Chapter Thirty
“Please state your name for the court,” Assistant U.S Attorney Faith Miller said after Gonzo had sworn to tell the truth.
Since entering the courtroom, he’d managed to avoid looking toward the defense table. “Detective Sergeant Thomas Gonzales.”
“And you’ve been with the Metropolitan Police Department for how long?”
“Thirteen years as of this coming February.”
“And a Homicide detective for how long?”
“Five years.”
“What is your position within the Homicide squad?”
“I’m second-in-command to Lieutenant Holland.”
“Thank you, Sergeant. Would you please take the court through the investigation that led to you and your partner, Detective AJ Arnold, attempting to apprehend the defendant, Sid Androzzi?”
In the calm, cool tone he’d practiced with Faith as well as his wife, Christina, over the last few weeks, Gonzo went through the Androzzi investigation from the beginning, starting with a rash of stabbings, several of them fatal, that had eventually led to a man known as Giuseppe Besozzi, who was believed to be Italian.
Later, they’d learned that Besozzi was actually Sid Androzzi, who was on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list for his role in a multicity human trafficking ring.
The trial had been combined to include Arnold’s murder and the stabbings.
Androzzi also faced federal human trafficking charges.
Gonzo’s testimony was part of a trial that was expected to take up to a month to try.
“Can you describe the events leading up to your encounter with Mr. Androzzi?” Faith asked, with a warm, compassionate look that only he could see.
This would be the hard part.
Before he began speaking, he saw Sam sneak into the room and take a seat in the back.
Fortified by her support as well as the rest of his squad, including Detective Dominguez, who’d surprised him by coming, Gonzo took a deep breath and began to tell the story of the worst night of his life.
“Detective Arnold and I had been staked outside of Mr. Androzzi’s local residence for several hours.
It was long after our regular tour had ended.
We were cold, hungry, tired and impatient.
At least I was. Arnold was complaining about the cold and being hungry and asking how much longer we were going to wait for Androzzi to come home.
I told him we were waiting as long as it took, and if he’d shut up about the inconvenience, I’d let him take the lead with Androzzi. ”
Gonzo paused and offered a small smile. “He was so excited to take the lead for the first time. Arnold… He was a great young guy, full of enthusiasm for the job and for life. He was becoming an exceptional detective, but he was still young, you know? I used to say he was like a puppy, but the best kind of puppy. Lovable and smart, but with some growing up left to do. Arnold asked me to go through the steps with him so he’d be ready.
We did it a few times, going over each aspect of what would need to happen once Androzzi arrived on the scene.
Arnold was ready. I’d known that for quite some time, but I hadn’t given him the chance yet. ”
Gonzo’s voice broke, and he gave himself a second to get his emotions under control. This is for Arnold, he told himself. You have to get through this for him.
Arnold’s weeping parents, sisters and girlfriend didn’t help, but after a minute, he got himself together enough to proceed.
“When we finally saw Androzzi, we got out of the car and walked toward him. Arnold showed his badge and began to identify himself. Before he could finish the sentence, Androzzi had fired the shot to the face that killed Arnold. I got off a couple of rounds, but I didn’t hit him.
In the second it took me to process what’d happened, Arnold was dead, and Androzzi was gone. ”
Gonzo pulled a tissue from the box on the witness stand and wiped the tears from his eyes. “The thing I remember most was the gurgling sound that came from Arnold’s throat. I’d never heard anything like that before, and I hope I never do again.”
“What happened then?”
“The Patrol officers who’d been providing coverage for us went after Androzzi. I stayed with Arnold until EMTs arrived and pronounced Arnold dead, and then I went with him to the morgue.”
“Is the man who shot your partner in this courtroom today?” Faith asked.
Gonzo finally allowed himself to look at the defendant, who stared back at him with soulless black eyes. “That’s him.”
“Let the record show that the witness has identified the defendant, Sid Androzzi,” Faith said. To Gonzo, she said, “Thank you, Sergeant. Nothing further.”
The defense attorney stood to cross-examine Gonzo. “You said the whole thing happened quickly.”
“Yes,” Gonzo said, his body filled with tension as he anticipated what the defense attorney might ask him.
“How quickly?”
“Thirty seconds, start to finish.”
“And in that half a minute, during which your partner was fatally shot, you got a good enough look at my client to identify him without a shadow of a doubt?”
