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'So he's lawyered up?'
'Hmm, and we don't have anything to hold him on because Diana Monroe is refusing to press charges against him for blackmail and whilst it might make him a scum bag, we can't arrest him for filming his girlfriend having sex with his friend……..unfortunately' Danny scowled at James Holland through the one way glass.
'Why was he?'
'What, filming them?' Danny glanced at Jack and saw the confirmatory nod of his head, 'Blackmail I assume; it would certainly put a dent in his congressional hopes if photos of him and Diana Monroe started circulating'
'Blackmailing him for what purpose? How can a lawyer in the Mayor's office in New York help a casino owner in Atlantic City?'
Danny shrugged, 'Maybe it was forward planning. I should imagine having a Congressman in your pocket can be useful'
Jack shoved his hands into his pockets a thoughtful look on his face but before he could say anything they both heard the sound of someone hurrying toward them and turned to see Viv approaching, a wide smile on her face.
'I've just got some information on the money we found in Kevin Brown's apartment', she waved a sheet of paper at them, 'and you are going to love this but I don't think our friend here will' she glanced toward James Holland sat talking to his lawyer in the interview room.
Jack and Danny exchanged glances and then both looked at Viv; 'The money came from a bank in Atlantic City. It shows as being issued as part of a regular delivery of cash to the Xeon', she held her hand up to stop Jack interrupting her, 'We checked with them and they recorded that these notes were included in the money that was paid to Ed Caldwell as payment for some 'construction work' that is supposedly being done on the Xeon at the moment.'
'Caldwell? Didn't Kevin Brown work for Caldwell Construction?' Jack was standing straight now, the interest in what Viv was explaining apparent on his face.
'Yes he did and what's even more interesting is that according to local law enforcement there isn't any construction happening at the Xeon at the moment'.
Jack and Danny both stared at her, 'so let me get this straight. The money found in Brown's apartment originates from James Holland's casino and was paid to Brown's boss for some non existent construction work' Danny spoke slowly
Viv smiled grimly, 'Yes so we can now link James Holland to the man who attempted to kill Maggie, and what's even better is that thanks to Victor working his magic we have the go ahead from White Collar and the Treasury Department to threaten Robert Holland with money laundering and tax evasion charges as well'
Jack looked surprised, 'They aren't usually so cooperative, what's got into them?'
'Holland's not their target; he's just another link in the chain to the one they really want. They won't reveal the name to us but I spoke to one of the agents working the case and he said the guy they are after has links to organised crime, prostitution, white slave trade, money laundering and drugs', Viv grinned at the stunned looks on the faces of Jack and Danny, 'they want us to work on Holland and try to get him to agree to a deal where he gives them everything he knows in exchange for immunity and a place in the witness protection program.'
Jack turned to look at Holland again before turning back to Viv and Danny, 'So are we expected to ignore the fact that Holland is implicated in the attempted murder of a US Attorney and the disappearance of a major figure in city government?'
'According to the agent I spoke to, they don't think that Holland had anything to do with it, they are fairly certain that the orders came from the top. He's speaking to his bosses and hopefully he is coming to brief us later.' Viv was staring at Robert Holland who was looking remarkably relaxed; she turned to Danny; 'So are you going to break the news to Mr Holland then?'
'You know, there are times when I really enjoy my job' and with this a smiling Danny entered the interview room. Jack and Viv remained standing at the window watching as Danny broke the news to James Holland and his lawyer. Viv echoed the satisfied smile on Jack's face as they watched the relaxed posture disappear and a look of horror appear on James Holland's face.
They watched as Danny stood up again and left the room, a wide grin on his face as he came back to stand at the window with Jack and Viv again, to watch as Holland and his lawyer talked urgently. They saw Holland stand up abruptly and begin to pace
'He doesn't look very happy now, does he?' The satisfaction was evident in Jack's voice.
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Sam walked along yet another corridor checking the numbers on the doors to make sure she was moving in the right direction. She rounded a corner and the proof that she had reached her destination was right in front of her in the shape of Victor Fitzgerald.
