Chapter Sixteen
After sharing a grimace with Nick, Sam called her dad’s house to let him know her team would be gathering at her house shortly if he wanted to join them.
“We’re getting him up and dressed,” her stepmother, Celia, said. “I’ll send him over as soon as he’s ready.”
“Great, thanks.” She ended that call as her phone rang with a call from her sister Tracy. “What’s up, Trace?”
“I went through Abby and Ethan’s clothes, and I found a few things that might work. I asked Ang to check Jack’s stuff, too,” she said of their sister and nephew.
“Thank you. I appreciate it. I don’t know when we’ll be able to get into their house to get their stuff.”
“I saw something about the fire on the news. It’s so sad.”
“It is. I gotta run. I’ll see you when you get here, and thanks again.”
“Sam.”
“Yeah?”
“I’m worried and Ang is, too.”
“About?”
“You getting attached to the kids and then having to hand them over to someone else.”
Sam sighed. “Thank you for the concern, but I’m okay.
I know what this is—and what it isn’t.” But even as she said the words, she acknowledged that her sisters’ concern wasn’t misplaced.
It wouldn’t take much for her to become extremely attached to the two little ones who’d been entrusted to her care.
“Just be careful okay? It’s a great thing you guys are doing, but it’s dangerous for you in more ways than one.”
“Believe me, we’ve gotten an earful from the Secret Service, who are none too pleased about it.”
“I’m sure they aren’t.”
“I’ll see you when you get here.”
Sam finally had a second to read the text Carlucci had sent the night before about Gonzo.
He seems okay and said they are monitoring him for twelve hours, so he’ll be out today.
Sam wanted more info about what’d happened to him last night, but that would have to wait until later.
Scotty came down the stairs carrying Alden, who had his thumb in his mouth.
She closed the phone and stashed it in her pocket.
“He was crying,” Scotty said. “So I got him up.”
“Thank you,” Sam said, caressing Alden’s messy blond hair.
He reached for her, and she took him from Scotty. “Aubrey is having pancakes with Shelby. You guys want to join her?”
Alden nodded.
“Shelby’s pancakes are the best.” Scotty led the way to the kitchen, where they found Aubrey still holding Noah, who was all smiles for her.
“Alden, come see Noah,” she said.
While the two children were occupied with the baby, Scotty whispered, “Will they still be here when I get home?”
“I don’t know for sure.”
“I hope they are. They’re cute.”
“Yes, they are.” Realizing she wasn’t the only one getting attached, Sam gave him a one-armed hug and kissed the top of his head. “Hurry up and eat.” She released him, so he could take the plate Shelby handed him.
“Morning, handsome,” she said.
“Morning, Shelby,” he said in a long-suffering tone. Like his father, hearing he was handsome embarrassed him. He’d better get used to it, because her handsome boy was going to grow into a very handsome man, like his dad.
Shelby nodded to the living room, letting Sam know she had things under control in the kitchen if she needed to be elsewhere.
“I’ll be right out there,” she said. “Come get me if you need me.”
“We’re good,” Shelby said. “Right, guys?”
“Right,” Aubrey said.
Sam went into the living room as the agent at the door admitted Green, McBride and Hill. She appreciated that they’d come early, knowing how much needed to be done that day.
“Morning, everyone. Shelby has coffee in the kitchen but go in one at a time. The Beauclair kids are in there, and I don’t want them overwhelmed by strangers.”
“How’re they doing?” Jeannie asked, her warm brown eyes brimming with compassion.
“Okay, all things considered. They both got some sleep, and Scotty has been a huge help.”
“He’s the best,” Jeannie said.
“I might be biased, but I agree.”
“You’re his mom,” Jeannie said. “You’re allowed to be biased. I’ve got a few updates for you from Carlucci and Dominguez. Lindsey and her team have confirmed that our victims were the Beauclairs.”
Sam nodded as she sighed. “I heard. What else?”
“Carlucci said she told you Gonzo will be out today.”
“Yes.” Sam would have to find time today to talk to him—and Malone. With Cruz out for the next two weeks on his honeymoon trip to Italy and now Gonzo’s status questionable, there was no way she could leave town.
Hopefully, Nick could work something out so he wouldn’t have to be gone for three weeks.
If he couldn’t, she’d have to figure out what she would do without him for all that time.
She sighed and pushed those thoughts aside to focus on work.
The case had taken a backseat to the drama circulating within the squad and the situation with the children.
