Fatal Flaw (18 page)

His gut tightened with an odd sense of dread. “But?”

“With all due respect, I’m interested in your intentions toward him, Senator.”

Of all the things he’d thought she might say, that hadn’t been one of them. He couldn’t help but laugh. “My wife’s father once asked me the same question.” Referring to Sam as his wife never got old. He suspected it never would.

Mrs. Littlefield returned his smile. “Please don’t misunderstand me. You and your wife have been wonderful friends to him. He talks about you both all the time. I can see that he’s getting attached, and while I’m so happy for him to have made such lovely new friends, I worry too. He’s had so much heartache in his short life. I couldn’t bear to see him hurt if you were to suddenly lose interest.”

“Let me put your mind at ease. Sam and I intend to adopt him if he’ll have us.”

“Oh,” she said, her hand covering her heart. “Oh really?”

“I was planning to speak to him about it on this trip, in fact.” Nick’s announcement seemed to have sucked the life out of her. “I thought you’d be happy to see him settled with a family.”

“Of course I’m thrilled for him. And not just any family, but a senator and decorated police officer.”

“We may have interesting jobs, but at the end of the day we’re regular people, and we’ve come to love him very much. I want to give him the chance to play baseball and hockey and anything else he wants or needs. I want to give him everything.”

Mrs. Littlefield brushed subtly at a tear. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Your news caught me off guard. I feel I need to explain my reaction. You see, I too have become extremely attached to him. I can’t imagine this place without him.”

“There’s no reason you couldn’t see him anytime you wish to.”

“That’s very kind of you to say, but it wouldn’t be the same as seeing him every day.” She picked up a pen from her desk and balanced it between her fingers. “I can’t help but wonder…”

Because she seemed embarrassed by whatever she’d been about to say, Nick said, “Please, feel free to speak your mind.”

“You’ve only just gotten married. Are you sure you’re prepared to take on the responsibility of a child so soon?”

“That’s a fair question and one we’ve asked ourselves. We’ve come to the conclusion that just as we didn’t expect to find love when we did with each other, we didn’t expect to find it with him, either. Yet there it was, and now we want to make him part of our family.”

“You keep reducing me to tears,” she said, reaching for a tissue. “He’s a lucky boy to have two such fine people interested in being his parents.”

“We’re the lucky ones.”

“Well, I won’t keep you any longer. I appreciate your honesty.”

“So I can count on your support with the state and the social workers?”

“Absolutely.”

Nick stood and extended his hand. “Thank you.”

She shook his hand. “He gave up on ever finding a family a long time ago, so thank
you.
”

“Every minute with him has been my pleasure.”

“Have a good time in Boston.”

“I’m sure we will. I’ll talk to you when we get back on Sunday.”

“I’ll see you then.”

Nick stepped out of the office just as Scotty came through the doorway to the reception area. His face lit up with pleasure when he saw Nick waiting for him.

When Nick held out his arms, Scotty ran to him. Only one other time in his life had Nick felt the instant connection to another human being that he’d experienced when he first met Scotty—and that was the night he met Sam. Holding the boy close to him, Nick was overcome by the rightness of having this child in his life. They’d become close pals, but he wanted so much more than that. He wanted the boy to be his son.

“Good to see you, buddy,” Nick said as he released Scotty.

“You too. I thought today would
never
get here.”

Nick took Scotty’s backpack from him. “I don’t think you really want to go to Fenway.”

“That’s so funny I forgot to laugh.”

“Scotty.”

The boy turned to Mrs. Littlefield. “Sorry, Mrs. L. I’m so excited I forgot to say goodbye.”

“I’ll forgive you this one time.” She smiled as she put a new fitted Red Sox cap on the boy’s head.

“Oh wow! Thanks!” He gave her a hug. “That’s so awesome!”

“You can’t go to Fenway for the first time with that ratty old hat,” she said, gesturing to the one hanging from his backpack. “Be a good boy this weekend.”

“I will. I promise.”

Over the boy’s head, Nick shared a smile with Mrs. Littlefield.

Outside, Nick held the passenger door for Scotty who’d insisted he could ride in the front seat now that he was officially twelve. When he got into the driver’s seat, Nick switched off the passenger-side airbag, just in case.

“I’m afraid I’ll forget to tell you when we get back that this was the best weekend of my whole life.”

For a brief moment, Nick couldn’t find the words. “I know it’ll be one of the best weekends of my life too.”

Scotty glanced over at him, hesitant. “Really?”

“You bet. It’s not every day I get to take one of my favorite pals on his first-ever trip to Fenway.”

“And his first plane ride.”

“That too. Before we go, there’s something I have to tell you about what’s going on at home. Sam’s dad is in the hospital.”

