Fatal Consequences by Marie Force Read Free Book Online Page B

timeline.”
    “Let’s get him back into interrogation to cross the Ts before we let him go.”
    “You got it, boss. One other thing. We’ve had several calls from the media asking for confirmation that we’re holding Lightfeather in connection with the murder of a member of the Capitol cleaning staff.”
    “No comment for now.”
    “That’s what I figured you’d say.”
    Sam nodded. “Go get him.”
    “On my way.”
    Sam watched him go, noting the slight hunch to his shoulders. Yes, something was definitely troubling her partner. Before the day was over, she’d get it out of him.
    A few minutes later, she joined Freddie and the senator in one of the interrogation rooms. Lightfeather’s night in jail seemed to have diminished him.
    “Were you aware that Regina was pregnant?” Sam asked.
    Lightfeather’s hands trembled. “Yes.”
    “Was it yours?”
    He nodded.
    “You’re certain of that?”
    “Of course I am.”
    “You’re sure she wasn’t seeing anyone else?”
    “We were together most nights, so I can’t imagine how she’d have time for anyone else.”
    “Didn’t she work nights cleaning the Capitol?”
    “Five nights a week, four to midnight.”
    “You said you were together ‘most nights’. What did she do on the nights she didn’t spend with you?”
    “I’m not sure. She never said.”
    “Did you ask?”
    He nodded. “It was a…a bone of contention between us.”
    “Did she have girlfriends? Anyone she would’ve confided in?”
    “She was quite friendly with several women she worked with, but I’m not sure what she confided in them. I’m confident she told no one about our relationship. She knew what was at stake.”
    “For you or for her?”
    “For both of us. She couldn’t risk losing her job.”
    “What about what was at risk for you?”
    “Obviously, she was well aware of that too.”
    “Was she pressuring you for more? She’s carrying your child, facing possible deportment. I imagine she was quite desperate for some safety and security.”
    “She knew I’d take care of her and the baby, but she wasn’t pressuring me. She was painfully aware of my marital status.”
    “How were you planning to take care of her and the baby when you didn’t have enough money to get an apartment in Washington?”
    Lightfeather’s slumped in his chair. “I was going to do whatever I could for her.”
    “Which wouldn’t have been much, am I right?”
    He shrugged.
    “She had to be feeling quite desperate. Another mouth to feed, day care, diapers. How would she swing all that when she was supporting her family back home?”
    “We didn’t talk a lot about that. We were going to work something out. I told her not to worry. I’d find the money. Somehow.”
    Freddie gestured to Sam, and she nodded to him.
    “Senator,” he said. “Are you familiar with the term ‘anchor baby’?”
    Lightfeather sat up straighter in his chair. “I am.”
    “I’m not,” Sam said. “Enlighten me.”
    “When babies are born to illegal immigrants, they ‘anchor’ their mothers to the United States because the 14 th Amendment grants automatic citizenship to anyone born in this country,” Lightfeather said.
    “Ahhh,” Sam said, seeing where Freddie was going with this. Proud of his initiative, she waved her hand to give him the floor.
    “Seeing as Regina’s immigration status was in question, I’m wondering if her pregnancy was planned or not.”
    “It was most definitely not planned.”
    “How does that happen? I have to assume you both knew how to prevent an unwanted pregnancy.”
    The senator’s hands, Sam noted, were trembling.
    “We think it happened that first time. In my office.”
    “You didn’t use protection?” Freddie asked.
    “She said she was on the pill and I believed her.”
    “But she wasn’t?”
    “She was. I saw them later in her purse.”
    “Did she take them?”
    “She swore she did. When she first discovered she was pregnant, she was furious that the