Chapter 3
XoXoXoX
Sam sat back on Elena's sofa, surfing the channels looking for something to watch. Being the only two women on the team, they forged a strong friendship and often spent a lot of downtime at each other's homes. Settling on the last ten minutes of a reality show, she took a sip of her Merlot and watched as another C-list celebrity tried to learn a new talent in an attempt to reclaim the last vestiges of fame.
However, she found it nearly impossible to concentrate on the show. Her mind kept replaying the interview with the senator and when she did, an involuntary smile kept creeping across her lips.
"She's finally asleep," Elena said as she walked into the living room a few minutes later. She plopped down next to Samantha, kicked off her shoes and picked up her own wine glass, taking a drink. She sunk into the sofa and murmured, "Oh, I needed this."
"I honestly don't know how you do it," Sam said looking at her friend. "Work full time and take care of Sofie."
Elena grinned and replied, "What do you mean? I'm a woman." She rolled her eyes and finished, "I can do it all."
The two women shared a laugh and clinked wine glasses.
Settling back on the sofa, Elena pointed to the television and said, "Oh, there it is. Turn up the volume."
Sam looked over at the TV in time to see news footage of Martin and Danny exiting their office building. They were wearing the same outfits from earlier and, despite the herd of reporters surrounding them, Senator Fitzgerald looked calm as he shook his head at the reporter's questions.
"Do you have any response to the accusations that you may be involved in the disappearance of Fiona Rogers?" a reporter asked, shoving a microphone in the Senator's face.
"The senator has no comments at this time," Danny replied, shoving his way ahead of Fitzgerald. He was like a bodyguard, pulling him through the crowd.
"Who's he?" Elena asked.
With her eyes still on the television, Sam replied, "Danny Taylor. He's Fitzgerald's lawyer."
"He's really handsome," Elena commented with a coy smile. "Muy guapo."
Sam tilted her head and replied, "He may be cute but he's cocky, too."
Bringing her wine glass to her lips, Elena casually asked, "Is he single?"
Grinning, she looked over at her friend with a raised eyebrow. "I'm sorry, silly me, I forgot to ask," she sarcastically replied. "Next time I will be sure to include that in my report. Do you want me to provide you with some headshots? A brief bio listing his likes and dislikes? Do you also want me to find out if he wears boxer or briefs? His favorite color?"
Elena grabbed the decorative throw pillow next to her and smacked Sam on the head. "Shut up, it was just a question." They laughed and both returned their attention to the TV in time to hear the newscaster say that the Senator's office continues to deny any connection and that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has said that they just talked to the Senator but he is currently not a person of interest. Then the news cut to a story about a drug bust in Brooklyn.
Elena hit the 'Mute' button on the remote and asked, "So what was he like?"
"What do you mean?" Sam asked, leaning forward and picking up the wine bottle from the coffee table. She offered some to Elena, who nodded. As she filled Elena's glass, she replied, "I told you, he was cocky."
Shaking her head, she said, "Not the lawyer, the senator." She waited until Sam finished filling her glass before asking, "Was he like you expected? Or was he self-righteous and entitled because he is a senator?"
Pouring the wine into her own glass, she bit her lip as she considered her reply. Setting the bottle back on the coffee table she said, "He was actually very nice and kind of funny."
"Funny?" Elena asked, bringing the glass to her lips. "What? Did he tell knock-knock jokes?"
"No," Sam argued, curling her legs up close on the sofa. She looked into the maroon colored wine in her glass as she thought how best to describe what she meant. "He's just, I don't know. He was just clever in how he answered the questions." She paused to take a sip of her wine and met Elena's eyes. "He even managed to throw Jack for a loop."
Grinning from ear to ear, Elena gushed, "Oh, my God, Mike was right! You are crushing on him!"
"No!" Sam argued, the word sounding false even in her own ears. "I just admire him, that's all."
"So if you asked you to be his," she held her hand up in air quotes. "'Intern' you would say no?"
"I'm not even going to justify that question with a response," she defiantly replied when her cell phone shrilled in her coat pocket. She reached over and pulled it out, glancing at the caller ID. "It's Jack," she noted to Elena before answering, "Hey Jack, what's up?"
"NYPD just pulled a body from the river that matches Fiona Rogers," he replied, getting right to the cause for his call. Sam closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, saddened that a missing person's case has now become a murder investigation. In the background she could hear the sounds of traffic indicating Jack was already on the road. "I need you to meet me at North Cove Marina."
"I'm on my way." She snapped her phone shut, opened her eyes as she turned to face Elena who was watching her expectantly. "Fiona Rogers is dead," she breathed.
"Damn," Elena replied, shaking her head.
She explained to Elena what little information she got from Jack as she put on her boots and gathered her things. Shrugging on her jacket she said, "He only asked for me so you should just stay here with Sofie unless he calls you."
"Call me when you know more," Elena said as she held the door open for Samantha.
"I will," she replied as she exited the apartment and headed to the elevator.
A short while later she pulled her car as close as she could to the crime scene. It wasn't easy to find a place to park. The small street was filled with black and white police cars, an ambulance, a fire truck, and at least four news trucks.
