Fatal Scandal: Book Eight of the Fatal Series by Marie Force Read Free Book Online Page A

him. He’s the blessing in all of it, but what if he thinks, someday... That I could’ve...”
    “Gonzo.” Sam rested her hand on his arm and squeezed. “Take a breath.”
    He did as she directed and then glanced at her, seeming devastated. “She’s really dead? You saw her with your own eyes?”
    “I did and she is.”
    “Who else knows it’s her?”
    “Right now only Cruz, but I won’t be able to sit on this for long. Farnsworth already knows we’ve caught a new case. He’s going to have questions.”
    “Goddamn. I don’t even know what to do. What should I do?”
    “Hey, Sam.” Christina came into the room wearing yoga pants and a tank top. Her shoulder-length blond hair was still damp from the shower. “You’re out early.”
    “Baby.” Gonzo held out his hand to her, and she grasped it, letting him draw her into his embrace.
    “What wrong, Tommy? You’re scaring me.”
    “It’s Lori,” he said softly. “Someone killed her.”
    “
What?
When?”
    “We got the call early this morning,” Sam said.
    “Oh my God.” And then her face went slack with horror and understanding. “You aren’t here because you think he had something to do with it, are you? Because he didn’t! He was right here with us all night! I’ll make a statement. What do I have to do?”
    Gonzo rubbed his hand over her back. “Calm down, honey.”
    No doubt sensing their dismay, Alex toddled over to them and tugged on Christina’s pants. She bent to pick him up, wiping tears from her face as she did. “He had nothing to do with this, Sam. You know that as well as I do.”
    “Mama,” Alex said, tearing up.
    Christina held him close, encouraging him to snuggle into her embrace.
    Watching Christina with the baby gave Sam a pang of longing. She’d been trying to have a baby for most of her adult life with no luck, and when Alex had dropped into Gonzo’s life out of the blue she’d been filled with unreasonable jealousy.
    “Can we make a statement?” Christina switched into professional mode as the initial shock passed. “If we come out ahead of the story, then they can’t drag us through the mud.”
    “I wouldn’t recommend that,” Sam said. “Here’s the bottom line—you both have motive, and you’re each other’s alibi.”
    “How can you say that?” Christina asked angrily. “You’re our
friend
. You know us! You can’t honestly think we’d be capable of
killing
someone.”
    “Babe.” The calm tone of Gonzo’s voice belied the panic Sam still saw in his eyes as well as the grim set of his mouth. “Sam’s right. She’s playing devil’s advocate. It doesn’t matter what we know to be true. What matters is what everyone else will believe and say.”
    “There has to be something we can do. We never left this apartment from the time we got home from the grocery store yesterday afternoon.”
    “Does the building have security cameras?” Sam asked.
    “I think it does,” Gonzo said, brightening.
    “I’ll get a warrant.” Sam pulled her phone from her pocket and placed a call to Captain Malone, her mentor and boss.
    “Happy New Year,” he said. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
    “I need a warrant,” Sam said without preamble.
    “For?”
    “The apartment building where Detective Sergeant Gonzales and his fiancée live with his son.” Sam gave him the address. “I need the security footage.”
    “Um, do you mind if I ask
why
?”
    “The mother of his son was found murdered this morning. We’re seeking to prove that neither he nor his fiancée left the house from the time they arrived home yesterday afternoon to the present time.”
    “Holy Christ,” Malone said in barely more than a whisper.
    “Warrant? Yes?”
    “Yeah, I’m on it. I’ll be back to you ASAP.”
    “Thanks. We haven’t told anyone who our vic is yet. I’d appreciate you keeping the lid on it until we figure out a plan.”
    “Done. Will you be at the noon meeting?”
    “I’ll be there.”
    “See you