Fatal Deception (29 page)

“Yeah.”

“We could find out, you know. Wouldn’t take much more than a phone call. All you have to do is say the word.”

Sam thought about it as she pulled into the lot at the building that housed the Patterson campaign headquarters and parked. Turning to Freddie, she said, “I want to know if he survived or not. That’s it. No other details.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it.”

“It’s no problem.”

“Let’s go have a chat with Christian Patterson.”

Chapter Seventeen

Inside the storefront that served as Patterson’s Washington office, they encountered a young man working the reception desk. Otherwise, the place was quiet. The windows and walls were plastered with Patterson signs, slogans, stickers and other campaign paraphernalia.

“May I help you?”

They flashed their badges. “Lieutenant Holland, Detective Cruz, MPD. We’re looking for Christian Patterson.”

He took a long, measuring look at the badges as his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. “May I ask what this is in reference to?”

“Nope. Is he here?”

“Not at the moment.”

“Where is he?”

“He, I...I’m not at liberty to disclose that information.”

“We love that answer, don’t we, Cruz?”

“One of our favorites.”

“Here’s the thing,” Sam said, leaning on the raised counter that hid his cubicle from prying eyes. “You can either tell us where we might find Mr. Patterson, or we can arrest you for interfering with our investigation. What’s your pleasure?”

She enjoyed watching his eyes bug out of his head as she said the word “arrest.”

“You can’t arrest me for not telling you where someone is.”

Leaning on one elbow, Sam turned to face Freddie. “Can I arrest him for not telling me where someone is?”

“Yes, ma’am, you absolutely can. If the person you’re seeking has information material to a homicide investigation, you can arrest anyone who impairs your efforts to seek that person.”

“Thank you, Detective.” She pivoted her gaze to the ashen-faced young man. “So you see, I can arrest you, and I will arrest you. But all that unpleasantness and paperwork can be avoided if you simply tell me where he is.”

“I’ll get fired if I do that.”

Sam raised her hands as if weighing her options. “Fired or arrested. Hmm, which would you prefer, Cruz?”

“I think I’d take option A, as a firing wouldn’t be attached to my name forever. Whereas an arrest... Well, that can make for some rather nasty business when it comes to getting another job.”

“I’d imagine,” Sam said, “if you get arrested, you’ll probably get fired too. Tell me what I need to know, and you’ll only get fired.”

“I’ve heard about you,” he said as his fear turned to anger.

“Ohhh, is this when you tell me you’ve heard I’m a nasty bitch? I so love when they tell me that, don’t I, Cruz?”

“Yes, ma’am. That’s one of your favorite parts of the job.”

Sam propped the uninjured side of her face on her upturned hand and gave the young staffer the best smile she could with only half her face working properly. “Now, what’s it going to be?”

“He’s at home.” He fairly spat the words at her.

“Which is where?”

“Gaithersburg.”

“Write down the address.”

With the shake of his head and another glare that fell far short of intimidating, he scrawled the address on a sticky note and handed it to her.

“There, now was that so difficult?”

She could tell that the words go to hell were burning on his lips, but he wisely held his tongue. “Cruz, let’s go to Gaithersburg.” She headed for the door but turned back to find the young man holding the phone to his ear. “If you tell him we’re coming, I’ll be back to arrest you.”

He froze and quickly dropped the phone.

Satisfied that he’d gotten the message, she pushed open the door. “Oh my God, that was so much fun. Wasn’t that fun, Cruz?”

“For sure,” he said, laughing.

“Do we have the best jobs ever?”

“Most of the time, no. Our jobs suck the big, fat one. That, though... That was fun.”

“I gotta tell you, you’re the best partner I’ve ever had.” The words were out before Sam could take a second to filter herself. She glanced over to find him staring at her, mouth agape. Oh shit.

“I am? Really?”

“I can already feel this going to your head.”

“I’ll live off the high for weeks.”

“Jesus. Me and my big mouth.”

Scowling darkly, he said, “You know I don’t appreciate it when you use the Lord’s name in vain.”

She unlocked the car. “Bite me. Phew. Back on track. Crisis averted.”

“I haven’t forgotten what you said.”