He was standing talking to a doctor and wasn't looking in Sam's direction; Sam took a deep breath and continued to walk towards them, but before she reached them the Doctor turned away and Victor turned and walked into a room.
Sam reached the door and she could hear Victor talking to Martin; '…….still surprised that you hadn't let your mother and I know'. She looked into the room and could see Martin sat at Maggie's bedside, his back towards her. She knocked on the door frame and, looking past Victor, smiled at Martin as he swung around
'Hi, I hope you don't mind me coming by…….' She knew she sounded hesitant but the look on Victor's face was enough to make anyone nervous. Before he could say anything however Martin stood up and came over to her; he was white faced and tense but managed a smile when he saw her. She put her arms around him and hugged him, feeling him hug her tightly in return before stepping away.
'How is she?' Sam continued to ignore Victor as she stared firstly at Martin and then let her gaze wander past to where Maggie was lying unmoving on the bed.
'The head CT shows the swelling on her brain isn't as severe as initially thought; the doctors are hopeful that she will wake up in the next few hours.' Victor sounded officious and Sam saw Martin grimace and roll his eyes as he turned away. She turned toward Victor and held her hand out;
'Director Fitzgerald, I'm Special Agent Samantha Spade, I work with Martin'
He stared at her for a moment, assessing her and she wondered if he knew about her and Martin, then he shook her hand; 'Agent Spade, what brings you here?'
She was momentarily taken aback by the coolness of his voice as she heard Martin say warningly;
'Dad'
Victor turned to look at Martin, his eyebrow raised questioningly at Martin's tone as Martin continued; 'Sam's a friend, why wouldn't she be here',
Sam was surprised at the edge to Martin's voice and she saw annoyance flare in Victor's eyes but he seemed to think better of whatever he was about to say, instead contenting himself with smiling stiffly at her and then, without looking at Martin, 'I'll go and find your Mother. I'll bring you back a coffee', he looked at Sam, 'can I get you anything Ms Spade?' his tone suggested that he was expecting her to say no
Before she could respond Martin answered for her, 'Sam'll have a coffee too. Black, no sugar', he sat back down, his back to Victor. Sam saw Victor's mouth tighten again and then he nodded and left the room.
She heard a sigh escape Martin and saw the tension leave his shoulders. She moved to stand next to him and rested her hand on his shoulder; he reached up and gripped her hand in his for a moment then dropped his hand back to his side and looked up at her
'Thanks for coming'
'Sorry none of us have been able to get over before now but there's been a lot going on', she pulled up a chair and sat down next to him.
'Have you found Robert?' Martin sounded bitter
Sam hesitated and looked carefully at Martin but he was staring at Maggie. She placed her hand gently on his arm and he turned to look at her;
'It wasn't Robert who attacked Maggie. The man who did is dead'
Martin stared at her then turned back to look at Maggie, 'So what, it was a complete co-incidence that she's attacked after getting desperate calls for help from Robert?', his voice dripped with sarcasm.
'No, we think it's linked to Robert somehow but he appears to have gone missing before Maggie was attacked and it looks as if he was being blackmailed so………..' Sam shrugged her shoulders before continuing, 'it appears to be linked to another much bigger investigation. Your father has got us access to information that has helped and Jack, Danny and Viv are following it up at the moment, we just thought you would want to know what was going on and we wanted to see how you are doing'
She watched as Martin continued to stare at Maggie and for a while there was silence then he turned his head slightly, 'I suppose you've been running a background check on Maggie'
Sam took a deep breath and then, keeping her voice a steady as possible, 'It's standard procedure Martin and initial information suggested that she was attempting to blackmail Robert into coming back to her', she raised her hands in protest as she saw the anger on his face
'You know how these things go; we were told that Robert had done a background check on her and found out that she had an abortion the summer the two of you did your west coast trip'; Sam threw him an apologetic look as she saw the look on his face as he realised just how much they had found out about not only Maggie's life but his too; 'The information we had was that he ended the relationship because of his pro-life stance and that Maggie was blackmailing him by threatening that she would use her influence with her father to block him getting the congressional nomination'
She stopped as she saw the outrage on Martin's face; 'tell me you don't believe that shit', he was shaking with rage.
