Chapter 26

"You're saying that Deborah's sister killed Greta?"

"No, I don't think she could kill anybody. She doesn't have it in her. None of Deborah's family could do such a thing."

"Who, then?"

Tungstall sobbed. "I don't know! I didn't even know she was dead! I thought her brother convinced her not to see me or Deborah bribed her not to or something!"

"No rest for the weary," Alex whispered to herself, as she laid out the Styrofoam containers that held their dinner on the table in the interview room. Bobby rubbed his eyes and scraped his hands across his evening growth of beard.

Alex handed him a plastic fork and dropped a straw into his soda cup for him. "Field says they'll have Deborah's sister here within the hour."

"Deborah said he never slept with any of the girls she baited him with. Do you think she lied?" Bobby spoke between bites of his grilled chicken.

"I don't think she lied. Maybe her sister never told her?"

"Her sister was her only ally through all of this."

"Maybe she didn't get a chance to tell her."

This comment made neurons fire in Goren's brain. He reached for his overstuffed binder and rooted through the paperwork. When he found the page he wanted, he reread it carefully. "She went back in the hospital, right after the closing up of the basement. Deborah had another bout of pancreatitis."

Linda Ecker, Deborah Tungstall's sister, was led into the empty interrogation room where her sister had been. With a determined nod, Goren and Eames went inside. "Thank you for coming in, Mrs. Ecker."

She exchanged some pleasantries with them, and Alex continued. "We've been investigating events that happened in 2006, when your sister's husband was still a state Senator."

"Yes, Deborah told me about it."

Bobby sat in a chair beside Alex, but shoved it back from the table and stretched out his long legs. "I was talking to Clay," he said. "He said you… caught him… red-handed with another woman."

She sighed and the disgust on her face couldn't be mistaken. "Bastard. He never loved or appreciated my sister."

"Did you inform your sister of his… affair?"

"I was going to. I told Clay that night, right there, that he should be ready for everything, his career, his trophy marriage, and him to go straight to hell. But then," she burst into tears, "that man, that awful man! He grabbed me and whispered in my ear that there was no need for all of that. He said he would take care of it, and if I knew what was good for me I would never tell anyone about it!"

Bobby shoved a photograph of Samuels in front of her. Her sobs erupted once more and she nodded. "That's him!"

"He told Clay to get me out of there, and to make sure I kept my mouth shut. I heard the girl scream once, like she was in pain, but by then we were on our way out to the car and Clay drove us out onto the old state road and all the while he was telling me not to ever cross that man, that he thought he was a killer and if any of us wanted to live to see tomorrow we should never ever cross him."

"Clay was terrified. I had never seen him scared, and that scared me even more. Deborah got sick again, and I never said anything to her. I hated that she was still with Clay, but I knew she was strong, and that she would be able to get away from him in time."

"The scream must have been from the broken fingers," Alex said. "Then he slit her throat, gave her a quick burial, and left her body in the dirt."

"And he pressured Tungstall to close up the basement project for good."

"I'll be glad to see this guy behind bars."

"Pennau is holding Samuels for us. Marsh and Field are going to Canada to retrieve him, and you two have the next three days off." Captain Hannah was happy to announce the last, thinking they would appreciate his generosity.

"Three days?" both detectives protested.

"A good nightcap will help you sleep," the Captain said. "Call me if you need a good recipe." He left before they had the chance to complain again.

Alex was able to get them to her place in one piece. After they were inside, Bobby sank onto the couch and she sat next to him. "Long day," she said. "You're still feeling guilty?" she asked.

"I just feel like I should never let you out of my reach," he said, taking her hand in his.

"You know that's not going to work for us long term," Alex remarked.

Bobby shut his eyes and nodded, waving a hand in the air as if to say "of course I know."

"Maybe you should talk to Gyson," Alex said.

Bobby groaned and let his head fall back against the back of the couch. "I saw her for a fucking year, you'd think I'd be okay by now," he griped.

"I saw Olivet for a fucking year, you'd think I'd be—"

"All right, all right," he interrupted her. "I get your point. I'll call her."

Alex smiled. "Now. As for tonight, I don't see anything wrong with staying within your reach." She leaned in and kissed him. "Come to bed," she whispered.

She led him by the hand down the hall to her room, helped him undress, and left him on the mattress while she changed out of her clothes. Eyes closed, Bobby smiled as she slid in close to him and put her hand on his chest. She reached over and kissed him on the lips, and when she pulled away, he was sound asleep.

Alex nestled her head against his arm and left her hand resting over his beating heart. As she breathed in his scent, she felt safe. She tried to stop her mind from spinning through the day's interrogations, from trying to make sense of murder, which frankly never made sense. She tried to focus on his scent. With a grin, she closed her eyes and worked on a recipe for it: raw strength, compassion, brilliance, persistence, and passion.

With one gentle finger, she wrote the word "love" on his chest, and then she fell asleep.