“Oh.” Nick watched the boy process the information. “Is he okay?”

“He’s pretty sick. We hope he’ll be okay, but we don’t know for sure yet.”

“She must be really freaking out. They’re super close, right?”

“Yes, they are.”

Scotty fiddled with the strap on his backpack. “I’d understand if this wasn’t a good time for you to go to Boston. You must want to be with her.”

Nick was pleased and touched by his insight. “That’s good of you to say, but we talked about it, and we agreed that Skip would want us to go on our trip. She told me he helped her get the tickets, and he’d hate to see you disappointed.”

“Are you sure? Because I’d totally understand if this isn’t a good time for you to go.”

“Sam has her family all around her. And I don’t want to hear about it from Skip when he wakes up and finds out I didn’t take you to this game because of him. He’d really hate that.” Nick started the car. “What do you say we get this show on the road?”

“Let’s go,” Scotty said.

Nick could tell he was still thinking over what Nick had told him. It pleased Nick that he saw the big picture and was willing to sacrifice his own dream coming true if it meant doing what was best for his friends. Who wouldn’t love a boy like that?

When Sam and Freddie returned to HQ they ran smack into Chief Farnsworth in the lobby.

“Lieutenant,” he said in that stern voice he did so well. Sometimes it still made her want to giggle, because the “Uncle Joe” she’d known as a child was anything but stern. “What’ve you got on the mail situation?”

“Nothing yet, sir. The lab has been dragging its feet, and we’ve been working the Chevy Chase homicide.”

“Anything there?”

“Not a damned thing. We’ve got a wife and mother loved by all who knew her. The husband was a serial philanderer so we’re looking into the girlfriends next.”

“Keep me posted, and let me know if there’s any more mail I should be concerned about.”

“I will, sir.”

“Officers Hernandez and St. James miss you,” he said with a teasing grin. The two officers had been assigned to tail her when she’d been threatened during the call-girl investigation. “They’d love nothing more than to be back on your detail.”

Sam glowered at him. “I’m sure they have much better things to be doing than following me around.”

“Actually, I can’t think of anything more important than protecting one of my top detectives. Officer Hernandez said something about ‘enjoying the view’ on his last assignment. I can’t imagine what he means by that. Can you?”

As Freddie wisely choked back a snicker, Sam said, “Where’s Lieutenant Stahl when I need him? I’m being sexually harassed by my superior officer.”

Farnsworth chuckled. “Speaking of Stahl, I hear he’s up in your grill again.”

Sam had almost forgotten about the summons to the IAB hearing. “Over who I chose to invite to my own wedding! Can you make it go away?”

“I’m doing what I can. I hate to see department resources wasted on foolishness.”

“So do I.”

“But as always where you’re concerned, I’m walking a fine line. If I get too involved, he’ll scream foul over our longtime personal relationship.”

“So much for everyone thinking I get away with murder because my Uncle Joe is the chief,” Sam muttered.

“You often do get away with murder, but not because I’m your Uncle Joe. It’s because your case closure rate is so high. Keep up the good work, Lieutenant, and keep me posted.” He nodded to Freddie. “Detective.”

Sam and Freddie continued on to the pit.

Gonzo saw them coming and gestured for Sam to join him in the conference room. Her stomach dropped when she saw another card encased in a plastic evidence bag. “What now?”

“A first anniversary card,” Gonzo said, handing it to her.

Inside, the sicko had written, “After so much happiness, let’s hope you get to celebrate your anniversary. From, An Old Friend.”

“Jeez,” Freddie said from over her shoulder. “That’s nice.”

“This is starting to seriously piss me off,” Sam said. After all she’d been through with her father being shot and her miserable marriage to Peter, didn’t she deserve just a tiny bit of happiness with Nick? Didn’t she deserve a small interlude in which no one was out to get either of them? A month? Maybe two? Was that too much to ask? “I’m going to talk to Peter on the way home.”

Speaking of feeling sick. The idea of spending even a minute in her ex-husband’s presence was enough to make her seriously ill. Sam reached up to touch the diamond key necklace Nick had given her as a wedding gift, drawing on the strength he’d brought to her life. It seemed like she’d need it before this day was out.

“Any word yet from the lab?” Freddie asked.

Gonzo shook his head. “Captain Malone leaned on them, but it doesn’t seem to have done any good.”

“Do me a favor and let the chief know about this latest card,” Sam said to Gonzo. “Might go over better coming from you.”

When his cell phone rang, Gonzo glanced at the caller ID. “Sorry, I need to take this but don’t go away. I have something else for you.” He moved farther into the room to take the call, which seemed to be from his fiancée Christina who, from the sound of his side of the conversation, was having trouble with Gonzo’s baby son. He gave her a couple of suggestions and ended the call by saying he’d be home soon.