Sam shook her head; 'none of us believe it, for a start, Danny is adamant that Maggie is head over heels in love with you and he's a man who knows about these things' she smiled trying to lighten the mood and saw Martin's mouth twitch slightly. He sighed
'She didn't have an abortion Sam'
'Martin, it's none of my or anyone else's business if she did or if she didn't'
He was staring at Maggie again; he reached out and took her hand, stroking it gently as he continued as if Sam hadn't spoken;
'It was the last week of our trip and she wasn't feeling well………..she had a pain in her side and I thought it was appendicitis so I rushed her to the emergency room, but it wasn't appendicitis, she was pregnant and it was ectopic.' Martin was still staring Maggie, stroking her hand.
He sighed, 'They had to operate and after they had they told her that it was unlikely she would ever be able to have children. She was devastated and her way of coping was to push everyone away, including me. A year later she checked herself into a clinic that dealt with stress and depression; she told me later it helped her start to come to terms with what had happened. We stayed in touch but I think I reminded her too much about what had happened; its really only been the last couple of years that we have been able to be easy in each others company and only since she got to New York we really talked about it.'
Sam looked thoughtfully at Martin; 'who other than you and Maggie knew about this?'
He stared at her for a moment, then his face creased in concentration, 'well, I know that she didn't tell her parents and I definitely didn't tell mine. I can't swear absolutely that she has never told anyone what happened but I'm pretty sure she hasn't, I know I didn't.'
'So the only people other than you and Maggie who would know are the doctors at the hospital and the people at the clinic'
'Yes, why?'
'Because Henry Saunders told us that Robert told him she had an abortion'
Martin looked confused, 'What's Henry Saunders got to do with this?'
'He and Robert are on a charity together and apparently became quite friendly. He was the one who told us that it was Robert who ended the relationship because of Maggie's 'abortion'. The thing is, at an initial glance you could twist what happened so that it looked like an abortion, but only if you knew about the ectopic pregnancy'
Sam's face was twisted into an expression of concentration and Martin stared at her, at a loss to understand where this was going. She looked up at him, 'Why would someone lie about it to Robert unless they wanted to drive a wedge between him and Maggie?'
Martin shrugged his shoulders; Sam looked at him, 'Did Maggie say anything about how they split up?'
Martin paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts; 'She told me that she came up for a black tie dinner shortly after he moved here and said he seemed distant and was acting strangely. She confronted him, they rowed and she told him she thought they should take some time out and think about whether it was what they both wanted. He came down to Washington two weeks later and they had a good weekend and he begged her for another chance, told her that he had been an idiot and that he needed her. She agreed to give it another go, flew up to spend the weekend with him the next weekend and he was all over the place'.
Martin paused and looked at Sam, 'she thought he might be on drugs. They rowed again and he nearly hit her; she left and told him it was over. She didn't say anything about the pregnancy or that Robert knew about it and given what we talked about that night I'm positive that she would have mentioned it.'
Sam nodded, 'It's probably nothing……..' she turned as she heard someone approach and saw Victor and a woman she took to be Martin's mother enter the room carrying coffees.
She felt Martin grip her arm and heard him murmur; 'for the love of god please stay a bit longer or I'll be up on a murder charge'
She grinned at him, 'nah, they'd offer you a deal due to provocation……..' she saw him smile as he stood up;
'Mom, I'd like you to meet Sam…………'
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Jack sat staring at James Holland who was sitting sullenly across from him.
'You understand the terms of the deal Mr Holland, unless we are completely happy that you are co-operating fully and disclosing all facts that we consider to be material the deal is off.'
Holland nodded, his eyes cold and watchful
'Where is Robert Kenilworth?' Danny leaned forward, his posture and expression aggressive and he saw Holland sit back involuntarily in his seat, his eyes flicking between Jack and Danny
Jack slammed a file down on the table causing Holland to jump; his expression changed from watchful to fearful
His mouth moved as if he was trying to figure out what to say then he groaned slightly, 'look I don't know where he is exactly but I do know he's dead………..'
