“That’d literally be the dad’s job, though,” Charles said. “To think about worst-case scenarios.”
“I was talking about that with Carlucci and Dominiguez overnight, and Carlucci made a good point. Wouldn’t you remind your spouse, during every fight and rough patch, that they were worth more to you dead than alive?”
“I mean, I wouldn’t say that to Elin,” Freddie said, “but I can picture people doing that if they weren’t happily married.”
“The sister-in-law said the drug problem was intense for years before he got clean,” Gonzo said.
“Roll with me here,” Sam said. “Say he got clean after a long, difficult struggle and was doing well. Things were good again, and they decided to have that third baby to celebrate having survived something that could’ve ruined everything. And then, after the baby arrives, or maybe even before, she finds out he’s using again. The anger would’ve been epic, right?”
“Totally,” Gonzo said. “She probably wanted to strangle him with her own hands. I was continuously surprised—and thankful—that Christina never did that to me.”
“But would a mother of young kids go so far as to hire professionals to deal with him?” Charles asked. “And if so, why do it in a place that’s teeming with cameras? Why not jump him on the street?”
“Because,” Sam said slowly as the pieces fell together, “she wanted it to look like a drug deal gone wrong. She wanted that to be the story she could tell people afterward, that she’d done all she could to help him, but in the end, it just wasn’t enough. She’d rather live fat on the insurance money without him around to ruin everything.”
The others were silent as they pondered that.
“In a way,” Gonzo said, “I wouldn’t blame her for wanting him gone, but she could’ve divorced him.”
“But that two-point-five mil would make all the difference to her as a single mom,” Freddie said. “She could be a full-time mother and pay everything, including college, for all three kids without breaking a sweat.”
“We’re not going to entertain the possibility that it really was a drug deal gone bad?” O’Brien asked.
“We’ll entertain all possibilities,” Sam said, “but I need someone to get to Spokane today to get her phone—and let’s do the sister’s while we’re at it. Any volunteers?”
A moment of silence followed the question.
“I’ll go,” Charles finally said.
“Thank you, Detective Charles. Let’s get to work on those warrants while you get yourself to Washington state and work out backup with the Spokane Police Department.”
“I’ll handle the warrants,” Gonzo said.
“Is there a procedure for handling travel?” Charles asked. “I haven’t had to know before now.”
“I’ll help you with that,” Sam said. “In the meantime, Cam and Matt, I want you to look into the drug-deal-gone-bad angle. We should be getting the warrants for Carver’s phone any minute and see what you can find out about his movements since he arrived in town.”
“On it,” Green said for himself and his partner.
“Let’s get to work.” Sam gestured for Charles to come into her office to arrange travel. “Thank you for volunteering. I appreciate it.”
“No problem.”
“What do we know about Spokane?” Sam asked as she logged on to the department’s travel portal to look for same-day flights.
“It’s located on the eastern side of the state.”
“Did you remember that from high school geography?”
Charles grinned. “Nah, I checked online during the meeting.”
“Ah, okay. That’s better than you being so smart you remember everything you ever learned.”
“I remember most of it.”
“Don’t gloat.” While she waited for the results of the search, Sam glanced at Charles, who was twisting her hands as she stood next to the desk. “Everything okay?”
“Yes, of course, it’s just that… Well, I’ve never flown before.”