“What did I say?”

“That I’m the best partner you’ve ever had.”

“I have no memory of that.”

“You’re a piece of work, Lieutenant.”

“I hear that a lot. So Christian Patterson runs a tight ship. If that kid tells where the boss is, he gets fired?”

“I thought that was weird too.”

“I’m getting the buzz on this one. Every fiber of my being is pointing me in the direction of Patterson and his campaign. We gotta keep a lid on this until we can prove it. We have to nail them every which way to Tuesday before we tell anyone.”

“Anyone?”

Sam was thinking it through as she drove. “Anyone.”

“So, we’re not telling Malone or Farnsworth or Hill?”

“Not yet. We can’t afford the slightest leak on this, and the more people who know the more risky it becomes that it gets out. For right now, it’s you and me on the trail. We’ll bring the others in when we know for sure that we’ve got them.”

“You could get in big trouble for this.”

“Let me worry about that. If we close the case, they’ll be too caught up in the success to worry about the methodology.”

On the way to Gaithersburg, Sam’s phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID, saw it was Nick and took the call, her heart doing a little happy dance that still took her by surprise all these months later. “Hey, babe.”

“How’s it going?”

“Pretty good, actually. We’re finally catching a few breaks on this one.”

“Anything you can tell me?”

Sam thought of what she’d told Freddie. Anyone. “Not yet. Have you talked to Derek today?”

“A few minutes ago.”

“How’s Maeve?”

“Asking for Mommy, but otherwise, she seems fine. She slept well last night. Apparently, he had her in bed with him, and she clung to him all night.”

“God, that’s so sweet and so sad. How do you tell a baby her mom is gone forever?”

“I have no idea. It’s awful. Derek was saying he’d like to get into the house to get some of Maeve’s stuff and more clothes for both of them. Could you make that happen?”

“Sure.” To Freddie, Sam said, “Make a call to Crime Scene about letting Derek Kavanaugh into his house to retrieve some belongings. Have them reach out to him to set up a time.”

“On it.”

“Freddie’s taking care of it,” she said to Nick.

“Thanks. Speaking of babies...”

Sam’s belly ached at the reminder that her sister was in labor. “You got the text about Ang.”

“Uh-huh. How are you, babe?”

Touched that he knew—he always knew—that this would hit her hard, she said, “Fine, good, you know. Excited to meet my niece.”

Freddie had gotten busy with his own phone, but Sam was still mindful that he could hear every word she was saying.

“You’ll get your turn. I really believe that.”

Sam took a deep breath, trying to combat the swell of emotion as his softly spoken words went straight to her heart. She couldn’t talk about this anymore without losing it. “How’s your day going?”

“It’s been surreal. I’m actually thinking about the speech we need to write for the Democratic National Convention.”

“Oh wow. No pressure, huh?”

“Right,” he said with a laugh.

“It’ll be so awesome. They’re going to love you.”

“You might be a tad bit biased.”

“Nah.”

“Samantha.”

Her entire body tingled whenever he said her full name in that particular tone. “Yeah?”

“Don’t go to the hospital to see Ang without me, okay?”

“Okay.”

“I’ll be home as soon as I can. We’ll go then.”

“It’s a date.”

“Love you, babe. Be careful out there.”

“Love you too,” she said, because she damned well didn’t care if Cruz heard her say it. “And I’m always careful.”

“Oh, and I haven’t forgot your punishment. See ya.”

He ended the call before she could respond, but the reminder sent a bolt of heat straight to her most sensitive areas. Damn him!

It took nearly forty minutes to get to Gaithersburg in midday traffic. Christian Patterson lived in a gated community on the outskirts of town. At the gate, Sam showed her badge. The rent-a-cop examined it closely before returning it to her.

“You the one married to the senator?”

As Freddie snickered in the passenger seat, Sam said, “Yep.” God, she fucking hated when people she encountered through her job asked about her private life.

“Hmm.”

“What’s that mean?”

“Nothing. Go on through.”

“If you give him a heads-up that I’m coming, I’ll be back to arrest you. Got me?”

“Yeah, yeah. You’re a real charmer, aren’t you?”

