Chapter Twenty-Six #2
“He’d been in a dark place since he lost his close friend nine months ago while on a hike.
He firmly believed that Petrov had him killed, but of course, he couldn’t prove it—and even if he could, it wouldn’t have mattered.
The message was sent and received, and for a time, he backed off the cause, worried for the lives of his ex-wife and young children.
In recent months, he sent his family to France, where he hoped they’d be safe from the long arm of Petrov.
As you can imagine, his emotional state was fraught. ”
The story felt almost like fiction, even though Sam knew it was probably true. Petrov’s depravity was well known throughout the world.
“So Sergei comes to you, his old friend and ex-lover, for comfort during this dark time.”
“Yes, he did. Despite our lives diverging after we left Oxford, I always kept tabs on his work, as I later learned he did with me as well.”
“Even when you were both married to other people?”
“The romantic part of our relationship ended when we were twenty-five, long before either of us was married.”
“Was your romance rekindled during his recent visit?”
“Why would that matter?”
“We’re looking for a reason someone might’ve wanted him dead. Sleeping with the U.S. vice president could speak to motive.”
“Some of the most powerful people in the world wanted him dead, and you’re insinuating that if he was sleeping with me, that could’ve gotten him killed?”
Sam shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking.”
“Yes, we slept together and had sex and took comfort in each other the way we did years ago, before our lives had become more complicated than we ever could’ve predicted, but I wasn’t using my office to further his cause.”
The words seemed to burst out of her, one after another, each one full of resentment at having to reveal such personal details to Sam, of all people.
“Who would’ve known about you sleeping with him?”
“No one knew, and no one ever would’ve known if the Secret Service hadn’t betrayed my privacy.”
“Privacy? Is that a thing when you’re the vice president of the United States? Because I can speak from some experience on that. Everything is public when you hold one of the top two offices in the country.”
“Some things should be off-limits.”
“If you were so concerned for Sergei’s safety, why didn’t you notify anyone that he was in the country and possibly in danger?”
For the first time, she looked a bit contrite.
“Because he asked me not to. He was working on a number of avenues to raise funding and support while he was here. If the word got out that he was in the country, it would impair his efforts. He always travels under an assumed name and had gone to some effort and expense to ensure his alias would allow him to move freely.”
“That you know all that sounds an awful lot like you aiding a foreign national in a plan to overthrow his government while serving as vice president of the United States.”
“I wasn’t helping him. I merely didn’t disclose he was here.”
“Which could be viewed as a criminal offense, right?”
“I didn’t see it that way.”
Sam wondered what the federal authorities would conclude after their investigation. “What’re your relationships with your ex-husbands like these days?”
The question took her aback and seemed to offend her, for all Sam cared. “I haven’t talked to one of them in seventeen years. The other is the father of my children, so we’re in regular contact.”
“Only about the kids?”
“We get together once in a while. Nothing serious.”
“Does he know it’s not serious?”
“Of course he does. We’re not together, and we’re not going to be together, even if I’m so incredibly happy for how he’s turned his life around. I wish he could’ve done that when we were married. It would’ve saved us all a lot of heartache.”
“What’s his name again?”
“Why does that matter?”
“Because I asked. In a homicide investigation, everything matters.”
“His name is Curtis.”
“Henderson?”
She nodded.
“And where does he live?”
“In Arlington.”
“The address?”
“Please… You can’t drag him into this. He’s doing so well after such a terrible ordeal… I wouldn’t want to do anything to risk that.”
“Have you done something that would risk his recovery?”
“No! Of course not. My children adore him. I’d never want him to suffer a setback, because that would hurt them.”
“What’s his address?”
“He has an apartment at the Westmont on Glebe Road and Columbia Pike. I don’t recall the street number, but he’s in apartment 3F.”
Sam wrote down the information. “Where does he work?”
“For a marketing company from home.” After a pause, Gretchen said, “You’ve never liked me, have you?”
“I don’t know you well enough to like or dislike you, but I never trusted you.”
“Because I’m a beautiful woman spending time with your husband?”
“Hardly,” Sam said with a laugh. “It’s because I always had a feeling you would disappoint him.
I hate to be right about things that cause him distress, and on behalf of women everywhere, I’m deeply disappointed in the way you squandered a historic opportunity.
” She put her business card on the coffee table.
“Call me if you think of anything else that might be relevant to Sergei’s murder.
Keep in mind that withholding information in a homicide investigation can lead to charges. We’ll see ourselves out.”
“That was fire,” Freddie said when they were outside.
“What was?”
“The way you laughed when she suggested your distrust was because she’s beautiful. Anyone who knows you and Nick, and the whole world knows you, would get how preposterous it is that she even suggested you’re jealous of her spending time with him.”
“She’s a fool—and I’ve decided she’s stupid, too. How could this thing with Sergei not have come to light eventually?”
They were approaching the SUV with Vernon when four other black SUVs pulled up to the curb, carrying a team of FBI agents.
Even though the one in charge probably recognized her, Sam showed him her badge. “What’s going on?”
“We’re here to pick up Gretchen Henderson for additional questioning.”