Fatal Threat

“What about him?”

“Just about who they might get to fill his spot.”

“No idea.”

“I hope it doesn’t happen soon. I don’t want to see someone else in his cube.”

“Gonna happen eventually.”

“I hope eventually is in the far-off future.”

Gonzo had nothing to say to that, but then, he didn’t say much about Arnold these days. Despite his silence on the matter, Freddie knew Gonzo’s late partner was never far from his mind.

They entered the morgue, where an antiseptic scent greeted them.

“This is gonna be bad,” Gonzo said. “You ready for that?”

Freddie’s stomach turned. This was one of the worst parts of a difficult job. “As ready as I ever am.”

“What’ve you got, Doc?” Gonzo asked as they entered the sterile room where Lindsey and her deputy, Byron Tomlinson, were examining the body—or what was left of it.

Freddie choked back a wave of nausea when he got his first look at the bloated lump of flesh that had once been a human being. The only thing about the body that still looked human was a knotted, slimy clump of long hair.

“Female, approximately eighteen to twenty-five,” Lindsey replied.

“How long was she in the water?”

“I’m estimating seven to ten days.”

“Which would fit the time period that Ruby Denton has been missing,” Freddie said.

“We’ll need dental records to confirm the identity,” Lindsey said. “But one thing I can tell you is whoever she is, she was well cared for at one time in her life.”

“How can you tell?” As far as Freddie could tell, she was a lump of decomposing flesh.

“Her teeth are gorgeous. Probably had orthodontics.”

For some reason, that detail made Freddie unreasonably sad for the parents who’d soon hear their child was in the morgue.

“Is there anything else you can tell us?” Gonzo asked.

“I can’t be sure, but there’re possible ligature marks here.” Lindsey pointed to the neck area.

“So she might’ve been strangled.”

“It’s a theory.”

“That and the teeth are more than we had ten minutes ago,” Gonzo said. “Keep us posted on the ID.”

“Can you see about getting me Ruby’s dental records?”

Freddie’s stomach turned again at the thought of asking her parents for such a thing.

“Yeah,” Gonzo said. “We’ll take care of it.”

“What’s the plan?” Freddie asked on the walk from the morgue back to the pit.

“Let’s talk to Ruby’s parents.” Gonzo checked his watch. “And then we can call it a day.”

As they went into the pit, Detectives Jeannie McBride and Will Tyrone were returning from a call.

“What’ve you got?” Gonzo asked them.

“A double suicide,” Jeannie said.

“You’re sure that’s what it was?” Gonzo asked.

“There was a note.” Jeannie handed it over to Gonzo, and Freddie moved in for a closer look.

I’m sorry it has come to this. Our financial problems have gotten to the point where we’re going to lose the house. Please take care of our kids. They don’t deserve any of this.

“Aw, damn,” Freddie said. “How old are the kids?”

“They’re both in college,” Jeannie said. “The father’s brother is taking care of notifying them. He told us the husband lost his job two years ago, and his benefits were running out. They couldn’t pay the mortgage and the bank was going to take their house. The last time he saw his brother, they talked about him declaring bankruptcy to get out from under the mortgage. He said the brother was worried about how they’d eat and where they’d live.”

“It’s so sad,” Will added, “that they felt they had no other options.”

“How’d they do it?” Gonzo asked.

“Pills,” Jeannie said. “The empty bottles were on the bed between them. His brother told us he’d had back surgery last year, and they used the leftover narcotics to OD. They were found holding hands.”

“Take care of the paperwork,” Gonzo said, “and call it a day.”

“Where’s Sam?” Jeannie asked. “We’re supposed to go to our last dress fitting together.”

Freddie glanced at Gonzo. “Um, well, there’s been a situation.”

“What kind of situation?”

Freddie took them through the sequence of events that’d happened earlier, ending with the phone call Gonzo had received about Alex from the Secret Service.

Jeannie shook her head in disbelief. “Wait... So what you’re saying...”

“Someone has made a threat against their family, so the Secret Service has them all under protection.”

“Where?”

“We don’t know.”

“What was the threat?”

“We don’t know that either.”

