Fatal Flaw (17 page)

“You spoke to Mr. Trainer?” Sam asked.

She nodded. “I’m still in shock over this whole thing. Ever since I saw the news on TV last night, I’ve been reeling. She was such a lovely person.”

“So we’ve heard. What can you tell us about their sessions with you?”

“Since I have his permission, I can tell you they were working very hard to put the pieces of their marriage back together. She’d been terribly hurt and disappointed by his infidelity, and he was ashamed, contrite. They were making real progress.”

“One of her friends called it a roller-coaster ride.”

The doctor thought about that for a second. “That’s an apt description. She went back and forth with the trust issues. That was the major sticking point for her—whether she’d be able to trust him to be faithful in the future if she allowed him back into her life. They still had a long way to go, but as I said, they were definitely getting there.” She paused before she added, “He’s not a suspect, is he?”

“Not at this time, but we haven’t completely ruled out anyone.”

“Judging from what I saw in here, he was very devoted to her. Other than one short-lived affair, he’d been faithful.”

“Or so he said.” Sam was unable to keep a hint of sarcasm from infecting her tone.

“Or so he said,” the doctor acknowledged.

“Did she ever talk about anyone from her past who she might’ve had a problem with?”

“After I heard the news last night, I reread all my notes in their file because I figured you’d want to speak to me eventually. I found no references to problems with anyone other than her husband.”

Sam handed her a business card. “Please call if you think of anything else that might aid in our investigation.”

On the way back to the car, Sam called Celia to check in. “Any change?”

“His fever has broken,” Celia said, sounding euphoric.

Sam had to stop walking for a second as relief flooded through her. “That’s great news.”

“He’s not out of the woods yet. Not by a long stretch, but it’s a good sign.”

“Yes,” Sam said. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“No problem, honey. You’re where he’d want you to be.”

“Good news?” Freddie asked when she ended the call with her stepmother.

“His fever has broken.”

“I’m so glad to hear that.”

“I’ll meet you at the car in a minute, okay?”

“Sure.”

After he walked away, Sam called Nick’s cell.

“Hey, babe, what’s up?” When she didn’t answer, he said, “Sam?”

“I’m here.”

“What is it, honey?”

“My dad’s fever broke.”

Nick let out a low whistle. “That’s terrific news. What a relief.”

“He’s got a long way to go, but it’s a good sign.”

“Yes, it is. Are you okay?”

“I’m just… I’m afraid to get my hopes up, you know?”

“I can understand that, but this is a good sign. It’s probably okay to feel a little optimistic now.”

“I suppose.”

“How’s the case going?”

“It’s going nowhere fast, just like the Carl’s case. I’ve yet to hear anyone utter a bad word about any of our victims.”

“Did you figure out how you know her?”

“Nope. It’s hovering on the periphery.”

“I hate when that happens.”

Sam laughed. “Sure, like it ever happens to you who never forgets a face or a name.”

“Now that is just not true.”

“Sure, Senator. Whatever you say.”

“Speaking of the Senate, I’ve got to go vote on the new energy bill. Will you be okay?”

“I’m much better now that I’ve talked to you.”

“Good. I’ll see you tonight when I get home from Richmond with Scotty.”

“Can’t wait to see him—and you.”

“Be careful out there today.”

“Always am. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

Jeannie and Will found Caleb Fitzgerald at work at a small accounting firm on Massachusetts Avenue.

“I don’t have much time,” he said when he joined them in the conference room. “Tax season.”

He looked much as Jeannie suspected his slain brother would’ve looked had he lived to adulthood. Tall with a muscular build, short brown hair and warm brown eyes, Caleb studied them with a wary edge, as if he was afraid of what they were there to tell him.

“I heard you talked to my parents yesterday. What’s with the renewed interest in my brother’s case? We haven’t heard a word from the MPD in years, and now suddenly, twice in two days?”

“Our lieutenant asked us to take a fresh look at the case,” Jeannie said.

