Chapter Five
Sean
Two cops. A hot former soldier with a gun. My friend and soon-to-be employee, who was a former senator. What a fucked-up coffee clutch.
I turned to Officer Mathers, not giving a fuck about the handsome detective sitting next to her. He wasn’t as wrinkled and oafish as I’d expected, thinking about the stereotype from old detective shows, but there was something about him that didn’t sit well with me.
Mathers came across as dismissive of Compton.
Was it professional jealousy on her part?
I wasn’t sure how police officers were ranked.
Were detectives higher in the pecking order than uniformed officers, or were they on two separate career paths?
Whatever was going on with the two of them, they didn’t appear to be comfortable in each other’s company, which was a bit unsettling to me.
Maybe Compton sensed Mathers wasn’t attracted to him, and it pissed him off? Some people wanted to feel as if they were desired by everyone, whether it was true or not.
I knew a few people who wouldn’t mind riding Compton like a Shetland pony at a birthday party, but I could tell Mathers wasn’t one of them. Honestly, I wasn’t either, not that he gave any indication he was into guys.
The cowboy, however, was gorgeous and quite personable. I’d need to observe Jericho Hess more to figure him out, but he exuded confidence and swagger. There was something about him that reminded me of an old soul, and I didn’t say that often.
My grandmother claimed she had second sight, but I didn’t believe that shit. She’d have told me the cowboy was my destiny, and I’d have laughed. I had no destiny. I had the life I was living, and it wasn’t anything magical.
But something about the cowboy led me to believe he wasn’t easily fooled. I found him quite captivating, but that was just a crush. He was unlike anyone I’d ever met.
“Do you have any idea who was in the trunk of your car, Mr. Fitzpatrick?” Compton asked.
I shrugged. “Not a clue. I’m the only person who has the fob for the car, so unless they popped the trunk, nobody could get in.”
Mathers nodded. “Do you currently have a partner?”
“Partner? No, I’m the sole owner of The Fitzpatrick Group.
I’ve been a lobbyist for fifteen years, only leaving my former firm to start my own six years ago, and when I started my company, I didn’t have anyone who wanted to go into business with me.
I’m a bit of an asshole when it comes to things I believe in.
I advocate and lobby for the rights of the queer and disenfranchised, and I give it my all,” I answered.
Officer Mathers smirked. “I’m sorry. Let us be clear. Do you have a lover?”
My breath hitched. It was awfully bold of her to ask such a question. Detective Compton gave me a harsh stare. Was he jealous or disgusted? I couldn’t tell.
Spencer, acting as my lawyer, cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, but I don’t see what Mr. Fitzpatrick’s relationship status has to do with anything, unless you believe this was an act of jealousy by a scorned lover?”
I glanced over my shoulder to see Jericho’s intense stare as he sipped his coffee. His expression was as sexy as any I’d ever seen on a man, but I had no idea what it meant.
“No. I don’t have a steady partner in my life. I’ve got a lot on my plate and no time to give my singular attention to anyone. Do you want me to give you a list of the men I’ve had sex with?”
If the bastards were judging me, I’d give them something to judge.
“Yes.”
Spencer shook his head. “Not unless you have a reason to believe it’s a former lover who is targeting my client. People deserve their privacy. Besides, what about the threats you found in the files you confiscated from his office?”
Spencer gave Mathers an icy stare. The former senator knew his shit when it came to the law, and I was fucking grateful.
Officer Mathers stepped forward and encroached on Spencer’s space, anger written all over her face.
“We had a warrant, and the office manager, Mrs. Lambert, gave us the files. She also stayed with us to ensure we only confiscated what the warrant covered. We were only able to seize Mr. Fitzpatrick’s desktop and calendar,” Officer Mathers stated, a bite of anger in her voice.
“I guess that didn’t tell you much. My files are encrypted regarding my clients’ information, and my calendar is useless, which means you have nothing. You’re fishing for any reason to blame this on me and my behavior, so you can fuck off.”
I stood from my chair and went to the kitchen to get another coffee. Jericho stepped over to the coffee maker, putting a pod into the holder before he closed it and took my cup to place under the spout. “How are you doing?”
“I’ve been better.”
The handsome man nodded and handed me the cup. “Don’t let them back you into a corner.” I took the mug and smiled before I went back into the dining room.
“So, where do we stand? Who was in the trunk of my car? I left it in the underground garage at the office on Thursday night and took a car service home. I took the same service back to the office on Friday morning. I worked a full day on Friday, and that evening, I went out for food. I have several witnesses who can attest to my whereabouts the whole time.”
Detective Compton nodded. “Okay, can we take a look at your phone?”
The senator was quick to object. “No. It appears as if you still suspect my client had a hand in this shit storm. I’d say when you come up with a reason why you believe he’s involved in the bombing, then you can get a search warrant for the phone. Are we done here?”
Spencer stood and pushed in his chair, signaling the inquisition was over. I appreciated his take-charge attitude.
Jericho stepped out of the kitchen and walked to the door, opening it with a bright smile. “You can call Mr. Fitzpatrick or his attorney if you find out anything more. Thanks for dropping by.”
Mathers and Compton both stood, Mathers turning to me with an unhappy expression. “We’ll be in touch. Have a good day.”
They left, and Jericho closed the door and flipped the deadbolt, turning toward me. “You okay?”
“Can’t say that I am. I’ve never been accused of murder and arson.” I dropped into my chair and rubbed my temples, attempting to stave off the impending migraine. I was sure it wouldn’t work, but at that point, I was helpless to know anything else to do.
Jericho suddenly unlocked the door. “I’ll be right back.” He rushed out the door, closing it behind him.