“How long—”

“We don’t know anything more than what we’ve told you, Jeannie,” Gonzo said. “Believe me, I want to know how long they’re going to hold my son, and I can’t get even that much out of them.”

“It must’ve been bad if they took everyone, even her sisters.”

“We’re working under that assumption.”

“I feel like a selfish jerk for worrying about my wedding at a time like this when something much bigger is going on, but what’ll I do if she can’t be there?”

“I doubt whatever this is will go on for more than a week,” Gonzo said. “If it does, I’ll be losing my mind, so we can lose our minds together.”

“I’m sorry,” Jeannie said. “I don’t mean to make it about me when your child is being held somewhere, and you have no idea where he is. That’s way worse.”

“The whole thing sucks,” Gonzo said. “Imagine what it’s like for the Secret Service agents who’re stuck with Sam.”

That made them all laugh and relieved some of their tension, although Freddie could tell that Jeannie was still freaked out. After having been held by a psycho last year, she’d be hit harder than most by this latest development. Will must’ve been having the same thought because he squeezed Jeannie’s shoulder in support.

“Try not to worry,” Gonzo said. “At least we know she’s in good hands and being kept safe from whatever’s happening.”

“There is that,” Jeannie said.

“I’ll take care of the reports,” Will said. “Go on ahead to your fitting.”

“Are you sure?” Jeannie asked her partner.

“Positive. You’ve got better stuff to do.”

Jeannie glanced apprehensively at Sam’s dark office before she nodded to him. “Thank you. You’ll let me know if you hear any more about Sam and Nick?”

“We will,” Gonzo said.

“Okay, then. I’ll see you guys in the morning.”

After she left, Gonzo said, “I’m going to check on Chris, and then we can go talk to Ruby’s parents. Give me five.”

“You got it.” Freddie went to his cubicle and tried to wrap his mind around what’d transpired out at the river. He had to put his observations into a narrative that would make sense on a report, when none of it made sense to him. Beckett had emailed his contributions, which Freddie would combine with his own. He could hear Gonzo still on the phone with Christina in the LT’s office, so he called upstairs to Lieutenant Archelotta.

“Hey, it’s Cruz,” Freddie said when Archie picked up his extension. “Just checking to see if you’ve picked up anything about the threat to the lieutenant’s family.”

“Not a thing. I’ve got people digging deep and we’re coming up empty.”

“What the hell? How can there be a threat that’d warrant the family being collected dragnet-style and there be no sign of it anywhere online or in any of the usual places?”

“I have no idea, but whatever it is, it must’ve been hard-core for the Secret Service to react this way.”

“Is it weird that you can’t find any mention of a threat?”

“A little. What’re you thinking?”

“I keep reliving the fear that the people who took her aren’t really Secret Service agents.”

“You didn’t see their badges?”

“I did but I didn’t get close enough to really examine them.”

“You really think it’s possible they were fake?”

“Not anymore. They contacted Gonzo to let him know they have his son because he was with Sam’s sister Angela, and we think that means they’re legit. The whole thing happened so fast, and it was so weird the way they showed up at a crime scene and just took her. How did they know where we were? She’s not under any kind of protection.”

“It is bizarre. Do you think they keep tabs on her even though she’s not officially under their protection?”

“If they do, that’d be news to me—and to her too, I suspect.”

“The whole thing is crazy,” Archie said. “I’ll give you that.”

“Let me know if you pick up any chatter about her or Nick.”

“I will. For sure.”

“Thanks, Archie.”

Gonzo came out of the office, shut the door and locked it. “Let’s get this over with.”

Dreading the thought of seeing Ruby Denton’s parents to ask them for dental records, Freddie got up and followed Gonzo out of the pit.

* * *

AFTER GETTING THE INFO on where to find Ruby’s parents from the Missing Persons squad overseeing their daughter’s case, Gonzo and Freddie headed for the city’s northeast corner. With that entire squad out pursuing leads in Ruby’s case, this dreadful task fell to them.

“I hate shit like this,” Gonzo muttered while they fought late-afternoon traffic.

“Me too. How does anyone cope with not knowing where their kid is?” As soon as he said that, Freddie felt bad because Gonzo didn’t currently know where his kid was. At least he knew the little guy was safe, though. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to be insensitive.”

