Too bad you don’t have one of your own.”
“Ginny ruined my life! She got what was coming to her!”
“I’ll remind you this interview is still being recorded, Mr. McLeod.”
“I don’t care. You tell me what you would’ve done if your wife stole from most of your friends and family members and then refused to tell you where the money was hidden or to leave town because her shrew of a mother had fallen ill. When forced to live among the very people she stole from, what would you have done, Lieutenant?”
“I think we’re finished here, Detective Green.” Sam made a big production out of shaking Green’s hand. “Congratulations on the great work you did on this case. You were the one to tie Mandi to the deposits in the Cayman Islands. Without that, we might never have gotten her to flip on her father. We might’ve let her blame her brother, who’s completely innocent of any crimes. That would’ve been truly tragic.”
Though that wouldn’t have happened, because they could prove he never called his sister that fateful afternoon. But Ken McLeod Sr. didn’t need to know that. Not to mention, restitution would be made to Ginny’s victims, which made for a satisfying end to a revolting case. “Our work here is finished.”
Epilogue
It took until ten p.m. to book, charge and write up the reports on the McLeod case, but when Sam left HQ that night, she was on vacation for a week. They were hosting Thanksgiving at their house, and the only way she could pull that off without foisting everything onto pregnant Shelby’s shoulders was to take time off. And she planned to fully wallow in this staycation by not taking any work calls during her break.
However, murder never took a break, and with Freddie and Jeannie also taking time off for the holiday, she’d left Cameron Green in charge for the week. He’d more than earned the right to step up a bit with his superior work. The young, earnest detective had a bright future ahead of him, and Sam could easily picture him in a command role at some point.
Vernon and Jimmy were waiting for her outside the morgue door when she emerged into inky darkness.
“Oh damn,” she said. “I forgot all about you guys.”
“It’s a good thing we aren’t allowed to get our feelings hurt,” Vernon said.
Sam flashed him a grin. “I’ve got to be the worst person you’ve ever been assigned to.”
“Not the absolute worst, but damned close.”
Sam laughed as he walked her to her car. “Touché. Sorry to be a pain in the ass. I’ll be sticking close to home for the next few days, so you can stand down.”
“Heard you closed the McLeod case,” Jimmy said. “Is it always the husband, or does it just seem that way?”
“Not always. But this is one I’m glad to be done with. The whole lot of them made me sick.”
“Greedy bastards,” Vernon said.
“You said it. I’m going home. I’ll try not to lose you on the back streets.”
“Gee, thanks.”
At the car, Sam stopped and turned to Vernon. “Has the recent uptick in threats against my husband died down at all?”
“Not really, but we’re monitoring them. Nothing to worry about.”
“Easy for you to say.”
“We find in most cases, people are all talk and no action.”
While Sam took some comfort in that information, she was well aware it took only one nutjob to change everything. The thought made her shudder and left her feeling queasy.
Vernon held the car door for her until she was settled.
“Thanks for what you do, Vernon. Even when it doesn’t seem like it, I do appreciate you all.”
“Thank you, ma’am. It’s an honor to protect you and your family.”
As Sam drove home, she tried to decompress from the action-packed day and deal with the extra adrenaline that always kicked in when they wrapped up a case and arrested a murderer. While stopped at a light, Sam put through a call to Ken McLeod Jr.
“This is Lieutenant Holland,” she said when he answered, sounding wary. Who could blame the poor guy? “I wanted to let you know your father has been arrested for the murder of your mother.”
“I heard he was taken in. My uncle called.” His dull, flat tone conveyed a world of hurt and bewilderment. “Did he say why he did it?”
“Apparently, she wouldn’t tell him where the money was and wouldn’t leave town because of your grandmother, and he was frustrated at having to live among the people she stole from while