“We’ll get someone to help you through every step of the process. We have rape counselors specially trained to assist victims and prepare them for court. I’ll get you all the help and support I have at my disposal.”
“And how will you keep me alive long enough to testify?”
“Our entire case hinges on you. We’ll take good care of you. You have my word on that.”
After another endless stretch of silence, Sam leaned forward, elbows on knees. “Will you help me, Selina? Shall I go arrest Jack Bartholomew so he can pay for what he did to you and probably other women too?”
“Will the others come forward so your case doesn’t hinge only on me?”
“We can hope for that, but in the meantime, it all comes down to you.”
“If I testify, do you promise it won’t be for nothing? He’s a powerful man. I don’t want to see him go free.”
“I’ll do everything in my power to make sure he gets what’s coming to him.” She thought of Peter being released from prison and remembered that even her powers had limits. “But I won’t make you a promise I may not be able to keep. We’ll do our very best. That’s all I can do.”
“Will you arrest the other men too? The speaker and the senator?”
“I don’t know that yet, but we’ll be pursuing charges against anyone who was involved with running the organization, anyone who provided the services and anyone who sought them out. If that includes the speaker and the senator, so be it.”
Selina sat very still as she thought it over.
Sam’s heart beat hard and fast. This was it. The whole thing hung on one tiny woman who was in way,
way
over her head.
“Since I need you to keep me alive as much as you need me to testify, I guess we both need each other.”
“Yes, we do.”
“Okay,” Selina said, seeming resigned now to her fate. “I’ll do it.”
Sam reached over and clutched the other woman’s hand. “Thank you.”
Sam felt like she’d expended a day’s worth of energy on the half hour she’d spent with Selina. But she’d gotten what she needed, and that’s what mattered. Before going to HQ to meet Freddie, she headed for the Washington Hospital Center. Even thought it was still early, she hoped to find Jeannie McBride awake.
Michael was coming out of Jeannie’s room as Sam approached the door.
“How is she?” Sam asked.
“Seems a little better today. They’re going to release her later on.”
“That’s good.”
He shrugged.
“Are you okay?”
“She refuses to talk to me about what happened. I’m trying not to push her, but it’s just…it’s hard. Not knowing…”
Sam rested a hand on his arm. “Try not to push. She’ll tell you if and when she feels able to. Until then, you just have to be patient and supportive. That’s what she needs from you right now.”
“I know.”
“Hang in there. It’s only been a few days.”
He nodded. “You’re right. It’s all about her and what she needs.”
“Did she talk to the counselor?”
Shaking his head, he said, “Sent her away. Said she didn’t need it.”
Sam hated to hear that. “I hope she’ll consider it at some point. You might want to, as well. Can’t hurt anything.”
“I’ll think about it. She’s awake if you want to go in. I’ll give you a few minutes.”
“Thanks.” Sam pushed open the door to find Jeannie sitting up in bed. “Hey there. How’re you feeling?”
“A little better. Did you see Michael?”
“In the hallway. He seems like a really nice guy, Jeannie.”
“He is,” she said, sighing. “He wants me to tell him what happened…”
“There’s no rush. You don’t have to talk about it until you feel ready.”
“What if I never feel ready?”
“Well, you may have to testify…”
Jeannie shook her head, as if the very idea of it was too overwhelming to imagine.
“You’re sure you won’t consider talking to the counselor?”
“I’m sure. At least the HIV test came back negative—for now. I have to be tested again in three months.”
“That’s a huge relief.”
“It’s something. Right about now, I’ll take it.”
“I hate to ask you this, but do you feel up to looking at a few photos?”
Jeannie cast a wary glance at Sam. “Of what?”
“Possible suspects.”
Jeannie gripped the blanket so tightly her knuckles turned white. “Do I have to?”
“I could really use your help. We have a pretty good case for rape against one of them, but I can’t pin the murders on him. At least not yet.”
“I only saw his eyes…”
“Then that’s what I’ll show you. Okay?”
Gritting her teeth, Jeannie nodded.
Sam took a moment to fold the six sheets of paper so just the eyes of the men were showing. And then she lined them up on the bed next to each other. “Take your time.” She watched Jeannie force herself to look at the first one. And then her eyes darted across the array.
“No. None of them.”
“You’re sure?”
“I’ll never forget those eyes. Ever.”
“I appreciate you taking a look. I know it was hard for you.”
“I know you’ll need my help and my testimony. I just have to find a way to tell Michael first.”
Sam reached for the other woman’s hand. “May I offer a suggestion?”
Jeannie nodded. “Of course.”
“It seems to me that worrying about telling him is causing you grief that you hardly need on top of everything else. Maybe if you just tell him and get it over with, you’ll have one less thing to worry about.”
