Chapter 41
FORTY-ONE
Amanda’s phone rang on the way to her desk.
Found… “Let me put you on speaker.” She did that and told him that her partner, Detective Stenson, was with her.
“You should know that nothing hit for the dogs. There are no other cadavers on the property.”
She bit back the urge to counter with, Are you sure? Even if they hadn’t found the Archers, the property belonged to a murderous man. “Thank you for calling.”
“Uh-huh.” With that, the handler was gone.
She turned to Trent. “What are we supposed to take away from that?”
“There’s hope Valerie and Brooke are alive.”
Amanda might give in to that belief, accept it with faith, but for one thing. “I’d like to believe that, but why would Hernandez have left them alive? What purpose would it serve?”
“Who knows? We’re talking about Hernandez. It could be a game he’s playing for his own amusement.”
“Or another message to us that he’s untouchable.” Frustration welled up in her chest. It was starting to feel like the man was invincible, no matter how strongly she refused to accept that.
“But he isn’t, and we’re going to make him feel it.”
Amanda locked her eyes with Trent’s. We are on the same page about everything.
Why can’t we just be together…? She shook those thoughts, directing her mind on what mattered.
Saving a mother and her daughter and making a drug kingpin pay for his crimes.
“We need to put the gun that killed Abigail in Hernandez’s hands.
I really think he took care of her himself. ”
“Agreed, but I’m not sure where we start if we don’t get a search warrant for his residence.”
“We’ll need to make sure that we do.”
“Let’s say we get the warrant; the chances are slim we’d find the murder weapon. Do you think Hernandez would have held on to it?”
That was one of her concerns, but she could knock it down. “You never know. He’s arrogant to a fault. That could work in our favor. Hernandez did leave Abigail’s body on his property.”
“True enough, though that makes you wonder why Paul Archer’s body was dumped down the road.”
“Who knows?” She differed so much from Hernandez, she couldn’t begin to presume what he was thinking.
“Do you want to run the warrant past a judge, or do you want me to do that?”
“I’ve already got a call in with a judge on a search warrant for Hernandez’s residence,” the US marshal said as he joined them.
Now he’s eavesdropping… “That wasn’t necessary. The murder took place in Prince William County jurisdiction.”
“Yes, and the victim was enrolled in the US Marshals Witness Security Program.”
Amanda could have thrown it in his face again that they had failed to protect Abigail, but the thought of actually doing so didn’t feel right.
She’d sunk her standards earlier by being cruel.
She didn’t need to live there, no matter how she felt about the situation or about Russell Holden himself.
Really, none of it mattered. Only justice did, and to get there, she’d have to work with Russell because she didn’t see him going anywhere anytime soon.
“We’ll handle getting one for the video footage, then.
Let me know the minute you hear back on the search warrant. ”
“Will do.” Russell gave her a pressed smile, an expression she didn’t return.
As he was walking away, her phone pinged with a text from Liam Baker. She read it out loud to Trent. “‘Rideout will confirm round size during autopsy. You need to know that the victim’s tongue was also cut out and stuffed into her throat. Rideout believes that was done perimortem.’”
Trent gasped. “She was still alive when they removed it. Dear God.”
Amanda was slow to add anything further as her mind tried to make sense of the depravity despite its message being easy to discern. It was pretty much a calling card right to the drug kingpin’s door. “Hernandez called Abigail a rat from a family of rats,” she reiterated.
“Rat is synonymous with snitch. He removed her tongue to let the world know that anyone who speaks out against him signs their own death warrant.”
“I got there too, but could we be missing a deeper meaning?”
“Who can say at this point?”
She couldn’t, but she sensed there was more. Another text came in from Liam, stealing her attention.
Soonest for autopsy tomorrow at 9 AM.
She shared her screen with Trent. “It’s Sunday, but I’m going.”
“Me too.”
She messaged back.
We’ll be there
Amanda pocketed her phone, and she gathered all the photographs and information necessary to question Nina in a folder, including a printout of her background.
The officer who had brought her in told them her legal name was Antonina Martini.
It dripped off the tongue as if it were some fancy cocktail.
But this woman was certain to leave a bitter aftertaste.
Trent called Judge Anderson and received verbal authorization for the camera footage. He was just finishing up a second call when she stuffed the last of the paperwork into the folder.
“I just hung up from talking with Detective Briggs. He’s going to serve the warrant on Hernandez for the security recordings.”
“And taking an army with him, I hope.”
“He promised he’d take precautions.”
Little good that had done her and Trent. They’d approached Hernandez the first time respectfully, and he still took it as him doing them a favor. “Well, I’m ready when you are.” They’d already been told that Nina’s lawyer had arrived.
“I’ll be right by your side.”
They headed down the hall to the interview room. When Amanda opened the door, she was met with two familiar faces. Nina, who they had expected, but also Wilson Duran, who had just represented Lucas Hernandez.
“Detectives, we meet again,” the attorney said.
Amanda ignored his comment, sat down, and clasped her hands over the folder. “Antonina Martini, do you know why you’re here?”
“Not a clue.” Nina smiled, but an underlying darkness in her eyes belied its sincerity.