I turned to Spencer. “I bet you can’t wait to start working with me next week.” I offered a hysterical laugh before I put my head on the table.
“I’m a real estate lawyer, you know. I have no criminal defense background, not that I believe you did anything wrong. I can give you a referral, but let’s wait and see—”
The door opened and Jericho returned with Mathers and Compton. “What fresh hell is this?” I banged my head on the dining table.
Jericho stepped over and put his right hand between my forehead and the tabletop. “I have some experience in questioning people. Hear them out. I think the three of you got off on the wrong foot. Let’s try this again.”
I lifted my head, tears sliding down my cheeks. For forty-eight hours, I’d been on edge, consumed with fear. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could maintain my sanity before I ran screaming through the streets.
Jericho handed me a bandanna from his pocket that looked clean, so I took it and dried my cheeks. I tossed it on the table and turned to the cops in front of me. “If you’ll give me a moment, I’ll freshen up, and we can try this again.”
I hurried down the hallway to the ensuite in the primary bedroom and closed the door. I went to the vanity sink to splash cool water on my face, hoping to relieve the natural red flush I developed when I was upset.
It felt as if I were living a nightmare, and I had no idea how to wake up. Nothing made sense.
Finally, I dried my face, combed my hair, and took a deep breath, slowly exhaling. “Get your shit together. You’re stronger than this.”
I opened the door to find Jericho sitting on the bed.
“You okay? You can do this, Sean. You need to get them to take the focus off your orientation and put it on the crime at hand. I’ve read about you, and you’re a very polished speaker who can usually get people on your side without much fuss. Show them that Sean Fitzpatrick.”
I was surprised by Jericho’s support. He was right, though. I prided myself on breaking through people’s prejudices to get to the heart of a matter. I’d assumed Compton was a cis-het white guy, but that wasn’t fair. People were people. Case closed.
Jericho opened the door—I could get used to being treated so queenly—and followed me down the hallway, where I rejoined the two police officers and Spencer, who seemed awfully nervous.
“Spence, why don’t you go? I’ll see you at the office on Tuesday. Thank you for coming on such short notice. Say hello to Nash for me. I’d like to get together with the two of you after things calm down.” I shook his hand and showed him to the door.
He leaned in to hug me and whisper in my ear. “Don’t say anything that can be misconstrued or turned against you. I’ll get you a referral for a lawyer who suits your case better and text you a name later tonight. Hang in there, my friend.”
I nodded and closed the door behind him, turning to the law enforcement officers at the table. “Let’s try again. When will we know who was in the trunk? Have you found anything on the video footage from the garage?”
“Yes. A white panel van drove into the garage basement where your car was parked at about one in the morning. There were no license plates on the rear, and it blocked the view of any activity near your car. It was parked there—” Compton pulled out a little notepad and flipped through the pages for a moment— “for about fifteen minutes before it drove off.”
“Did you get a look at the occupants of the van?” Jericho asked.
“Checked all the cameras and got flashes of the van as it entered and exited the garage. This is the only shot of the driver and passenger.” Compton plucked his phone from his jacket pocket and scrolled a bit until he found what he was looking for.
There were screenshots of the van entering the garage. One had a view through the front windshield where two people were visible, both wearing sunglasses, baseball caps, and stars-and-stripes kerchiefs around the lower halves of their faces. They could have been anyone.
Jericho’s hands were on the back of my chair as he peeked over my shoulder. “There are markings on the driver’s hands. Were you able to blow those up?” He glanced down at me and frowned. “Sorry. No pun intended.”
Mathers giggled. “Sorry, Sean.” She then looked at Jericho. “We’ve got our team working on it. What did you do for the Army?”
“Special Forces. Sorry for interrupting.”
From there, we went through my life with a fine-tooth comb. Any recent hookups who might have thought we had more of a connection than we did. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any names to give on that front. I never asked for names.
I gave them the names of the folks I’d recently met with on The Hill and the names of other people I interacted with regularly, like Naomi Chu, the event planner at the Four Seasons Georgetown, and Nash Lincoln, the new catering manager working with her who happened to be Spencer’s partner.
Other than my staff and the congressional staff, nobody stuck out as a threat.
“And you, Mr. Hess. How do you fit into all this? Where did you meet Sean?” Mathers stared at Jericho, but the man was unflinching.
“Through mutual friends. A buddy from the Army contacted me to lend a hand because he doesn’t live in the area. I’m only too happy to do what I can.” Jericho stepped away from me and leaned against the door jamb leading to the kitchen.
“Those cowboy boots look like they’ve seen some work. What do you do now, Jericho?” Again, Compton was giving Jericho the up and down.
Jericho smirked. “I train and board horses. I’ve got a ranch in Maryland. It’s nice to get away for a while.”
I could tell Jeri was done talking about himself, and I was also tired of answering questions. I stood. “You have my number, so please call me when you learn anything. I’ll reach out if anything comes to mind.”
Mathers and Compton both stood and headed toward the door. Mathers turned and smiled. “Thank you for your time, Sean. We’ll be in touch.”
Their second departure was much more amicable than the first. After I closed and locked the door, I turned to my new companion. “What did you say to them in the hall?”
“I just reminded them that judging anyone in your position wasn’t their job. Law enforcement meant enforcing the law. They agreed and came back. Now, I’m going to go get my things from my truck. Lock the door, and I’ll knock three times when I come back. Don’t open the door for anyone else.”
His handsome blue eyes were trained on me, and his gaze made my blood travel south in a hell of a hurry. I had the feeling there was so much more to Jericho Hess than met the eye. I hoped I had time to discover at least some of his secrets.