“Look, we appreciate the interest and the attention, but I can’t deal with watching my parents get their hopes up again only to see them dashed when nothing comes of it.”

“Could we ask you about your brother Cameron?” she said.

Caleb went rigidly still. “What about him?”

“When was the last time you spoke to him?”

“I don’t know. A month ago maybe.”

“So you’re not close?”

“Not particularly. He has his life. I have mine.”

“You were both with Tyler the night he was abducted?”

Caleb’s face tightened with tension and a muscle ticked in his cheek. He gave a short nod in reply to the question.

“What do you remember from that night?”

“I don’t like to think about it. I try not to remember anything.”

“If you could just tell us the sequence of events, from the time the three of you left your home until the moment you realized Tyler was missing—”

“I’ve given that statement a hundred times since it happened. I don’t see the need to do it again.”

“We’re taking a fresh look,” Will said. “We might hear something the others missed.”

“Mr. Fitzgerald,” Jeannie said, inflicting her tone with compassion. “I know it’s a terribly difficult thing to talk about—”

“How would you know?” His eyes flashed with anger and despair. “Every time I think I’ve managed to move past it, something happens to rip open the wound again. It just goes on and on. It doesn’t end. We never get any peace.”

“I’m so sorry to be reopening that wound,” Jeannie said. “It’s not my intention to cause you more pain. If we could finally close this case, maybe then your family can find some peace.”

Caleb seemed to be considering that. He dropped into a chair and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. Propping his head on his hands, he was quiet for so long Jeannie wondered if he was going to give them what they’d come for.

“My parents wanted me and Cam to take Tyler to the playground,” he finally said.

Jeannie glanced at Will.

He nodded, seeming encouraged, and gestured for her to take the lead.

“He’d been stuck inside all day because it’d been raining. I didn’t mind taking him, but Cam was pissed.”

“How come?” Jeannie asked. It was all coming back to her—the rhythm of the interview, the flow of the questions. She had to admit it felt good to be back in the groove.

“He had a girlfriend, and he was supposed to meet her, but my parents said he couldn’t go out until he spent some time with Tyler.”

“Did they often force the two of you to spend time with him?”

“They never had to force me. Ty and I were always close, even though I was quite a bit older. He didn’t get on my nerves the way he got on Cam’s.”

“So they’d had issues?”

“I wouldn’t call it that. It was more that Ty bugged Cam. He was always getting into his stuff, ratting him out. You know, typical little brother crap.”

“Did he do that same stuff to you?”

“Yeah, but it didn’t bother me the way it bothered Cam.” Still hunched over in the chair, Caleb linked his fingers and seemed far away from the conference room. “They’d had a big fight because Ty told my mother that Cam’s girlfriend had been in his bedroom when Mom was at work. My mom hit the roof, and Cameron got grounded from seeing his girlfriend for a week.”

This was all news to Jeannie. None of that had been included in previous reports about the events leading up to Tyler’s death. “Did you tell the other officers all of this?”

“Yeah, I guess. I’m not sure who I’ve told what to. I’ve told this story so many times.”

A knock on the door interrupted them. An older man stuck his head in, glancing first at Jeannie and Will and then at Caleb. “Everything all right, Mr. Fitzgerald?”

Caleb had sat up straighter when the other man appeared. “Yes, sir, Mr. Barrett. I’m sorry for the interruption. I’ll only be another minute.”

“Are you in some sort of trouble? We don’t want any trouble here.”

“Mr. Fitzgerald is helping us with an old case,” Jeannie said. “He’s not in any trouble.”

Barrett didn’t seem entirely convinced, but he nodded briskly. “Carry on then.”

“Fabulous,” Caleb muttered. “I’ve never told anyone here about what happened to my brother.”

“You don’t have to now if you don’t wish to,” Will said.

“I’d rather tell them than have them speculating.”

“You were saying that Tyler had gotten Cameron in trouble,” Jeannie said.

