Chapter Eighteen
After the surreal conversation with Lindsey, Sam wandered into Lilia’s office.
Her chief of staff smiled in welcome.
“I thought about the NAPO speech, and I guess I’ll do it.”
“They’ll be thrilled.”
Sam rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”
Lilia laughed. “How’s it going with the investigation?”
“It’s going. Hearing things about the commander in chief that make my skin crawl a little, but other than that…”
“The whole thing is hard to fathom.”
“Not to mention that it happened during his reelection campaign when he was once again casting himself as a family kind of guy.”
“That, too.”
Lilia lost some of her usual sparkle as she discussed the president’s behavior.
“I know that politics is so much smoke and mirrors, but I still like to think the best of people. It’s painful to be so disillusioned.
” She looked up at Sam. “You have to promise me that you and your husband will never disappoint me this way. I don’t think I could handle it from you two. ”
The thought of Nick cheating on her was impossible to wrap her head around. “I can promise you we won’t let you down in this way.”
“I’m honestly not worried about that. The two of you are what the rest of us aspire to be.
When I first knew you, I wondered if your public persona was too good to be true.
But after spending time with you and getting to know you both, I tell everyone who asks that you guys are every bit the real deal that you appear to be. ”
“That’s nice of you to say. He’s my real deal.”
“And she’s mine,” her husband said as he slipped an arm around her from behind.
Sam smiled as the scent of home filled her senses. “Aren’t you supposed to be tending to world domination or something equally important?”
“It’s hard to focus on world domination when my best girl is in the building.”
Lilia fanned her face. “See what I mean? Hashtag couple goals.”
In a past life, before him, she would’ve been embarrassed to be part of a couple that inspired a hashtag. Now she didn’t care because being part of that couple meant she got to spend her life with him.
“How’s it going?” he asked.
“We’re done here. Getting ready to head back to HQ.”
“Were Derek and Tom able to help?”
“They were great and gave us a few threads to pull.”
“I know how you love your threads.”
From behind Nick, Freddie said, “Hate to interrupt the White House snuggle session, but I wanted to tell you that Malone is requesting the warrant from Tara’s cell carrier.”
“Thank you. Wait for me in the car.”
“Yes, Mom. Will do.”
“Young Freddie is a brat,” Sam said. “We need to do something about that.”
“We’ve got our hands full with our other three and a half kids.” They had taken to referring to the twins’ older brother Elijah as their half kid as he was technically an adult but now very much a part of their family.
“That we do. Let me go so I can get back to work and home to you and the crew that much sooner.”
“If I must.” He kissed her neck and let her go. “Tell me this… Are you any closer to making it so he won’t have to resign?”
She turned to face him, noticing once again how tired and stressed he looked. “I hope so, and trust me, that’s my number two goal right after getting justice for Tara.”
“Excellent.”
“Try not to worry.”
“What? Me worry? I’ll walk you out.”
“See you soon, Lilia,” Sam said, “and thanks again for such a great time the other night.”
“It was my pleasure. We’ll do it again soon.”
Nick put his arm around Sam and kept it there as they walked toward the exit with Brant keeping a respectful distance as he followed them. Though they passed several people who looked familiar on the way out, Nick kept his attention entirely on her.
“What were you and Lilia talking about when I found you?”
“She was saying that if we ever turned out to be like the Nelsons, she wouldn’t be able to handle the disillusion.”
“There’s no need to worry about that with us.”
“That’s what I told her.”
He looked down at her. “You know that for one thousand percent certain, right?”
“Of course I do.”
“With all the things we both have to worry about, that should never be one of them.”
“Agreed. You keep me so entertained, why would I need anyone else?”
“My evil plan is working then.”
“You’re all I need.”
“Likewise.”
“I feel so badly for Gloria in all of this. Have you heard anything about how she’s holding up?”
“Not really, but he wants to see me this afternoon.”
“Ugh.” Sam stopped and crooked her finger to bring him close enough to whisper. “Hanigan told me Nelson had a vasectomy. The baby isn’t his.”
“Is that right?”
She nodded. “I also heard that their theory is Tara leaked the story about the affair and baby.”
“Wow.”
“I don’t want to say too much more here. I’ll fill you in at home.”
“I’ll look forward to being debriefed by you.”
“Why do I suspect we’re talking about a different kind of briefs?”
He laughed—hard, which pleased her greatly. She loved to make him laugh and when his gorgeous hazel eyes sparkled the way they were now.
