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“Jesus.” Sam felt sick. “And Stahl had the perfect cover as a police officer.”
“Right. They’ve scheduled a hearing on the Davies case for a week from Tuesday.”
“That man shouldn’t spend another night in prison.” Evidence showed that Stahl had framed Davies for rape after he complained about Stahl’s treatment of him during a traffic stop years earlier.
“These things take a minute, as you know.”
“It’s sickening, revolting and every other word that means disgusting that I can think of.”
“And it’s going to make every hardworking police officer in America look like crap,” Freddie said, “the way it always does when something like this comes to light.”
“We just have to keep our heads down and do the job. That’s all we can do.”
“Do you think there’re others like him? Ramsey, for example. Was he running a criminal enterprise on the side while on the job?”
“There’re probably others, but the one thing I know for certain is that there’re more of us than there are of them, so try not to surrender to despair.”
“It’s hard not to when our job is to uphold the law, and people in our ranks are criminals.”
“I know, but what do we always say? The only things we can control are our own actions and how we react to the actions of others. By keeping our focus where it belongs, we’ll get through this.”
“Elin was right. I feel better after talking to you.”
“Likewise, my friend. Let me ask you a favor. I have to run down the families of two of the missing women. Would you mind taking a look at what you can find out about them beyond what’s in the reports?” She gave him the two names.
“No problem. Do you have a way to print there?”
“Yeah, Nick has a whole office set up here.”
“I’ll do it first thing and send it to you.”
“Thank you. Now go have a big drink and enjoy your evening with Elin. Tomorrow is another day.”
“Thanks for taking the call.”
“I’ll always take your call, grasshopper.”
“Have a good time at the beach. See you next weekend.”
“Call me if you need me this week.”
“I will. Later.”
Sam closed her phone and thought about their conversation. It was impossible for Freddie, who did the job with honesty and compassion, to understand the actions of someone like Stahl. Hell, it was hard forherto understand them, and she was far more jaded than her partner. She’d learned not to expect the best of people when she saw so much of the worst. That was part of her nature, while kindness and compassion were part of his. Those qualities made him exceptionally good at a difficult job, but made him question every choice he’d ever made for his career at a time like this.
“Is Freddie okay?” Nick asked.
“He’s reeling over the latest disclosures about Stahl.”
“As he would.”
Sam returned to her spot on the floor next to him. “He’s almost too good for this world sometimes.”
“That’s why we love him so much.”
“Indeed, but he takes things like this extra hard.”
“You said all the right things. I’m sure he feels better after talking it out with you.”
