Chapter 3
The ride back to D.C. was a slow one. The traffic on the northern beltway was extremely heavy today, and the weather was becoming bad as an easterly brew was moving over the peninsula area. Linda was reviewing her notes on the interview with Smith-Hughes, and you could see the frustration in her face.
“It seems our Mr. Smith-Hughes has covered his ass well. Being in Chicago at the time his wife is being murdered is an excellent excuse. I’m going to check out this trip and find out why he was in Chicago at this time. Too convenient, if you ask me,” Linda stated as she flipped her notebook closed. She then slammed it into her bag and looked at Steve as he drove.
“He may have hired someone to do the deed. He has the resources to pay for the hit,” Steve chimed in. “He didn’t look too distraught for a man who just lost his wife, and why didn’t he fly home early yesterday? He could afford a private jet—instead, he arrives by a commercial flight.”
“And then he implies that the Vice President is in his wife’s cadre of lovers. Tell me, how do we handle this one? Do we just go to Anderson’s home and question him like any other suspect, or do we speak through a third party?” wondered Linda, while she glanced at the rain as it started to pour onto the highway.
“We handle him carefully; and if he’s our boy, he goes down, no matter who he is. Richard Nixon showed us how to handle such people,” interjected Steve. “Even the ‘heart-beat from the Presidency’ can’t be accused of wrongdoing. He’s just another citizen, in my mind.”
When they arrived back at the squad room at headquarters, Steve hadn’t settled in his chair at his desk when the captain opened his office door and called for Ciminelli and Hannigan. As they walked into the captain’s office, they noticed that the captain had a visitor. A glance at his three-piece navy blue suit indicated that he was either from the FBI or a “company man”—a member of the CIA.
“Take a seat,” mumbled the captain quickly. “Mr. Anders, these are Detectives Ciminelli and Hannigan, our investigative team on the Smith-Hughes murder. People, Mr. Anders is from the Bureau and has some information to relate to us. We now have a name to those prints we found on the glass from the murder scene,” related the captain, as he sat in his chair and chewed on his unlit cigar.
“We have a problem here, folks,” remarked the man from the FBI. “Our man is someone we must handle in a delicate manner. All material related at this meeting is to be considered confidential and for your eyes and ears only.” His voice was very stern as he stated this to Steve and Linda. “From this point on, your files on this case are to be locked up in the captain’s personnel file.”
“Captain, why the hush-hush on this? The news media people have already been swimming around with several possible leads, such as the relationship between Ms. Smith-Hughes and our flamboyant vice president,” Steve commented with some sincere interest.
“The prints on the glass do belong to the vice president, and it places him at the murder scene on the night Ms. Smith-Hughes was killed,” replied Mr. Anders. “When he arrived is a calculated guess of sometime between 10 p.m. and l a.m.”
“Are we going to be able to question him on this case, boss?” questioned Linda as she stared at Mr. Anders.
“We are advising you to do it discreetly and secretly. No way is this to leak to the media. Understand, Mr. Ciminelli? Don’t do anyone a favor on this matter,” warned Anders as he looked right at Steve.
This angered Steve because he knew that his relationship with Maureen was being questioned. “I don’t bring my job home or to bed, Mr. Anders. You can count on it,” Steve now rose up from his chair to make this point, “and second, Maureen would always check a lead out so as not to jeopardize any of our investigations. Look elsewhere for leaks.”
“Cool it, Steve; no one is casting shadows on your professional abilities,” the captain quickly interjected, and with an angry look, gave Agent Anders the following message: “Set up the meeting with Anderson. It can’t be avoided. His official statement must be made to these two detectives, and they’re personally responsible to me. If you have any problems with that, have President Patterson call me directly. Understood?”
“I’ll set up a time and place, but the vice president must be assured that it’s done discreetly. His office will deny any meeting if it leaks out,” said Agent Anders. He then politely shook Steve and Linda’s hand, and as he was about to leave, he asked Linda a personal question: “Any relation to agent Vincent Hannigan at the bureau?”
“My brother, sir, and George Hannigan on the Secret Service staff is another one too,” replied Linda with a smile. “My dad was Harvey Hannigan, a forty-two year veteran of the District Homicide Department.”
“You mean Inspector Harvey Hannigan,” remarked the captain with pride as he pointed to a picture of Linda’s dad that was hanging from the wall in his office.
“I take everything back, Captain. Your team here is undoubtedly the best in the department. You have a great partner there, Detective Ciminelli,” commented Agent Anders with a warm smile on his face. With that last gesture, he walked out the door.
