Fatal Series 01 - Fatal Affair

polygraph.”
    “Yeah, I got that word an hour ago.”
    “What’re you thinking, boss?”
    “Did Patricia Donaldson tell you where she’d be staying in the city when she came for O’Connor’s funeral?”
    His brows furrowing with skepticism, he said, “No, but I can try to find out.”
    “Do that. I could be wrong, but I’m going to pull her credit card records to see if she recently bought a plane ticket to Washington.”
    “Come on, Sam, you’re not thinking it’s her… That woman was madly in love with him.”
    “And he was fucking his way through the city while she raised his son in Siberia.” Here was the buzz that came when all the pieces started to fall into place. “I’ll pull the records, you find Elin.”
    Sobering, Freddie said, “You can count on me to take very good care of her.”
    Sam rolled her eyes. “Go easy. You might sprain something.”

    Emerging from Tara’s apartment building, Sam found Nick leaning against her car. “Aren’t you freezing?”
    “The cold feels good.” His face was pale, his eyes watering from the cold or maybe the emotion.
    “You shouldn’t have followed me in there. I told you to stay here.”
    “I don’t know how you do it,” he said softly. “How you can stand seeing stuff like that day after day? I’ll never forget what I saw in there.”
    “I wish I could say it’s the first time I’ve seen something like that.”
    He reached for her, but Sam shook him off. “No PDA when the place is swarming with cops,” she growled.
    Jamming his hands into his pockets, he seemed to be making an effort to bite his tongue.
    Sam unclipped her hair and ran her fingers through it. “I need some computer time. Do you mind dropping me at HQ?”
    “Does it have to be there? You could get online at my house.”
    She consulted her watch. Ten-forty. “I suppose that would work.”
    Nick offered to drive her car to Arlington, and Sam was tired enough after the long, draining day to let him.
    “This is the time to be on the road.” She gestured to the deserted stretch of I-395 as they passed the Jefferson Memorial on their way to the 14th Street Bridge.
    “If only it was like this in the morning.”
    She turned her head so she could see his profile in the orange glow of the streetlights. Anxious to get both their minds off the horror they’d witnessed at Tara’s, Sam said, “So tell me, did my family overwhelm you?”
    “What? No, of course not. Everyone was really nice.”
    “They liked you.”
    “What’s the story with your brother-in-law Spencer?”
    Sam smiled. “He’s a bit much, huh?”
    “Ah, yeah. Got a big opinion of himself.”
    “We only put up with him because he worships the ground Angela walks on. There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for her.”
    “Mike’s a lot more normal.”
    “I adore him.”
    Nick shot her a meaningful glance.
    “Not like that,” Sam said, laughing. “I just give him so much credit. He’s raising Brooke like she’s his own—”
    “She’s not? ”
    Sam shook her head. “Her father was a guy Tracy dated briefly. When they found out she was pregnant he hit the road, and she never heard from him again. She met Mike a couple of years later. After they got married, he adopted Brooke.”
    “You’d never know she wasn’t his.”
    “That’s why I love him so much. We all do. He doesn’t treat her any differently than he does Abby or Ethan.”
    “No, he certainly doesn’t,” Nick agreed. “I like him even more knowing that about him.”
    “He’s the big brother I never had.”
    “Which is why he thoroughly grilled me about where I came from, where I’m going and what my intentions are toward you.”
    “He did not ,” Sam said, astounded.
    “Yes, he did. And he made sure your father was able to hear the interrogation. In fact, I’ll bet Skip put him up to it.”
    “I wouldn’t doubt it.” Turning in her seat, she leaned over to plant a wet kiss on his neck. “Thank you for putting up with that.” Because he deserved it after dealing with her family, she tossed in some tongue action, too.
    The car swerved. “Hello? I’m going seventy over here!”
    She ran her hand up his thigh. “Want to go for eighty?”
    He caught her hand the instant before it reached the promised land. “Behave.”
    “So what did you tell Mike?” she asked, resting her head on his shoulder.
    Bringing their joined hands to his lips, he pressed a kiss to the back of hers. “That I’ve always loved you, and I