Chapter Four
CHAPTER FOUR
A s they approached the Naval Yard, Truver made a phone call. “I’m with Lieutenant Holland, arriving at the gate in her Secret Service vehicle.”
They were waved through security and driven a short distance to a nondescript white brick building.
“Right this way,” Truver said.
“You want me to come?” Vernon asked Sam.
“I don’t think so.”
“This is weird.”
“You’re telling me.” Because it was a secure federal facility, Vernon let her go in without him, but she could tell he didn’t want to. They’d come to a fragile accord when she was on the job, and she appreciated him rolling with her even when he didn’t agree with the plan. A less flexible lead agent would’ve made her life a living hell. She was thankful every day for him and the faith he had in her as a fellow law enforcement officer.
They went up two flights of stairs and down a long hallway that reminded Sam of every other federal building she’d ever been in. It was like the designers of these places had set out to make the workplaces as drab as they possibly could. Not that her cinderblock HQ was much better. It’d probably been designed by the same architect.
Truver stopped at the last door on the right side, keyed in a code and went into a generic office. It had four walls with nothing on them, a desk, a chair and a closed laptop. Otherwise, there wasn’t a single other item in the room.
“You’ve stepped into an ongoing investigation, Lieutenant. I need your assurances that everything you learn here will be kept in the strictest confidence. It’s vital that you not tell anyone—not your colleagues or your husband or anyone else—what you’re told here.”
“How is it possible that I’ve stepped into an ongoing investigation when Lieutenant Commander Rodriguez’s body was found only this morning?”
“Before I say anything else, I need your assurances that what I tell you will remain confidential. People’s lives are on the line, including those of my team members. As a commander yourself, I’m sure you can appreciate my concern for them.”
Sam had never been more confused or more curious as to what in the hell was going on. But she was also torn. How could she promise to keep stuff that might be material to the investigation from her team or from Nick if it involved Juan’s murder?
“Do I have your word?”
From what Sam could tell, the woman seemed to barely blink.
“How am I supposed to give you my word before I know what I’m agreeing to?”
“If you want to know what’s happening, you need to give me your word.”
“You can see why that’s preposterous, right?”
“I can.”
Again with the steely stare.
“You’re asking me to keep things from the people I’m closest to, including my husband. ”
“I assume he’d want you to protect national security. Am I correct?”
“Well, yes, but?—”
“There’re no buts when it comes to matters as sensitive as this is.”
“Why did you bring me here if I’m not allowed to do anything with the information you give me?”
“Because I need your help.”
Sam stared her down, but the woman never blinked. She was even better at the steely stare than Sam was, and that was one of Sam’s best features. She’d seen a lot of crazy things on this job, but this—whatever this was—could turn out to be the craziest thing yet. What choice did she have but to cooperate with the agent who seemed to be holding all the cards at the moment?
“I give you my word that I won’t disclose to anyone what I learn here.”
“Including your team, your husband and his team?”
Sam swallowed hard, hoping that was a promise she could keep while not at all confident she could keep a big secret from Nick, national security or not. “Including them.”
“Very well.” Truver knocked on a door on the far side of the office.
The door opened, and Truver gestured for Sam to follow her into another basic room where Juan Rodriguez sat on a sofa under the watchful eyes of another NCIS agent.
Sam did a double take.
What the actual fuck?
Her head whipped toward Truver. “What is happening?”
“Juan is not dead.”
“I see that.” And holy hell, how would she ever keep that information from Nick? Fuck! “Do you mind telling me who’s in my morgue?”
“I’m not at liberty to disclose that information at this time. ”
“You expect me to keep this a secret from my team, my husband and everyone else?”
“That’s exactly what you just promised to do. We’re in the midst of a very sensitive situation, and it’s necessary to our investigation to make the rest of the world think that Lieutenant Commander Rodriguez has been murdered.”
Sam zeroed in on Juan, who wore a gray T-shirt with basketball shorts. “I just stood next to my heartbroken husband in the Oval Office while he told your distraught mother and family that you’re dead.”
Juan’s expression conveyed his agony at hearing that. “I’m so sorry, ma’am. I hate this as much as you do.”
“Your mother wailed when she heard you were dead.”
His dark eyes filled with tears. “I hope that when she learns the full story, she’ll understand.”
Sam doubted his mother would ever get over this. She wouldn’t if someone told her that one of her kids let someone tell her they were dead when they weren’t.