“No worries. I know where mine is—or at least who he’s with—and I’m losing my mind wondering how long it’ll be before I can get him back.”

“I just keep thinking about what kind of threat would spur this sort of reaction,” Freddie said.

“I imagine the worst kind. I can’t think about it, or I’ll go nuts.”

“At least you know he’s safe with people who love him and being guarded by federal agents.”

“Try telling that to Christina. She doesn’t want to hear that he’s safe and loved. She wants to hear he’s coming home.”

Ruby’s parents were staying at a hotel that’d seen better days on Massachusetts Avenue, one of the main arteries into and out of the District.

“Ugh,” Freddie said when they pulled up to the shitty-looking motel. “Look at this place.”

“Probably all they can afford. Who knows how long they’ll be here.”

They took the outdoor stairs to the second floor and knocked on the door to room 218.

The door flew open, and the exhausted-looking man who opened it immediately identified them as cops. “No,” he whispered. “Please don’t tell me...”

Freddie and Gonzo produced their badges and introduced themselves.

“Mr. Denton,” Gonzo said, “we don’t have any new information for you, but we can tell you that a female body was pulled from the Anacostia River today.”

A sharp cry of distress came from inside the room.

“May we come in?” Freddie asked.

Mr. Denton stepped aside to admit them, and Mrs. Denton rushed at them, fisting Freddie’s shirt, her eyes wild and rimmed with red. “Is it my daughter? Just tell me. Please tell me.”

Freddie covered her hands with his and gently extracted them from his shirt. “We don’t know yet if it’s her.”

“Take me to her,” Mrs. Denton said. “I need to see her.”

“I’m afraid it’s not possible to visually identify her,” Gonzo said.

She let out a wail, and only her husband’s arm around her kept her from falling.

“What do you need from us?” Mr. Denton asked.

“Dental records.” Gonzo said it quickly. They’d learned that was the best strategy in situations like this.

The woman’s legs collapsed under her, and her husband led her to the bed, where she sat and dropped her head into her hands, sobbing uncontrollably.

Gonzo placed his card on the desk. “If you could have them sent to us at the address written on the back of this card as soon as possible, we’ll let you know if it’s her.”

Mr. Denton nodded in understanding. “We’ll take care of it.”

“We’re sorry you’re going through this,” Freddie said. “We’re doing everything we can to get answers for you.” The Missing Persons squad had been working around the clock since Ruby disappeared. Until a floater showed up in the river, they hadn’t had a single break in the case.

“Thank you.” Mr. Denton showed them to the door. “We appreciate all that’s being done to find her.”

As they headed for the stairs, Gonzo stopped all of a sudden to lean against the wall. He closed his eyes to take a deep breath.

“You okay?” Freddie asked.

Gonzo nodded but he didn’t move from his post against the wall.

Freddie wasn’t sure what he should do, so he waited. Since Arnold died, Gonzo had been more prone to moments such as this when the job seemed too much for him. The old Gonzo, the pre-Arnold-being-killed Gonzo, would’ve powered through a situation like this, knowing it was part of the job. This Gonzo... Well, he was different—quieter, moodier, anxious and tense. He didn’t smile as easily or joke around the way he used to.

Freddie missed the old Gonzo, but he understood. He couldn’t fathom what it would be like to lose Sam the way Gonzo had lost Arnold. Just having her taken off the grid by the Secret Service was making him crazy. Losing her forever... The very thought of it made him shudder with revulsion.

Freddie was relieved to take a call from his fiancée, Elin. He walked toward the stairwell to give Gonzo some space and took the call.

“Hey, hon, what’s up?”

“Just wondering if you’ve seen the news,” Elin said.

Freddie braced himself for whatever had happened now. “Nah, I’ve been working.”

“The Capital News Network is reporting that the vice president’s family has been threatened, and the Secret Service has taken Nick, Sam, their son and extended family to a safe location.”

“I knew about that. They took her right from a crime scene earlier. Did they say anything specific about the threat?”

“No, but the news people are speculating about the kind of threat that could force the Secret Service to take such drastic measures.”

“What’re they saying?”

