Page 162 of State of Grace (First Family 2)

Sam went up on tiptoes to kiss him. “It’s going to be okay.”

“It has to be,” he said, hugging her.

“Love you. Love our sweet family.”

“Love you, too.”

“I’ll be back the second I can.”

“Tell Tommy I wish I could be there, too.”

“I will.”

As she went to meet Vernon and Jimmy, who were driving her to court, she thought about how it would devastate them all to lose the twins. But it would break Nick and Scotty, both of whom finally had the family they’d never had before.

That absolutely couldn’t happen.

Chapter Thirty

“Please state your name for the court,” Assistant U.S Attorney Faith Miller said after Gonzo had sworn to tell the truth.

Since entering the courtroom, he’d managed to avoid looking toward the defense table. “Detective Sergeant Thomas Gonzales.”

“And you’ve been with the Metropolitan Police Department for how long?”

“Thirteen years as of this coming February.”

“And a Homicide detective for how long?”

“Five years.”

“What is your position within the Homicide squad?”

“I’m second-in-command to Lieutenant Holland.”

“Thank you, Sergeant. Would you please take the court through the investigation that led to you and your partner, Detective AJ Arnold, attempting to apprehend the defendant, Sid Androzzi?”

In the calm, cool tone he’d practiced with Faith as well as his wife, Christina, over the last few weeks, Gonzo went through the Androzzi investigation from the beginning, starting with a rash of stabbings, several of them fatal, that had eventually led to a man known as Giuseppe Besozzi, who was believed to be Italian. Later, they’d learned that Besozzi was actually Sid Androzzi, who was on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list for his role in a multicity human trafficking ring. The trial had been combined to include Arnold’s murder and the stabbings. Androzzi also faced federal human trafficking charges. Gonzo’s testimony was part of a trial that was expected to take up to a month to try.

“Can you describe the events leading up to your encounter with Mr. Androzzi?” Faith asked, with a warm, compassionate look that only he could see.

This would be the hard part.

Before he began speaking, he saw Sam sneak into the room and take a seat in the back.

Fortified by her support as well as the rest of his squad, including Detective Dominguez, who’d surprised him by coming, Gonzo took a deep breath and began to tell the story of the worst night of his life. “Detective Arnold and I had been staked outside of Mr. Androzzi’s local residence for several hours. It was long after our regular tour had ended. We were cold, hungry, tired and impatient. At least I was. Arnold was complaining about the cold and being hungry and asking how much longer we were going to wait for Androzzi to come home. I told him we were waiting as long as it took, and if he’d shut up about the inconvenience, I’d let him take the lead with Androzzi.”

Gonzo paused and offered a small smile. “He was so excited to take the lead for the first time. Arnold… He was a great young guy, full of enthusiasm for the job and for life. He was becoming an exceptional detective, but he was still young, you know? I used to say he was like a puppy, but the best kind of puppy. Lovable and smart, but with some growing up left to do. Arnold asked me to go through the steps with him so he’d be ready. We did it a few times, going over each aspect of what would need to happen once Androzzi arrived on the scene. Arnold was ready. I’d known that for quite some time, but I hadn’t given him the chance yet.”

Gonzo’s voice broke, and he gave himself a second to get his emotions under control. This is for Arnold, he told himself. You have to get through this for him.

Arnold’s weeping parents, sisters and girlfriend didn’t help, but after a minute, he got himself together enough to proceed. “When we finally saw Androzzi, we got out of the car and walked toward him. Arnold showed his badge and began to identify himself. Before he could finish the sentence, Androzzi had fired the shot to the face that killed Arnold. I got off a couple of rounds, but I didn’t hit him. In the second it took me to process what’d happened, Arnold was dead, and Androzzi was gone.”

Gonzo pulled a tissue from the box on the witness stand and wiped the tears from his eyes. “The thing I remember most was the gurgling sound that came from Arnold’s throat. I’d never heard anything like that before, and I hope I never do again.”

“What happened then?”

“The Patrol officers who’d been providing coverage for us went after Androzzi. I stayed with Arnold until EMTs arrived and pronounced Arnold dead, and then I went with him to the morgue.”