Chapter Five
“Did you sleep all night?” Sam asked Nick after her alarm went off, waking both of them.
“I did. Can I sign up for snuggle therapy again tonight?”
“Tonight and every night.”
“I’m in.”
They got the kids up and dressed and ate breakfast together while they waited for the lead agent on Nick’s detail, John Brantley Jr., to report to work.
The young, handsome, intense agent knocked on the kitchen door before he stepped into the room. “You wanted to see me, Mr. Vice President?”
“Morning, Brant. The lieutenant and I would like to pay a visit to News Channel 6 around lunchtime today if we can make that happen.”
Sam loved watching Nick in vice president mode, even as she thanked her lucky stars that she’d never have to see him in president mode. Dear God, the very thought of him as president made her weak in the knees.
“Uh, pardon the inquiry, sir, but neither of you is exactly known for courting press attention.”
Nick smiled at the comment the agent never would’ve made when he first started working with them.
He’d become increasingly more comfortable with expressing his opinions to them, which was fine with her.
Knowing the super competent agent was protecting her husband went a long way toward keeping Sam sane.
“Right you are, Brant,” Nick said. “But we have a very large bone to pick with one of the reporters there, and we’d like to pop in for a face-to-face discussion.”
“Right. Pop in.”
The logistics involved in coordinating that “pop in” would take over Brant’s day.
“Can we make that happen?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And of course the element of surprise is highly desired…”
“Of course. I’ll get back to you with an approximate time.”
“Excellent. Thank you, Brant.”
The agent nodded and left the room.
“He hates our guts, doesn’t he?” Sam asked.
Nick laughed. “I don’t think it’s gotten to that point quite yet.”
“He’s going to write one hell of a tell-all after you’re out of office.”
“No, he won’t.” Nick crooked his finger to bring her close enough to whisper in her ear. “And now we have a nooner to look forward to.”
Sam laughed at the way he waggled his brows suggestively.
“I heard that,” Scotty grumbled. “I don’t even know what that is, but I’m pretty sure it’s gross.”
“Go brush your teeth,” Sam said, laughing at his grumpiness.
Scotty scowled at her and took off to finish getting ready.
“Love you,” Sam called after him. “Have a good day!” Next, she kissed the twins, made sure their lunches were ready to go and left them with Nick for face washing and teeth brushing.
“See you at noon,” Nick said when he kissed her goodbye. “Take good care of my cop this morning. I love her forever.”
“She loves you, too.”
As she drove to work, she thought about how the twins’ mother had volunteered at their school, overseen craft projects and planned elaborate birthday parties.
Sam felt inadequate compared to her, but showered them with all the love she had to make up for the things she lacked. She could only hope it was enough.
Their sixth birthday was coming up next week, the weekend after Thanksgiving, and they would have a party while Elijah was home from Princeton.
Sam had relegated the details to their personal assistant, Shelby Faircloth Hill, the ultimate party planner, who would pull it off without breaking a sweat, whereas Sam would’ve been lost on where to even start.
Thank God for Shelby.
She arrived at HQ and drove around the building to the entrance by the morgue, her first stop being a check-in with Lindsey. “Give me something, give me anything.”
Lindsey looked up from where she was typing on a computer. As usual, she had her long red hair in a ponytail and a tall coffee sitting on her desk. “I got something. Come see?”
“Do I gotta?” Sam hated the morgue and everything that went on there.
“Yep.”
Sam hoped her breakfast would stay where she’d put it and not come rushing up at the sight of something that could never be unseen.
“Here I come.” This was one of those times when deep breathing didn’t help, unless the smell of formaldehyde settled your stomach.
It only made Sam’s feel worse, so no deep breathing.
Lindsey led her to the table where Ginny was laid out, a sheet covering her that Lindsey peeled back to reveal the nasty injury to her neck that had killed her. “See this?” she asked after she snapped on gloves and pointed to the edges of the wound.
“What about it?”
“I believe you’re looking for a yard implement or something with pointed, sharp edges that would’ve created this pattern.”
Now that she pointed to it, Sam saw the pattern.
“Like a garden cultivator or what’s sometimes called a Garden Weasel.”
“A what? So not a gardener here.”
“It’s a handheld tool that’s used to clear weeds and such. Has three very sharp rotating tines that churn up the dirt.”
“Rotating tines? Ouch.”
“I know.”
