Genie said to Lucy, “Meet me in the lobby.” To everyone else, she ordered, “Get to work, people. You know what to do.”
Lucy took the opportunity to call Noah.
“Armstrong,” he answered brusquely.
“It’s Lucy. I’m still at the Hotel Potomac. Genie and I are going to interview the victims’ employers.”
“Good. I don’t need a blow-by-blow, you’re in good hands with Detective Reid.”
“The male victim is chief of staff to Congressman Hartline.”
“Call me if anything comes of it, or e-mail a status report. You wanted to work this case, work it. You don’t need me to babysit you.”
“No, but-”
“Lucy, do you have a question?”
“No.” She bit her lip. She was trying to be diligent. She wasn’t an agent-as she’d been reminded countless times in the last three days-and she didn’t want to screw this up.
“I have to brief Assistant Director Stockton in ten minutes. Since Wendy James’s identity has been plastered all over the news, the media has been doing our case more damage than good with their speculation. Stockton is going to give a statement and hopefully stop some of the leaks and misinformation.”
“I know you’re busy. I’m sorry. I’ll e-mail a report tonight.”
“Lucy-” Noah hesitated. He must have put his hand over the phone because she only heard muffled voices, then he came back on. “Sorry. Lucy, you don’t need me to hold your hand, okay? I wouldn’t have let you work with Genie if I didn’t think you were more than capable of handling this investigation.”
He must think she was the neediest agent-in-training the Bureau had ever hired.
Lucy decided to take the compliment at face value and not read anything into it, otherwise she would be paralyzed into inaction.
“Thank you.” She hung up.
Genie crossed the lobby, her skin shiny with perspiration. She grabbed a tourist pamphlet off a rack near the registration desk and began fanning herself. “I swear, menopause in summer is God’s way of punishing me for the sins of my youth.”
Lucy smiled. “I’m sure you were an angel.”
Genie laughed deeply. “Honey, I was a little devil. Where’d you think I learned my colorful language? Not just because I started as a beat cop.” They walked out.
“Are you going to Mrs. Taylor’s place of employment first?”
“No, we have a much bigger fish to talk to first. I have Chris Taylor’s phone records. He made two calls last night-one to his office where he left a message on voice mail that he wasn’t coming in today, and one four-minute conversation to Senator Jonathon Paxton.”
Lucy nearly stumbled off the curb.
Genie didn’t miss the recognition. “Know him?”
“Yes.”
“Conflict?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Are you sure?”
Was her face that expressive?
“Yes.”
She got into the passenger seat and waited until Genie pulled into traffic before she spoke. How could she explain her relationship with Jonathon Paxton in a way that didn’t make it sound bizarre?
She hadn’t seen the senator in nearly six months, and she didn’t want to see him today. But her curiosity would keep her on this case, because she needed to know why Taylor called Paxton.
“Taylor worked for Hartline, right?” Lucy confirmed.
“For the last six months. Before that, he was a legislative aide to Senator Paxton. I need information, Lucy, before we walk in there. I’ll admit, I don’t like dealing with these guys, and if there’s any chance that the senator is guilty of a crime, I gotta turn it over to the feds, and I won’t be heartbroken about it. But as far as I know, Taylor is a former employee.”
Lucy didn’t want Genie to know about her past, but she couldn’t avoid it now. If she found out later, the detective would think Lucy had lied or intentionally withheld information.
“I’ve known Senator Paxton for seven years,” Lucy said.
“You must have been a kid.”
“Eighteen. I met him when I moved to DC for college. Both his daughter and I were attacked by the same man. Monique wasn’t as lucky as I was.”
“You knew his daughter?”
“No. She was killed years ago, but her killer was never caught until he kidnapped me.” Lucy hesitated, considering telling Genie the whole story, but now wasn’t the time or place to explain that Jonathon Paxton considered her some sort of hero for killing the man who’d killed his daughter and raped Lucy.
“Senator Paxton took me under his wing, so to speak. He gave me a recommendation for the FBI Academy, and I interned for the Senate Judiciary Committee for a semester when I was in college. I haven’t seen him in six months.”
“It sounds like a conflict. Shit.”
“It’s not. He won’t lie to me.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“He thinks of me as a daughter. But believe me, I don’t consider him a father figure.”
“Is he capable of murder? Do you think he killed the Taylors?”
Two different questions. Lucy answered the latter. “He didn’t kill the Taylors, or that poor girl. If Chris called him for anything, it was for help. Senator Paxton is very loyal to the people who work for him.”
“So our vic calls an old senator instead of the police for help?” Genie made a ticking sound with her tongue. “That sure sounds fishy to me.” She glanced at Lucy. “All right, I’m going to trust you on this. Let’s find out what they talked about during those four minutes.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Lucy straightened her stance and put an impassive expression on her face, steeling herself against any emotional reaction. Jonathon Paxton read people well, and he would see through her if she gave him even one small crack in her composure.
She walked into his office behind Genie.
“Senator Paxton,” Genie said extending her hand. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with us so quickly.”
“Of course.” He looked at Lucy, his eyes lit with surprise and unspoken questions.
“Senator,” Lucy said formally.
“Lucy. It is so good to see you.” He took her hand. He held on long enough to have Genie change her posture. The detective was now hyperalert, and Lucy would have to be doubly diligent not to say or do anything that would make Genie think there was a conflict. Because there wasn’t. If Lucy could prove the senator was guilty of any felony, she would make sure justice was done.
“I’m sorry the circumstances are so tragic,” Lucy said carefully.
He motioned for them to sit on the couch in his sitting area. He sat in a leather chair and said, “Do you know what happened to Chris? If you knew him, you’d know he’s a good man. He doesn’t get into trouble.”
Genie said, “Mr. Taylor and his wife were found dead in their hotel room along with an unidentified woman. We confirmed that he left a message with Congressman Hartline’s office that he would not be coming in to the office today, and then he called you. You were the last person Mr. Taylor spoke to, and near as we can tell based on