“Terrorism is topping the list.”

Freddie sagged against the wall and released a deep sigh. “We were working a crime scene, and they just took her. It was crazy. For a while after, I wasn’t even entirely sure they were actually federal agents.”

“And you don’t know anything about where they’re being held?”

“Nope. Get this—Angela had Alex, so he’s with them in the secret location. Gonzo and Christina are losing their minds wondering where he is and how long it’ll be before they get him back.”

“Oh my God. That’s crazy. How’re you doing?”

“It’s been a very strange day all around.”

“When will you be home?”

“I’m going back to HQ for a short time to finish up some paperwork, and then I’ll be home. An hour or two.”

“I’ll make some dinner.”

“That sounds good.” He couldn’t wait to get home to her and put this hideous day behind him. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Love you.”

“Love you too.” As he ended the call, Gonzo went past him down the stairs. Freddie followed him.

They drove back to HQ in silence. In the parking lot, Freddie said, “You go home to Christina. I’ll write this up and finish the reports from earlier.”

Gonzo nodded. “Thanks.”

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m great.” He said what Freddie wanted to hear, but any fool could see he was the opposite of great. “I’ll see you in the morning. Call me if anything pops overnight.”

“I will. You do the same.”

CHAPTER FOUR

FREDDIE WENT INSIDE, headed for the pit and found it deserted except for Detective Will Tyrone typing away on his computer. They worked together in silence for a long time, and Freddie was grateful for the quiet end to the chaotic day.

“You were worried that the people that took her weren’t really Secret Service?” Will’s voice cut through the silence.

“I didn’t know what to think,” Freddie said. “I wanted to believe that they were legit, but the way they took her was so... It had me wondering. But they called Gonzo to tell him they had Alex. That put my mind at ease that the agents were legit, but now I’m wondering what kind of threat was received that would lead Nick to authorize having his entire family brought in.”

“I...um... I need to tell you something.”

What now? Freddie sat back in his chair and looked up at his friend and colleague. “Sure. What’s going on?”

“I’ve decided to leave.”

“Leave...”

“The MPD.”

Freddie sat up straight. “What’re you talking about?”

“I... I can’t do it anymore, Freddie. I just can’t do it. I can’t take it. Ever since Jeannie was taken and then the lieutenant and then Gonzo being shot and then Arnold... It’s too much. It’s just too damned much.”

“Will, come on. We’ve had a rough year. Everyone agrees. But it’s not always like this.”

“Yes, it is! It’s always like this. Now you’re wondering if Sam was kidnapped earlier, and you’re wise enough after all that’s happened to know that’s not outside the realm of possibility. I can’t live like this, constantly fearing what’s going to happen next to people I care about.”

Freddie noticed that Will’s hands were shaking and beads of sweat lined his forehead. “Have you told anyone else how you’re feeling?”

He shook his head. “Normally, I’d tell A.J., but of course that’s not an option anymore.”

“I know you and Arnold were close—”

“He was my best friend, Freddie. My best friend.” Will’s voice broke, and Freddie’s heart went out to him.

“You have to wonder if he’d want you to give up a promising career because of what happened to him.”

“If he knew he’d be gunned down on a sidewalk because of the badge he carried, he’d tell me to run for my life and get out while I still can.”

“No, he wouldn’t. He’d tell you not to be a fool and throw away years of hard work over a senseless tragedy.” Before Will could reply, Freddie pressed on. “We all question what the hell we’re doing here sometimes. Do you think I haven’t? How do you think I felt when one of my own colleagues arranged to have my girlfriend roughed up to get me out of the picture so he could grab my partner?”

Will stood with his hands on his hips, his head down and his jaw tight with tension.

“One of the worst days of my life, hands down.” Freddie forced himself to continue, even though he hated to even think about that day, let alone talk about it. “Elin’s face... I mean, what they did to her... I wanted to kill someone. But I never once thought about leaving the job, Will. Not once.”

“Then I guess you’re a better man than I am, because leaving is all I’ve thought about for months now.”

“I’m not a better man than you. I just don’t want to see you make a big mistake that you’ll regret later.”

“I won’t regret it.”

“Have you talked to Sam about this?”

