Chapter Eleven
The group in the conference room was almost finished for now when a knock at the door had Sam rising to answer it.
A woman she didn’t recognize glared at her.
She was about fifty, with highlighted blonde hair, cool green eyes and an expression some might refer to as resting bitch face.
Not Sam, of course, but others might call it that. “May I help you?”
“I’m U.S. Attorney Catherine McDermott.” She wore a black power suit, a red blouse and gold jewelry. “I understand the Binghams are still in custody after I instructed you to release them, and I’d like to know why.”
Sam had never been more thankful for the presence of the captain and chief as she stepped aside to admit the woman into the room, returning to her seat at the head of the table.
The chief walked around the table to greet McDermott with a handshake. “Joe Farnsworth. Nice to meet you.”
She shook his hand. “You as well.”
“This is my chief of detectives, Captain Jake Malone, IT Lieutenant Archelotta—we call him Archie—Crime Scene Lieutenant Max Haggerty, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Lindsey McNamara, retired Detective Moran and former Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Norman Morganthau. You probably recognize Lieutenant Holland, and of course, you know AUSA Miller.”
McDermott turned her glare on Hope. “I do know AUSA Miller, and frankly, I’m surprised to see her in this meeting that I assume is about suspects I instructed her to have released.”
“All due respect, ma’am,” the chief said in a folksy tone laced with steel, “we don’t work for you or AUSA Miller. We work with you. Our roles are complementary, and we decide as a team how best to proceed in situations like the one we currently find ourselves in.”
“What situation are we in? We’ve arrested and were going to charge two people with first-degree murder based on nothing more than a single eyewitness statement.”
“We’ve made entire cases on less than that,” Sam said.
McDermott shot her chilly gaze Sam’s way. “I’m well aware of how you work, and on my watch, it’ll take more than that.”
“Have you listened to the eyewitness statement?” Malone asked.
“I have not.”
“Maybe you should,” Malone said. “Everyone in this room has heard it, and we’re working to bolster the airtight case that Amara Robinson handed us in order to satisfy your request for more evidence.
We’re following a number of leads that we believe will add to what we already know.
In the meantime, none of us is comfortable with releasing the Binghams based on the information we currently have. ”
“Amara Robinson is a very credible witness who had everything to lose by coming forward,” Farnsworth added, “and did so anyway because she wants justice for her beloved brother. She waited until today, her eighteenth birthday, to report his murder because, as she was a minor, she was afraid of what’d become of her if she ended up in the foster system. ”
“I can see that you all believe her story and aren’t questioning the veracity, but has it occurred to you that she could’ve been involved and concocted this story to implicate her parents?”
“No, it hasn’t occurred to us,” Sam said. “Because, in our experience, her statement was extremely credible and included details that would be difficult for anyone to fabricate unless they were a sociopath. We saw no sign of anything like that in her.”
“And you’re experts in sociopathic behavior?”
“I’m sorry,” Sam said, “but aren’t we on the same side?”
McDermott’s glare heated with outrage. “I require airtight cases for prosecution.”
“That’s what we’re trying to give you,” Sam replied. “Everyone in this room is working toward that goal.”
“I’ve given my team twenty-four hours to produce additional evidence, or we will release them if they’re granted bail, but we won’t drop the charges they’ll be arraigned on in the morning,” Farnsworth said.
“And who will prosecute this case if you decide to go forward with what you have?” McDermott asked.
“I will,” Hope said with a defiant tilt to her chin. “I, too, have been doing this for many years, and I know a credible witness when I see one. I really hope you’ll take the time to watch the video of Amara’s statement. I believe you’ll find it extremely compelling.”
McDermott continued to stare at Hope until she finally blinked, turned and left the room.
An audible sigh of relief echoed through the group.
“So that’s my new boss,” Hope said with a grin and a wince.
“You’re a badass,” Sam said. “When you said you’d prosecute the case… Thank you, Hope.”
“I might’ve just tanked my career, but whatever. If it means standing up for what’s right, then so be it.”
Sam grinned at her. “Bad. Ass.”
“That’s a heck of a way to begin a professional relationship,” Archie said. “Coming in firing on all cylinders.”
“Agreed,” Sam said. “Thank you for laying out the rules for her, Chief.”
“I have a feeling that won’t be the last time I have to run interference for you all, so let’s use those chits wisely. We have to get along with her.”
Sam wondered if that would even be possible, but she kept the thought to herself when she dismissed the others to follow up on the leads they’d discussed during the meeting.
“I’ll report in after we process the house,” Haggerty said as he left.
