Page 30 of State of Grace (First Family 2)

“Jeez, Sam, that’s the stuff that gives me nightmares.”

“I was never in any danger.”

“Sure, you weren’t. That guy can’t stand you.”

“He might’ve stepped into it big-time by being in the building when my office was trashed. I’m just hoping he was sloppy about it, and CSU can tie him to it.” Even if that would mean another of her colleagues had ended up in trouble that somehow involved her. It wasn’t her fault that Stahl had wrapped her in razor wire and threatened to set her on fire, or that Conklin had sat on info relevant to her dad’s unsolved shooting for four years, or that Detective Offenbach had been off having an affair when he was supposed to be at a conference.

“I hate to think of you having enemies within the department.”

“I suppose it goes with the territory, especially if a woman is good at a job that’s traditionally done by men.”

Lindsey came into the pit and stopped short at the sight of CSU working in Sam’s office.

“I need to run, babe. I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

“Be careful. Your husband loves you.”

“Love you, too.”

Sam ended the call and stood, waving Lindsey over to the cubicle.

“What. The. Hell. Sam?”

“Someone trashed my office. I discovered it about ten minutes after Ramsey cornered me in the vending area to tell me his wife is divorcing him and somehow that’s my fault.”

“Holy crap. How in the hell is that your fault?”

“Someone sent him anonymous proof of an affair through interoffice mail. I guess the word has gotten out and back to his wife somehow. He blames me for that.”

“But it never occurs to him that if he hadn’t had the affair in the first place, no one could’ve uncovered it.”

“Exactly. Anyway, did you need me for something?”

“Yeah, I wanted to tell you that Pam Tappen died inside that van from a combination of asphyxia and hypothermia.”

“So she was alive when someone left her there to suffocate and freeze to death?”

“Yes.”

“Horrifying.”

“Indeed. I place the time of death around Sunday evening.”

“So if they grabbed her on Friday, that means it took two full days for her to die. Christ have mercy.” Sam thought about that for a second, recalling that Pam’s things had been left in the car. “This was personal. Someone wanted her to suffer.”

“I agree. I was able to get some prints from the duct tape and CSU pulled a bunch from inside the van, but none of them were in the system.”

Sam processed that news as she glanced at the conference room. “According to the family, everyone loved her.”

“Not everyone.”

“What kind of monster does something like this to another human being?”

Lindsey raised an eyebrow. “After all these years on this job, you still have to ask that?”

“I guess I’ve never received a satisfactory answer to the question.”

“And you never will. I’ll send you my full report when I have it.”

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