Chapter Seven #2
Sam made her way to the pit and went straight to her office, closing the door behind her.
She sat in the chair behind her desk and tried to get herself together.
Even more than a week after the truth had been revealed, it was still surreal to sit in a room with Conklin, with the awareness that while she’d spent years hunting down her father’s shooter, he’d had the truth and kept it to himself.
He’d let her chase her tail like a crazy person while continuing to regularly visit her dad as the longtime friend he’d been to all of them.
That was the worst part, in her mind. That he’d dared to cross Skip Holland’s threshold, pretending to be a friend to him in his time of need, when he’d been partially responsible for putting him in that chair to begin with.
The thought of that man in her father’s house made her feel sick, so much so that she feared she might vomit into the trash can next to her desk.
How could he live with himself, she wondered, seeing Skip in a wheelchair, confined to the first floor of his home, his once-vibrant life reduced so greatly?
Had it haunted Conklin’s days and kept him awake at night?
She would never be able to keep that kind of secret, no matter the consequences for herself.
If someone was threatening her life to keep something like that quiet, she’d rather be killed than sit on information that would bring peace and closure to a victim’s family—especially if that victim was a longtime friend.
Unfathomable.
A knock on the door jolted her out of her thoughts. “Come in.”
Freddie stepped into the office, closing the door. Her partner was tall, dark, handsome and ridiculously in love with his new wife. Thinking about Freddie and Elin was much better than wondering how Conklin could’ve done what he did to all of them.
He leaned against the door. “Heard you saw Conklin.”
“Yeah.”
“How’d that go?”
“As you might imagine. He’s sorry, didn’t mean for this to happen… Yada, yada.”
“Whatever.” Freddie’s normally kind brown eyes were hard. He’d loved and respected Skip, and her dad’s death had been difficult for him, too. “Did he give you anything?”
She shook her head. “He has no idea who could’ve sent the anonymous note.”
“He knows exactly where it came from.”
“I think so, too.”
“So what’s the plan?”
She loved that he knew she’d have a plan and wanted in on it.
That was one of many reasons why he was the best partner she’d ever had.
“We’re going to dig into him—and his wife.
I want to know every officer he interacted with outside of work, to start with.
If the wife was friends with any of their wives, I want to know. ”
“We’ll get on that.” His hard-eyed gaze softened as he studied her. “Are you okay?”
“I will be. Eventually.”
“You don’t have to be the one to confront these guys, you know. You have people who’d be more than happy to take care of that for you.”
“I know, and I appreciate that, but I needed to do this one myself.”
“I understand.”
“I was sitting here wondering how he could live with himself, especially after seeing my dad so diminished.”
“I wouldn’t have been able to do it.”
“Me either. What else is he sitting on?”
“You think there’s more?”
“If he’d sit on something like this, the shooting of one of his closest friends, how much you want to bet that wasn’t all he was keeping to himself?”
“Geez,” Freddie said, sagging a bit. “It’s already bad enough. I can’t imagine it getting any worse.”
“I know,” she said, sighing. They might never know the full extent of how Conklin had betrayed them all, but if Sam ever caught an inkling of anything else, she’d fully pursue it. She hoped he spent the rest of his life in prison for what he’d done to all of them.
“Have you seen the papers today?”
“Just the front page crap about Nelson. Why?”
“There’s all kinds of stuff about the department, the dual scandals surrounding Stahl’s trial and the charges against Conklin, and what kind of shop Joe Farnsworth is running over here at HQ.”
“As if it’s his fault that they turned out to be criminals.”
“We know it’s not his fault, but try telling the mayor that. She’s on fire over it and possibly gunning for his job.”
Hearing that didn’t do much to help the sick feeling in Sam’s stomach.
She couldn’t imagine doing this job without Joe Farnsworth’s support.
If he got pushed out, maybe the timing would coincide with Nick becoming president, and it would be a good time for her to retire her badge.
The thought made her want to break into hysterical laughter.
“My dad is being honored after the holidays by the city’s Little League for his years of support for the program. I included you and Elin in the ticket count. No pressure though.”
“Of course we want to go. Thanks for including us.”
“You were like a son to him.” Sam glanced up in time to see his emotional reaction to her comment. “You have to know that.”
Freddie nodded. “I did, and it was one of the greatest honors of my life to get to spend time with him and learn from him. Every day I wake up and have to remind myself that he’s gone. I can’t imagine how hard that must be for you.”
“It’s hard for all of us who loved him. People say that going quick the way he did is better for him, but for those of us left behind… It’s going to take a while for it to sink in.”
“I guess so. Cleaning up the case is helping me. I hope it does the same for you.”
“I really, really want to know who sent that note. I want to know who else had this info for four years and didn’t see fit to share it.”
“We’ll get on it.”
“Hey, so how’s O’Brien working out so far?”
“So far so good. He fits right in, which we knew he would.”
“Good. Glad to hear it. Keep an eye on him and let me know if he needs anything.”
“I will.”
The extension on Sam’s desk rang, and she took the call.
“Lieutenant.”
She sat up straighter at the sound of the chief’s voice. “Yes, sir. What can I do for you?”
“Come by the office when you get a minute?”
Did he sound weird? And why was he calling her himself when his admin, Helen, usually made calls for him. “Of course. I’ll be right there.”
“Thank you.”
The line went dead, and she replaced the receiver on the desktop unit.
“What’s up?” Freddie asked.
“The chief wants to see me.”
“He called you himself?”
“Yeah, and he sounded weird.” She dropped her head into her hands. “What’s this going to be now?”
“I hope to God he’s not going to resign.”
She forced herself to rally, standing as she sighed. “You and me both.
Her greatest hope was that neither her boss nor Nick’s would resign anytime soon. Or ever, for that matter.