“Thanks, Max.”
“This was the most exciting morning I’ve had in longer than I can remember,” Dr. Morganthau said when it was just Sam, Malone and Farnsworth in the room.
“Thank you so much for coming in, Norm,” the chief said.
“Nice to feel needed. I’ll review my report again with a fine-tooth comb and let you know if anything new pops.”
“We’d appreciate that,” Sam said. “Anything you remember could be valuable. Let me take you over to see Jeannie.”
“Oh, I’d love to see her.” He shook hands with Malone and Farnsworth. “Good luck with that new USA. I have a feeling you’re gonna need it.”
Malone grunted out a laugh. “She doesn’t scare us. We work with Holland.”
“Rude,” Sam said.
“I see how it is,” Morganthau quipped.
“She’s the boss of us,” Farnsworth replied, straight-faced.
“Haha, as if. Let’s go, Doc.”
“God, it’s good to be back here,” Morganthau said when Sam walked him toward Jeannie’s office next to the chief’s. “It gets in the blood, you know?”
“I know all too well. I try to imagine a life that doesn’t revolve around this place and the shit show of the day, and it just seems…”
“Boring?”
“I mean… I assume my husband will also be retired in this scenario we’re discussing, so I doubt I’d be bored with him to entertain me, but…”
“Nothing can replace the adrenaline rush of this place. Nothing.”
“I fear you’re right.”
“I am. I struggled with that for five years after I retired. Some days, I felt like I hadn’t accomplished anything that mattered.
When you spend your career dealing with life and death and murder and prosecutors and the like, it’s not easy to walk away.
But let me say this… You should walk when the time is right.
There’s more to life than all this, even if it’s not as exciting. ”
“I have four kids now. I hear there may be grandchildren someday. Maybe by then, I’ll be ready for a lower-key kind of life. Not there yet.”
“That’s saying something coming from the highest-key life I can think of.”
“Oh, you mean that other thing.”
The older man tossed his head back and barked out a laugh. “Yeah, the thing about you also being the first lady.”
Sam scowled at him.
Still chuckling, he said, “You must really love that man.”
“She really does.” Deputy Chief Jeannie McBride came out of her office to greet Dr. Morganthau with a hug. “I heard you were here and was coming to find you.”
He beamed like a proud father. “It’s so good to see you, friend, and look at you wearing the deputy chief’s uniform.”
“It’s as much of a surprise to me as it is to everyone else.”
“Not to me,” Sam said. “Not to me.”
Jeannie placed her hands on her pregnant belly. “And I’m filling out the maternity shirt to the max.”
“You’re positively glowing,” Dr. Morganthau said.
“I’ll leave you two to catch up.” Sam felt the day getting away from her. “Thanks again for your help, Doc.”
“Always a pleasure to see you, Lieutenant.”
Sam shook his outstretched hand. “Likewise, Doc.”
She returned to the pit as Gonzo and Cam were coming in through the morgue entrance. “What’ve we got?”
“A John Doe pushed out of a black SUV bearing diplomatic plates near Embassy Row,” Gonzo reported.
Sam grimaced. “Diplomatic plates, huh?”
“Your reaction matches mine,” Gonzo said.
“The vehicle was moving too fast to get details off the plates,” Cam said, “but it had the look. We checked the other cameras in the area and were able to track the vehicle’s movements, but the plate was obscured in every view.”
“Intentionally obscured?” Sam asked. Criminals had found a way around being tracked by the Automatic License Plate Readers that were positioned around the city.
“It would appear that way.”
“Great,” Sam said as a complicated day got more so.
“John Doe is with Dr. Tomlinson in the morgue,” Gonzo said. “And he’s promised us an ID as quickly as he can get it.”
“I have heartburn already, and we just caught this case.”
“Right there with you,” Gonzo said as he checked his watch.
“Do you mind if I take off early? The movers are due at the house, and Christina texted to say she can’t meet them after all.
She’s probably going to be working late.
” They were renting Sam and Nick’s house on Ninth Street, which would quadruple their living area ahead of their second child’s birth in the fall.
“Yeah, there’s something afoot at the White House that I wasn’t fully cleared to hear about. Go on ahead. We’ve got it covered here.”
“Are you sure?”
“Go, Gonzo. Get your family settled.”
“Thanks. I’ll check in later.”
“Good luck with the movers.”
“I’m sure it’s gonna be a mess before it’s a home, but we’ll get it done.”
“Can’t wait to visit you there.”
“Thank you again for making this happen for us, Sam. We’d never have been able to afford a place that big without our amazing landlords.”