They had to get back on track with the investigation, beginning right now.
The front door opened, and Freddie came in, looking tired and spent. Great. Her team was hardly firing on all cylinders at the moment.
“How’s Elin?” Sam asked him.
“She had a rough night. She’s in a lot of pain.”
“The poor thing,” Sam said. “The last thing she needs this week.”
“Yeah, I hope she feels better by Saturday. I don’t want anything to ruin her big day.”
“She’ll be fine. She’s got a few days to get past it.”
“Hope so. What’s up with the case?”
“We’re about to start.” Sam sat next to Jeannie while Freddie took the chair next to Green. “What’s the latest, people?”
“Per your request yesterday,” Jeannie said, “I’ve put together a report on APG, the falling-out between Armstrong and Piedmont and the aftermath of the company’s meltdown.
” She distributed printed copies to everyone.
“The bottom line is they went from best friends and business partners to mortal enemies seemingly overnight when Armstrong delivered the dossier on Piedmont’s activities to the Feds. ”
“Armstrong had a fiduciary and legal responsibility to report the irregular activity,” Hill said.
“He did the only thing he could to keep himself out of jail, but it came at an awful cost. From all reports, he’d resurrected the business from the ashes of APG, since he still owned the patent on the software he developed, but he’d been plagued by depression and anxiety issues. ”
“Apparently, with good reason,” Green said, producing photos from the crime scene that were passed around the group.
The entire left side of the ten-thousand-square-foot home was in ruins while the right side appeared virtually untouched, which explained how the children were able to survive the inferno.
Thank God they’d survived, Sam thought. After having the chance to get to know them a little, the thought of them dying in such a horrible way was more than she could bear to consider.
When Scotty came downstairs, dressed for school, backpack on his shoulder and Secret Service detail in tow, Sam got up to kiss him goodbye. “Have a good day.”
“You, too,” he said, waving to her team. “I’m going to say goodbye to them.” He gestured toward the kitchen.
“Don’t make it sound like you won’t see them again.”
“Got it.”
“Hey,” she said, straightening his hair. “Thanks for all your help. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
Sam rejoined the meeting, waving as Scotty left a minute later with his agents.
“I spoke with the Beauclairs’ older son last night,” Hill said, glancing at Sam.
“Needless to say, he took the news about his father and stepmother very hard. I asked about potential guardians for the children, and he said he’d be surprised if anyone in the family would take them, especially after what’d happened to his father and Cleo.
Apparently, her family in California had been afraid of something like what happened. ”
“They’d let two children who’ve lost their parents go to strangers?” Sam asked, incredulous.
“They’re afraid,” Hill responded.
“Unreal.” If anything happened to either of her sisters, God forbid, she’d do whatever it took to protect their children, regardless of the circumstances. That’s what family did.
The front door opened and her dad, Skip, came rolling in, controlling his wheelchair with the one finger that retained motion after the devastating gunshot injury almost four years ago that had ended his career three months before he’d been due to retire.
His blue eyes were sharp and focused as he joined the gathering. “What’d I miss?” he asked.
Sam quickly summarized the case and held up the crime scene photographs for him.
“Did I hear you’ve got custody of the kids?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. He got a lot done with that eyebrow.
“You heard correctly.” She knew what he was thinking, so he didn’t have to verbalize whether she’d crossed the line by taking in the kids of her murder victims. Maybe she had, but she’d do it again in a hot second.
To the others, she said, “While the Feds focus on finding Piedmont, I want to look at the possibility that this had nothing to do with APG or Piedmont.”
“You don’t think that would be a waste of time?” Hill asked.
“These people lived complicated lives. Are you going to tell me that Piedmont was the only issue they had? I refuse to believe that. I want to go back to the neighbors and friends, the kids’ school, associates of Jameson’s from his business dealings, Cleo’s friends, etc.
Let’s take a closer look at their lives from the time they landed here and find out who else might’ve had a motive for murder. ”
“I agree with the Lieutenant,” Green said. “Sometimes the obvious is too simple. When you’re sitting on a billion-dollar fortune, life is complicated, even when you aren’t on the run from your former business partner. I’ll follow the money if that’s okay.”
“Please do,” Sam said.
“I’ll go back to the school and the neighbors,” Cruz said.
“Take Jeannie with you. Find out who else they associated with, any clubs or organizations they belonged to, that kind of thing. I also want to know if there was any hint of marital trouble, infidelity, etc.”