Read Fatal Series 00 - Fatal Destiny for Free Online Page A

you take video so we can laugh at you later?”
    The phrase “bite me” was on the tip of her tongue.
    “She has something she’s dying to say,” Freddie said, sharing a laugh with the captain.
    God, she couldn’t wait to get the wedding behind her. “Get to work, Cruz.”
    He choked back a grin and said, “Yes, ma’am.”
    Sam forced a phony smile for her boss. “Captain.”
    “Lieutenant.” He tapped his watch. “Don’t be late now.”
    “Bite me,” she muttered under her breath and felt better even as laughter followed her out. Navigating her way through HQ, she took the elevator to the third floor where the special victims unit resided. Sam asked the department’s admin assistant for Detective Ramsey.
    “One minute, Lieutenant. Let me see if he’s available.”
    While she waited, Sam made a quick call to her sister Tracy to let her know she hadn’t forgotten about the fitting and would be there shortly. She knew she’d been a bit of a handful as a distracted bride. That was why Shelby, the wedding planner she called “Tinker Bell,” had programmed reminders into her cell phone. Without them, Sam would’ve been even more of a disaster. She had no doubt it would be a wonderful, beautiful, memorable day. But she was ready for the hoopla to be over and life to return to normal.
    That thought made her laugh to herself. Since reconnecting with Nick six years after a memorable one-night stand, her life had been anything but “normal,” and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Suddenly, she was anxious to see him, to be with him, to feel the way she did just being in the same room with him. She’d missed him, and it was time to get things back on track between them.
    “Lieutenant?” the admin said. “Detective Ramsey will see you in the conference room. Right this way.”
    Sam followed the young woman through a maze of cubicles so recently renovated that the new-carpet smell was overpowering. When, she wondered, would her own beleaguered pit get a much-needed face-lift? She made a mental note to take that up with Chief Farnsworth. After she’d closed three high-profile murder cases in short order, he owed her a few favors.
    Detective Ramsey was in his mid-fifties with a salt-and-pepper crew cut and a no-nonsense demeanor. “What can I do for you, Lieutenant?”
    “I’m interested in an old case of yours, a sexual assault. Darius Gardner was charged but never tried.”
    His no-nonsense expression became stormy. “Because AUSA Faith Miller totally screwed me over. And then my vic refused to testify. I’ve always suspected Miller said something to her.”
    That part was news to Sam. Faith had never mentioned advising the victim not to testify. In light of what Faith had told her, Sam demised that it was far more likely that Garner had threatened his victim. “Would it be possible to get your file and notes on the case?”
    “For what purpose?”
    “I’m looking into a cold case, and his name came up.”
    He thought it over. “Give me a minute.”
    “That’s about all I have. Should I come back tomorrow?”
    “I have it handy. I’ll be right back.” He returned and handed her the file. “You’ll get it back to me?”
    “Absolutely. Appreciate the courtesy.”
    “If you wouldn’t mind, keep me in the loop. What happened with this one… it stays with you, you know?”
    Sam thought of Quentin Johnson. “I do know, and I’ll be happy to keep you informed.”
    “You’re quite the little star around here.”
    Taken aback by his tone, Sam weighed her words carefully. “If you say so.”
    “Must be nice.”
    Okay, there was no denying the snide that time. “Something on your mind, Detective?”
    “No, ma’am.”
    Sam made a mental note to look into Ramsey’s career trajectory—or lack thereof. She was easily twenty years younger and outranked him by two grades, which she suspected was one reason for his derision.
    “Congratulations,” he said, seeming to make an effort to be