Love You More: A Novel

“Talk to him much?”


“Hardly at all. Most of our outings were of the male-bonding variety—catching a game, playing a game, or betting on a game. And yes,” he turned to D.D. as if already anticipating her complaint, “it’s possible such activities made Trooper Leoni feel excluded. Though from what I remember, she also follows the Red Sox, with the whole family attending many of the games.”

D.D. scowled. She hated it when she was so transparent.

“And Trooper Leoni’s alcoholism,” Bobby asked quietly. “That ever come up?”

“I was aware of the situation,” Hamilton replied just as evenly. “To the best of my knowledge, Leoni had successfully completed a twelve-step program and remained on track. Again, no history of incidents or complaints.”

“What about that whole matter of her shooting and killing someone when she was sixteen?” D.D. asked.

“That,” Hamilton said heavily, “is gonna bite us on the ass.”

The bluntness of his statement took D.D. by surprise. She had a moment, then got it. The press digging deeper into Boston’s latest femme fatale, demanding to know what the state police were thinking, hiring a trooper who already had a history of violence …

Yep, the LT would have a lot of explaining to do.

“Look,” the commanding officer said now. “Trooper Leoni was never charged with a crime. She met all of our candidacy requirements. To refuse her application—that would’ve been discrimination. And for the record, she passed the Academy with flying colors and has performed exemplary in the line of duty. We had no way of knowing, no way of anticipating.…”

“You think she did it?” D.D. asked. “You knew her husband, her child. Think Tessa killed them both?”

“I think the longer I stay in this job, the less I’m surprised by all the things that should surprise me.”

“Any talk of marital problems between her and Brian?” Bobby asked.

“I would be the last to know,” Hamilton assured him.

“Noticeable changes in behavior, particularly the past three weeks?”

Hamilton tilted his head to the side. “Why the past three weeks?”

Bobby merely studied his superior officer. But D.D. understood. Because Brian Darby had only been home for the past three weeks, and according to his personal trainer, he’d returned from his last tour of duty not very happy with life.

“There was one situation that comes to mind,” Hamilton said abruptly. “Not involving Trooper Leoni, but her husband.”

D.D. and Bobby exchanged a glance.

“Probably six months ago,” Hamilton continued, not really looking at them. “Let’s see … November. That sounds right. Trooper Lyons arranged an outing to Foxwoods. Many of us attended, including Brian Darby. Personally, I took in a show, blew my fifty bucks in the casino, and called it a night. But Brian … When the time came, we couldn’t get him to leave. One more round, one more round, this would be the one. He and Shane ended up in an argument, with Shane physically pulling him off the casino floor. The other guys laughed it off. But … It seemed pretty clear to me that Brian Darby should not return to Foxwoods.”

“He had a gambling problem?” Bobby asked with a frown.

“I’d say his interest in gaming appeared higher than average. I’d say that if Shane hadn’t yanked him away from the roulette table, Brian would still be sitting there, watching the numbers spin around.”

Bobby and D.D. exchanged glances. D.D. would like this story better if Brian didn’t have fifty grand sitting in the bank. Gambling addicts didn’t normally leave fifty grand in savings. Still, they studied the lieutenant colonel.

“Have Shane and Brian returned to Foxwoods lately?” Bobby asked.

“You would have to ask Trooper Lyons.”

“Trooper Leoni ever mention any financial stress? Ask for extra shifts, more OT hours, that sort of thing?”

“To judge by the duty logs,” Hamilton said slowly, “she’s been working more hours lately.”

But fifty grand in the bank, D.D. thought. Who needed OT when you had fifty grand in the bank?

“There is something else you probably should know,” Hamilton said quietly. “I need you to understand, this is strictly off the record. And it may have nothing to do with Trooper Leoni. But … You said the past three weeks, and as a matter of fact, we launched an internal investigation exactly two weeks ago: An outside auditor discovered funds had been improperly moved from the union’s account. The auditor believes the funds were embezzled, most likely from an inside source. We are trying to locate those monies now.”

D.D. went wide-eyed. “How nice of you to mention that. And to volunteer it so readily, too.”

Bobby shot her a warning glance.

“How much are we talking?” he asked in a more reasonable tone.

“Two hundred and fifty thousand.”

“Missing as of two weeks ago?”