Page 12 of State of Retribution (First Family #9)

S am went into her office and sat at her desk, needing a few minutes to think about next steps.

She’d barely taken a breath when Jesse Best, commander of the U.S.

Marshal Service’s Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, came in and shut the door.

At six and a half feet tall, he cut an imposing figure and rarely smiled.

“Sorry to intrude.”

“No worries. What can I do for you?”

He handed her a six-inch-thick file.

Sam glanced up at him, her gaze connecting with his. For the briefest of seconds, his brown eyes conveyed a level of devastation she’d never seen in him, before it was gone as fast as it’d come. “What am I looking for specifically?”

“Anything I’ve missed. I’ve looked at it too many times to be objective anymore.”

“Can you give me the highlights, or lowlights, such as they are?”

He sat in one of her visitor chairs. “It’s my sister Jordan’s case.

She went missing when I was eleven and she was seven.

I’ve looked for her ever since and have never found a trace.

It’s like she vaporized into the mist or something, which of course isn’t what happened.

And before you say it, I know she’s probably long dead.

But I want to know who took her from me. ”

His every word was laced with agony.

“Of course you do.”

“I should give it up and get on with my life, but how the hell do I do that?”

“You don’t. You can’t. I never would either.”

“I knew you’d get it.” He looked down at the floor and then back up at her. “I’ve never asked for help before now.”

“Why now?”

“I’m out of ideas. I’ve tried everything I could think of, and nothing has ever panned out. So I’ve brought it to the best detective I’ve ever worked with. No pressure, though.”

Sam laughed. “Not at all.”

“I mean that. I’m not expecting you to pull a rabbit out of a hat for me. I just want another set of eyes.”

“I’m honored that you chose me, and I’ll do my best for you.”

“I have no doubt. I’m sorry to add another thing to your already-full plate.”

“Don’t sweat it. I’m always happy to help a friend if I can. God knows you do enough to help me.”

“That’s work. This is personal, and we both know it.”

“Regardless. I owe you a million favors I’ll never be able to return.”

“No, you don’t.”

“We’ll have to agree to disagree on that one.”

The left half of his face lifted into the barest hint of a smile as he got up to leave. “Thanks for your time.”

“This isn’t the only copy of the file, is it?”

He tipped his head. “What do you take me for? A rookie?”

She laughed. “I’ll be in touch.”

He gave a curt nod and headed for the door.

“Jesse.”

Turning back, he cocked an eyebrow.

“I’m sorry this happened to you and your family.”

“So am I.”

At three o’clock, Sam left her team working the case and reported to the chief’s conference room for the Stahl meeting. As the day had progressed, she’d experienced a growing sense of dread and queasiness that were directly related to this meeting.

The last thing in the world she wanted was to waste another minute of her life discussing the revolting Leonard Stahl, who’d twice tried to kill her. That was why she’d been offered an out on this meeting, but since the other commanders would be in attendance, she would be, too.

This session would be disturbing and upsetting for everyone involved. She was no different that way. The meeting would be led by Captain Malone and Crime Scene Unit Commander Lieutenant Max Haggerty, who’d overseen the retrieval of bodies entombed or buried at Stahl’s house.

Every department commander had been asked to attend, along with Chief Farnsworth and Deputy Chief Jeannie McBride, who greeted Sam with a warm smile.

Sam missed working alongside her friend, but was so proud to see Jeannie wearing the rank that had once been her dad’s.

Skip Holland would so approve of Jeannie serving as deputy chief, even if the pushback from some members of the department continued unabated.

Some people didn’t approve of Jeannie skipping two ranks to become deputy chief, but the mayor had wanted her, so there wasn’t much the grumblers could do about it.

While others filed into the room, Sam flipped her phone open to find a message from Jeannie. Should you be here for this?

I’m fine, but thanks for asking.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Faith Miller rushed into the room. “Sorry I’m late.”

“You’re not,” Malone said. “We’re just about to start.

” He stood at the head of the table. “Before we get to the agenda for this meeting, I wanted to brief you on a couple of ongoing things you may be asked about by your officers. First are the new charges filed against former Sergeant Ramsey. As a result of the scene he caused at Tom Forrester’s funeral, he’s been charged with disorderly conduct and disrupting an official event.