“Sorry about that,” he said. “Alex is teething. It’s a nightmare.”

“Ouch,” Freddie said.

“Good thing we can’t remember getting teeth,” Gonzo said. He turned to Sam. “So I dug deeper into this Leroy dude that Gardner gave us.”

Apparently, the news wasn’t good or Gonzo would’ve led with it, knowing how badly she wanted to catch her father’s shooter—especially right now.

Gonzo reached for a folder on the conference room table and withdrew a photo of a strapping black man. “Leroy Augustine.”

“What do we have on him?”

“A rap sheet a mile long.”

“This is awesome,” Sam said. “Let me see it.”

Gonzo glanced at Freddie. “Sam…”

“What?”

Reaching into the folder again, he pulled out a second photo of Leroy Augustine, this one taken in the morgue.

“You gotta be fucking kidding me,” she said as she took the photo from him and dropped into a chair.

“Shit,” Freddie muttered from behind her. Since he saved curse words for only the most extreme of circumstances the single word told Sam he was as upset by this news as she was.

“Killed by a drive-by shooter a year ago,” Gonzo said, filling in the blanks.

“If we weren’t talking about my dad and the person who made him a quadriplegic, this would be funny, wouldn’t it?”

“We’ll get a break, Sam,” Gonzo said. “One of these days, someone will come forward with information.”

“No, they won’t,” she said. “It’s been more than two years. Almost two-and-a-half. This case is colder than an Alaskan mountaintop.”

“I’ll track down some of Augustine’s known associates and see what they can tell me. Maybe he bragged about the shooting, and now that he’s dead, people might be more willing to talk.”

“Do we know who shot him?”

Gonzo shook his head. “That case is also open.”

“Of course it is.”

“I’ll talk to the detectives who worked that case as well as Augustine’s associates. You worry about your dad and leave this to me.” Gonzo’s dark eyes were fierce with emotion—and anger. Skip Holland was well loved by everyone who knew him. “I’m on it.”

Sam stood to face her colleague and close friend. “Thank you.” She simply didn’t have the mental capacity to take on another thing at the moment. “I need to get to the hospital.”

“Keep us posted on how he is,” Freddie said.

“I will.”

“I’ll get the list of Trainer’s girlfriends from your email and get going on that,” Freddie added.

“Good, thanks.” Sam glanced at her watch. How had it gotten to be seven already? Nick would be getting home with Scotty soon, and she was anxious to see them. “Give it another hour and then go home. I’ll see you back here in the morning.”

“You got it, L.T.”

To Gonzo, she said, “Go home to your family. It’ll keep until the morning.”

“I’ll give it another hour too.”

“You guys are the best of the best,” Sam said in a rare moment of sentiment. “Thanks for all you do.” She stopped in her office to collect her belongings and was on her way out when Jeannie and Will came into the pit.

“Oh good, Lieutenant,” Jeannie said. “I’m glad we caught you.”

“What’s up?” Sam asked, taking a close look at the other woman. Jeannie seemed tired, but her eyes were more alive than Sam had seen them since the attack.

“We need authorization to travel to Cincinnati,” Jeannie said. “To talk to Cameron Fitzgerald.”

“Tyler’s older brother?”

“That’s right. He was the last one to see Tyler alive, and we have some questions for him.”

“Walk with me,” Sam said, anxious to get to the hospital. “Hasn’t he been interviewed before?”

“Yes, but we have some new questions for him.”

“Like what?”

Out of the corner of her eye, Sam watched her detectives exchange glances.

“If it’s just the same with you,” Will said, “we’d prefer to give you a full report when we complete our investigation.”

As Sam thought that over, they pushed through double doors that led to the parking lot. “All right. I’ll authorize the travel.” Normally, she would’ve allowed only one of them to go, as she was always mindful of her limited travel budget. But there was no way she was sending Jeannie anywhere alone, and since her traumatized detective was clearly engaged in the investigation she didn’t have the heart to send just Will.

“Thank you, Lieutenant. I’ll forward our itinerary as soon as we have it.”

“Keep me posted.” She took another minute to study Jeannie. “You doing all right?”

Jeannie nodded. “It’s good to be back to work.”

“Don’t overdo it.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I’m keeping a close eye on her,” Will said.

“Shut up, Will,” Jeannie said.

“What? I
am
keeping an eye on you.”

“Get your eyes off me before Michael has you killed,” Jeannie retorted.