“But that would indicate that whoever killed her maybe didn’t go there with a plan. They likely grabbed the yard tool in the garage and attacked her.”
“That’s what I’m thinking, too.”
“This is good stuff, Doc. You’ve given me a thread to pull.”
“And we all know how much you love your threads.”
“Indeed.”
“The tox screen came back negative for drugs or alcohol in her system. No sign of sexual assault, and I saw no other obvious injuries besides the one to her neck that killed her and the cuts on her face. If I had to speculate, your perp grabbed the first available object and took her out.”
“That sounds like a plausible theory—and he or she got lucky with the first strike.”
“It would seem so.”
Sam stepped out of the freezing-cold room to call CSU Lieutenant Haggerty.
She got his voice mail, which irritated her.
“It’s Holland. Call me when you can. I’ve got something.
” After slapping her phone closed, she turned to speak to Lindsey, who’d followed her out into the hall.
“I’ll tell you something Terry is going to hear today that also affects you as Terry’s fiancée, but it’s top secret otherwise. ”
“What’s that?”
“Nick isn’t going to run.”
Lindsey’s eyes went wide. “Wow, that’s huge.”
“I know, and frankly, I’m relieved.”
“I’m sure. Did Nick say why?”
“You know how he was raised, right? Teenage parents and a grandmother who didn’t want him around?”
“I’ve heard that.”
“He doesn’t want to be president. Plus, he’s waited all his life for what we have now, and he doesn’t want to spend months on end away from us on the campaign trail.”
“That’s so sweet.”
“I think so, too, and I’m thrilled he won’t be gone all the time. I almost lost my shit when he was in Europe for a week, and when he went to Iran. Ugh…”
“I feel you. It’s tough for me when Terry travels with him, so this is good news for me, too, even if I loved the idea of Nick being president. He would’ve been great.”
“I agree, but we’re looking forward to getting our lives back after he leaves office. As much as we love Brant and the other agents, their presence is a tad intrusive at times.”
“I bet it’s way more than a tad intrusive. I’d hate being watched all the time like that.”
“Nick says he understands now what it’s like to be a goldfish in a bowl with everyone looking at him.”
“That’s a great way to put it.”
“It’s the truth. Well, I need to hit it. I’ve got a noon date with my husband to pay a visit to the reporter who asked if we’re going to have kids of our own.”
Lindsey’s mouth fell open. “You’re going there?”
“Yep.”
“What brought this on?”
“Our son asking us what it means to be a ‘real’ kid.”
“No.”
“He heard it at school and didn’t know what it meant.”
“Sam…”
“I know. It’s infuriating, and we thought it might be fun to tell the reporter who asked the question what she started.”
“I’d give anything to be there to see you two walk into her office.”
“You can come if you’d like.”
Lindsey laughed. “Thanks, but I’ll wait to hear about it from you.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“God help that woman. She has no idea what’s about to hit her.”
“Nick and I can take whatever shit they fling our way, but don’t come for our kids, you know?”
“Absolutely. You’re doing the right thing and teaching her a lesson she’ll never forget.”
“Let’s hope so. Have a good day, Doc.”
“You, too. Let me know how the visit to the TV station goes.”
“Will do.” On the way to the pit, she took a call from Haggerty. “Hey, so the ME has determined our cause of death was most likely a Garden Weasel or a similar implement that would’ve caused a ragged wound.”
“Got it. We’re back on the scene today finishing up. I’ll let you know if we find anything that fits the bill.”
“Thanks very much. Was there anything else useful?”
“Not yet. We took a ton of prints and collected lots of other evidence. It’s all with the lab. Today, we’re working on getting the prints of anyone who had regular access to the house so we can rule out family members.”
“Perfect. Keep me posted.”
“Will do.”
When the line went dead, she smacked the phone closed and jammed it into her back pocket. In the pit, she signaled Cameron Green to come into the office.
Squared away as always in a starched light blue dress shirt and matching tie, Green came in carrying a file folder. “Can you ask Cruz and McBride to join us?” he asked.
Sam picked up the phone and buzzed Freddie’s extension.
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Come into the office, and bring McBride with you.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She put down the extension and waited for them to come in.
Freddie closed the door behind them. “What’s up?”
“I’ve got something on Ramsey,” Green said.
Sam’s backbone tingled the way it did when something was about to break on a case. “Do tell.”
“He’s having an affair.” Green put a series of photos on the desk.
Sam, Freddie and Jeannie leaned in for a closer look.