Chapter Twenty
As they walked outside, Sam’s phone rang with a number she didn’t recognize. But she did recognize the Baltimore area code. “It’s Gonzo. Make that call to Green.” She flipped open her phone and walked away from Freddie. “Hey, thanks for getting back to me.”
“What’s up?”
“Well, I’m not quite sure how to say this, but I had another encounter with Ramsey this morning.”
“That guy needs to get a life.”
“Agreed, but he said something I couldn’t ignore, as much as I’d like to.”
“What’s that?”
“It was about you scoring on the street.”
Dead silence.
“Gonzo.” Sam closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“How does he know?”
“He didn’t say.”
“Fuck, Sam. This is bad.”
“Yep. I had no choice but to mention it to Malone. I’m not sure how this will go, but we’re all aware of your illness and how it can manifest itself.”
“I’m sorry, Sam. All I can tell you is I wasn’t myself then. The addiction had me by the throat, and there was nothing I wouldn’t do to feed it. I’ll take full responsibility.”
“Don’t say anything to anyone about this until we figure out what he’s got and what he plans to do with it.”
“If he’s got it, others probably do, too.”
“I don’t have to tell you that this could end your career.”
“No, you don’t have to tell me that.”
“I’m sorry to hit you with this while you’re working so hard to get back on track.”
“I don’t expect you to stick your neck out for me, Sam. I fucked up. I have to own that.”
“I appreciate you taking responsibility, but in light of the circumstances that led to your addiction, I’m not going to sit by and let your career get ruined without at least trying to see if there’s anything I can do. Give me a couple of days to figure things out on my end.”
“Will you let me know what you find out?”
“As soon as I can. In the meantime, keep doing what you’re doing there and don’t let this sidetrack you.”
“I’ll do my best not to let it get in my head. If I lose my job, I’ll figure something out.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” Neither of them mentioned it could get a whole lot worse than losing his job if he was charged with a crime. “I’ll be in touch.” She slapped the phone closed and turned to walk back to where Freddie waited for her.
He could tell by looking at her the news wasn’t good.
“He said the addiction had him by the throat, and he did things he’s not proud of to feed it.”
“And freaking Ramsey, of all people, knows that.”
“Yep.”
“This isn’t good, Sam.”
“No, it isn’t. With the shit already flying over Stahl and Conklin, this will be a bigger deal than it would be otherwise. And it has me wondering if Ramsey and his minions are going out of their way to look for dirt on me and my squad due to his intense dislike for me.”
“Wouldn’t put it past him.”
They got into the car and headed for the Capitol. “Find out which building Wilton’s office is in.” While he got busy on his phone, Sam placed a call to Erica Lucas.
“Hey,” Lucas said, sounding rushed. “What’s up?”
“You got a minute?”
“Just one. Sexual assault reported at American University. I’m at the ER waiting to talk to the victim.”
“You want to call me back?”
“Nah, go ahead.”
“It’s about Ramsey.”
“How did I know you were going to say that?”
“Sorry to put you in the middle of our feud, but he’s got something on one of my people.”
“Gonzales, right?”
“How’d you know?”
“When Ramsey has something, he spews.”
Sam had been afraid of that. “What’s he saying?”
“That Gonzales was scoring pills on the street and he’s in rehab, not out sick like everyone thinks. Is he in rehab?”
“Yeah, he is.”
“Oh crap. Well, I hope he’s getting the help he needs. Most of us understand that he’s been through a horrific ordeal since Arnold was killed and would cut him a break for anything he did in the throes of grief and addiction. But Ramsey isn’t most people.”
“Do you know how he got ahold of this info?”
“He’s got a lot of eyes and ears on the ground. His team of informants is impressive, considering he’s such a douchebag. It must’ve come from one of them. Is it possible that Gonzo scored on the street?”
“It’s more than possible.”
“Oh shit.”
“Is Ramsey going out of his way to look for dirt on me and my people?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he was. He was enraged that you weren’t indicted for assaulting him. After that, I’d say anything is possible.”
It killed her to think that her feud with the sergeant was spilling onto the officers who reported to her.
Not that she blamed herself for what Gonzo had done, but no one would know about it were it not for her ongoing beef with Ramsey—and his with her.
“If you hear anything else, will you let me know?”
“Absolutely. I’ve got to run.”
“Thanks for taking the time.”