“Let me fill you in.” Amanda decided it was best to approach Nina with a casual air. “A family was abducted this past Saturday—a mother, a father, and their teenage daughter. The father’s body was found about forty minutes northwest of Woodbridge in a cornfield. Would you know anything about that?”
Nina’s brow pinched above her right eye. “No.”
“Could you tell us where you were this past Saturday between three and midnight?”
“Whatever for, Detective?” the lawyer said. “My client just told you she has no knowledge of what you said.”
“Then it shouldn’t be an issue for her to answer the question.” Amanda faced Nina.
“Last Saturday?”
“Uh-huh.”
“I was at the spa getting a massage.”
“Which spa?”
“Tranquility. They are here in town. You should try the deep-tissue one. It’s fabulous. You’ll walk out a new woman. All the stress melts right off.”
“All right, I’ll look into it.” The woman would know it wasn’t the massage Amanda was interested in, even if Nina made it sound appealing.
The only thing that would alleviate Amanda’s stress would be finding the Archers alive.
She pulled a photograph of Abigail McGee from the folder.
It was the last one on file with the Department of Motor Vehicles.
She pushed it across the table. “Do you recognize this woman?”
Nina made a show of leaning in and getting a look but drew back fast. “I can’t say that I do.”
“You’re sure about that?” Amanda pressed.
“Detective.” The lawyer used a warning voice as if her disbelief crossed some sort of ethical line.
“Her name might ring a bell. Abigail McGee. Does that sound familiar to you?”
“Nope.”
Denial on a loop… “Huh, I thought for sure you might have heard her name mentioned.”
“You’re doing it again, Detective. You’re fishing. And if that is the point of this interview, we’ll be leaving,” Wilson said.
Nina glanced at the lawyer, a subtle smirk locked on her lips.
As long as Wilson was in the room, Nina wasn’t going to speak a word against Hernandez.
Without him, the odds were slim to unlikely.
But she still had to try. “The thing is, Nina, your employer, Lucas Hernandez, has a thing against Abigail McGee. Or more accurately he did. That’s why I thought you would have heard her name thrown around. ”
Nina shrugged. “Nope.”
The attorney let out an exasperated sigh. “Asked and answered. Twice. Will that be all?”
Amanda disregarded Wilson, kept her focus on Nina. “What about the name Paul Archer? Sound familiar to you?”
Nina shook her head.
Amanda ran through it with Valerie and Brooke. More denial. She pulled photos taken from the mall video of the mystery woman. “Is that you?”
Nina leaned in to get a better look, or at least put in the motions. “No.”
“You’re sure? This is from last Saturday at Potomac Mills mall.”
“I told you. I was at Tranquility.”
“Huh.”
The lawyer drew the picture over to him and looked up at Amanda. “How can you even identify that woman? Please, Detective. Your preconceived ideas about my client are affecting your judgment.”
“Which one are you referring to?” Even though he was acting in the capacity of being Nina’s representation, everyone in this room knew who he really worked for. Whose interests were his priority.
The lawyer’s lips set in a tight thin line. “If there will be nothing else.”
Amanda didn’t say a word as she set out photographs of Paul Archer’s dead body.
Instead of turning away, they had captured Nina’s attention.
Amanda would swear she felt pride oozing from the woman.
“That’s Paul Archer. He was stabbed seven times before his body was dumped in a farmer’s field and left for wildlife to feed upon.
” Nina met Amanda’s gaze, her eyes bright.
If it was in question before, now it was impossible to dismiss.
She was basking in pride. “Nothing then? Not familiar to you?”
“Nope.”
“And this one?” Amanda set out a photo of Abigail McGee’s body. Now it hit that Lloyd deserved to know about all of it. Not just her murder, but the reason for her disappearance. She doubted Russell Holden had taken it upon himself to deliver the news.
“Is it that woman?” Nina said as she leaned over the picture. “Abigail… what was it?”
“McGee.” It wouldn’t surprise Amanda if Nina was the one to cut her tongue out. “She was found on your boss’s property.”
“Detective.” The lawyer angled his head downward.
“That is a fact, Mr. Duran, whether or not you have a problem with that,” she shot back at the attorney.
She gave it a few seconds before addressing Nina again.
“So you can appreciate why we’re looking into him and you.
We know that you’re a loyal employee who wants to please her boss.
” Amanda was trying to position it as if Nina may not have had a choice, giving her a defense.
Though it was unlikely she’d bite with Wilson in the room.
He’d report it back to Hernandez, and Nina’s murder would be the next one they investigated.
Nina didn’t say a word.
Amanda continued with a quick glance at the lawyer. “We understand your employer is a powerful man with a long reach, but we can protect you.”
“Like you did for Abigail?” Nina’s expression transitioned from seriousness to amusement in a blink.
Amanda stiffened. What happened to Abigail wasn’t her fault, but the implied accusation that it was stung regardless. She took out photographs of Valerie and Brooke. “You ever see them?”
“No.”
Amanda studied Nina’s face. While she might have thought she’d schooled her eyes and expression to give nothing away, they were screaming. She knew who they were because she took them. Maybe even killed them.