“I’ll let you two work this out on your own,” Sam said, unlocking her car. They were still bickering when she drove past them and out of the parking lot. Will had been so deeply distressed by what happened to his partner. Sam had no doubt that he was indeed keeping close tabs on her now that she was back to work and seemingly coming back to life at the same time. It made Sam feel better to know her wounded detective had such a fiercely loyal partner looking out for her at this critical juncture in her recovery.

On the way to the hospital, Sam called Nick. After hearing the news that another promising lead in her father’s investigation had led nowhere, she wanted to hear his voice.

“Hey, babe,” he said. “Where are you?”

“Leaving work on the way to see my dad. You?”

“Stuck in traffic outside Springfield.”

“Going or coming?”

“On the way back to the city with Scotty.”

“How is he? Excited?”

“Just a tad, although he’s also concerned about Skip.”

“You didn’t need to tell him about that.”

“I thought he should know, and he offered to stay home with you if that’s where I thought we should be.”

Hearing that, Sam couldn’t help but smile. What a sweet kid he was. “You told him Skippy would have a cow if you did that?”

“Yes, indeed. I’ll see you at home in a bit?”

“Yep. After I see my dad there’s one other thing I have to do and then I’ll be home.”

“We’ll be waiting. I’ve been coerced into pizza for dinner.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Love you, babe.”

“Love you too. Both of you.”

“I’ll pass that on.”

“Please do.”

“See you soon.”

At the hospital, Sam learned that Skip was much improved and the doctors were considering removing the ventilator in the morning if he continued to make progress overnight. He’d also been moved from ICU into a regular room. Celia, Tracy and Angela were elated by the good news, but Sam refused to get her hopes up until Skip opened one of those blue eyes and said something about how foolish they were being for blubbering over him. Then, and only then, would Sam be able to breathe again.

Maybe tomorrow, she thought more than an hour later, as she stood by his bed and ran her fingers through his wiry gray hair.

“So many things I need to talk to you about. Nick picked up Scotty for the trip to Boston. How excited do you think he is?” Imagining it, Sam smiled. “I’ve spent so much time trying to have a baby. Now this twelve-year-old kid has come into my life, and all I can think about is how cool it would be to get the chance to be his mom. We could do so much for him, you know? All of us. Not just Nick and me, but you, Celia, Tracy, Ang, Nick’s dad, the O’Connors. I told Nick that Scotty would be surrounded by a village, and you’re a big part of it. You know that, don’t you?”

Sam bent to rest her forehead on his chest, relieved to hear the wheezing had subsided considerably since the day before. “We had another big lead on your case blow up in our faces. Just when I think we’re really getting close…” Suddenly, she was exhausted—mentally, physically, emotionally. Only a few days back to work and it was like the lovely vacation had never happened.

“Sam, honey,” Celia said, resting her hand on Sam’s back. “Why don’t you go on home? There’s nothing you can do here, and I can only imagine how tired you must be.”

Sam stood up straight and turned to face her stepmother. “What about you? You have to be on your last legs. Let me give you a ride home?”

“I’m going to stay.” Celia glanced at her husband. “Just in case he needs me.”

Sam understood that. No way would she go home if Nick had been the one in that bed. Shuddering at the thought, she hugged Celia. “Try to get some rest.”

“I’ve been grabbing catnaps when I can.”

As Sam released her stepmother, she let out a gasp of surprise when Nick and Scotty appeared in the doorway.

Nick had his hands on Scotty’s shoulders as his eyes met hers. “He wanted to see Skip.”

Scotty looked nervous but determined.

“Hi, buddy,” Sam said, reaching for him.

He stepped into her embrace and held on tight.

She pressed a kiss to his soft hair. “Good to see you.”

“You too, Sam. I’m sorry about your dad being sick.” He hugged Celia and stepped closer to Skip’s bed. “Does it hurt? Whatever he’s got?”

“No, honey,” Celia said. “They’ve given him lots of medicine.”

While Scotty spent a moment with her dad, Sam went to her husband.

Nick put his arms around her, giving her the comfort she needed.

Sam breathed him in, comforted by his presence, his scent and the muscular chest that provided the perfect place to land after another hellish day. She put her arms around him and closed her eyes.

Too bad she still had to drive home because she could doze off right here and be perfectly content.

“Samantha.” She felt his lips on her forehead. “Babe, are you with me?”

“I’m here.” Had she actually fallen asleep? Sam forced herself back into the moment and gave Nick one more squeeze before she turned to kiss her dad goodnight. “See you in the morning, Skippy.” Lowering her voice even further, she whispered, “I love you.”

On the way out of the hospital, Nick held her hand and kept up a steady stream of chatter with Scotty who seemed to be making an effort to curb his excitement over the trip in light of Skip’s illness.