Read Online Fatal Scandal: Book Eight of the Fatal Series by Marie Force - Free Book Online

“Are you going to tell me who she is?”
    “If I do, you’ve got to help me keep it quiet for a while.”
    “How come?”
    Sam blew out a deep breath. “She’s Gonzo’s baby mama.”
    Lindsey’s green eyes widened with shock. “The stuff in the news, about his connection to the judge...”
    “It’s a shitstorm that’s about to get a whole lot shittier.”
    “Does he know?”
    Sam nodded. “I saw him earlier. He’s a fucking mess.”
    “But he didn’t... Well, of course he didn’t. But he probably wanted to, and the press will be all over him.”
    “Which is why the rest of my squad is currently digging into Lori’s life, looking for motive somewhere else.”
    “Damn.” Lindsey gazed down at the naked woman with the visible bruising on her neck and the stretch marks on her abdomen that indicated she’d once carried a child.
    Was it weird that Sam was envious of stretch marks on a dead woman? Yeah, it was very weird, but she’d become accustomed to the odd longings that went along with her infertility. They struck at the strangest times.
    “First he gets shot and now this,” Lindsey said with the empathy Sam had come to expect of her friend and colleague. That empathy was one of the reasons she was such a first-rate medical examiner. “The poor guy is having a hell of a run of bad luck.”
    “I know. He was already down before this with the wound taking so long to heal.” Sam was worried about how much lower Gonzo could get before he’d hit rock bottom. “Anyway,” she said, shaking off those glum thoughts, “how was the anniversary celebration?”
    Before her eyes, Lindsey blushed like a schoolgirl. “Great.” She, too, had met her boyfriend, Terry O’Connor, at Sam and Nick’s promotion party the previous New Year’s Eve. Terry was now Nick’s chief of staff, since Christina stepped down after the campaign to spend more time with Alex and Gonzo.
    “That’s it? That’s all I’m getting?”
    “There is one thing I could tell you.”
    “I’m listening.”
    “We got engaged.”
    “That’s huge news! Congratulations. I’m so happy for you guys.”
    “You’ve come a long way from the days of ‘Why does Nick’s world and my world have to collide?’” Lindsey said drolly.
    “I like to think I’m maturing in my old age.”
    Lindsey snorted with laughter. “That’ll be the day.”
    “So how did he ask?”
    “He kept it very simple and sweet. We went to dinner and then came home, and he asked me there.”
    “So where’s the ring?”
    “At home where it belongs, same place yours is when you’re working.”
    “What’s it look like?”
    “It’s gorgeous. A big solitaire surrounded by smaller diamonds and a diamond band. I love it.”
    “Were you totally surprised?”
    “Not totally. We’ve talked about it a few times, but I didn’t know last night was the night. I cried my eyes out when he asked, and he did too when I said yes. It was very... It was lovely.”
    “I’m feeling a little misty myself just hearing about it.”
    Lindsey cocked an eyebrow at Sam. “You? Misty?”
    “I know! Don’t tell anyone.”
    “Your secret is safe with me.”
    Sam looked down at the waxy remains of Lori Phillips. “Are we weird to be standing here having this conversation with a dead body laid out in front of us?”
    “Most people would probably think so, but this is what we do and who we are. If we couldn’t be normal in the midst of all this senseless death, we’d probably be locked up in a loony bin by now.”
    “True.”
    “And I have no doubt whatsoever that you’ll get justice for this poor girl. No matter what she was putting our friend through, she didn’t deserve this.”
    “No,” Sam said with a sigh, “she didn’t. Let me know when you’ve got your report done.”
    “Don’t I always?”
    “Thanks, Doc.” Sam left the morgue and headed for the stairwell to the second floor. Coming down the stairs as she went up was Sergeant Ramsey from the Special