“Good luck with the movers.”
“I’m sure it’s gonna be a mess before it’s a home, but we’ll get it done.”
“Can’t wait to visit you there.”
“Thank you again for making this happen for us, Sam. We’d never have been able to afford a place that big without our amazing landlords.”
“We’re thankful to have people we love taking care of it for us.”
“We’ll take very good care of it.”
After he left, Sam asked Cameron to stay on top of the John Doe case in Gonzo’s absence.
“Sure thing. What do we do about the diplomatic angle?”
“I’ll get with the captain on that and let you know.” She left the pit and went to Malone’s office, where he and the chief were huddled together in deep discussion. “I can come back…”
“No, come in,” Malone said. “Shut the door.”
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“We’re talking about McDermott and what the hell her agenda is,” the chief said.
“That’s a very good question.”
“We loved it when you asked her if we were on the same team,” Malone said. “I was thinking the same exact thing when you said it out loud.”
“I think we’re in for a rough ride with her, friends,” Farnsworth said. “Every I will need to be dotted and T crossed.”
“But we’re already doing that,” Sam said. “We turn over airtight cases for prosecution and rarely fail to secure justice for our victims. What should we be doing differently?”
“That’s the question of the day,” Malone said. “There’s nothing more we could be doing that we aren’t doing.”
“I hate that she’s making us feel like we were out of line to arrest the Binghams based on Amara’s testimony,” Sam said. “That’s such bullshit. We had an eyewitness to murder share a credible story.”
“Here’s the thing, though,” Farnsworth said thoughtfully. “She’s not wrong that by trusting Amara is telling us the truth, we could be charging the wrong people with murder.”
“We’re not,” Sam said. “Neither of them asked why they were being arrested. They knew why.”
“That’s a damning fact,” Malone said.
“After doing this for so long,” Sam said, “you learn to trust your gut about people. Mine is rarely wrong. I didn’t get so much as a tingle of doubt as I listened to Amara’s story. I believe her. If I’m later proven wrong, I’ll say so, but I don’t think that’s going to happen here.”
“What’s your next move?” Farnsworth asked.
“I’m planning to speak with some of King’s friends from that time to get a read on what he was dealing with at home. Amara gave me a list to work from. Detective Cruz and I are splitting the list with O’Brien and Charles. But before I leave to do that, I wanted to tell you we picked up a John Doe near Embassy Row and have video of him being pushed out of a speeding SUV with a possible diplomatic plate.”
“Ugh, I hate diplomatic shit,” Malone said.
The chief nodded. “I was just going to say that.”
“Are we obligated to turn this over to the Feds?” Sam asked.
“Not necessarily,” Malone said. “Let’s figure out who the dead man is and go from there.”
“Byron is working on an ID as we speak. I’ll keep you in the loop.”
“Sam.”
