DR. ANDERSON GLANCED at the children and lowered his voice. “What do you know about the parents?”
“Not much yet.” Even though she trusted the doctor after knowing him for quite some time, she couldn’t share the privileged information Avery had given them.
“I feel for them. Life as they know it is over.”
“Yeah, and the sad part is, at only five, they’ll remember very little about the people who loved them best,” Sam said.
“Heartbreaking.”
Sam’s phone rang with a call from Hill. “What’s up?”
“Hey, I tracked down a number for Beauclair’s son Elijah.”
Sam’s heart fell at the thought of having to make that call. “Hang on a second.” She retrieved the notebook from her back pocket and wrote down the number. “Got it.”
“I can make that call if you want.”
“I’d like to do it, so I can ask him a few questions.”
“All right. Any word on the identity of the victims?”
“Not yet. Lindsey said some things weren’t matching up with the dental records, and she needed to do further examination. It’s possible they lost some teeth in whatever took place before the fire.”
“Jesus,” he said.
“That about sums it up.”
“We should’ve gone into something boring like banking.”
Sam laughed. “I think that every day of my life, but the boredom would’ve killed us.”
“Probably, but we wouldn’t have to call a kid in college and tell him his father and stepmother are possibly dead, and his little brother and sister orphaned.”
“True. So, um, I’m taking the little brother and sister home with me tonight.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, they needed a place, and we’re licensed foster parents from when we first had Scotty.”
“Wow. It’s good of you to do that, Sam.”
“With the Secret Service making a fortress out of our house, I figured they’d be safer with me than anywhere else we could put them tonight.”
“That’s certainly true, although the Secret Service should be briefed on the background with the parents.”
“I was afraid you were going to say that,” Sam said with a sigh, imagining what Nick’s lead agent, John Brantley Junior, would have to say about her bringing the children of people who’d been tortured and burned in their home into her house. “With your permission, I’ll take care of briefing them on what you told us.”
“Permission granted.”
“What does Elijah know about the father and his business dealings?”
“He knows everything. He had to change his name while he was in high school, so there was no hiding it from him.”
“Good to know. I was thinking after your briefing earlier that if I were going to be on the run from someone who wanted me dead, I’m not sure I’d buy a mansion in Chevy Chase to ‘hide’ out in.”
“From what I’m told, they were advised to consider living more modestly to draw less attention to themselves. However, he was still a billionaire, and apparently they have their needs.”
“Did those needs get him and his wife killed?”
“That’s what we have to find out.”
“I’ll be back on that tomorrow. For now, I need to get these kids home and settled.”
“I’ll check in tomorrow.”
“Sounds good. Talk to you then.” Sam closed the phone and returned to the exam room where Erica was continuing to entertain the children, currently with a game of tic-tac-toe that Aubrey was winning. Alden watched but didn’t participate.
Mrs. Wallace returned a few minutes later, beaming. “I received the email from the vice president, and everything is in order.”
Sam wondered if everyone the woman knew had already heard about her email from the vice president, which had her questioning the children’s safety. “It’s vitally important that you not tell anyone where these children are,” Sam told her.
“I understand. I would never breathe a word of it.”
“Thank you.” To Erica, Sam said, “I need five minutes to check on Gonzo’s son, who was brought in earlier. I’ll be right back, okay?”
“Take your time. I’ll be here.”
Sam told the kids she’d be back in a minute and went to check on Alex, who was asleep in Christina’s arms. “How is he?”
“They’ve got him on an IV and want us to stay until the fever breaks. They’re trying to figure out what caused it.”
“No Gonzo?”
“No,” she said tightly.
Sam made a call to Dispatch. “I asked Patrol to look for Sergeant Gonzales. Any luck locating him?”
“Nothing yet, Lieutenant. We’re continuing to look.”
“Keep me posted.” To Christina she said, “They’re still looking.”
“Do me a favor. When you find him, keep him far, far away from me.”
“Christina—”
“No, Sam. I’m done. I’ll do what I can to get him the help he clearly needs, but I am done with this nonsense. I put my life on hold for him and for Alex, and he can’t even get himself to the E.R. when his son is sick? I am done.”
Sam’s heart sank at the finality of the words as she wondered if Gonzo would survive losing Christina on top of losing Arnold. “I understand,” she said, sighing. “I’ll check in with you in the morning to see how Alex is. If you need anything overnight, please call me.”
“I will. Thank you.”
Sam left them and thought about Gonzo as she followed the corridor back to where she’d left Erica and the Beauclair children. He was making such a mess of his life, and he didn’t seem to care. That was so unlike who he’d been before they lost Arnold. In the last nine months, he’d become someone she barely recognized.
No way could she leave him in charge of the squad for three weeks. He wasn’t up to the task in his current condition. Which meant Nick would have to go alone. The thought of three weeks without Nick made her want to curl up in a ball and hide, and yes, that made her feel like the worst kind of simpering, lovesick female. But whatever. She loved him. She relied on him. She needed him, and three weeks without him would make her crazy.
Returning to the room where Erica waited with the children, Sam said, “We’re ready to go now.” She reached out to them and after a brief hesitation, Aubrey took her hand and reached back for her brother.