“Please have a seat, and we’ll tell you what we need from you, Lieutenant,” Truver said.
Sam glanced at the other agent, a middle-aged man with gray hair and a matching beard.
He was staring at her as if he’d never seen the first lady before, or something like that, which instantly irritated her considering the circumstances.
Sam sat on the other end of Juan’s sofa.
“For the last four months, we’ve been coordinating with Lieutenant Commander Rodriguez and several other active-duty and civilian personnel who worked in close contact with the former Joint Chiefs of Staff after it came to our attention that they were having covert meetings and other conversations about the new commander in chief and whether he was qualified to oversee the military.”
Sam’s stomach began to ache the way it had before she gave up diet soda. The thought of keeping a secret like this from Nick was beyond her ability to comprehend. How would she do that? She settled in to get the information she’d need to figure out what to do next.
Agent Truver laid out a winding, twisting story that spanned months and involved some of the highest-ranking officers in the U.S. military, who’d apparently revolted the minute they heard Nelson was dead and that Nick Cappuano would take the oath of office as the nation’s next president. From what Truver said, they weren’t even subtle about their objections to the young, inexperienced vice president suddenly becoming the commander in chief.
The sick feeling in Sam’s stomach intensified with every word Truver said. She had names, dates, details of the plot to rid themselves and the nation of a man they felt was woefully unprepared to command the world’s mightiest military.
“Needless to say,” Truver continued, “there was widespread shock throughout the Pentagon and the military apparatus as word began to filter out, past the offices of the Joint Chiefs.”
“So it was a badly kept secret, then?” Sam asked.
“Yes,” Truver said. “And it had reached the rank and file, who were becoming confused about who was in charge if the Joint Chiefs were in open revolt.”
“That’s how I heard about it,” Juan said. “A friend who knew someone who worked for the Navy chief heard there was talk of open revolt at the highest levels.”
“What did you do after you heard that?” Sam asked him.
“I did some digging to confirm it wasn’t just a rumor, and then I went directly to the president. As someone who works closely with him on a regular basis, I have no doubt about his fitness to hold the office, about his superior intelligence and grasp of the issues. Not to mention his decency and the kindness he has shown a low-ranking person on his team. As a naval officer who took an oath to support and defend the Constitution and to follow the orders of the president of the Unites States as well as the officers appointed over me, I was appalled by what I’d heard. It never occurred to me for one second not to tell him.”
Juan earned a permanent place in Sam’s heart with that statement.
“He appreciated what you did very much and worried about your safety afterward.”
“Believe me, I was concerned about that, too. After I left the Oval Office, I went directly to NCIS to report what I knew and what I’d done with the info. I’ve been working with them ever since.”
“We’ve had him under protection as he went about his normal routine,” Truver said. “Which is how we determined he was being followed.”
“By whom?” Sam asked.
“We were able to tie the tail back to Admiral Goldstein, the former chief of Naval Operations and member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.”
“How did you tie it to him?”
“We followed the money.”
Sam nodded. That’s what she would’ve done, too.
“Goldstein didn’t try to hide the fact that he was paying a private investigator to follow Juan. Our team waylaid the investigator, brought him in and got him to confess to who’d hired him and why.”
“And what did he say?” Sam hated feeling like she was pulling the story out of Truver.
“That they wanted to be aware of Juan’s whereabouts and his routine.”
“Did that lead you to believe he was in danger?”
“It did. Why else would they care where he was or what he was doing when they already knew he’d outed them to POTUS? We believe they were looking to possibly eliminate anyone who could testify against them. There’s no paper trail. There were only rumors, nothing in writing. ”
“But rumors would count as hearsay and be inadmissible in court,” Sam said. “How would that be valuable?”
“When added to the other evidence we’ve collected, the testimony would be allowed.”
“What other evidence?”
“In addition to financials, we’ve got phone records and other surveillance that tied Goldstein, former Chairman Wilson and two others to the plot to overthrow the Cappuano administration.”
Those words— the plot to overthrow the Cappuano administration —gave Sam chills from head to toe. She still couldn’t believe such a thing had nearly happened. Without Juan tipping off Nick, who knew if the coup would’ve been thwarted in time?
“After careful consideration, the decision was made to make the former chiefs think that Juan had been murdered. We think it might be an opportunity to gather further intelligence as they communicate about the ‘murder.’ So far, we’re seeing them turn on each other as they accuse one another of making everything worse, as one of them said.”