“That’s right,” Caleb said, glancing at the door.

Jeannie realized she’d lost him the minute his boss interrupted them. The rest of what happened that night was in the files. The brothers had gone to the park and played a game of cops and robbers, during which Tyler had gone missing in the dark. “Who’s idea was it to play cops and robbers at the park?”

“I don’t remember. It wasn’t mine, but I don’t know which one of them suggested it.”

“At some point, you became separated from your brothers, is that right?”

“They were the robbers. I was the cop. I was looking for them, when Cam came running back, all freaked out because he couldn’t find Tyler.”

This was the same story they’d heard the day before from Mr. and Mrs. Fitzgerald—the story that wasn’t included anywhere in Skip Holland’s reports.

“What did you do then?”

“I went with Cam to try to find him.” He rubbed a hand over his jaw. “We looked everywhere, but we couldn’t find him.”

“What did Cameron tell you about what happened?”

“He said they were running away from the base, and he was in the lead. When he looked back to tell Tyler to hurry up, he was gone. Cam turned back, calling for him, but he’d vanished.”

“Did either of you see anyone else on the way to the playground or in the aftermath of Tyler’s disappearance?”

“No.”

Jeannie glanced again at Will, who nodded, as if to give her permission to ask what they both wanted to know, the question that had been on their minds since the day before.

“Caleb, do you think there’s any chance that Cameron could’ve harmed Tyler?”

“No! Of course not! They’d had their problems, but Cameron would never
hurt
him.” Even as he proclaimed his brother’s innocence, Jeannie saw the fear. The thought had definitely crossed his mind. “He wouldn’t do that.”

“You’re sure of that?”

“Please,” he said, his eyes imploring. “It wasn’t Cameron. I don’t know how you could even ask me that.”

“We know this is so difficult—”

Caleb stood. “I’m done. If you’re targeting my brother, you’ll do it without my help.” He strode purposely from the room, but turned back at the doorway. “Leave my parents alone. They’ve been through enough. If you go after Cameron, it’ll destroy them. Keep that in mind before you start a witch hunt.”

The moment they were alone, Jeannie said, “We need to talk to Cameron Fitzgerald.”

“I was thinking,” Sam said when she and Freddie were back in the car.

“About?”

“What if the chick at work wasn’t the only one Trainer was banging.”

“An interesting theory.”

Sam reached for her cell phone and handed it to him. “Get him on the phone.”

“You’re just going to come right out and ask him?”

“Hell yes, I am. Let me tell you something about men, my friend. There are those who cheat, and there’re those who don’t. You’re one or the other. Nothing in the middle, no gray area. My research has shown that those who cheat,
cheat.
You follow?”

“You’re a regular
font
of knowledge, Lieutenant.”

Sam laughed. “Aren’t you lucky I share so much of it with you?”

“Very lucky,” he said drolly as he dialed the number. “Mr. Trainer, this is Detective Cruz. Please hold for Lieutenant Holland.” He handed the phone to her.

“Mr. Trainer, I’m sorry to disturb you, but I have another question I need to ask you.”

“Whatever I can do to help with the investigation.”

“I need to know if Janet Nealson was the only woman you were seeing outside your marriage.”

“Of course she was! What kind of question is that?”

“It’s a fair question. Your affair with Ms. Nealson was only uncovered because someone told your wife, so you came clean. That’s not to say you don’t have other skeletons sitting in your closet.”

“I don’t have to put up with this abuse. My wife, the
love of my life,
was viciously murdered in our home. I’ve got traumatized children and devastated in-laws to contend with. Having the rest of my life ripped apart is the last thing I need right now.”

“I understand this is a difficult time for you, but you can either come clean with me now or I can bring you in for a polygraph. If you think I’m ripping apart your life now, wait ’til I
really
get going.”

Freddie smirked at her from the passenger seat.

A long moment of silence passed.

“What’s it going to be, Mr. Trainer? The easy way or my way?”

