Page 36 of State of Bliss

“I recommended the parents get an attorney here sooner rather than later.” Gonzo glanced at the clock, which was heading toward seven thirty, which meant he wouldn’t get to see his son, Alex, before bedtime. That made him sad, as Alex was the highlight of his days. “Let’s get to Stahl’s house and see what’s going on there before we head home.”

“I’m with you, Sarge.”

When they were in Gonzo’s Charger on the way to Brookside, he looked over at Cruz. “Shoot the LT a text giving her an update on the Fortier case, will you? She asked to be kept in the loop.”

“Yep.” He tapped away on his iPhone. “All set.”

“Thank you.”

“I told her we were headed to Stahl’s. I wasn’t sure if she’d want to know that.”

“She would. I’m glad she’s on vacation and not here for this, though. She doesn’t need to be anywhere near this madness.”

“No, she doesn’t. I was surprised they asked her to brief two of the families while she’s in Delaware.”

“I think that might’ve been their way of keeping her involved, but not in the middle of it.”

“Possibly. I feel for her. This must bring it all back for her.”

“Seriously. I thought we’d seen the last of him when he was convicted and sent to prison, but it turned out we were just scratching the surface. At least they’ve finally got the Davies hearing on the calendar for next week.”

“That case makes me sick.”

“Me, too.”

Even though it was dark, the area around 15thStreet Northeast was lit up like daytime. They had to park blocks from the scene, which was surrounded by police and public safety vehicles.

“Jesus,” Gonzo said as they took in the surreal view of their former lieutenant’s home.

“I never had the first clue where he lived,” Freddie said.

“Me either. The less I knew about him, the better.”

“Yeah, same.”

SVU Detective Erica Lucas was conferring with a Patrol officer when Gonzo and Freddie walked up to the gate outside the house. Due to Christina’s addiction to HGTV, Gonzo recognized it as a Craftsman style, with a large front porch and a dormer on the second floor. The house was painted yellow with blue shutters and matching flower boxes under the first-floor window. Someone had taken some time to make the place attractive. Gonzo was sure the credit for that did not go to Stahl.

“Hey.” Lucas looked and sounded as exhausted as Gonzo felt.

“How’s it going?”

“Slow and methodical. The sister and her kids had taken over the first floor, so that part of the house is completely compromised. Interestingly, there was a lock on the door to the basement that the sister didn’t have a key to.”

Gonzo’s stomach took a weird drop at hearing that. What fresh hell would they find in that basement? “Did Haggerty get in?”

“The warrant came through an hour ago, and they broke the lock.”

“Any word from them since?”

“Not yet.”

“I’m terrified to go in there,” Gonzo said.

“Right there with you,” Lucas said. “The sister is losing it over being forced out. Threatening all sorts of legal action. She says her brother signed the house over to her before he went to prison. We’re looking into that now, but in the meantime, we’ve told her the house is a possible crime scene, and she won’t be allowed back in for quite some time. We recommended she find somewhere else to live in the meantime. She didn’t like that. I’m worried she’ll blow the lid off this situation with the media before we have a chance to control the narrative.”

“Where is she?”

“We put her up in a hotel near the kids’ school for now.”

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