was he letting one miserable excuse for a human being get to him this way?
Gazing at the phone on his desk, he picked it up again and did something he should’ve done months ago. He called his lawyer friend Andy Simone to figure out how he could prevent her from doing this to him anymore.
Enough was more than enough.
Taking the largest ten investors in Ginny’s scheme, Sam and her team hit the streets to start at the top with a plan to work their way down through the list until something popped.
“Most of the time, I feel pretty confident we’ll figure out what happened, but not this time,” she said to Freddie as they drove to Bethesda in traffic that thankfully wasn’t as heavy as usual. They’d waited until after nine to leave HQ, hoping to avoid the worst of rush hour.
“I was saying that to Elin last night, how we have hundreds of people with motive.”
The day had only just begun, and Sam already felt exhausted. She hadn’t slept well after Nicoletta’s performance and Nick’s reaction to it.
“Christina called me last night, freaking out about Gonzo accepting the plea,” Sam told him.
“She just found out about it?”
“Sounded that way. I talked to the chief, and he’s doing what he can with Forrester. Malone was going to text Gonzo and tell him not to sign anything until he has a chance to talk it out with us. We agreed it’d be better coming from him.”
“God, I hope he does what he’s told.”
“Me too. I can’t bear the idea of him torching his career because of Ramsey’s warpath against me.”
“I heard Ramsey is losing his shit over something he got in the interoffice mail.”
“I heard that too. Wonder what it was?”
“No idea, but it must’ve been bad if he’s flipping out.”
“Must’ve been.” It was all Sam could do not to giggle like a fool. What goes around comes around, and when you’re an asshole like Ramsey was, you had to figure there was plenty of shit to be found. They’d barely had to try to find it.
“Heard about Nick’s mom spouting off on TV again last night.”
“Yeah, she’s nothing if not consistently awful.”
“I hate that for him so much.”
“Me too. You have no idea. It crushes him when she profits off her association to him, such as it is.”
“It’s disgusting,” Freddie said.
“Sure is.”
“Were we able to track down info about the Alinos, the friends with the parents with Alzheimer’s?”
“Jeannie talked to Mrs. Alino this morning, and they’ve spent the last two days in the hospital with Mr. Alino’s father, who has some sort of infection. Neither of them has left the hospital, and she said they have nurses who can attest to that. When Jeannie asked if there was anything she could add to the investigation into Ginny’s death, Mrs. Alino said she had nothing to say.”
“So that’s a dead end.”
“Jeannie is going to the hospital to confirm their alibi information.”
“I keep thinking about Ginny stealing from friends who had parents battling Alzheimer’s. That’s sociopathic.”
“Completely.”
“Jeannie also said none of the neighbors noticed anyone cleaning something outside the house on Sunday.”
“One dead end after another.”
Their first stop was at the home of VocalExchange, a recording studio that occupied the top floor of an office building off Rockville Pike. Naturally, they had to contend with a receptionist to get to Mark Townsend, the studio’s owner.
“Do you have an appointment?” the young woman asked.
“Do we have an appointment, Detective Cruz?” Sam asked with long-suffering patience.
“We don’t need one,” Freddie said. “We’re cops investigating a murder. Tell him we can do it at his place or ours. His choice.”
“Ah, just a minute,” the receptionist said, scurrying through a set of double doors.
“Mean and scary,” Sam said, chuckling.
“I’ve learned from the best.”
“If only they knew what an empty threat that really is. Like we’re gonna haul his ass all the way downtown in this traffic.”
“Right? Not to mention the paperwork. How long you giving her before you go Sam Holland on her?”
“One more minute.”
While they waited, Sam perused a brochure about the studio and learned they did a wide range of voice-over work for radio and TV commercials, audiobooks and a variety of other mediums.
The receptionist returned with seconds to spare. “Right this way.”
Chapter Eighteen
As they followed the woman through the double doors, Freddie flashed a smug smile at Sam.
Being mean and nasty didn’t come naturally to him the way it did to her. It made her ridiculously proud to see him assert himself during an