“Steve, I have one last question for you,” remarked the captain. “First, congratulations for the great job you did last night at the Kennedy Center. I’m recommending you for a Commissioner’s Medal of Merit Award. You earned it, my boy.” He smiled at Steve, patting him on his back as he walked back behind his desk. “Second, who was this mystery woman you helped to get home? We need her name for our records.”
“Her name is Vanessa MacGyver,” Steve related in a soft tone. “She lives at the marina, just below Ms. Smith-Hughes’s condo at Watergate. I have a feeling that they might have been friends, even though Vanessa denies it.”
“Check it out and see where it leads us,” ordered the captain. “Remember, check with me early in the morning about our questioning of Anderson.” With that remark ringing in their ears, Steve and Linda walked back to their desks.
“Look, partner,” Linda suddenly stated as she pulled Steve by the arm, “don’t hold info back on me. You said nothing about this MacGyver person. We work together, fellah, as a team.” Linda was mad, and she was trying to relate a stern message to her partner.
“I’m sorry, Linda,” said Steve calmly and sincerely. “I should have told you, but Vanessa didn’t want to be involved with last night’s publicity, and I tried to grant her wish. The captain’s right. She probably knew Laura Smith-Hughes more than she leads on. We’ll pay her a visit tomorrow.”
Linda smiled at him and gently tapped his arm in a friendly gesture of understanding. Just then, the phone on Linda’s desk started to ring. After answering the phone, Linda sat in her chair and started to jot some notes on her answer pad. After a few minutes of conversation, she hung up and slowly wheeled around in her chair.
“That was my brother Vinnie. The bureau identified a second set of prints from the murder scene. Guess whose they are, Stevie-boy?” she questioned as if playing cat-and-mouse with him.
“Don’t tell me the president is involved with Ms. Smith-Hughes?” joked Steve. “Close, my boy,” Linda remarked. “Try the first lady instead. Nancy Patterson herself was in that apartment the day of the murder. Any other time the cleaning lady would have wiped them clean.”
“Our lady traveled in high circles, Linda. You were right in your assessment of her earlier. She could cause the Patterson administration a lot of grief, and you know, we’ll be hearing from Agent Anders again—soon.” Steve made these remarks as quietly as he could, as he and Linda kept their conversation private and discreet.
“Well, Steve, my friend, I’m calling it a day. I have a concert date tonight. We have tickets to the Elton John gig at the Civic Center,” Linda commented to Steve.
“How dare you go out with someone else,” joked Steve with a warm smile. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do on a date.”
“You’re terrible,” Linda replied with a shy smile on her face, “and if I do, eat your heart out.” And with that remark ringing in Steve’s ears, Linda grabbed her jacket and headed for her car in the parking lot. “Don't be late for dinner tonight, Stevie-boy,” she remarked as she passed his desk. He smiled in agreement.
Steve sat back in his chair and started to slowly scan through the Smith-Hughes file. Several items just didn't seem right. If the first lady and the vice president were the last to see Laura Smith-Hughes alive, did they know of each other’s visit? These loose ends had to be connected, yet Steve realized that these people were easy to attack publicly but extremely difficult to talk to in person. What was Laura’s connection to these people that they would pay her a visit at such late hours?
Steve scratched his head and wondered if he had missed something. Had he and other members of the department missed something when they checked out her residence? Steve jotted down a personal reminder to return to the 3C condo at Watergate soon to check something out. What connection was there between Vanessa and Laura? Were they friends? They both screwed men for power and wealth. Maybe they crossed paths, Steve wondered, realizing that another visit to Vanessa was necessary. After checking out some leads with the airlines at National Airport and making a call to the Smith-Hughes corporate headquarters, Steve completed his work on the file and proceeded to lock it up in the captain’s office. His work day was finished, and now his mind started to think of Maureen and what she had in store for him tonight. He realized that his surprise proposal and her jealousy over Vanessa had her in a mood. It made Steve smile in expectation of the night ahead.
• • •
When Steve arrived at Maureen’s apartment, she was busy working in the kitchen making a delicious meal of breaded veal chops and spaghetti with sauce. She knew that Steve still loved his Italian heritage, and this was his favorite dish. It smelled good as Steve walked into the kitchen, and he embraced Maureen as she was preparing the spaghetti over the hot stove.
He hugged her tight and gradually raised his hands to embrace her firm breasts as he kissed her on the back of her neck. Maureen gently protested, but as she turned around to face him, he placed her face in his hands and started to kiss her lips passionately. Her hands flashed inside his shirt as she lovingly grabbed him and started to kiss his face amorously.
“I’m not going to spoil this dinner, darling. I want you just as bad, but I worked too hard on this meal; so go take a shower, my love,” Maureen stated as she bit Steve on the ear. Steve nodded in agreement as he held her closer and caressed her buttocks into his body. With a hard kiss on her lips, he slowly separated from her and walked toward the bathroom.