That’s in addition to the charges of attempted murder of federal agents and a federal official that were already pending. ”

Ramsey had smashed his car into Sam’s Secret Service SUV. That’s when she’d learned that, as first lady, she counted as a federal official. Who knew?

“The department’s chief counsel, Jessica Townsend, has met with Ramsey’s attorney about the wrongful-death lawsuit he filed in regard to his son’s shooting by Officer Offenbach.

Ms. Townsend has provided Ramsey’s attorney with a detailed account of the incident that led to the fatal shooting of Shane Ramsey.

She’s encouraged the plaintiff’s attorney to compel his client to drop the lawsuit, as they don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of prevailing in court.

“As opposed to the Eric Davies lawsuit, which is proceeding with unusual speed as it’s a slam dunk thanks to our good friend Stahl, who framed an innocent man for aggravated rape and sent him away for sixteen years.

As you know, the body of Tiffany Jones, the woman Stahl used to fabricate the charges against Davies, who filed a complaint about the way Stahl had treated him on a routine traffic stop, was among those found at Stahl’s house.

Ms. Townsend expects Mr. Davies will prevail in his suit, and the department’s insurer will face a significant payout that we can probably all agree Mr. Davies more than deserves. ”

Dr. Anthony Trulo, the department psychiatrist and also Sam’s friend, came into the room and grabbed a seat. He gave Sam an affectionate look that let her know he’d be keeping an eye on her during this meeting.

As Malone updated them on the final details of the victims found at Stahl’s house, Sam contemplated the damage one man had done to so many lives as well as their department and its reputation.

It would take years to fully process the impact of his actions.

What Sam would never understand was how someone could raise his hand, take the oath to protect and serve and then use his position to wreak chaos rather than uphold law and order.

As someone who’d been raised by a faithful public servant and tried to be one herself, she had no ability to comprehend his depravity.

Judging by the shocked, disgusted looks on the faces of many of her colleagues, she wasn’t alone in that. It was an affront to everyone who worked so hard to do the job the right way, even if they failed at times. Those failures were usually not intentional.

An image of each victim was shown on the screen at the front of the room as Malone recited their names, ages and other salient facts about their lives, such as where they were from and who’d been looking for them in the years since they’d gone missing.

Sam was extra sad for the two who’d never been reported missing.

They’d been identified using familial DNA that’d linked them to people in the system.

All told, twenty-two young women were named, murdered over a rampage that’d spanned more than a decade during which Leonard Stahl had collected a paycheck from the District.

Bile burned the back of Sam’s throat, forcing her to swallow repeatedly to keep from vomiting.

When she thought of the four women who’d been entombed behind a cement wall, left to die hideous deaths, her entire body felt cold as memories of being wrapped in razor wire by Stahl, doused with gasoline and threatened with fire picked that moment to come rushing to the surface.

One minute, she was fighting back the most horrifying memories of her life, and the next, she was in a different room with people gathered around her, looking at her with concern. What the hell was going on?

“Sam,” Dr. Trulo said. “Look at me. Can you speak?”

“Wh-what happened?”

“You passed out.” Jeannie pressed a cold compress to Sam’s forehead that felt heavenly. “Take some deep breaths.”

Vernon stood behind Chief Farnsworth and Captain Malone, his brows furrowed with distress.

Son of a bitch. She’d flaked out in front of all the commanders.

“I’m okay.” She started to get up and was pushed back down by numerous hands. “Let me up. I’m fine.”

“We’re sending you home,” Malone said.

“Absolutely not. I have three new bodies in the morgue and work to do.”

“You can pick it up tomorrow,” Farnsworth said.

“I’m not leaving.” She gently pushed Jeannie and her cold compress away and stood. She fought through a massive head rush in the effort to remain upright. “I’m sorry to have caused a scene. As you were, people.”

As she walked out of Jeannie’s office, a visibly upset Freddie came running down the corridor.

“Are you okay? I heard you passed out.”

“I’m fine. Let’s get back to work.” The Stahl meeting was over for her, even if the others planned to continue it.

“What happened?”

“It was hot in there.”

“And that’s all it was?”

“Yep.”

“I knew you shouldn’t have gone to that meeting.”

“Freddie… Please. I love you for caring, but I just passed out in front of a room full of mostly men who already think I’m a distraction around here. Can we please drop it and get back to work?”

“Yeah, of course. Sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m sorry I worried you.”