Chapter Twenty-Five
“Why do people hurt the ones they’re supposed to love the most?” Freddie asked when they were back outside.
His feelings on the matter were no surprise to her, especially as a newlywed completely besotted with his wife.
“I don’t know, but the way his face went totally pale there at the end tells me this won’t go over well with Mrs. Finley.”
“I feel sorry for her. She’s been married thirty years and thinks they’ve somehow managed to survive when lots of others didn’t… And now he’s going to drop this bomb in the middle of her life.”
“I know. It’s not going to be a good day for either of them.”
“The sad part is that it was all so completely avoidable.”
“Right? What was it about Tara that had these guys losing their minds over her and risking so much?”
“I was wondering that, too.”
“It seems to me that after she’d failed to get pregnant with Nelson, she decided she wanted a baby and didn’t much care who the father was as long as he was someone professional like her.”
“It’s as good of a theory as I’ve heard yet for her actions after the affair ended.”
“I want to better understand this woman and what motivated her. We need to talk to the former business partner.”
He consulted his notes. “Cam sent her number.”
“Let’s give her a call from the car.”
When they were in the car with the engine running and the heat cranked up, Freddie placed the call to Paige Thompson.
“This is Paige.”
“This is Lieutenant Sam Holland from the Metro DC Police Department. I’m with my partner, Detective Cruz, and we’re investigating the murder of Tara Weber.”
“You’re the vice president’s wife.”
“I am.” Sam rolled her eyes at Freddie. Why did people feel the need to state the obvious?
“I’m so sad about Tara. I can’t believe she’s gone.”
“So you were still in touch with her?”
“I was. Our business breakup was difficult, but when the dust settled, we were able to resume our personal friendship.”
“We’re looking for some better insight into her personal and professional life and were hoping you might be able to help us.”
“Whatever I can do. The last couple years had been difficult for her. After Bryce ended their relationship, she sort of went a little nuts when it came to guys and dating and all of that.”
“Did you know that she’d been involved with the president?”
After a long pause, she said, “I did. She told me about it after it was over.”
“Can you give us any specifics about what she said?”
“Just that she’d become very close to him on the campaign, and their professional association became something more.”
“I find myself wondering how they pulled off an affair while surrounded by other campaign staff and Secret Service.”
“I wondered that, too, and when I asked her about it, she said Nelson was fanatical about time to himself every night. By nine o’clock, the campaign staffers had retreated to their own rooms and the Secret Service had been told he was in for the night.
Other than the agent assigned to the hallway, no one would have known she was in his room after nine o’clock. ”
“Did she know that his wife was sick during the campaign?”
“She did. She told me he was so upset that he couldn’t be with Gloria while she was undergoing treatment, and that he’d toyed with dropping his bid for reelection so he could go home to be with her.”
Sam glanced at Freddie, eyes wide with shock. That was a bombshell. “So let me get this straight—he felt so badly about his wife having cancer that he was willing to abandon his reelection campaign but not so badly that he refrained from having an affair?”
“According to Tara, it started off as her providing him with someone to talk to about it. The affair swept them both up. Neither of them intended for it to happen.”
Sam rolled her eyes at Freddie. Somehow, two consenting adults ended up naked in bed together, but neither of them intended for that to happen? Whatever.
“I know you may not believe me, but Tara was a good person. She tried to do the right thing. She felt awful about being involved in this situation, but I think she had genuine feelings for him.”
“Were you aware that she was seeing other men toward the end of her affair with Nelson?”
“What? No, she wasn’t.”
“Yes, she was. We’ve identified several others.”
“She didn’t tell me that.”
“How often did you speak with her after you left the company?”
“At least weekly. More often during the campaign when I consulted on a freelance basis on a few of the projects she had going for the Nelson team.” She sighed loudly enough for them to hear it through the phone.
“She was wrecked after Bryce broke up with her. Things were kind of a mess for her. She made a lot of choices that were out of character for her, especially the affair with Nelson. Before Bryce, Tara never would’ve slept with a married man.
After Bryce, Tara was more jaded, less concerned about playing by the rules. ”
“Was that true only in her personal life?”