“No problem.”
Sam closed the phone and tucked it into her pocket.
“What’d she say?” Freddie asked.
Sam conveyed the gist of the conversation to him. “I need to warn the others that there’s never been a better time to keep their noses clean on and off the job. If Ramsey’s got eyes on us, we’re not going to give him anything else.”
“Agreed. Wilton is in Longworth. He’s a Democrat representing Seattle, known for being a supporter of business and technology.”
Sam directed the car toward Independence Avenue, while her brain spun with the potential implications for Gonzo.
Would he be charged or would the U.S. Attorney cut him a break due to the circumstances surrounding his addiction?
And if they did go easy on him, what would Ramsey do then?
He’d nearly lost his mind when the grand jury had chosen not to indict her for assaulting him, and since then, he’d been more unhinged than usual.
Her job was hard enough as it was without her own colleagues turning on her.
She’d assaulted Ramsey after he’d said she’d gotten what she deserved when Stahl wrapped her in razor wire and dumped gasoline on her in preparation for setting her on fire.
When she’d punched Ramsey in the face, she hadn’t expected him to fall backward down a flight of stairs and break bones.
That’d been the least of what he’d deserved for saying such a hateful thing to her.
Sam had always thought that jealousy was the most ridiculous of emotions, especially on a job like theirs.
Not everyone could rise to the upper echelons of command, and those who did, usually did so because of a dedicated effort that spanned their entire career.
Her dad, for example, had set out to be chief or deputy chief, never deviating from that goal.
And when his best friend had been chosen over him for the top job, he’d swallowed his own disappointment and supported Joe as his faithful deputy.
He’d understood that they couldn’t both have the top job, and if it couldn’t be him, then he wanted it to be Joe.
Someone like Ramsey expected promotions and awards to come his way for showing up and doing the bare minimum each day.
It infuriated him that Sam had made lieutenant over him when he’d had more years on the job, but he hadn’t used those years as productively as she had.
She’d taken full advantage of every opportunity that had come her way and had busted her ass for the rank she now held.
To hear him tell it, the only reason she still had a job, let alone the rank of lieutenant overseeing one of the most critical divisions in the department, was because her dad was the chief’s best friend.
Whatever.
“I can hear you fuming over there.”
Freddie’s comment interrupted her musings. “I am fuming. His beef is with me. Why’s he going after my team?”
“Because he knows that going after us would upset you more than if he comes for you.”
“That’s a fact. What I don’t get is if he’s so disillusioned, why doesn’t he retire and move on with his life?”
“He’s the type that’d want to see you crippled before he goes.”
“Yeah, he would because he’s sick that way. I’ll never understand how people have the emotional energy to do this kind of shit.”
“It’s probably because they have nowhere else to expend it. If he’s unhappy in his professional life, that probably extends to his personal life.”
“Maybe we should do a little digging of our own and see if we can find dirt on him.”
“Hmmm, that’s not the worst idea you ever had.”
“It probably is one of the worst ideas I ever had, but that’s not going to stop me from acting on it. When we get back, I’ll bring Jeannie and Cam in on the plan, but not O’Brien.”
“He’s too new and untested. We’re not sure yet if we can completely trust him.”
“Exactly. I want to trust him, but until I’m a hundred percent sure…”
“Say no more. The four of us will be enough.” He grinned at her. “I really, really like this terrible idea of yours. If we can find something on him, that might save Gonzo.”
Sam wasn’t convinced that Gonzo could be saved since he’d admitted to having committed a crime. However, the fact that he was battling addiction and PTSD over the loss of his partner would go a long way toward leniency, or so she hoped.
“Before we see Wilton, we need to get a rough date on when conception of the baby would’ve occurred.”
“Let me consult the Google.” He did some tapping on his phone. “So there’s this reverse calculator site where we can put in the baby’s birthdate and figure out when conception would’ve occurred.”
“He’s two weeks old, right?”
“Yes.” He typed in the baby’s birthdate. “It gives a weeklong range of implantation dates. January 31 to February 6.”
“Is there anything we can’t find out online these days?”
“Hardly anything.”
“It’s downright handy at times like this.”
“No kidding. If you had a smart phone, you’d know how much you can find out.”
“Why do I need a smart phone when you have one?”
At the Longworth office building, they were once again forced to turn over their firearms and submit to security checks to gain entrance.