was found.”
“As you and the rest of the world know, I wasn’t there very long.”
“Still…I’m staring at the brick wall here, and I want to nail the person that did this for Rose, her family, the boyfriend, the plans they had. Maybe I’m being silly caring so much about an ex-hooker, but I knew her a little, and I was rooting for her.”
“You’re not silly,” Sam said, touched by his passion for the job. “I’ll tell you one thing that sort of nagged at me after that day at the river.” She hadn’t had a chance to think about it much since then, thanks to being abducted by the Secret Service.
“What?”
“The guy who called it in… Hang on a sec.” She went to the door and yelled for Cruz, who popped up in his cubicle like a jack in the box.
“You bellowed?”
“Who was the guy who called in the floater?”
Freddie looked down on his desk until he came up with the page that Beckett had given them at the scene. “Mike Lonergan. Works at the Navy Yard and runs on the path every day. Made a point to tell us she hadn’t been there the day before.”
Green wrote down the details as Freddie recited them. “This is something I didn’t have before. I’ll check him out.”
“Will you keep us posted?”
“I’d be happy to.” He handed her his card. “If you think of anything else, please give me a call.”
“We will. Good luck. I hope you get justice for Rose.”
“Oh, I will. You can count on that. I won’t stop until I get the person who did this to her.”
“She’s lucky to have you on her case.” Sam could see that her compliment pleased him.
“I’m glad you think so. I’ll get out of your hair.”
Sam watched him go and then looked at the card he’d given her. Cameron Green. She liked the cut of his jib, as her father would say. “Cruz!”
He popped up, eyebrow raised in inquiry.
“Let’s hit the streets.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Where’s Gonzo?”
“He had an appointment this morning.”
“We have some spots that need to be filled on this squad.”
“You read my mind, Lieutenant,” a booming voice said from behind her.
Sam turned to face Captain Malone. “Where’d you come from?”
“Morning meeting with the chief. I was coming to talk to you about the openings in your squad. I understand Detective Tyrone has tendered his resignation?”
“So far we only have one official opening,” Sam replied. “I still need to speak to Tyrone, and I haven’t had a chance to do that yet. Until I do, his spot is not officially open.”
“Fair enough,” Malone said, “but we need to fill Arnold’s spot.”
“I know,” Sam said, her heart sinking. She was surprised the brass had let her put it off this long. “Let me get this case closed, and then we can talk about it.”
“Okay, but I’m going to post the opening for internal and external applicants.”
“If you must.”
“I must. Where are we with Gibson?”
“About to get back to it.”
“Don’t let me keep you. Report in later on what you’ve got. We’re under tremendous pressure from the media for updates.”
“When are we not under tremendous pressure from them?”
“When our vic is the ex-husband of our star Homicide detective, who also happens to be the nation’s second lady, the pressure is a little more intense.”
Sam glowered at him and then turned to leave, hoping Cruz was following her. As she headed toward the morgue exit, her cell phone rang and she took the call from Nick. “Hey, babe. What’s up?”
“Um, well…”
The odd tone of his voice had her stopping. “What?”
“Apparently, my mother has given an interview.”
“She’s done what?”
“You heard me right. She did a sit-down with Amber Dillon.”
She was one of the sleaziest reporters in the business. “Oh no.”
“Oh yes, and from all accounts, nothing was off-limits.”
“Nick…”
“Terry made some calls,” he said of his chief of staff, Terry O’Connor, “and rumor has it that it’s as bad as it gets. The network promos are calling it the most revealing interview yet about our country’s new vice president.”
“I think I’m going to be sick.” She could only imagine the shit his estranged mother was capable of stirring up.
“Right there with you.”
“What can I do for you?”
“I’m meeting with the White House chief counsel in thirty minutes. There’s talk of trying to file an injunction to stop the broadcast. We’ll do what we can.”
Sam leaned against the cinder-block wall, needing the support. “We’ll sue her ass off, hit her hard in the pocketbook, so she’ll think twice about opening her big mouth again.”
“I’ve already talked to Andy about that,” he said of his lawyer friend.
“I’m so sorry this is happening, babe,” Sam said.
“Yeah, well, it’s par for the course where she’s concerned.”
Sam’s heart ached for him. “Keep me posted?”
“I will. I’ve got to go.”
“I love you, and no matter what she says, it doesn’t change anything that matters, do you hear me?”
“I hear you. I’ll call you later.”
Though he said the right things, she could hear the despair in his voice. When would that dreadful woman stop hurting her only child?
“What’s wrong?” Freddie asked.
“Nick’s mother has given a tell-all to Amber Dillon.”
“Oh no…”
“Oh yes.” Sam pulled herself off the wall and continued toward the exit, wishing she could be with Nick to help him deal with the latest betrayal by the woman who’d given birth to him.
Instead, she was heading to talk to Peter’s parole officer.
The irony wasn’t lost on her. Once again, her ex-husband was keeping her from Nick.
“Did he have any specifics?” Freddie asked, obviously choosing his words carefully.
“Nothing other than the network is promising an exposé.”
“Crap.”
“That’s exactly what it’ll be, not that anyone will care that it’s all lies. She’ll run his name through the mud, and he’ll have to deal with the fallout.”
“How can a mother treat her own child the way she treats him?”
“It’s always been like this with her. She’s the most selfish person you’ll ever have the displeasure to meet. She probably can’t stand that he’s getting the limelight she always wanted for herself.”
“Wow. Unreal. Is there anything he can do?”
“He’s talking to White House counsel about injunctions and to our personal attorney about civil action.” Sam sighed. “Just what we need on top of threats and murdered ex-husbands.”
“Sometimes I wonder how you two manage to keep it together with everything you’ve got coming at you all the time.”
“We try to focus on what we know to be true and filter out the crap that’s out of our control.”
“It’s admirable. Some of it would tear a lesser marriage apart.”
“If we let it tear us apart, the haters win. We’ll never give them the satisfaction.”