“Yes, I did. I’d know him anywhere.”
“What happened after your partner was murdered?”
“We, uh, continued to work the case against Androzzi, who was eventually apprehended. We supported Arnold’s parents, sisters and colleagues through the tragic loss of an outstanding young man.”
“What happened to you personally?”
Gonzo knew he shouldn’t be surprised that someone had fed the information to the defense, but he was, nonetheless.
They probably had Ramsey to thank for that.
“I went through a very difficult struggle with grief and guilt that included a dependency on pain medication that I’ve since overcome with the help of therapy and rehab. ”
Clearly, the attorney hadn’t expected him to be so forthright, but Gonzo had learned to own his truth so it wouldn’t have destructive power over him anymore.
“During your dependency on pain medication, did you ever do anything illegal to procure the pills?”
Faith jumped to her feet. “Objection! Sergeant Gonzales is not on trial here.”
“Sustained,” the judge said with a glare for the defense attorney.
Obviously annoyed to have that line of questioning shut down, the defense attorney said, “Nothing further.”
“You’re dismissed, Sergeant Gonzales, with the court’s thanks and sympathy for your loss.”
“Thank you, Your Honor.”
“We’ll take a ten-minute recess.”
Gonzo left the witness stand and went straight to Christina, who wrapped her arms around him and held him as tightly as she could. “You did great, Tommy. You were so strong up there.”
“Not really.”
“No one would ever know that.”
Holding his wife’s hand, Gonzo left the courtroom and waited outside for his squad and Arnold’s family. Everyone hugged him and told him he did great, including Arnold’s parents.
“He’d be so proud of you, Tommy,” Mrs. Arnold said.
Gonzo found that hard to hear, in light of the fact that he still blamed himself for walking Arnold into a slaughter. But he’d learned the hard way that he couldn’t change the facts of that night, as much as he might wish otherwise.
“You were rock solid,” Sam said when everyone else had had their moment with him. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks. That means a lot. I just hope it was enough.” The thought of Androzzi somehow walking free was too much for Gonzo to bear.
“Added to everything else they have on him, it’ll be enough. He’s going away for the rest of his life.”
“I sure as hell hope so.”
“You’ve done everything you can,” Sam said. “Now you have to let it go so you can enjoy Christmas with your family.”
“Is it fair for me to enjoy Christmas with my family when Arnold can never again do that with his?”
“What would he say to that?”
“He’d tell me to quit saying stupid shit and go home with my wife and son to enjoy my life.”
“Then maybe you ought to take his advice, huh?”
Gonzo offered his longtime friend and boss a small smile and nodded. “I’d give just about anything to have him back.”
“We all would.”
Since there was nothing any of them could do to make that happen, Gonzo put his arm around Christina and led her to their car to go home to their son.
For whatever reason, the universe had seen fit to take his partner and leave him to carry on without him.
Gonzo was determined to live for both of them while ensuring that no one ever forgot the name of the earnest young officer who’d given his life in service to the District.
With one day to finish shopping for everyone, Sam hit the local stores on Wednesday with Vernon and Jimmy along for the ride.
She let them drive her so she wouldn’t have to worry about parking and so she could pop in to surprise startled store owners, many of whom she’d known for years, having grown up in the District.
Thankfully, people mostly left her alone to do what needed to be done, and by that afternoon, she felt somewhat ready.
She’d struggled over what to get for Nick and had decided to surprise him with an “experience” rather than a gift.
In January, they’d spend a weekend at a spa in Virginia with private accommodations that would keep them separate from the rest of the guests so they could enjoy the time away without intrusion.
Their package included facials, a couples massage and a wine tasting, among other things.
Now if only the rest of the world would cooperate to allow him to take an entire weekend off…
With the help of online shopping, she’d gotten what she needed for the kids and Elijah as well as her sisters, nieces, nephews, Celia, Shelby, Noah, Freddie, Gonzo’s son… The list felt endless, but she was done. She stayed up late on Wednesday wrapping and drinking wine with Celia.
“How’re you holding up?” Sam asked her stepmother as she refilled their glasses for the second—or was it the third?—time.
“I’m surprisingly okay,” Celia said. “Thank you again for asking me to be here with you all. I think that’s made such a difference for me.”