“Sweetheart, pour the chilled wine before you bathe. We could use some about this time.” Steve uncorked a cold bottle of ruby chardonnay and poured it into two wine goblets. With some soothing music playing on the stereo, Steve started to peel off his clothes. As he started to feel the waters of the shower, Maureen entered the bathroom with the two wine goblets. They sipped the wine, and Steve kissed her wine-wettened lips.
As Steve placed his wineglass on the counter, he entered the shower and discovered that Maureen had entered it too. “I put the dinner on low, darling, because my love for you wants to burst out,” she exclaimed as she hugged him, allowing their naked bodies to act as one. The warm water made the movements of their bodies more fluent and sensual. Steve held Maureen tight as he penetrated deep, and their sex was torrid. His mouth was constantly moving from her luscious lips to her hard nipples on her firm breasts. The water of the shower cascaded down their bodies and acted as a lubricant, making their movements easier and enjoyable to perform.
Steve continued to put out as he was still in a strong, sexy state. He grabbed Maureen by her buttocks and again penetrated as he sat on the shower stall seat. Maureen stretched her arms around Steve’s neck and held him very tightly, digging her nails into his back as she swayed with her sexual emotions. After experiencing a great sexual session, the two just held each other tightly and kissed for a lengthy time, with the water adding a touch of pleasure to both of them.
After several minutes, they both emerged from the shower and proceeded to dry off. Maureen grabbed her towel, placed it over Steve’s shoulder and back, and hugged him dry. As she dried his back, she started to plant kisses on his neck and back. Steve turned around and started to wipe her dry with his towel, and he too started to kiss her, from her forehead to her firm breasts. Suddenly, Maureen started to tickle Steve, and the bathroom was filled with shrills and laughter. Maureen wrapped her arms around Steve’s neck and planted her soft lips on his, and Steve’s hands pressed her body tightly against his.
“I love you, Steve,” she uttered as Steve planted kisses on her moist mouth.
“I adore you too, sweetheart.” Maureen then took her towel and finished drying Steve's back and chest. After rubbing the towel over his back, she turned to Steve and apologized for scratching his back during their sexual session in the shower. Steve grabbed her and kissed her as a sign of forgiveness. Maureen reached for her bathrobe, kissed Steve gently, and headed for the kitchen to get their dinner ready.
After she left the bathroom, Steve wiped the mirror clear and glanced at his back. There, to his surprise, were three short parallel scratches and several fingernail marks. He wondered, did Vanessa do this the other night? He shrugged it off. After sipping the rest of his wine and wrapping himself in his robe, he headed toward the kitchen.
“Pour the wine, darling, and sit down. Get some salad and start eating,” Maureen exclaimed as she placed the main entrees on the table from the stove. The two started to enjoy the meal, sitting across from each other dressed in their bathrobes.
“You were just terrific tonight, honey. Absolutely the best we have ever experienced,” remarked Steve as he poured more wine into his glass.
“It was because of your proposal this afternoon and my jealous feeling I had this morning. I wanted to show you how much I loved you. I discovered as I entered that shower that I wanted you very badly and still do,” she remarked as she rubbed his leg with her bare foot.
Steve reached over, grabbed her head in his hands, and kissed her gently on her luscious lips. “I love you, Maureen. I always have and will in the future. You stole my heart, honey, back in Buffalo long ago.”
“Leave the dishes on the table, darling. I want you now,” Maureen reached for his hand and guided him into the bedroom. When they reached the bed, she unwrapped his robe and her own and then slowly caressed his face and chest with her soft hands.
She started to kiss Steve on the face and then slowly pushed him on the bed and crawled on top of him, rubbing her naked, sexy body against his. She kissed his lips, then his neck and chest. She then worked her mouth down onto his stomach, and her tongue played with his belly button. Steve reached for her hair, and as he did so, Maureen started to have oral sex with him. This surprised Steve, for she never had done this before, and the great sexual sensation Steve experienced caused him to stretch out and grab the bed supports. Maureen buried herself in this sexual fantasy, and she realized that she had given Steve a sexual experience that he vastly enjoyed. After she brought Steve to a climax, she reached up and he kissed her until they slipped into sleep from sheer exhaustion.
Several hours later, Steve woke up, politely covered Maureen with a bed sheet, and proceeded to wash in preparation for a day at the office. He quietly dressed, and as he was ready to leave, he amorously kissed her. As she opened her eyes, he informed her of his day’s plans. She grabbed him by the neck and kissed him hard with great feeling.
“I love you, Steve. Call me at the station this afternoon around three.”
“I adore you, beautiful. Go back to sleep and I’ll do just that this afternoon.” With that remark, he kissed her and pulled away hesitantly.