“That’s not a
bad
suggestion.”
Sam smiled at her. “Gee, thanks.”
Jeannie thought about it for a moment. “I’m going to tell him and get it over with. Then I’ll let him tell my mother. I
really
couldn’t deal with that.”
“It always helps to have a plan. Just remember he loves you—all he’s thinking about is you and what you need.”
Jeannie bit her lip and nodded. “He’s been amazing.” She blinked back tears. “He’s hardly left my side since it happened.”
“Where will you go when they release you?”
“His house has a security system, so I guess I’ll go there even though it’s in the same neighborhood where it…happened.”
“The security system is a good idea—especially until we catch this guy.” Sam checked her watch. “I’m sorry, but I have to run. We’re arresting the chief of staff to the vice president this morning.”
“Wow! Wish I could be there for that.”
The spark of interest she saw in Jeannie’s soft brown eyes reassured Sam. “You’ll be back with us before you know it. Until then, focus on recovering from your injuries and anything that makes you feel better.”
“I’ll feel better when you find the guy who did this to me—and the others.”
“I’ll find him, and I’ll make him pay.”
“I’m counting on that.”
Sam hugged her detective. “I’ll check in with you tomorrow.”
“Thanks. If you see Michael out there, will you tell him I need to talk to him?”
“Sure.” Sam left the room and found Michael in the waiting room at the end of the long hallway. “I think she might be ready to talk…”
He jumped to his feet. “Really?”
“I have to warn you…I’ve heard a lot of hideous crap in twelve years on this job, but what happened to her…it’s bad. You need to prepare yourself.”
A tick of tension pulsed in his tightly clenched jaw. “I appreciate the warning.”
“If either of you need me for anything, she has my number.”
“Thanks for everything.”
“No problem.”
Sam’s next order of business was a phone call to the U.S. Attorney’s office as she drove back to HQ to meet Freddie.
“What’ve you got, Lieutenant?” asked Assistant U.S. Attorney Faith Miller.
Sam laid out her case against Jack Bartholomew. “I’ll need a warrant for his DNA, which will hopefully be a match for DNA that may or may not be on the clothes Selina was wearing the night of the attack. But even without the DNA, she’s willing to do a lineup and she’ll testify. I’m hoping other victims will come forward after we arrest him. We’ve got him on rape and soliciting a prostitute.”
Faith was silent for a long time. “Did she seek medical attention?”
Sam had been expecting that question. “She couldn’t afford it. She sent all the money she made home to her family, but she took several days off of work after it happened. I can get the owner of the cleaning company to testify to that.”
“She didn’t tell anyone what had happened?”
“No.”
Faith went silent again.
“Come on, Faith, you’re killing me here! You know we’ve got enough.”
“I don’t want to see another case fall apart before we get to trial.”
“That’s a dig on Gibson, right?”
“Forrester isn’t happy with how that case fell apart. He’s warned us to be more careful in the future that all our ducks are in a row before we move forward.”
“So where does that leave me with Bartholomew?”
“Call me when you hear from the lab. Until then, hold off.”
“You gotta be kidding me—”
“Sam, I’m not budging on this. You’re talking about the top aide to the vice president of the United States. I want an airtight case before you go near him.”
“Fine. You want airtight, I’ll get you airtight.”
“Excellent. I’ll be here when you’re ready.”
Sam ended the call and let out a growl of frustration. Opening the phone, she called the chief. His administrative assistant put her right through.
“Good morning, Lieutenant.”
“I need your help with the lab.” She explained the urgency of the situation to the chief. “Can you lean on them for me?”
“I’ll do what I can.”
“He’s the key. I have a feeling if I can get him in here and lean hard on him I can get him to roll on the others. He won’t want to go down alone. All I need to know from the lab right now is that there’s male DNA on the clothes. We can test it against a sample from him after we have him in custody.”
“I’ll make the call. Where’s your detail?”
Sam glanced in her rearview mirror. “Right up my ass where they belong.”
“That sounds rather…uncomfortable.”
“You said it.”
Snorting with laughter, the chief hung up.
Now all she could do was wait—and hope the killer didn’t strike again while they were waiting on the lab.
Nick and Christina were in a meeting with other key campaign staff going over the next week’s schedule when one of the administrative assistants interrupted them.
“I’m sorry to disturb you, Senator, but Judson Knott is here with Mitchell Sanborn.”
Startled, Nick glanced at Christina.
Looking equally surprised, she shrugged.
“Send them in,” Nick said. To the others in the room, he added, “Would you please excuse us for a moment?”
The staffers collected their belongings and passed Knott and Sanborn on their way out.
