“We’d both like to think that, Freddie, but honestly, you never know what someone will do when they feel desperate and pushed to the brink.”

Freddie blanched. “You said you weren’t thinking that.”

“I gotta go. Keep the scene under control.”

“I will.”

As Sam took off toward her car, she ducked under the yellow tape and felt sick to her stomach. No, she didn’t actually think her close friend and colleague was capable of murder. However, Gonzo had been under a tremendous amount of stress as he recovered from the gunshot wound and also dealt with the media circus over his connection to the judge.

And now Lori was dead, and everyone would be looking to him. The first thing they did in any homicide investigation was investigate motive. And who had the greatest motivation to get Lori out of the picture?

Detective Sergeant Thomas Gonzales.

Chapter Four

Riddled with anxiety, Sam drove across the city to the apartment Gonzo shared with Christina and Alex. She’d give just about anything not to have to do what she was about to do. His words from the night before echoed through her mind, making her wonder if someone she thought she knew as well as anyone was capable—

“No,” she said out loud. “Don’t even think it. He’s not capable.” But she couldn’t get past the awful stress Gonzo had been under since he’d been shot shortly after being given full custody of Alex. Sam couldn’t forget the way Lori had appeared at the hospital while they waited to hear if Gonzo would survive and demanded they turn over Alex to her while he was incapacitated.

Sam had wanted to kill the woman herself that day. She could only imagine how Gonzo had felt when he learned that Lori’s lawyers had dug into his life and uncovered the connection between him and Judge Morton. One of them should’ve disclosed it, but neither had and now...

“Now she’s dead, and the media will go crazy pointing the finger at him.” She pounded her hand on the steering wheel. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Her phone rang, interrupting her plan to do more swearing. “Holland.”

“Please hold for Chief Farnsworth.” The phone clicked and he came on the line. “Holland?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Sorry to bother you on a holiday.”

“I’ve already been bothered by Dispatch.”

“What’ve you got?”

Sam swallowed hard. She should tell him. She absolutely should tell him. But she couldn’t—not before she had a chance to talk to Gonzo. “Female vic strangled. Found in a car on Constitution by West Potomac Park. Early stages.”

“Keep me posted,” he said with less interest than he’d normally give a homicide. Nothing about what was going on with him right now was normal.

“I will.”

“I’m calling a commander’s meeting at noon. I’d like you there.”

“Of course.”

“Again, I apologize for interrupting the holiday. It’s just... Well, I need...” He cleared his throat. “I’ll see you at noon?”

Sam hated the uncertainty she heard in his usually assertive voice. More than that, she hated the pang of fear that struck in the vicinity of her heart when she realized he sounded scared. Her uncle Joe—her chief—never sounded scared. “I’ll be there.”

“Thank you. See you then.”

Sam stowed the phone in her coat pocket as she pulled up to the curb outside Gonzo’s building. She thought of the last time she’d been here, for a Christmas get-together Christina had put together to bolster Gonzo’s flagging spirits.

His recovery was taking longer than he would’ve liked, and he’d been chafing to get back to work. The time with his squad and other friends had done him good, and she’d left the party feeling hopeful that he’d be back where he belonged before too much longer.

Now this.

Sam got out of the car and trudged up the two flights of stairs to Gonzo’s apartment where she knocked on the door. Since he often mentioned Alex’s early wake-ups, she was confident they’d be up.

He came to the door with the baby in his arms. The smiling dark-haired boy was a mirror image of his father, right down to the dimple in his adorable little chin. “Hey,” Gonzo said, clearly surprised to find her on his doorstep. “What’re you doing out so early on a holiday?”

“Can I come in for a sec?”

His brows narrowed with questions he didn’t ask. “Sure.” He stepped aside to let her in and put Alex down. The baby toddled off to the corner of the living room where his toys were kept. “What’s up, Sam?”

Sam forced herself to look at him, to make eye contact. “Is Christina here?”

“She’s in the shower.”

Sam’s stomach ached the way it used to when she’d been strung out on diet cola. She rubbed a hand over it, trying to figure out how she should play this as she tried not to notice the still raw-looking wound on his neck. “So, um, after we talked last night, did you go anywhere?”

“No. I was here all night. I did what you said and tried to stay focused on Chris and our anniversary. We had a good night, all things considered. Why?”

“You wouldn’t lie to me, would you?”

He tipped his head quizzically. “Lie to you? No, I wouldn’t lie to you. Why would you ask me such a thing?”

Sam sighed. “Lori was found murdered this morning in a parked car downtown. She’d been manually strangled.”

All the color seemed to leach from his face as he processed what she’d said. “And you thought, because of what I said last night...”

“No, I didn’t really think that. I didn’t want to think it.”

“Sam, come on! This is me. You can’t possibly think that I’d actually harm her. Sure, I wanted her to go away and leave us alone, but not like this. Never like this.” He glanced over to where his little boy was playing with trucks. “She’s his mother, Sam,” he whispered. “I wouldn’t. I couldn’t. Even if I said I wanted to. You have to believe me.”

“I do. I believe you, and I believe in you. But you have to know, this is going to blow up big-time, and all eyes will be on you until we figure out what happened.”

He ran both hands through his hair as the impact of what she’d said seemed to settle in on him. “This is a fucking nightmare. This whole thing, from the second she first called to tell me... Except for 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.