Fatal Scandal: Book Eight of the Fatal Series by Marie Force Page B

together, it’ll be okay.”
    “I’ll pack for Alex.” She turned and left the room, crossing the hall to the baby’s room.
    Gonzo sat on the bed and dropped his head into his hands. How in the hell had everything gotten so fucked up so fast? He should’ve disclosed the connection to Judge Morton. He knew that. But he’d been so desperate to gain custody of Alex he’d kept his mouth shut, taking any advantage he could get. And now it had blown up in his face in every possible way.
    Lori was
dead
. Jesus. After all she’d done to clean up her life in the last year, who would want to kill her? Was it someone from her past life as an addict? Had she met someone new and ended up in an abusive relationship? It was time to stop being freaked out and start acting like the detective he was.
    His phone rang and he withdrew it from his pocket. He didn’t recognize the Virginia number, but he took the call anyway, despite the pang of fear that struck him at the possibility of more bad news. “Gonzales.”
    “It’s Leon Morton.”
    Gonzo automatically sat up straighter. “Oh, Your Honor.”
    “I’m sorry to disturb you on a holiday.”
    He didn’t mention that he’d already been thoroughly disturbed. “No problem.”
    “I wanted to get in touch to apologize.” The judge’s speech was halting, as if he were pained. “I hate that this has happened, that you’re in such a tough spot.”
    He had no idea how tough that spot had become overnight. “Thank you, sir, but it’s not your fault. I should’ve said something.”
    “One of us should have. I was naïve to think it wouldn’t come out.”
    “As was I,” Gonzo said.
    “I wouldn’t change a thing about the outcome. Custody was granted to the right parent.”
    “Thank you for that.”
    “As you can imagine, the scrutiny has been damaging. I’ve decided to retire to prevent it from going any further.”
    Gonzo felt sick again. With Morton out of the picture, all the scrutiny would be on him, which it would be anyway now that Lori was dead. “That’s probably for the best.”
    “I just want to say, despite all this, I appreciate, we
all
appreciate, what you did for our family so long ago. My parents were able to rest in peace knowing Eva’s killer had been brought to justice, and for that I’ll be eternally grateful. I’m sorry it’s come back to haunt you in this way.”
    “It’s not your fault, so please don’t sweat it. We’ll figure it out.” He hated to think about Lori’s murder in terms of the upside—the end of the custody battle. That is, if he wasn’t arrested for her murder.
    “Well, I won’t keep you any longer. My best to your fiancée and Happy New Year to you both.”
    “Same to you. Thanks for calling.”
    “Least I could do.”
    “Take care.” Gonzo ended the call and sat staring at the floor, thinking about what the judge had said.
    “Who was that?” Christina asked as she came back into the room, carrying the monogrammed backpack her parents had given Alex for Christmas.
    “Judge Morton.”
    “Seriously? What did he say?”
    “That he’s sorry about what’s happened but still grateful for what I did for his family years ago.”
    She sat next to him on the bed. “That’s nice of him.”
    “It was.”
    “Did you tell him about Lori?”
    “I didn’t see any reason to. He’ll find out soon enough. The whole world will.” He put his arm around her and kissed her cheek. “Let’s finish packing and get the hell out of here before the shit hits the fan.”
    * * *
    At HQ, Sam went directly to the morgue where Lindsey McNamara had begun the autopsy on Lori Phillips. “What’ve you got for me, Doc?” Sam asked as she stepped into the cold, antiseptic-smelling space that always gave her the creeps.
    “Nothing much so far. I just started.”
    “Tell me you’ve got fingerprints on her neck. Tell me this was an act of rage and not something premeditated enough that our perp gloved up.”
    Lindsey glanced at her.