Chapter Twelve
Brant went to the computer station in the corner and clicked on the keys, bringing up an image on the screen of a well-fed white guy with gray hair and hard-looking eyes. “LeRoy Nevins,” he said, “a known white supremacist from Oklahoma City, has had a beef with the way you became vice president.”
Brant flipped through a series of op-ed pieces that Nevins had written for The Oklahoman, several of which had been picked up by national newspapers.
The headlines proclaimed the American people had been “hoodwinked” by the selection of Cappuano as vice president so the Democrats could set him up as the de facto nominee in four years.
“I don’t get it,” Sam said. “If the guy is a white supremacist, wouldn’t he be happy to see a white guy like Nick on the rise?”
“Not necessarily,” Brant said. “In addition to his advocacy for the white man, he’s also extremely conservative in his politics and a religious supporter of the Second Amendment.”
“And I’m a flaming liberal who’s been vocal in my support of reasonable gun control,” Nick said.
“Right,” Brant said. “He’s been on our radar for a while now.”
“What does that mean, specifically, when the Secret Service has someone ‘on their radar’?” Sam asked.
“It means we keep an eye on people who make inflammatory statements about the people we protect,” Brant said.
“This most recent interview is what turned our attention to him on the threat.” He brought up a video clip of Nevins being interviewed by a local news channel in which he spewed his special brand of hate for the entitled elite that run this country, especially “that new vice president who was inflicted upon us with no due process. A guy who spent one whole year in the Senate before being elevated to vice president is a heartbeat away from the Oval Office, and not one single American voted to put him there. How is that even possible?”
The commentator reminded him of the president’s constitutional right to appoint a successor should the sitting vice president be unable to complete his or her term.
“And that’s what’s gotta change,” Nevins said.
“We need to amend the Constitution to make it so the people get to vote on these things. Think about it—if the governor dies, there’s a special election.
But the vice president, the number two guy, can be chosen by one other person?
There’s no way that ought to be happening. No way.”
“Well, he did have to be confirmed by Congress,” the commentator said.
“Buncha fools they are, too. These people need to be taught some humility and reminded of who they serve—the people. That’s our house they’re sitting in, and it should be up to us to decide who gets to live and work there.”
“There’s that word again,” Sam said. “Humility.” She wrapped her hands around Nick’s arm, unnerved by the reminder that people who’d never met him hated him simply because of the office he held.
Of course she’d known they were out there, but to hear it spelled out so bluntly made her feel queasy all over again.
“That’s what triggered our decision to bring him in and have a talk with him,” Brant said. “He’s in custody and agents from the Secret Service and FBI will be meeting with him today.”
“He’ll deny he had anything to do with it,” Sam said.
“Probably,” Brant conceded, “but we’re going to do our best to get him to tell us the truth.”
“What does this mean for us and the family still in the bunker?” Nick asked.
“Hopefully, we’ll have more information for you soon, but we hope to bring them home by the end of the day,” Brant said, glancing at Nick.
“In addition, we’ve beefed up your detail, and we’ll add to Scotty’s, as well, when we bring him home.
And until we’re absolutely certain we’ve got our guy, we’re going to be providing security for the other members of your immediate family with a special focus on the children. ”
“Thanks for everything you’re doing,” Nick said.
“Of course,” Brant said. “Keeping you safe is our top priority.”
“Thank you, Brant,” Sam said.
“You’re welcome.” He paused before he added, “I know we’ve had this conversation before, Mrs. Cappuano, but I recommend you have a detail until we’re certain we’ve contained this threat.”
“I appreciate the recommendation, but I’ll be providing my own security through my team here. I’ll be accompanied by other armed officers everywhere I go. There’s no need to be redundant.”
“Redundant,” Nick muttered with a grunt that would’ve been laughter if the subject matter hadn’t been so grave. “Brant is suggesting added precaution, not redundancy.”
“It’s not necessary,” Sam said, digging in. The last fucking thing she needed was to be escorted around by federal agents. She may as well hang up her badge if that was going to be her reality.
“On that we disagree, my love,” Nick said. “But I’m not going to waste everyone’s time fighting a losing battle. Brant, we appreciate your thoroughness and ask you to keep us posted on the situation with Nevins.”
“Will do, sir. I’ll wait for you outside.”
