Sam wrote the information Amara had given her on where to find her mother and stepfather at their places of employment on a page in her notebook and then tore it out to hand to him. “Let’s get DNA warrants while we’re at it.”
“Will do.”
“I’ll check in with Lindsey about King’s autopsy to see what else we can find out.”
“I’ll be drawing up the charges,” Hope said.
“By the way, I heard you’ve got a new boss,” Sam said.
“I do. Catherine McDermott is settling into the USA’s office as we speak.”
Sam and Hope locked gazes in mutual concern about McDermott. Neither of them was looking forward to finding out what her “take no prisoners” approach meant for them and their daily efforts to get justice for the victims they served.
“How’s Faith holding up with the Nelson trial?” Sam asked.
“She’s doing okay. The case is strong, which always helps, but super high profile.”
“I know,” Sam said with a groan. “And I get to be right in the middle of it.”
“You’ll be a great witness.”
“Thank you. I hope so.”
“I’ll check in later about the Robinson charges.”
“Thanks, Hope.”
In the pit, Gonzo was waiting to talk to Sam. “What’s going on?”
She gave him a quick update on the Robinson case.
“Wow. That’s crazy. Is she… I mean, is she okay?”
“Remarkably, she seems quite composed, all things considered. She’s had six years to prepare for this moment, and she prepared very well.”
“What can I do?”
“Take Detective Green and go pick up Louis Bingham at his office.” Sam handed him a piece of paper with the address. “Malone is taking care of issuing the arrest warrant.” As much as she wanted to be the one to arrest them both, she couldn’t risk Louis disappearing after they arrested Thelma. “Request backup and go in ready for anything.”
“Will do.”
“Thanks, Gonzo.” Sam headed for the morgue, bringing the story Amara had shared with her. This was what so many people didn’t understand about their work—the things they experienced in the course of a day could bring a lesser person to their knees. But she was expected to hear that gut-wrenching story and then do everything she could to get justice for Amara, her brother, for all the murder victims they encountered and their grieving families. That responsibility was heavy most of the time, but on days like this, it was crushing.
Sam walked into the morgue, feeling as if she were bringing the weight of the world with her. How could her anxiety triggers have known what would be waiting for her today? Mike’s arraignment, Malone’s news about his health, the looming “chat” with Ruiz and now Amara’s heartbreaking story. And it wasn’t even ten o’clock. Maybe the anxiety had come from knowing that no matter what happened, it would be stressful and upsetting as usual.
“I got your text about King Robinson and pulled the file. I’m reviewing the autopsy now.”
“Did you do it?”
“No, Dr. Morganthau did.” Dr. Norman Morganthau, now retired, had been the chief medical examiner before Lindsey. “He determined that King died of manual strangulation with signs of a struggle. Other than some partial prints on the body, there was no further evidence that could be used to build a case. He ran the prints through CODIS, as well as our system, and nothing popped. I’m rerunning the prints now.”
“Thank you for the quick work. We’re bringing in the parents, and I’ll want to check their prints against the ones from the autopsy, too.”
“Of course. I’ll take care of that. What resurrected this cold case today?”
As Sam relayed Amara’s story once again, Lindsey’s expression conveyed disbelief. “She had to live with them, for all this time, after they killed her brother?”
“Yes.”
