Fatal Reckoning (Fatal #14)(38)

“I’d like to consult with Malone on this before we proceed. Are you okay with that?”

“Whatever you think is best.”

“I’m sorry this happened, Sam. We’ll get to the bottom of it.”

“All this time… Has he known what happened to my father and didn’t tell anyone?”

“If that’s the case, I’ll see him prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

“What should I do?” She vibrated with rage and energy and hope. In the midst of the shock, hope shone through. Would this be the break they’d been waiting for? Or would it be another dead end.

“Go home. I’ll call you later.”

“Chief—”

“Go home, Lieutenant. I will call you.”

Sam didn’t want to go home. She wanted to stay and find out why a superior officer she’d liked and respected, a man her father had considered a close friend, would’ve kept this information from her and other investigators for four years.

Freddie took her by the arm and gave a gentle tug. “Come on.”

She allowed him to lead her to the car and nudge her into the passenger seat.

And then he drove her home to Ninth Street, where they were waved through the checkpoint by the agents on duty. He parked in her assigned spot in front of the house, killed the engine and glanced over at her. “We have to trust the chief to handle this properly. He always does the right thing.”

“Are there, like, three or four people in the entire department who always do the right thing, or does it just seem that way lately?”

“It’s way more than three or four people. The bad ones are few compared to the good.”

“How could he have done this to us? To my dad, who was always a good friend to him? He lived with us for a short time when his first marriage ended.”

“Did he? I’ve never heard that.”

“My dad dragged him out of a bar and brought him home to our house so he wouldn’t do something stupid and lose his career.”

Freddie’s deep sigh said it all.

Desolate and grief-stricken all over again that someone she respected and trusted could’ve done something like this, she couldn’t seem to fully process this new information. “I don’t understand.”

“Maybe it’ll turn out that he had a good reason.”

“What possible good reason could he have had?”

“I don’t know.”

Sam glanced at her house, where it seemed every light was on, whereas Celia’s home was dark. “I should go in.”

“Call me if you hear anything?”

“I will. Take my car home and pick me up in the morning. We’ll get yours then.”

“Will do. You gonna be okay?”

“What choice do I have?” She got out of the car, and though she desperately wanted to see Nick, Scotty and the kids, she walked over to Celia’s, aching at the knowledge that her dad wasn’t there and never would be again. How she wished she could share what she’d learned today with him. But in a way, she was glad he would never know what his friend had done—or failed to do.

She went up the ramp and rested her hand on the doorknob, prepared to walk in the way Celia had always insisted, but uncertain of her welcome, she stopped short of opening the door. Raising her hand, she knocked and waited.

Celia opened the door. “Why are you knocking? You know the rules.”

“I…I wasn’t sure if the rules had changed.”

“They haven’t.” Celia turned and led the way into the kitchen, where a glass of wine sat on a table covered in cards and other piles of paper. “Drink?”

“I’d love one.”

Celia poured her a glass of chardonnay.

“What’re you doing?”

“Thank-you notes.”

“The girls and I can help with that.”

“Eh.” She waved her hand. “Gives me something to do.”

“Are you okay?”

“I’ve been better. I’m sure you have too.”

“I’m sorry, Celia. I know you’re angry with me about what happened and how it happened, and I honestly can’t bear to think that I made this worse for you in any way.”

“It was the right thing. I couldn’t see it at the time, but you were right to intervene. It was what he would’ve wanted, even if I didn’t agree.”

Hearing her say that filled Sam with relief so profound it nearly permeated the shock of what she’d uncovered about Conklin.

Celia looked up at her. “It took a lot of guts for you to do the right thing for him. I’m glad one of us was thinking clearly. I certainly wasn’t.”

“He was your husband and you loved him. I hope I never have to confront what you did that day.”

“I hope you don’t either. Even knowing it was the best thing for him… It’s the worst thing for me.” She teared up and used her sleeve to dab at her eyes. “Just when I think I’ve shed all the tears I’ll ever have, there’re more.”

Sam sat next to her and held out her arms.

Celia leaned into her. “He loved you so much.”

“He loved you just as much.”

“I don’t know about that.” Celia laughed. “He had a soft spot a mile wide for you.”