Silenced

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Noah spoke to Lucy on his cell while he waited for Senator Paxton. He didn’t like waiting, especially since Paxton had called him, but was glad he had the opportunity to verify that Lucy had no serious injuries.

Lucy was emphatic that the murder of Wendy James was connected to the other crime scenes, and she made a compelling case, but what Slater said earlier was still true: They had no hard evidence.

“You’re taking the rest of the day off,” Noah told Lucy over the phone.

“Is that an order?”

“Yes. I’ll stop by later. Where will you be?”

“Home, where else?”

“I assumed Sean would take you to his place.”

“Oh. Maybe. Kate’s here now.”

Noah was surprised Sean wasn’t glued to her side. He hoped the hotheaded Rogan didn’t do something unwise, like try and find the driver of the van. Noah wouldn’t put it past him.

“Don’t work too hard,” he told Lucy.

“You just ordered me to take the day off.”

“Were you going to obey me?”

She laughed. “No. But I will stay at home. I don’t think Kate is going to take me anywhere else.”

“Good. If you’re compelled to do anything, write up a report on the accident. I need to debrief you anyway, and putting it on paper will help you remember the details. And I’ll have a courier bring over a copy of the James file for you to review. I have two analysts going over everything we’ve uncovered, but you have a different perspective.”

“I can’t wait.”

She sounded excited about paperwork. She’d be the first, Noah thought. “I also want to get your assessment on the suspect.”

“I already told you I didn’t get a good look at him, but his van will be damaged.”

“I meant Hannah Edmonds, aka Ivy Harris.”

“Ivy isn’t her name?”

“No. She’s the daughter of televangelist Kirk Edmonds.”

“I’ve never heard of him. Why did you call her a suspect?”

“She is a person of interest in the kidnapping of Sara Edmonds.”

“Sara? Mrs. Neel said her sister was named Mina.”

“I’m going to talk to Mrs. Neel shortly, but I think Mina and Sara are two different girls. One a prostitute, the other the missing daughter of Reverend Edmonds. I’ll send everything I know so you can get up to speed.”

“You don’t know that she kidnapped her sister. Sara could have run away.”

“But we won’t know until we talk to her. She’s a fourteen-year-old girl who was living for the last ten days in a house with known prostitutes, two of whom are dead.”

“Ivy was extremely protective of her sister. If you find her, she’s going to be difficult to talk to. Get someone like Hans to work with her.”

“You were with her for less than ten minutes. I don’t think that’s enough to judge.”

“It’s more than enough.”

Paxton opened his door and waved at Noah. He said to Lucy, “I have to go. Just read the file and then we’ll talk.” He hung up and walked over to shake Paxton’s hand.

“Senator.”

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Agent Armstrong, it was one of those calls that’s hard to get off. Please come in.”

Paxton closed the door and sat down behind his antique desk. He motioned for Noah to take a seat across from him.

Noah glanced around the room before he sat, getting a snapshot assessment of Paxton. He’d been here before, months ago. Standard Senate office—large, ornate, stately.

“I’ve debated with myself whether to call ever since I heard that Alan’s mistress was murdered.”

Noah was certainly curious, but he couldn’t imagine what Paxton had to say. “I can’t discuss the investigation with you. I thought you wanted to talk about Chris Taylor.”

“I did want to inquire about the status of your investigation, but when Detective Reid came by this morning with Lucy, I was under the impression that it was a Metro Police investigation, not federal.”

“We’re working with them.” Stockton hadn’t officially released the information that the FBI had taken over the case. That situation was still being smoothed over with DC Metro, as best as could be done under the circumstances.

“I’m not proud of my actions, but I don’t regret them. Unless what I did led to that poor girl’s death.”

The hair on Noah’s skin vibrated with energy. It was the same feeling he’d had in the Air Force when he sensed something was amiss. Noah homed in on Paxton’s carefully chosen words.

What I did led to the poor girl’s death.

“Explain.”

“It’s no secret Alan and I don’t get along. Frankly, I think he’s a pig. Everyone in the building knows he’s cheated on his wife. And most everyone looks the other way. It’s like infidelity is a misdemeanor. But if someone can’t respect his marital vows, how can he respect promises to his constituents? If he can lie to his wife, it must be that much easier to lie to the American people.”

“Senator, I’m not interested in a campaign speech.”

Paxton’s cheek twitched with irritation.

“I was the anonymous source who gave the pictures of Alan and Ms. James to the tabloid.”

The confession surprised Noah. He had to pause before he could ask a question without stammering.

“You told the press about the affair?”

Paxton waved his hand in the air as if swatting a fly. “The press already knew. But they didn’t have proof. It’s sad that to run with the story, they wanted sordid photographs.”

“Which you provided.”

“I did.”

“I have a hard time believing you followed Congressman Crowley.”

“I didn’t. I hired a professional. Don’t be so skeptical, Agent Armstrong. Husbands and wives do it to each other all the time. If Janet Crowley had hired a private investigator to get photos of her husband’s infidelity in order to divorce that bastard, no one would think twice.”

“Why did you do it?”

“Why do you think?”

Noah didn’t answer the question. He stared at Paxton until he answered.

“Alan’s a prick.”

“He’s in your political party.”

Paxton laughed heartily, then cleared his throat. “After California went through their redistricting, Alan was gerrymandered into a much different seat, one that would be far more outraged about his infidelity. I have a protégé who can defeat him in the primary, but it would be costly. I would much rather have him resign over the affair.”

“You did this as a campaign stunt?”

“Stunt? Hardly the right word. I did it because he’s a jerk. He’s talking about running for U.S. Senate and I don’t want him on my side of the building.”

“And you don’t feel an ounce of remorse for what happened to Wendy James?”

“If she was killed because I exposed the truth, I sincerely regret it. But however much I despise Alan Crowley, however much I want him to be guilty, he’s not a killer, or a rapist.”

“She wasn’t raped.”

Paxton said, “The press reported there was an attempted rape.”

“The press isn’t always right.”

Paxton visibly relaxed. “Good.”

“Good?”

“It’s tragic she was killed. She was a young, beautiful woman with her whole life ahead of her, regardless of the mistakes she made. But to be raped and then murdered is the most vile crime that can be committed on a woman. There’s a special place in Hell for men like that.”

Noah hoped there was a special place in Hell for puppeteers like Paxton. He wished there was some way he could officially bring Paxton in for questioning. He could probably think of something—withholding information from the FBI for one, because he suspected there was more to this story than Paxton had told—but his actions would be out of spite.

The truth was hard to argue against.