“Gentlemen.” Nick shook hands with both men and invited them to sit across from him and Christina. “This is a nice surprise.” The last time Nick had seen Sanborn, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, he’d mentioned the party’s potential interest in Nick making a run for the White House in four years. Nick still had trouble believing he’d actually been part of that conversation. “What can I do for you?”
“We’ve been hearing some disturbing rumblings on the Hill,” Sanborn said in his deep Kentuckian accent. The former governor of the Bluegrass state had sandy brown hair shot through with silver and intense dark eyes. “Things that have us quite…worried.”
Pretending to be baffled, Nick glanced at Judson, the chair of the Virginia Democratic Committee. “What kind of rumblings?” he asked.
Sanborn’s eyes narrowed. “That your girlfriend—”
“Fiancée,” Nick said.
“My apologies,” Sanborn said. “Your
fiancée
is investigating members of our own party for consorting with call girls. I don’t have to tell you what that kind of scandal would do to the party, especially with the midterm elections just a few short months away.”
Nick decided the best way to play this was the dumb way. “I’m afraid you gentlemen have me at a disadvantage. This is the first I’m hearing of it.” In hindsight, he realized he should’ve expected this visit. If they’d had any idea who exactly Sam was targeting, they’d be too busy having apoplexies to be bothering him.
“Senator, I’d like to think we’re all one big happy family in the Democratic Party,” Sanborn said with a charming smiling lighting up his handsome face. “Wouldn’t you?”
“I suppose.”
“And a family takes care of one another, am I right?”
Not my family
, Nick wanted to say but didn’t. “Mitchell, why don’t you save us all a lot of time and trouble and tell me what is you want from me?”
“Let’s talk first about what I want
for
you, Senator, shall we? I believe you’ll recall our last conversation in which I mentioned the very high aspirations the party has for you as our brightest new star.”
Starting to get a feel for where this was heading, Nick said, “You’ll recall that I told you I wasn’t ready to have that particular conversation.”
“Indeed. However, I’d like to think that when you
are
ready, your party will be standing by, willing to lend you the support and encouragement you would need.”
“In exchange for what?”
Sanborn’s face once again lost its amiable expression. “Tell your fiancée to back off.”
“Wait a minute,” Knott said, practically levitating out of his chair. “You never said you were going to say that to him!” To Nick, Knott added, “I didn’t condone this. He asked me to come with him to see you, but he never said he planned to do that!”
Nick put up a hand. “Easy does it, Judson. Let me make this real simple for all of us.”
“That’d be preferred,” Sanborn said.
“Get out of my office.”
Sanborn sputtered, and his face turned very red. “You can’t…I won’t…”
Nick stood up to his full six-foot-four-inch height. “Get. The. Hell. Out.
Now
.”
Sanborn stood up slowly, smoothing his hands over his suit. “You’re making yourself a powerful enemy, young man.”
“That’s
senator
to you, and by the time I’m through telling the party leadership what you came in here asking me to do, you won’t have much power left, so enjoy it while it lasts.”
“Judson,” Sanborn said. “Let’s go.”
“You go on ahead. I’m not going anywhere with you.”
Sanborn turned on his heel and stalked out of the room.
“There goes my chance to be president,” Nick muttered with a chuckle intended to defuse the tension in the room.
“I’m so sorry, Senator,” Judson said. “I had no idea…”
Nick rested a hand on the older man’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about it.” Judson and the rest of the Virginia Democratic Party had been nothing but supportive of Nick and his staff since John O’Connor’s sudden death turned their lives upside down.
“If he had told me what he planned to do,” Judson said, “I would’ve told him it was a waste of time.”
“What did he tell you he wanted with me?”
“To talk about the campaign and check in with you.”
“Well, he checked in.”
“And checked out,” Christina said.
“They must be really scared,” Nick said as another thought occurred to him. He drew his new BlackBerry from his pocket. “Would you mind giving me a minute?”
“Of course, Senator,” Judson said. He and Christina quietly left the room, closing the door behind them.
The moment he was alone, Nick dialed Sam’s number. “Hey, babe.”
“Hey.”
“What’s wrong?”
“How can you tell something is wrong with one word?”
“Because I know you.”
“The AUSA won’t let me go after Bartholomew until we have more than Selina’s testimony. I’m waiting on the freaking lab, and it’s taking them
all
goddamned day! Tell me things are going better over there.”
“They were going well until a few minutes ago.” He told her about Sanborn’s visit and how infuriated the party chairman had been by Nick’s refusal to interfere with the investigation.
“And you just handed me a new suspect.”
“That’s what I was thinking too.”
“Have I mentioned lately that I love you?”
He smiled. “I’ll take it whenever I can get it.”
“I’m sorry you were put in that position.”