When they were alone, Sam looked up at Nick. “I know what you’re going to say, and—”
Nick kissed her hard. “I’ll see you at home later. Let me know if anything pops on the Gibson investigation.”
“That’s it? That’s all you’re going to say?”
“That’s it.”
“Hmm.”
“What does that mean?”
“You surprise me.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “Then my day is officially made. I’ve managed to surprise my shrewd, sexy wife.”
“I thought you were going to do the whole alpha-dog lift-your-leg thing and demand I have a detail.”
“Sorry to disappoint you on the leg lifting, babe, but we have a deal. Would I like you to have a detail? Abso-fucking-lutely. Do I understand why you won’t allow it?
Yeah, I get it. Doesn’t mean I like it, but I get it.
” He kissed her forehead and then her lips.
“Now, we’ve both got stuff to do, so let’s get to it so we can get to the best part of the day. ”
“Which is?”
His lips were a heartbeat away from hers when he said, “The part where you crawl into bed with me and rub your naked self all over me.”
“And I’m expected to work with that visual in my head?”
“Yep.” After another quick kiss, he headed for the door.
“Hey, Nick?”
Turning, he raised a brow in inquiry. “Thanks for being the best husband I ever had.”
Normally he’d say Peter had set the bar pretty low, but not today. “Being your husband is the best thing I’ve ever done. I’ll see you later, babe.”
Passing Nick as he left, Avery came into the conference room looking like he’d been up all night. His eyes were rimmed with red, his clothes rumpled, and his normally well-styled hair was a mess.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Sam asked.
“Everything is wrong.”
“Care to be more specific?”
“Shelby and I broke up. The engagement is off.”
Sam’s mouth fell open in shock. “You can’t be serious! The baby is due any second—the baby you were going to raise together.”
“You think I need you to tell me that?”
He’d never spoken to her in such a harsh tone, and it took her by surprise.
“What happened?” Sam asked.
“I’ll let her tell you. I’ve got work to do. Where are you with the Gibson case?”
“Avery…”
“Let it go, Sam. I didn’t have to tell you anything, so please drop it. I need to focus on work so I don’t lose my fucking shit.”
“All right.” Sam did as he asked and dropped it, but she’d be texting Shelby the second she could to find out what the heck had happened. “You’ve heard about the possibility of a suspect in Oklahoma City?”
“Yeah, I’ve been briefed on that and some of my people are working with the Secret Service there. What’s going on here?”
“We’re leaving shortly to dig into the Gibson case.”
“I was also briefed on what was done to him. Are you okay?”
“I will be once we figure out who decided to torture and murder my ex-husband.”
“Speculation is it may be related to our threat. What’re your thoughts on that?”
Sam brought him up to speed on the info Brant had shared with them. “Nick wondered if Peter was killed to draw me out of hiding.”
“That’s a definite possibility and one that came up at our briefing this morning.”
Sam’s belly began to ache at the thought of the FBI and other law enforcement agencies discussing what had once been her most personal business.
During her contentious divorce from Peter and the crap he pulled afterward, Sam had hated having her private life picked apart by her professional colleagues.
It had been a while since she’d had to deal with that, but it was happening again on multiple levels with the entire country riveted by the story of the second family being threatened and now Peter being murdered.
“You mind if I tag along with you guys?” Avery asked.
“Not as long as you stay out of the way and let us take the lead on Gibson.”
“He’s all yours, but the second he ties into my investigation, he’s all mine. Got it?”
There was no way she’d concede to that. “We’ll see.” He didn’t like that answer, but too bad. It was the only one he was getting. She pushed past him into the pit. “Gonzo, Cruz, you’re with me. Let’s get moving.”
Their first stop was the Good Night Mattress store on Wisconsin Avenue where Peter had been a sales associate since March.
“We can’t all go in there, or they’ll think we’re shutting the place down,” Sam said when she, Cruz and Gonzo met Hill outside the store. “Cruz and I will take this one. You guys wait.”
Avery began to object, but Sam’s glare shut him down. She headed for the front door and walked into the showroom with Cruz following behind her.
A pretty young saleswoman greeted them. She brightened at the sight of potential customers, but her smile faded when they flashed their badges.
“Lieutenant Holland, Detective Cruz, Metro PD.”
“You’re here about Peter.”
“Yes, you worked with him?”