Fatal Reckoning (Fatal #14)(81)
I wanted you to know that your father once saved me on a night when my life exploded into violence at the hands of my ex-husband. Sergeant Holland’s calm, cool, rational approach to a fraught situation not only saved my life, but my children’s lives. He made a difference for my family that night, and I’ve never forgotten him. Wishing him eternal rest and Godspeed for you and your family.
As a faithful supporter of the city’s Little League baseball program, Skip was a visible presence to the at-risk children who played the game for more than twenty years. He has our undying respect and admiration, and we extend our sympathy to the entire Holland family on the loss of a great man and dedicated public servant.
The District has lost a great man.
Our hearts are with you.
May he rest in peace.
Thank you for sharing your father with us. His enormous sacrifice will never be forgotten.
Sam read every message, her eyes filling more than once at the sweet words people had used to describe her dad. Though her heart broke all over again at the reminder of his death, she took comfort in knowing he’d been so loved and respected.
She kept opening the cards, reading each message and making a pile to take home to share with Celia, Tracy and Angela. Flipping open a card that expressed sympathy for the loss of her father, she read the message that seemed to have been hastily scrawled.
Look inside your own “house” and City Hall. The answers are closer than you think.
Sam read the message a second time and then dropped the card to her desktop. “Cruz!”
Freddie appeared in the doorway. “What’s up?”
“Get me an evidence bag.”
“What’ve you got?”
“Get the bag, and I’ll show you.”
When Freddie returned with the evidence bag, Sam used the tip of a pen to lift the card to open it, revealing the message written inside.
“Holy crap.”
“The quotes around the word house lead me to think it’s someone who speaks cop.”
“For sure.” Freddie slid it into a bag.
“Get it to the lab. Let them know my prints will be on it. Ask them to expedite.”
“Will do.”
As he left the room, her desk extension rang. “Holland.”
“It’s Archie. Can you come up here?”
“On my way.” As she left her office, Jeannie McBride returned to the pit empty-handed.
“The Coyne files were checked out by your father one week before his shooting and never returned.”
A charge of awareness went through Sam, leaving a tingle in the area of her backbone. She’d learned to trust those tingles as they usually meant she was onto something big. “Search my father’s stuff again for the Coyne files. I want everyone on that. I’ll be right back.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
SHE TOOK THE stairs to the IT division two at a time, praying she wouldn’t run into Ramsey up there, as his Special Victims division was located across the hall from IT. Thankfully, the hallway was deserted as she ducked into IT and walked toward Archie’s office in the back, ignoring the curious stares of his team as she passed their cubicles.
People were so damned curious about her these days, which was ridiculous. So her husband was the vice president. His lofty job hadn’t changed her daily existence all that much, except for the fact that she was recognized everywhere she went. Otherwise, she was still the same person and cop she’d been before his promotion.
She stepped into Archie’s office. “Hey. What’s up?”
“Come in. Shut the door.”
Surprised by the unusual secrecy, she did as he asked.
“Come see this.”
She walked around his desk to the computer terminal that boasted a massive monitor. As she took in the scene on his screen, she realized she was looking at G Street. “Is that…”
“It’s from the day of your dad’s shooting.”
When she took a closer look, she could see her dad’s black boots on the ground. That was the only part of him she could see as he was surrounded by paramedics and other personnel. Her stomach knotted, her heart began to beat faster. She recalled being told at the time that it took almost fifteen minutes after their arrival for the paramedics to stabilize her dad to the point where he could be transported.
“Watch.” Archie played the video and Sam watched the chaos unfold in a stream of flashing lights, uniformed first responders, grim-faced cops and…Conklin.
Sam gasped. “Oh my God.”
“Right smack in the middle of it.”
Not just in the middle of it, but supervising, directing, barking orders. “Holy fuck.”
“I’ve got to turn this over to Hill, but I wanted you to see it first.”
“I…I appreciate the heads-up.” Shock whipped through her like an extra heartbeat as she stared at the freeze-framed image of the man who’d taken her father’s place as deputy chief after Skip was medically retired.
“Sam? Are you okay?”
“For so long I’ve craved answers for my dad, for all of us. But this…”
“It’s inconceivable.” Archie’s blunt statement summed it up perfectly.
“Why haven’t we seen this before now?”