“It was across the board. She threw a lot of effort into the business, and it had its best year ever during the last campaign cycle. She’d become a highly sought-out pollster and market researcher. Her business was booming.”
“Can you think of anyone who might’ve wanted her dead, Ms. Thompson?”
“God, no. Everyone loved Tara. She somehow managed to work in one of the most competitive, dog-eat-dog environments without alienating people. She was known as a straight shooter, who told it like it was and never fudged the data to get a client the results they wanted the way some pollsters will do. That wasn’t her style at all. ”
“This has been very helpful. If you think of anything else that might be relevant to the investigation, please let me know. You can call this number anytime.”
“I will. I hope you find the person who did this to her. She made some mistakes, but she didn’t deserve to be murdered, especially now when she finally had the child she’d always wanted.”
“Thanks for your time.”
Freddie ended the call and they sat in silence for a few minutes, reflecting on what they’d learned.
“It doesn’t add up,” Freddie finally said.
“What doesn’t?”
“She’s a straight shooter in her business, never fudges the numbers and stays inside the lines, but she goes and has an affair with the president, knowing the man is married and that his wife is undergoing cancer treatment? Those two descriptions of her don’t gel.”
Pondering that, Sam pulled out into traffic. “So where do I go to get my phone fixed?”
“Um, the phone store?”
“No kidding, wiseass. Where is this phone store of which you speak?”
Freddie rolled his eyes. “There’s one at Union Station. Let’s go there so I can get some food, too.”
“It’s almost dinnertime.”
“So?”
“So don’t you want to eat with your wife?”
“I will eat with her. Too.”
“It’s completely unfair that you can eat eight full meals a day and never gain a freaking pound.”
“That’s one of my many special gifts.”
“No one will celebrate harder than me when you finally have to start watching what you eat.”
“Don’t be a mean cow, Sam. It’s not a good look on you.”
She cracked up. “It’s a good look on me when it’s directed at receptionists.”
“That’s different. They deserve it. I don’t. I’m the only thing standing between you and complete disaster with this cell phone situation.”
“My heartfelt apologies. I hope you can eat eight meals a day for life and never gain a pound. Better?”
“Much. Park over there.”
“Finding an open spot on the street around here is like spotting a unicorn on the National Mall.”
“Seriously.”
They hoofed it inside the majestic train station that also housed shopping and a wide array of restaurants. The place brought back a lot of memories for Sam.
“I used to hang out here with my friends in high school.”
“I’ve always loved this building.” He consulted the directory and led her to the phone store where her appearance had the salesclerks falling over themselves to assist her.
For fuck’s sake. Sam picked a young woman who wasn’t making a total fool of herself. She held up two pieces of her beloved flip phone. “How do I get a new one of these.”
The other salesclerks took a step back, suddenly not as interested in her business as they’d been before they saw her phone.
The woman named Michelle took the phone from her, examined it closely and then handed the pieces back to Sam. “They don’t make these anymore. In fact, the network that runs these phones is due to shut down at the end of the year. We’re moving everyone to the new network when they upgrade.”
“I don’t want the new network or a different phone. I want a new version of what I already have.”
“I’m sorry that we don’t carry those phones anymore. It wouldn’t be right for us to sell them to our customers when they won’t be able to use them in a couple of months.”
Beside her, Freddie cleared his throat, which meant he was trying not to laugh.
Sam’s head felt like it could explode at any second.
“The good news is we carry other flip phones that might work for you.”
Sam sent a smug smile Freddie’s way. “Take me to them.”
Thirty minutes later, she had a brand-new cherry-red phone that made a satisfying smacking sound when she slapped the two ends together. “You hear that?” She slapped it closed in front of Freddie’s face.
“You might want to ease up on the slapping. That’s probably what got you into this predicament in the first place.”
“The slapping is the best part of the flip phone. I need to make a call on my new phone.” She found Nick first on her list of contacts that the lovely Michelle had copied over for her and put through the call.
“Hey, babe.”
“MPD to White House, come in White House. I’m calling you on my brand-new phone.”
“You got a new phone?”
“I did.”
“And it must be a flip phone or you’d be snarling and snapping.”
“You are correct, sir. It makes a very satisfying smacking sound when I slap it closed.”
“Then all is right in our world.”