“Come on, Alden,” Aubrey said.
Sam helped them down from the bed. To Erica, Sam said, “Give me some backup for the ride home, will you?” She was concerned about whomever had torched the parents watching what became of the kids. Sam gave the DNA swabs to Erica. “And then get these to Lindsey.”
“You got it.”
With Erica right behind them, Sam led the children through the emergency department waiting room to the exit, feeling the eyes of everyone they passed on her. Thankfully, no one got the big idea to stop her.
She loaded the kids into the back seat of her car and helped them with seat belts since there’d been no time to get booster seats. When she got home, she would call Shelby to let her know what was going on. Sam had no doubt that Shelby would be willing to do whatever she could for the kids. She had the softest heart of anyone Sam knew, and she loved kids.
The children were quiet on the ride home, which gave Sam time to think—and ponder why she’d felt the need to step up for two kids she didn’t know. Anyone would be moved by their plight, but she hadn’t hesitated to offer to take them, and that had her wondering about the deeper meaning of her gesture.
The issue of babies and children was fraught with peril for her, challenged as she was by persistent fertility problems. A few months ago, she’d decided to try fertility treatment again, but hadn’t gotten around to making an appointment—probably because she knew what it entailed and the thought of it gave her the worst anxiety she’d ever had. Making the appointment was on her to-do list, something that nagged at her because it needed to be done, but she couldn’t bring herself to pull the trigger.
Needles and tests and poking and prodding and hormones. The last time she’d undergone the treatment, when she was still married to Peter, had been one of the worst things she’d ever been through. Even the thought of having a baby with Nick couldn’t get her over the hurdle that stood between her and the opportunity treatment offered.
A recent pregnancy “scare,” if you could call it that, had resurrected a lot of emotions tied to carrying and delivering a child of her own, and she was still dealing with that disappointment.
Sam’s phone rang, giving her a welcome reprieve from the direction her thoughts had taken. She took the call from Freddie. “Hey, what’s up?”
“That’s what I wanted to know. What’d I miss after I punched out today?”
“I’ll tell you all about it if you tell me how Elin is.”
“She was in a lot of pain from the wound, but she took a pain pill that knocked her out.”
“And what about you? Have your nerves settled yet?”
“I’m having a big glass of the bourbon her uncle gave us for Christmas last year.”
“You don’t drink bourbon.” It was a big deal to get a few beers into him.
“I do tonight.”
“Easy, killer. Bourbon is for big boys, not novices.”
“Yeah, yeah. Tell me about the case.”
Sam glanced in the rearview mirror and saw big eyes looking back at her. “Hill had some info he shared with us. I’ll tell you tomorrow.” She couldn’t say more about that with the kids in the car. “Aubrey and Alden Beauclair are coming home with me tonight. We’re on our way home from GW now.”
“Oh God, they were found, and you’re taking them home?”
“Nick and I are licensed foster parents.”
“Um, that’s not all you are.”
“Thank you, Captain Obvious, but I figured having the place crawling with Secret Service wouldn’t be a bad thing in this case.”
“And the Secret Service is on board with that?”
“I never got around to asking them.”
Freddie laughed. “Something tells me your buddy Brant will have a few things to say about sheltering them after—”
“Don’t say it.” She didn’t want the kids to overhear anything that could further traumatize them. “And I don’t care what the Secret Service says. It’s my house too, and I can bring home guests if I want to.”
Freddie’s low chuckle echoed through the phone. “Wish I could be a fly on the wall for that convo. I’ll look forward to hearing about it in the morning. I should be able to work a regular day.”
“Let’s start at my house. I’m not sure what they will need, and I want to make sure they’re settled before I leave.”
“Got it. I’ll see you at zero seven hundred?”
She glanced at the clock, which edged closer to ten o’clock. “Make it eight.”
“Will do.”
“And if you’re not too drunk to spell, send a text to the others, letting them know to meet us at eight at my place.”
“I’m not drunk, and I’ll send the text.”
“Tell Elin we’re thinking of her when she wakes up.”
“I will. Thanks for the support today. I appreciate it.”
“That was some crazy sh—” she caught herself before she swore in front of the kids “—stuff.”
“Yeah, I’ll be having nightmares about it for years to come.”
“Put down the bourbon and try to get some sleep. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover tomorrow, and Gonzo is... I don’t know what’s up with him.” She paused before she said, “Do me a favor. Get me a copy of his MVA report from today and shoot a copy to my email.”
“Will do. What’re you thinking?”
“I don’t know yet, and I shouldn’t talk to you about it.”
“Why not?”
“Because he outranks you, and I’m the boss and supposed to be professional.”
“He’s our friend, Sam. If something’s going on with him, I want to help.”
“Which is the only reason I said anything. Christina had Alex in the E.R. with a high fever. When she called Gonzo, he said he was coming but never showed.”
“What?” Freddie asked on a long exhale.
“I’ve got Patrol looking for him. They can’t find him.”
“Sam—”
“I can’t do anything more tonight. Get me that report, and we’ll figure it out tomorrow.”
“Yeah, all right. See you in the morning.”
Sam closed the phone and held it tightly in her fist, wishing Gonzo would call her or Christina or someone. Where the hell was he?