“Love you best of all,” he whispered as he kissed her.
“Love you best of all.”
“Take care of my wife out there.”
“Always do. See you soon.”
“Can’t wait.”
As she left him at the doorway, she felt his gaze on her as she walked to the car where Freddie waited for her.
“Let’s get at this,” she said to her partner.
“Nick is about to buckle from the stress.” She recalled her plan to check in with Harry and tossed the keys to Freddie. “You drive. I have a call to make.”
Harry answered on the second ring. “To what do I owe the honor of a phone call from the second lady?”
“I’m worried about the VP.”
“Ah, yes, nothing like another presidential scandal to have the vice president sweating out his future.”
“Exactly. Did you really check his blood pressure today?”
Harry laughed. “I did, and everything is normal.”
“Thank you for keeping an eye on him. The insomnia is bad. There’s got to be something you can do about that.”
“I would, but the meds leave him groggy the next day, so he won’t take them.”
“Ugh. I’ll talk to him again. Groggy is better than being a zombie.”
“You’re preaching to the choir, my friend.”
“Text me if you see anything to worry about?”
“I will, but try not to worry. He’s rock solid. You know that.”
“Not this time. He’s putting on a good front, but he’s freaking out on the inside.”
“I’ll talk to him again.”
“Thanks, Harry. Appreciate it.”
“Anything for you guys. Hang in there and find the person who killed Tara Weber. That’ll help.”
“We’re on it. Talk to you later.” Sam ended the call and took a deep breath, needing to clear her mind of worries about her husband so she could refocus on the case. “What did Tara’s mom say about other guys?”
“She said her daughter was circumspect about her personal life, and that Bryce is the only guy she dated for any amount of time. He’s the only one they met.”
“So that’s a dead end. Let’s go back to HQ and see if the warrant came through for the phone data and the dating app. I also want to check in with Archie.”
The street leading to HQ was now completely lined with satellite trucks.
“What do they think they’re going to get here?”
“An exclusive from you? Because that’s how you roll.”
“Right? Are they expecting me to suddenly get the urge to share my innermost thoughts with them?”
“Hope springs eternal.”
“That’s very poetic, young Freddie.”
“Wait till they hear the baby isn’t Nelson’s. That’s gonna be huge.”
“Yep, but I want proof before we go public with that detail. I can’t believe I’m awaiting a report about the president’s sperm count and DNA. How is this my life?”
Freddie snorted with laughter. “Right?” He drove around to the morgue entrance.
“I can’t wait to be able to say the baby isn’t Nelson’s. Maybe that will make some of this insanity go away.”
“The baby might not be his, but he still had the affair. I don’t think that part of the story is going away.”
“Let me have my illusions, will you, please?”
“My apologies. Of course the whole thing will go away as soon as it’s revealed that the baby isn’t his.”
“Better. Thank you.”
“I live to serve you, Lieutenant.”
“You’re an expert suck-up, I’ll give you that.”
“That might be one of the best compliments I’ve ever received.”
Inside, they found the rest of the squad working the computers and phones.
“Conference room in ten.” Sam ducked into her office to check her email.
The autopsy report from Lindsey had arrived, confirming what they already knew—that Tara had died by manual strangulation with no sign of sexual assault.
Sam wanted to know how Tara had ended up naked in her bed if she’d gone to her condo to retrieve clothing and other necessities.
At what point in a quick errand did she suddenly decide to remove her clothes and get into bed?
She didn’t decide that. Someone else had made her do that, and when they figured out who, they’d know who killed her.
Captain Malone appeared at the door. “Two things. Conklin says he has info that we’re going to want—and he’s hoping we’ll make a case for leniency in exchange.”
“Like that’s going to happen. What’s the other thing?”
“Final arguments are being delivered in Stahl’s trial. It’s expected to go to the jury by the end of the day.”
Sam’s stomach dropped. Soon enough that nightmare would be over, but would she get the verdict she deserved?
“When he’s convicted, they’re going to want you to do a victim impact statement.”
“I already did that when I testified, and besides, I’m not giving him the satisfaction of hearing what impact he had on me. No way.”
“I understand, but you know how this works. The judge wants to hear from the people most impacted by the crime. In this case, that’s you.”
“They’ve already heard from me.” There was no way in hell she was going back to that courtroom. “Let’s see Conklin after I meet with my squad. Thirty minutes?”