“That is so nice of you to say.” She rolled up the window to seal off the oppressive heat. “I’m getting all kinds of compliments today.”

“It’s a banner day for you.” Freddie glanced over at her and then straight ahead.

“Something on your mind?”

“I’m wondering...”

“About?”

“Nick will go to the hospital with you to see Angela and the baby, right?”

She’d expected him to say something about the case. Touched that he was concerned about her, she said, “Yes, he’s going with me later. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be okay.”

“As long as he’ll be with you, I won’t worry.”

“You’re very sweet to think of that.”

“It’s been a banner day for me with the compliments too.”

She appreciated his effort to diffuse the emotionally charged topic with humor. “Sheesh. Me and my big mouth.”

“I’ll live off this for months and months.”

Christian Patterson lived in a brick-fronted mansion. There was no other word for it. The colonial-style home had black shutters and tall white columns with a beautifully manicured yard.

“Check this place out,” Sam said.

“Nice digs. If this is temporary, imagine what the regular place looks like.”

She turned the car into the half-circle driveway and parked next to a silver Mercedes sedan and a white Mercedes SUV, both with Ohio plates. “My poor little car is feeling intimidated.”

Chuckling, Freddie followed her up the stone walk to the fancy stained-glass entryway.

She rang the doorbell and listened to the chimes echo through the big house. “That would scare the shit out of me if I lived here.”

“You’d never live here. Too pretentious.”

“True.” Sam leaned on the bell again. “It’s like a freaking church or something.”

“Do you have to use the words ‘freaking’ and ‘church’ in the same sentence?”

“Do you have to be so freaking sensitive all the time?”

Before he could fire back, the door swung open, and Christian Patterson stood before them, tall, blond, all-American handsome and wearing nothing but a silk robe. His hair was mussed, and his jaw was covered in stubble. He looked like he’d just rolled out of bed. “Can I help you?”

They held up their badges, and Sam handled the introductions. “We’d like a few minutes of your time.”

“What’s this about?”

“We’re investigating the murder of Victoria Kavanaugh.” Sam watched him closely but he gave nothing away at the mention of Victoria’s name.

“What’s that got to do with me?”

“May we come in to discuss it further?”

He glanced over his shoulder and then back at them. “Um, sure, I guess.”

“Are you home alone, Mr. Patterson?”

“My wife is here, but she’s upstairs.”

“And your children?”

“They’re at camp.”

Ah
, Sam thought,
so Mom and Dad were taking some time for themselves while the kids are out of the house.

He stepped aside to admit them.

“Nice place,” she said in what had to be the understatement of the century.

Showing them to a formal living room, he said, “Oh, thanks. It’s temporary. We’re only here until the election, and then it’s back home to Ohio.”

Sam and Freddie sat on a sofa while he took the love seat across from them. She said a silent prayer of thanks that his robe stayed closed as he sat, because she suspected he was naked under there.

“What’s your role in your father’s campaign?”

“I’m a senior adviser.”

“And what does that mean?”

“Basically, I’m one of the campaign managers—one of two with direct access at all times to the candidate.”

“With such an important job in the campaign, I’m surprised to find you at home in the middle of a work day.”

“We’ve been on the road for the last week. I got back late last night.”

Sam noted that the travel put him conveniently out of town at the time of Victoria’s murder. “And where were you?”

“Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Little Rock, Nashville, Chattanooga and Atlanta. I think that was all the stops. It’s a blur of airports and cities and hotels.”

Sam produced the letter of recommendation Tornquist had written for Victoria and handed it to Patterson. “Have you ever seen this before?”

He scanned it and handed it back to her. “Um, no. Should I have?”

“According to Congressman Tornquist, you asked him to write the letter for Victoria.”

For the first time, Christian’s cool composure seemed to rattle a bit. “He said I did what?”

Sam made an effort to speak more slowly to ensure he’d understand this time. “He said you asked him to provide a letter of recommendation for Victoria Taft, later Victoria Kavanaugh, when she applied for a position at Calahan Rice.”

“I have no idea who Victoria Taft or Victoria Kavanaugh is. I’ve never heard of her or Calahan Rice. What is that? A law firm?”