She stepped out and started towards where most of the congregating was occurring, careful to stay out of the line of sight of news reporters. While their camera guys were shooting whatever footage they could gather, the reporters were trying to snag anyone to interview who might have information to share. She flashed her badge at the uniformed officer manning perimeter and ducked under the yellow crime scene tape just as the eager reporter she saw on the news earlier headed her way.
"Excuse me?" the woman shouted, scrambling to get Sam's attention before she walked away. "Can you tell me if it's true that the body pulled from the river is Fiona Rogers? Are you going to bring the senator in for questioning?"
Samantha just kept walking, pretending not to hear her.
She spotted Jack standing near a few police officers staring down at something on the ground. As she neared she realized it wasn't something but someone. She moved closer and with each step, she recognized more and more of Fiona's features: dark hair, business attire and a petite frame.
"Good, you're here," Jack greeted her.
She stood next to him as they both looked down at Fiona's dead body. Her eyes looked up at Sam, lifeless and vacant. Her skin was pale blue from floating in the cold water, marred only by the single gunshot wound to the center of her forehead.
Samantha pursed her lips and asked, "Did the coroner give an estimated time of death?"
Jack nodded. "Roughly 72 hours." He turned to face her and added, "Which means she was killed shortly after talking to Fitzgerald."
She started to open her mouth to ask what Jack was implying when she heard some noise behind her. She turned around to see a determined looking African American FBI agent charging directly towards her and Jack.
"You must be getting old, Jack," she commented as she approached. "You usually find them before they end up in the river."
"Nice to see you, too, Vivian," Jack replied with a smirk as he and Samantha walked up, meeting her halfway.
Under her breath, Sam asked, "You two know each other?"
He grinned as they neared the woman and, loud enough for the other woman to hear, replied, "I'd like to think we're friends but Vivian here might take issue with the term." Vivian chuckled softly as he turned to Sam, introducing the two women. "Agent Samantha Spade, allow me to introduce you to ASAC Vivian Johnson from JTTF."
Vivian reached out and shook Samantha's hand. "Hello." As soon as they released hands, she put her hands on her hips and met Jack's eyes. "Are you sure it's Fiona Rogers?"
He nodded. "I'm sure."
She shook her head and groaned. "Shit. I was really hoping it wasn't her."
"Did you know her?" he asked, folding his arms over his chest.
"Doesn't matter, it's my case now," Vivian replied, her eyes scanning the dock as she talked. Her eyes landed back on Jack as she finished, "I'll have some of my guys collect your notes tomorrow morning."
"This case landed on my desk," Jack briskly replied. Samantha knew Jack didn't like it when someone stomped all over his turf without an apology or explanation. "It's mine and me and my team are going to find out who killed her and why."
Viv eyed him and evenly said, "Jack, this investigation falls under my jurisdiction. If someone had notified me earlier today that she had gone missing then I promise, you wouldn't have even known she existed." She worked in her tongue into her cheek, looking over as Fiona's body was lifted into a body bag. "But because the Deputy Director of the FBI is the senator's daddy, he pulled strings to keep his son as far removed from my unit as possible." She turned to face them again and bitterly added, "I had to learn about Fiona's disappearance on the news."
Jack folded his arms over his barrel chest, his gaze fixed on Vivian. "And if your team kept better tabs on her you might have prevented her from getting killed."
"You're right, I should have known she was missing," she sadly agreed. For the first time since meeting her, Samantha saw ASAC Vivian Johnson's expression crack. "And that's why I need to be the one to close this case."
Jack nodded slowly and reached over, patting Vivian on the shoulder. "Look, can you at least tell me why you are here? Why is Fiona Rogers being investigated by the Joint Terrorism Task Force?"
"Her name was given to me by an informant earlier this week." Viv stepped closer, meeting Jack's gaze. "She is suspected of being linked to an extremist group under investigation for domestic terrorism."
"Terrorism?" Samantha quietly repeated. She looked over as Fiona's body was loaded into the back of a waiting hearse as a cold wind blew past. "We didn't find any connection to terror groups."
"I know. She came off squeaky clean when we looked into her, too." She sighed and looked over as the hearse drove away. "But I had to follow up on the accusation. We just got approved for a wire tap on her phones yesterday but now," Vivian tiredly shared, rubbing the back of her neck with her hand. "Now it's useless."
"I can understand why Victor Fitzgerald wouldn't want you talking to his son," Jack solemnly commented. "It wouldn't look good to know that a suspected terrorist was having lunch with a U.S. senator."
"Is that why you wanted her alive so badly?" Samantha asked, pulling her jacket closer to block some of the chilly sea air. "So you can keep surveilling her."
"Not exactly," Vivian replied before releasing a frustrated sigh. "If the Deputy Director hadn't been so sneaky and spoken to me directly I could have told him that yesterday we discovered the group Fiona is linked with has decided to start targeting politicians."
"What are you saying?" Sam asked, worried she already knew the answer.
"I'm saying that I don't think she was just having a casual lunch with Senator Fitzgerald about the environment," Vivian replied, her gaze fixed on Sam's. "I think he is the intended target."