“I haven’t talked to anyone about it. Until now.”

“What about Trulo?” Freddie asked of the department shrink.

“I met with him the way we were required to after Arnold died, but no, I haven’t talked to him about leaving.”

“Would you? Would you please do that before you do something that can’t be undone?”

“I...”

“Please, Will. If you won’t do it for yourself, do it for the rest of us. Do it for me as your friend. Do it because I’m asking you to.”

“It won’t change anything.”

“At least you’d know you did everything you could to make an informed, logical decision and not one based on emotions.”

“Yeah, fine. I’ll do it.”

“And you’ll let me know how it goes.”

Will nodded. “I will.”

Freddie released the breath he’d been holding. “Okay, then.” After Will went back to his cubicle to finish the report on the double suicide, Freddie closed his eyes for a few minutes to process what Will had said. Freddie certainly didn’t blame his colleague for feeling the way he did. In more than eight years on the job, he’d seen his share of people who’d decided police work wasn’t for them after they got a dose of the reality. But Will was a damned good detective, and it’d be a shame to see all that potential lost to grief that would, over time, become more manageable.

Hell, Freddie missed Arnold and his corny jokes and his endless optimism and almost naive approach to life and the job. He was a good guy, a great colleague and friend. But even after all the insane crap that’d happened in the last year, it had never occurred to Freddie to quit the force. What would he do with himself without this job to come to every day? Who would he be without it?

And most important of all, where in the hell was Sam when he needed her?

* * *

WAITING WAS TORTURE, especially for the most impatient woman on the face of the earth. Sam wanted answers, and she wanted them right now. But even more than that, she wanted Nick. They’d said it would be six hours until he landed at Andrews. That was seven hours ago, and she was now, officially, coming out of her skin waiting to see him and find out what he knew about this alleged threat against their family.

She had to give the agents credit. They’d gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure the comfort of her family, even going so far as to bring in a hospital bed and other equipment for her father, who was now resting comfortably with Celia by his side in an adjoining room. The kids had been fed, bathed and put to bed in a room with eight twin-size beds. Other bedrooms had been provided for each couple.

Sam had been shown to her room, which had a king-size bed, a television that received only movie channels—she’d checked that first thing—and an adjoining bathroom. The accommodations weren’t bad except for the lack of windows. This had to be what it felt like to be in a really nice jail.

Her brother-in-law Spencer had arrived about two hours ago, clearly rattled after having been escorted from a business trip in Philadelphia to where his family was being held in DC. Angela had been so happy to see him she’d burst into tears and rushed into his arms.

Scotty was in the main room playing video games with his cousin Ethan, so Sam took advantage of the opportunity to steal some alone time.

Weary and out of things to talk about with people who wanted answers she didn’t have, Sam stretched out on the bed in the room she’d been assigned. She wondered what her MPD colleagues were thinking about how she’d been taken from a crime scene by the Secret Service. Freddie had to be taking it hard. He’d blame himself for not being able to stop the agents from taking her. When she got a chance, Sam would tell him there was nothing he could’ve done to change the outcome. The agents had been operating on the orders of the vice president, and nothing could’ve stopped them.

She also wondered if they had any new information about the body in the river. Was it Ruby Denton? Would they be able to figure out what’d happened to her and get some closure for her poor parents?

Sam hated being cut off from her life this way. It was a form of torture to someone used to being in the know at all times.

Though she wanted to wait up for Nick, she couldn’t keep her eyes open and dozed off, only to be tormented by crazy dreams about being chased through an underground bunker. Water running in the attached bathroom had her sitting up on the bed, shaking off the feelings of doom from the disturbing dream. She bolted out of bed and was heading for the bathroom when the door opened to reveal her husband, stripped down to boxers, his magnificent chest on full display.

Sam rushed to him, and he met her with arms wide open, lifting her up and into his embrace. She had never, in all her life, been so happy to see anyone as she was to see him, to breathe in the scent of home, to feel his strong arms around her, to know he was safe and sound and back where he belonged.

Before she could ask any of her burning questions, he was kissing her with weeks’ worth of pent-up desire exploding between them, making the questions secondary to the need to reconnect with him.