Free Fatal Consequences by Marie Force Page A

through the double doors, the reporters pounced.
    “Has Senator Lightfeather been arrested for murder?”
    “How does he know the dead woman?”
    “Were they having an affair?”
    “Is he in custody?”
    The chief held up his hands to stop the barrage of questions. “If you give Lieutenant Holland the chance to speak, she has a brief statement that should answer some of your questions.”
    Sam stepped forward, burrowing deeper into her coat. The February day had grown frigid and stormy. “Senator Lightfeather discovered Regina Argueta de Castro dead last night in her Columbia Heights apartment.”
    “How did he know her?”
    “She worked for the company that cleans the Capitol and congressional offices. Throughout the night, the senator cooperated with our efforts to confirm his alibi, which we have now done. He has been released with instructions to remain in the District until we close the case. Ms. Argueta de Castro was from Guatemala and was in the country legally. Her mother and two children in Guatemala survive her, and they have been notified of her death. That is all I’m going to say at this point. We’ll keep you informed as developments occur.”
    “Were they romantically involved?”
    “No comment.”
    “How do you feel about your ex being sprung from prison?”
    “Absolutely no comment.”
    As Chief Farnsworth ushered her back inside, Sam realized if the press knew about Peter it was only a matter of time before Nick would hear about it too.
    “I need to make a phone call,” she said to the chief.
    “Go right ahead.”
    Sam started to walk away but turned back when he called out to her.
    “If he gets sprung,” the chief said, “we’ll be so far up his ass he won’t be able to fart without us knowing about it.”
    “Thanks.” Sam didn’t trust herself to say anything more without losing her famous cool. She knew he was trying to comfort her, but the very thought of that monster on the loose again was enough to turn her legs to jelly. He’d tried to blow her up . All because she’d reconciled with Nick—six years after Peter had gone to extraordinary lengths to keep them apart.
    Back in the detective’s pit, she closed the door to her office, sank into her chair and called Nick.
    “Hey, babe,” he said. “How’s it going?”
    The smile she heard in his voice went a long way toward soothing her frayed nerves. “I’ve had better days. You?”
    “What’s wrong? And don’t say it’s nothing.”
    “This time it’s not nothing.” She told him about Peter’s case possibly falling apart.
    “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
    That he was swearing told her a lot about how upset he was. Nick never swore. That was her claim to fame. “I wish I was.”
    “We’ve got to do something. What can we do?”
    “There will be a hearing, and hopefully the judge has an ounce of sense.”
    “If they let him go, he’ll come at you again.”
    “Maybe his stint in prison has scared some sense into him.”
    “You don’t believe that any more than I do. He’s totally obsessed with you, and now he’s even more pissed off than he was before.”
    “Malone and Farnsworth assured me they’re doing everything they can to keep him in jail.”
    “Does he have a leg to stand on with this hearing?”
    “He might,” Sam said, hating to admit it. She filled him in on the issue with the warrant. “If they suppress the evidence we found in his apartment, our entire case falls apart. A partial print isn’t enough to prosecute.”
    “This is such bullshit ! He was caught red-handed!”
    “I hate to do this to you when you’re so busy. Sorry.”
    “I’m never too busy for you, babe. And you have nothing to be sorry about. You’re the victim in this case.”
    “We both are.” He’d been more severely injured in the bombing, suffering a mild concussion and a cut over his eye that had required stitches and left a scar.
    “I’ll make a few phone calls,” he said. “See what I can