Chapter Twenty-Three
Freddie made the call and learned Paula was at work at a doctor’s office on Connecticut Avenue Northwest. He put the directions into his phone.
They arrived twenty minutes later after navigating around frustrating traffic delays caused by construction. “I’ll never understand why they can’t do all the road shit in the middle of the night.”
“Agreed. It makes no sense to do any of it during the day around here.”
“And it irritates me.”
“I’ll add that to the list.”
“I’m going to have Nick call the mayor and ask her why they have to do road construction during the day.”
“Are you really?”
“I’ll suggest to him that he might want to ask about that.”
“I’m sure he’ll get right on it since he has nothing better to do.”
Sam shot him a look and caught him trying to hold back a laugh, which led her gaze to the sign for the doctor’s office. “Oh my God. Paula works for a proctologist? No way. My ass would have to be falling off before I brought it to a proctologist.”
He couldn’t hold that laugh in. “I’ll make a note to bring you here only if your ass is actually falling off.”
“Not one second before.”
Inside the doctor’s office, Sam noticed that none of the patients in the waiting room gawked at her, which was a welcome relief from the usual routine.
If she were a patient here, she wouldn’t want to make eye contact with anyone either.
Not that there was anything wrong with proctology. Of course there wasn’t.
Paula waved for them to come on back and led them to a conference room.
“We’re sorry to bother you at work,” Sam said.
“It’s okay. Whatever I can do to help you find who did this to Pam.”
“Did she talk to you at all about Mark’s children?”
The question seemed to surprise Paula. “Aidan is a teammate of her sons. He’s a big deal. Everyone expects him to go all the way with football.”
Since Aidan has an airtight alibi for the time of murder, Sam moved on. “What about his sisters?” Sam consulted her notes. “Grace, Michaela and Alexis. Did she ever speak of them?”
Paula thought about that for a full minute. “She said the older one, Grace, was troubled.”
“Did she say how so?”
“Just that Mark and his wife had a lot of issues with her. She was very willful, didn’t listen to them, constantly broke their rules. That kind of stuff.”
Sam’s backbone tingled with the sensation that told her they might be on to something. “Has she ever been violent that you know of?”
“I honestly don’t know that.”
“Is there anything else you can tell me about things Pam might’ve told you about Mark or his family?”
“I really can’t think of anything, but if I do, I’ll call you.”
“Thank you for your help. We really appreciate it.”
“I really hope you find the person who did this.”
“So do we.”
When they were back outside, Sam said, “Call McBride and tell them to focus on Grace Ouellette first. Get me everything they can find on her first and then her brother, Aidan, and her sisters Michaela and Alexis.”
While Freddie conveyed her orders to Jeannie, Sam drove to Mark Ouellette’s insurance office.
“They’re on it,” Freddie said. “What’s our next move?”
“I want to talk to Mark Ouellette again. If one of his kids was pissed off about his affair, he might know about it. I want to see his face when I ask him about that.”
“Good call. Let’s do it.”
When Gonzo and Cameron arrived at the home where Tiffany Thorn and her son were staying, he showed his badge to the officer standing outside the front door.
“She just came back a short time ago, Sergeant,” the patrolman said as he handed their badges back to them after a thorough examination. “A real nice lady.”
The young man’s voice dripped with sarcasm.
“I had the unfortunate opportunity to spend time with her last night,” Gonzo said.
Grinning at his comment, the officer said, “Her mother came to stay with the boy while she was on TV going off about your boss and her husband.”
“Thank you for the info, Officer McDaniels,” Gonzo said.
“Happy to help.”
“We’re here to pick her up for a formal interview at HQ. Will you back us up? I don’t expect her to go easily.”
“You got it, Sarge.”
Cameron stood next to Gonzo as he rang the doorbell. When Tiffany Thorn answered it, he noted that her hair and makeup were flawless, as if maybe a professional had prepared her for her TV appearances.
“Did you find Bryson’s killer?”
“We think so.”
Her eyes went wide. “Oh good. That’s such a relief. So we can go home, then?”
“Not quite yet. I’m going to need you to come downtown to MPD headquarters with me.”
“Why?”
“I have some follow-up questions I need to ask you.”
“Why can’t you do that here?”
“Because this will be a formal interview of a person of interest in the murder of Bryson Thorn.”
It took a second for his meaning to register with her, and then her eyes flashed with unmistakable rage. “I hope for your sake you aren’t saying I had something to do with it.”
“I’m saying you need to come with me for a formal interview to discuss the evidence we’ve uncovered thus far. If you come with me without making a scene, I won’t cuff you until we’re in the car.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you.”
