Chapter Eleven #2
“We may never grasp the full extent of it, so I take comfort that they’re probably shitting themselves, especially with the FBI peeling back the layers.”
“I never thought I’d welcome the FBI investigating us.”
“I know. I feel the same way, but that’s a thought we should probably keep to ourselves, especially since the investigation will take a while.”
“True. Have you heard any more about Gonzo’s situation?”
“Nothing more than the chief is talking to the U.S. Attorney about it. He may have no choice but to charge Gonzo, especially since he’s admitted to what he did. That’s another thing we might have to suck up and deal with. As much as I hate this for him, in the end it’s his call.”
“I hate a lot of things lately.”
“You can’t let it make you bitter,” Sam said. “Not if you want to continue to do this job, and I think you do.”
“Of course I do, but it’s infuriating. We’re supposed to uphold the law, not break it.
How am I supposed to feel as a lowly detective when my deputy chief and one of the most senior captains of the MPD are charged with covering up the circumstances of the attempted murder of our former deputy chief? ”
“You’re supposed to feel furious,” Sam said.
“And then one of the best cops I’ve ever known is going to be charged for something he did in the throes of addiction brought on by trauma on the job. How’s that fair?”
“It’s not. None of it is fair. But it’s life. People are flawed. They do stupid things. They get greedy. They look out for themselves first and foremost. That’s how it is, as much as we wish it wasn’t. Take our friend Ginny. Look at what she did to her family and friends, what she did to her kids.”
“It’s gross.”
“And for what? So she could take a few more vacations every year and buy more stuff? What good does any of that do her now? She couldn’t take any of it with her.”
“You know what’s bugging me?” he asked.
“What’s that?”
“She spent a lot, but twenty million? There has to be some cash left somewhere.”
“We pulled the financials, right?”
“Yeah, Cam did.”
“Let’s give him a call.”
Freddie made the call on his phone and connected it to her Bluetooth.
“Do I even want to know how you did that?”
“Never mind.”
She ought to tell him to stuff his never mind up his—
Cameron picked up the call. “Hey, what’s up?”
“The LT and I are talking about how one goes about spending twenty million. We imagine that’d take some doing.”
“It would, for sure, and from what I can see, she spent only a fraction of it.”
“Then where’s the rest?” Sam asked.
“A very good question and one the Feds have been chasing for more than a year. The theory is offshore accounts, but no one has been able to locate them, and Ginny wasn’t talking. They even offered her lesser charges if she came clean on where the money was stashed, but she never said.”
“She would’ve had to have help setting that up,” Sam said. “Most regular people wouldn’t know how to open offshore accounts.”
“The Feds worked that angle hard and never found anyone. The theory is that Ginny communicated only in person and never on the phone or electronically so there wouldn’t be any kind of paper trail.”
“Ugh,” Sam said. “This woman is pissing me off.”
“You met with her daughter?” Cam asked.
“We did. The kid is devastated, but not because her mother is dead. Because she ruined their lives before someone killed her. She scammed the parents of the daughter’s friends.”
“Harsh.”
“No one was immune, including her own siblings, cousins and close friends.”
“What was her plan?” Freddie asked. “After she screwed everyone in her life, including her own kids, what then? And how did she think she’d get away with it?”
“She did get away with it until Haverson alerted the Feds,” Cam said. “That was the first domino to fall. Personally, I think she planned to be long gone by the time she got found out.”
“Which means there could be a fake passport and other documents somewhere. Cam, call Haggerty and ask him to go back and look again for hidden safes. I want every piece of paper currently in that house and everything that was taken during the federal investigation.”
“I’ll get on that,” Cam said.
“Tell them to bring it to our conference room. We’ll start from scratch in case the Feds missed something.”
“And doesn’t that sound like fun?” Freddie asked.
“The devil’s in the details, my young friend,” Sam said.
“Where’re you heading now?” Cam asked.
“To see the Realtor who enabled Ginny’s scam.”
“Where is she?”
“Chevy fucking Chase.”
“Ugh.”
“You said it. Back to the outer reaches of Northwest for the second time today.”
“Better you than me. You should know this place is on fire with the news that Nick isn’t running. The press corps has tripled outside.”
Sam groaned. “What the hell do they want with me? I never give them anything. What makes them think I’m going to start now?”
“Hope springs eternal,” Cameron said. “What’s next after the Realtor?”
“The son, and then we’re coming back in to talk to the husband. We had Patrol pick him up. They should be bringing him in soon. Have him sit in interrogation until we get there. If he asks for a lawyer, get him one.”
“Will do.”
“We’ll be there as soon as we can, but probably three days from now with the way this traffic is looking.”
“I’ll hold down the fort for you.”
“Thanks. Let us know if anything pops.”
“Will do.”
Freddie ended the call.
“Get your phone off my Bluetooth.”
“Your Bluetooth likes my phone. They’re in a relationship.”
“Their relationship is over.”
“It’s just getting started. They had sex last night.”
Sam cracked up. “Your phone moves a lot faster than you did.”
“Don’t slut-shame my phone, Sam. That’s not a good look on you.”
“I’m trying to figure out where you went so wrong.”
He looked at her, incredulous. “You are? Really? I believe it happened the day Stahl said, ‘Cruz, you’re with Holland.’”
Sam had almost forgotten that Stahl had been the one who first assigned them to work together. “I guess we should thank him for that much.”
“Nah, we still hate his guts, but he did put us together.”
“You were such a nice boy then. So unspoiled, with sparkling principles.”
“My principles are still sparkling.”
“They’re a little dingier than they used to be.”
“That is not true! My principles are sterling. It’s the rest of me that’s a little dingier, thanks to you.”
“Admit it. I made a man out of you.”
“Oh my God. Shut up, will you?”
“That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.”
“You do that.”
“Thank you, I will.”
He was one of the only reasons she could stand to do this job day after day.
No matter what they were dealing with, being with him was always fun and funny and entertaining.
Sam had long ago realized that she’d lost all perspective and any impartiality she might’ve once had where he was concerned.
He was family to her. Period. In light of that, she should probably reassign him, but that wasn’t going to happen.
She needed him too much.