“It’s certainly not your fault.”
“I told you so,” she said.
“What did you tell me?”
“That my shit was going to bang up against your shit and cause you trouble.”
“I
love
when your shit bangs up against my shit.”
“That’s so gross. I’m trying to be serious here.”
“And I’m trying to say that I don’t
care
if your shit bangs up against my shit. I’m doing the best possible job I can for the people of Virginia. If Election Day comes and they’re not happy with me, so be it. I refuse to let this job take over my entire life.”
“You’re very evolved. How did you get so evolved?”
“Thanks to you and the murders of two of my good friends, I’ve figured out what really matters in life, and I absolutely refuse to let people like Sanborn think I’m for sale.”
“I’m seriously turned on right now.”
Nick laughed. “For all the good that does me.”
“Luckily for you, it’ll keep until I see you.”
“Mmm, can’t wait.”
“Thanks for the new lead and for standing up to Sanborn. For what it’s worth, I’m proud of you.”
“It’s worth a lot,” he said. “It’s worth everything.”
“I’ll see you when I see you.”
For a moment, he debated telling her about the ramp at the house but then decided he’d rather it be a surprise. “Be careful with my fiancée. I love her more than life itself.”
“Nick…You make me all fluttery. No one has
ever
made me fluttery. How do you do that?”
Ridiculously pleased, he smiled. “What can I say? It’s magic. Take care, babe.”
While she waited for the results from the lab, Sam did a run on Mitchell Sanborn. As his photo popped up on the screen, her skin tingled with goose bumps. Those eyes…Remembering Jeannie’s description of her attacker’s eyes, Sam sat riveted, staring at the screen. She read through his impressive biography, which detailed his Ivy League education and meteoric rise through the ranks of the Democratic Party. But she kept returning to that photo and those eyes…
She printed it—along with five other random men—and grabbed her radio. “Cruz!”
He popped up in his cubicle, a dollop of cream clinging to his bottom lip. “Right here, boss.”
“Let’s go.”
Grabbing his trench coat, Freddie scrambled after her. “Where to?”
“First to see Jeannie and then, hopefully, to start arresting evil bastards.”
“Oh, I
love
when we get to arrest evil bastards!”
“Will you please finish that donut so I don’t have to smell it?”
“Want some?”
“Yes, but my ass is growing at such an alarming rate that my wedding dress will have to be sewn by a tentmaker rather than Vera Wang. Keep it away from me.”
“Your ass is not that big. Not that I’ve looked or anything…”
Sam shot him her most withering look.
He swallowed the last bite of donut. “Is Vera Wang really making your dress? Even I’ve heard of her.”
“Apparently so. That reminds me…” Reaching for her phone, she texted Shelby and her sisters, moving the evening’s appointment to her father’s house since hers was fire damaged at the moment.
“Everything okay with Nick? I assume he eventually showed up last night.”
“Yeah. He’s kind of a mess after seeing his deadbeat mother this week. She shook him down for twenty-five grand.”
Freddie released a low whistle. “Poor guy. He’s had enough lately.”
“I couldn’t agree more. What about you? All ready for tonight?”
His mood changed in an instant. “I guess.”
“Any word from Elin?”
Dejected, he shook his head. “Not since I told her to show up tonight or else.”
“Are you regretting the ultimatum?”
“Kind of. I like her. I don’t want it to be over.”
“You don’t think she’s going to show?”
“No.”
“Maybe you’re not giving her enough credit.”
He shrugged. “Why should she have to put up with the cold shoulder from my mother? She can have any guy she wants.”
“Seems to me she wants you.”
“I guess we’ll see, won’t we?”
Over the top of her car, Sam said, “There’re a lot of women out there, Freddie. If things don’t work out with this one, there are plenty of other fish in the sea.”
“Took me twenty-nine years to reel this one in. I’m not ready to throw her back yet.”
Inside the car, Sam started it and gave it a minute to warm up. Her cell phone rang, and she took the call from Captain Malone.
“Tell me you’ve got news from the lab,” Sam said.
“We’ll get to that. But first I wanted to let you know that Peter Gibson was just released from custody.”
Sam had known it was coming but hearing confirmation sent her stomach into a tailspin. Resting a hand over her churning belly, she said, “Okay.”
“I’m sorry, Sam.”
“Not your fault.” A knot of fear settled in her throat, threatening her legendary composure. “What’ve you heard from the lab?”
“Semen was found on the clothing.”
“Thank you, Jesus.”
“You’re to tread lightly with Bartholomew until we know the DNA is his.”
“We know it’s his.”
“We know that a call girl told us it was. Until the
lab
tells us, you’re to consider him a person of interest not a suspect. That’s right from Farnsworth and Forrester.”