He grasped her arm and had her cuffed before she could begin to gauge his intentions.
“Then I guess we have to do this the hard way. Tiffany Thorn, you’re under arrest for suspicion of murder by hire in the death of your husband, Bryson Thorn.
” Gonzo recited the rest of the Miranda warning as she fought him like a caged tiger trying to break loose.
After Gonzo made sure Tiffany’s shocked mother was there to care for the young boy, it took him, Cameron and McDaniels to get her out of the house and down the sidewalk to Gonzo’s car.
Tiffany screamed the whole way about police harassment, that she’d have their badges, their careers, their boss’s career and every dime they’d ever made in their entire lives.
“I want a fucking lawyer! Look at how they’re treating someone who lost her husband yesterday!
” People on the street stopped what they were doing to watch in stunned amazement at the way she was carrying on.
She screamed that the only reason they were doing this was because she’d accused their boss, the first lady, and her husband, the president, of murdering her husband.
Gonzo slammed the door in her face, cutting off her diatribe. “That was fun.”
“Most fun I’ve had all week,” McDaniels said. “Good luck with the ride to HQ.”
“We’ll ignore her,” Green said. “We’re good at that.”
“Keep an eye on the mother and son,” Gonzo said to McDaniels, “just in case we’re wrong about the wife. But I don’t think we are.”
“Will do, Sarge. And if I might say, we’re all behind you with the trial coming.”
Gonzo shook the younger man’s hand. “Thanks. Means a lot.” He got into the car and closed the window to the back seat to mute the bullshit coming from Tiffany. “Some days are definitely more fun than others on this job,” he said as he pulled into traffic to head for HQ.
“No kidding,” Cameron said.
“Can’t help but notice you’re not your usual pressed-and-polished, put-the-rest-of-us-to-shame self today.”
Cameron grunted out a laugh. “Had a rough night. My ex slashed my tires.”
Gonzo looked over at him. “Seriously? Did we pick her up?”
“Yeah, she’s in the can awaiting arraignment. Sam gave her a talking-to this morning that should alleviate any further trouble from her.”
“What brought this on?”
“I guess she’s been following me and found out I’m sort of seeing someone else.”
“Who?”
“Um, Gigi.”
“Our Gigi?”
“Yeah.”
“Holy crap. Didn’t see that coming.”
“I didn’t either until her ex tuned her up, and I wanted to commit murder for the first time in my life. The LT was the one who sort of brought it into focus for me.”
“Huh, well… That’s great, Cam. I’m happy for you guys.”
“We’re happy for us, too, except for the two exes who aren’t going quietly.”
“It’s hard to be patient when you’ve found someone special and the whole world seems to be conspiring against you.
Christina and I had been together for like ten minutes when I found out about Alex.
” At the time, finding out he had a son he’d known nothing about had been the biggest shock of his life.
Alex had since become one of his greatest blessings.
“That must’ve been wild.”
“It was, but Christina… She never wavered. Stuck by me through the whole thing. That’s when I knew she was the real deal, you know?”
“Yeah, for sure. That’s a lot to ask of a new girlfriend. It’s cool that she stepped up that way.”
This was, Gonzo realized, the first time he’d spoken with his new partner as a friend and not just a colleague. They were long overdue for that, and he probably ought to say so. “Hey, so, I’m sorry it’s been such a rough transition into being my partner. I hope you know it’s nothing personal.”
“Of course I do. I can’t begin to know what you’ve been through since losing Arnold.”
“Worst day of my life, hands down.”
“By all accounts, he was a good guy and a great cop.”
“He was,” Gonzo said, smiling, able now to remember his partner with fond affection rather than only raw grief. “He was funny and goofy and often a huge pain in my ass, but I loved the guy. Losing him the way I did was a fucking nightmare.”
“It would be for anyone, Gonzo.”
“Ah, well, I’m just hoping we can get justice for him at the trial. Not sure what I’ll do if that guy walks.”
“There’s no way he’s going to walk. No way in hell.”
Gonzo appreciated having Cam’s support. “From your lips to God’s ears.”
Back at HQ, they walked the still-shrieking Tiffany through processing, including the strip search that nearly took her straight over the edge. The female officer who performed the search returned her to Gonzo and Cam in an orange jumpsuit.
“She’s all yours.”
“Oh joy,” Gonzo said, taking Tiffany by the arm to walk her to interrogation.
“You’re looking at the biggest lawsuit this department has ever seen,” she said, seething.
“Okay.”
“I want a lawyer!”
“Okay.”