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Cindy nodded, ushered her child back into the room and shut the door.
“I tend to believe she knew nothing about what he was up to,” Cruz said as they went down the stairs.
“Same. I also tend to believe he knows exactly what happened to their brother.”
“Oh my God, I thought the same thing.”
“Another potential victim to add to our list,” Gonzo said with a sigh. “Crazy that she kinda looks like him, though, huh?”
“Yeah, seriously.”
“I want to know what happened with his mother that involved cops.”
“I’ll get on that in the morning. See what I can find out.”
“You want me to drop you at the Metro?”
“Sure.”
They were quiet on the short ride to the Rhode Island Avenue-Brentwood station.
Gonzo pulled up to the curb. “See you in the a.m.”
“Yeah, see you then.” Freddie reached for the door handle, but didn’t get out. “Whatever happens at Stahl’s, it has nothing to do with us. I think it’s important that we remember that so we can continue to do the job.”
Before Gonzo could formulate a reply, Freddie got out of the car and jogged toward the station, eager to get home to his wife.
Gonzo pulled into traffic and directed the car toward home, thinking about Freddie’s parting words. He was right. It had nothing to do with them, even if it felt like it did.
He used voice commands on the Bluetooth to call Captain Malone.
The captain picked up on the third ring. “Hey, what’s up?”
“I’m on my way home after having been to Stahl’s and then to talk to his sister at the hotel. She told us something interesting. He was thirteen when he was sent to live with his father after something went down with his mother that involved the police. The sister doesn’t know what happened. She’s thirteen years younger than him and barely remembers him living in their house. She had only sporadic contact with him and was surprised when he deeded his house over to her after he was convicted. And there was another brother between her and Stahl who disappeared while he was in high school. She said Lenny became a cop because he wanted justice for their brother, Michael.”
“Jesus. Another potential victim.”
“Our thought exactly. Although, Cruz and I both came away from the meeting with her agreeing that whatever her brother has done doesn’t involve her.”
“Good to know.”
“Cruz will look into what happened with Stahl’s mother.”
“That was my next question.”
“Also, we’ve booked Tori Stevens on assaulting a police officer and obstructing a homicide investigation. We found some large payments from her account made by check.”
“I’ve requested a warrant for the canceled checks from her bank.”
“Great, thanks. She requested an attorney, so I notified the parents in Wisconsin and heard all about what a good kid she is, how she couldn’t have had anything to do with hurting her boyfriend’s new girlfriend, etc. I told them to get her an attorney, and we’ll see where we stand with that in the morning.”
“Good work today, Sarge.”
“Thanks. Have a good night, Cap.”
“You, too.”
Gonzo pressed the accelerator as he headed for home. Some days were longer and more difficult than others. Today had been rough as they processed the possibility that someone they’d once worked closely with could be capable of repeatedly committing the unspeakable crime they’d spent their careers investigating.
