Page 19 of State of Bliss

“Oh, listen to you. Mr. Powerful President.”

“Eh, whatever. It’s my car to do with as I please, and if I want to f—”

She kissed the word right off his lips.

“—my wife in the back seat, then that’s what I’m gonna do.”

“Well, all righty, then.”

“Wanna do it again?”

Chapter Four

While Freddie got Gordon and Tori settled in interrogation rooms, Gonzo returned to the pit, where Captain Malone waited for him.

“Who’d you bring in?”

“The vic’s on-again-off-again and his so-called longtime girlfriend, who he was trying to break up with.”

“You like him for this?”

“Not him so much as her. She seems a bit undone by him breaking up with her, and his reaction to hearing about Rachel’s death was genuine shock.”

“When you get things handled here, I need you at Stahl’s.”

“Let me take care of a few things, and then I’ll get over there.”

Malone handed him a slip of paper with the 15thStreet Northeast address, which Malone had noted was in the Brookland neighborhood.

“Is that the one they call Little Rome?” Gonzo asked.

“Yep. Catholic U, Basilica of the National Shrine and Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America are all up there.”

“Interesting area for a sinner like Stahl to call home.”

“The irony isn’t lost on me.” Malone held out a sheet of paper. “This is the release that the Public Affairs team came up with. Let me know what you think. It’ll go out after we’ve paid visits to the families. The chief will add a quote expressing his outrage and commitment to getting answers for the families of the missing women—no matter where those answers may lead.”

The Metropolitan Police Department has received credible information tying former Lieutenant Leonard Stahl, who is serving two life sentences in prison, to as many as twenty missing women. Crime Scene detectives have been dispatched to Stahl’s DC-area home to execute numerous search warrants. This investigation is in the earliest stages, and we’ll have more information as it becomes available.

We are investigating Stahl’s possible connection to the following missing persons:

Gonzo scanned the list of women, who ranged in age from nineteen to thirty-two. Their cases predated his tenure with the department, so he didn’t recognize any of the names.

Anyone with information about Leonard Stahl and his ties to any of the missing women is asked to contact the MPD information line.

Gonzo handed the page back to Malone. “It looks okay to me.”

“We’re hoping to notify the families in person in the next few days, and then we’ll release the statement to the public. We expect there to be a lot of anger from the families, which is certainly understandable.”

“I can’t even imagine what the reaction will be.”

“We’re hoping we can keep a lid on it until we’re ready to comment. We’ve got people dispatched to each of the twenty families to provide the update within the next two days.”

“God, what a mess.”

“You said it. Get with Lucas and Haggerty as soon as you can.”

“Will do, Cap.”

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