“I’ve heard you were a heartless bitch, you know that? I told my friends last night that your reputation wasn’t fair because you’d been nothing but nice to us.”

“I’m devastated to hear that I’m known as a heartless bitch.” Glancing over at Freddie as she navigated the car through traffic, she added, “Isn’t that awful, Detective Cruz? He agrees that’s a terrible insult, Mr. Trainer.”

“I can tell you’re having a good laugh at my expense.”

“I’m not finding anything funny about a murdered mother with a philandering husband who refuses to share information that could be vital to my investigation into the murder of a woman he claimed to love.”

“I did love her.”

“I never said you didn’t.”

Now he was blubbering. Sam held the phone away from her ear.

“You don’t understand.”

“You’re right. I don’t. I’m married to a man who would never,
ever
cheat on me.” There were few things in life she was absolutely sure of. That she’d married a man who wouldn’t stray was one of them.

“You think so now,” Trainer said. “Talk to me in a few years.”

“I could talk to you every year for a hundred years, and that would never change.”

“You sanctimonious bitch.”

“I’m losing my patience, Mr. Trainer. Are you going to tell me what I already know or should I have patrol come by to pick you up?”

“Fine,” he snarled. “There were others.”

Sam flashed a thumbs-up to her partner. “Are we talking one? Two? Or a baseball team?”

Freddie choked back a laugh.

“A few.”

“I need names, addresses, phone numbers, dates that you saw them, promises you might’ve made them. Do me a favor and rank them—most significant to least.” Sam couldn’t deny she was enjoying this. Hey, he’d called her a bitch. Twice! “You can send your dirty laundry list to my email. Are you ready for the address? Here it is.” She rattled it off. “Have it to me in thirty minutes, or you’ll be spending the night in the city jail.”

“Will this be all over the media?”

“I suppose that’ll depend on whether one of your ex-lovers killed your ex-wife with a hammer.”

“She wasn’t my
ex
-wife.”

“Which was too bad for her. Twenty-nine minutes.” Sam slapped her phone closed. “Damn, that was fun.”

“It was fun to listen to.”

“I aim to not only enlighten but to also entertain.” She swung into the parking lot at HQ. “Let’s regroup and figure out what’s next.”

Nick arrived at the state home for children in Richmond twenty minutes before seven. While he was excited to see Scotty and to take him on his first plane ride as well as his first trip to Fenway Park, he was nervous about why Mrs. Littlefield wanted to see him. He parked on the street and took the cement stairs to the door. Buzzing the intercom, he gave his name to the security officer.

“Come in, Senator.”

Even all these months later, Nick still wanted to look over his shoulder for John when someone called him that.

“Nice to see you again, sir,” the guard said.

“Likewise.” Nick had become a familiar face around the home since he’d met Scotty on a visit a few months ago and bonded instantly with the boy.

The guard gestured to a door. “Mrs. Littlefield is expecting you.”

“Thank you.” Feeling almost like he’d been summoned to the principal’s office, Nick knocked on her closed door.

“Come in.”

Nick stepped into an austere room where the older woman waited for him. She wore a sensible navy-blue suit and kept her steel-gray hair cut short.

She stood up and extended her hand. “Thank you so much for coming early.”

“Not a problem,” he said, even though it had required a mad sprint through hellish rush-hour traffic.

“Have a seat, please. Can I get you a drink? Soda or water?”

“No, thank you. I’m good.”

“The reason I asked you to come in is I wanted to talk to you about Scotty.”

“Is everything all right? He promised he’d get all his schoolwork done early so he wouldn’t fall behind by missing tomorrow.”

She smiled. “He’s got it all done.”

“Oh, good,” Nick said, relaxing slightly.

Propping her chin on the tips of her fingers, she seemed to choose her words carefully. “You know how much we appreciate your help with our funding.”

“I was just doing my job.”

“We appreciate it. And we appreciate all the time and attention you’ve given to Scotty.”