Witness in the Dark (Love Under Fire #1)(77)

She put her small bag on the king-size, pillow-top bed, and went to the kitchen to see what snack options awaited.

Angel was arguing with someone on the phone when Sam walked in. “…you’re off this case. You wanted off the case, so don’t think you’re going to order me around. She’s here. She’s safe. Beyond that, why would you care?”

Garrett.

Sam’s stomach did a little flip. She indicated the refrigerator behind Angel, who moved out of the way, still grumbling into the phone.

“I have to go. We’ve got things under control here. Enjoy your time off.”

Sam could hear Garrett yell, “I’m not taking time off. How am I supposed to go on vacation when she’s in the middle of a shitstorm?”

“Don’t know. Don’t care. I just thought you’d want to know we got her secured without incident. Next time, I won’t call.” Angel hung up and huffed. “What the fuck is his problem?”

“Me,” Sam muttered under her breath, and took a sip of flavored water from a bottle she’d found in the massive refrigerator. It was big enough to store a dead body. She decided not to think about that as she rummaged around in cupboards, finding some chips.

For dinner, Justin ordered pizza from Santiago’s.

She laughed as they all sat down and each of them put their gun on the table at the same time as though they had rehearsed it.

She and Angel had a bet going that Justin wouldn’t be able to eat his whole pizza. Sam lost when he finished off the last piece of his and the last piece of theirs.

Despite their shaky start, Justin had warmed up to her. He was a natural flirt with an easy grin and funny retort at the ready. But he still wasn’t Garrett.

Angel also had a softer side, despite her assassin-like moves and the scars on her arms. Sam wouldn’t mind spending three months with these people. But it wasn’t the same.

There would be no one in bed to keep her warm at night. No one to snuggle on the sofa with to watch movies.

The next morning after she was up and dressed, someone knocked at the door. She watched as Justin and Angel disarmed the alarm to let in the visitor, then searched him as soon as he stepped inside the room.

“All clear!” Justin said.

The handsome black man adjusted his suit jacket and looked over at Sam with a pleasant smile. “Ms. Hutchinson, I’m District Attorney Hugh Harris. Call me Hugh. We spoke on the phone a few months ago.”

“Yes. I remember.” How could she forget the inquisition?

“I’m going to brief you on what’s been happening with the case, then we’ll go over your testimony. I understand you’ve had a rough time in the program over the past few months. I’m hoping things will calm down while we prepare for trial. When Howe is behind bars permanently, you’ll be able to start over somewhere safe.”

“Yes,” she said. Safe.

“As you know, Congressman Howe killed Heather Riddell.”

Yes. She’d seen it with her own eyes.

“Kenneth Holden was the person who supposedly planned to meet her from an online dating site, and was later found in the Potomac River from an apparent suicide.”

“He didn’t kill her, and I doubt he killed himself,” Sam said.

Hugh nodded in agreement.

“Howe’s four defense attorneys maintain Kenneth Holden lured Heather away from a date and shot her. When he realized he was going to be caught, he killed himself rather than face the consequences.”

She understood the theory, though she certainly didn’t believe it. Kenneth Holden wouldn’t still be hunting Sam after he killed himself.

“Problem is, the gun they found in Holden’s car—the one used to kill Heather Riddell—was the same gun used to kill a man named Adam Dresden, a few months before Heather’s murder.”

Sam scooted closer. This was new information. “And?”

“Kenneth Holden was in Germany when Dresden was shot.”

“So, Holden had a solid alibi for the first murder,” Sam said.

“Exactly. And then when you throw in the fingerprint and the computer file we found, their story is crumbling like a sandcastle during a hurricane.”

More new stuff. “Fingerprint?” she asked.

“The gun found in Holden’s car was wiped clean of fingerprints. Except for Holden’s. At least on the outside. But on the inside, we found a partial print that came up in the system as a former federal agent, Martin Roberts. Roberts had been hired by Congressman Howe twice as a bodyguard. He was shot with a large caliber rifle when he and a number of other of Howe’s men broke into the safe house where you were staying.”

Ah. That would have been her doing.

All of that sounded very good for the case…which meant it was going to be very bad for her. The more desperate Howe was to save his skin, the more determined he would be to kill her.

“Once our senior inspector testifies Roberts attacked the safe house, we’ll be able to add attempted murder, conspiracy, and intimidation of a witness to Howe’s list of charges.” Hugh smiled. “He’s so going down.”

“Senior inspector? You mean Garrett?” she asked. Her heartbeat sped. She almost looked forward to testifying now, in hopes she would get to see him.

Obviously, she still wasn’t over the man.