“Where did you get a body?” Sam asked.
“A young officer who resembled Juan was killed in a motorcycle accident in Norfolk three days ago. With the permission of his family, after we explained there were national security concerns, we secured the body for this purpose. He’ll be turned over to his family as soon as possible.”
“Did you put him in the clothing donation bin?”
“I’m not at liberty to discuss that.”
Which meant yes in Sam’s mind. “What am I supposed to tell my medical examiner?”
“She’ll have no reason to question the identity of her subject, as he was carrying Juan’s identification.”
“What about security-clearance fingerprints?”
“Those wouldn’t be available to her through AFIS orIAFIS. We saw to that. ”
“I’d like to know why the president isn’t being told about this,” Sam said, pretending for a moment that said president wasn’t her husband and the love of her life.
“We believe it’s in his best interest to be able to say later that he knew nothing about the inner workings of the investigation,” Truver said. “As he was the subject of the former chiefs’ plot, it makes sense to keep him removed from the larger investigation for the time being so there can be no conflict-of-interest claims when our case goes to court.”
“What exactly will you be charging in court?”
“Treason and conspiracy to commit murder.”
Sam’s brain spun as she tried to wrap her mind around what she was being told. “What do you want from me?”
“We need you and your team to investigate Juan’s murder the way you would any other case.”
“Why would I do that? And how am I supposed to conduct a homicide investigation for someone who isn’t dead?”
“We’ll leave that to your discretion to conduct the case the way you normally would. I imagine you’d pull Juan’s financials, interview his roommate, talk to his family, his coworkers, friends, softball teammates.”
“You’re asking me to further traumatize people by interviewing them about a death that didn’t happen.”
“I’m asking you to help us make the case against the people who tried to overthrow your husband’s administration.”
“Which makes everything about this a conflict of interest for me.”
“I fully expected you to name a member of your team as the lead detective on this case, which you’ve already done.”
“You’ve thought of everything.”
“We’ve tried to. As you can imagine, this is a very complex situation with numerous elements occurring simultaneously.”
“You’re also asking me to lie to my closest colleagues and my bosses, not to mention my husband. ”
Truver never blinked as she returned Sam’s steely stare. “Yes, I am.”
“I don’t know if I can do that. I suck at lying. I always have. Nick will immediately know that something is up, and he’ll be relentless in asking me what’s wrong.”
“Certainly, with everything you deal with in your line of work, you can think of something that would account for your distress, not to mention your sorrow over the murder of Juan.”
This woman was too much like her, Sam decided, which was a scary thought. “I’d like to speak to Juan alone.”
Truver glanced at Juan, who nodded. Then she stood. “I’ll be right outside when you’re finished.”
After she stepped out, Sam turned to Juan. “Your mother is devastated. How can you put her through this?”
“I’m sick over that, but when NCIS presented this plan to me, they were emphatic that it had to look real, or it would be for nothing. That included my family going through the motions of mourning.”
“What will happen when your mother wants to see her son before she buries him?”
“She’ll be told that my injuries were so gruesome that it wouldn’t be in her best interest to see me.”
“And who will formally identify the body as yours?”
“You will. You knew me personally and can attest that the body is mine.”
“You’re asking me to lie to the people I’m closest to.”
“I’m sorry. I understand it’s a huge ask, and I hate it as much as you do. The thought of my mother thinking I’m dead… All I can say is I hope my miraculous recovery will make her so happy that she won’t hate me forever for doing this to her.”
“She’s apt to. If one of my kids did this to me, I’m not sure I’d ever forgive them.”
“If it was done for the good of the country, you would. They tried to take down the president , Mrs. Cappuano. They subverted the Constitution and the will of President Nelson when he chose President Cappuano to be his vice president and the Senate when they confirmed him. We can’t let them get away with that.” The young man’s voice quivered with emotion and outrage. “Everything I stand for as a naval officer and an American is at risk in this situation.”
His patriotism and courage were impressive, but the thought of lying to Freddie, Gonzo, Lindsey, Captain Malone and Chief Farnsworth—not to mention Nick—was unfathomable to her.
“You could always fall ill after you identify my body and step aside from the investigation,” Juan said.
“The president is traveling this week. I could join him, I suppose.” That was preferable to perpetrating a lie that would span days, if not weeks, as they made a case against a would-be killer. Thankfully, she’d never been in a situation even remotely close to this one.
“Please know that it’s because of your dual roles as first lady and the Homicide commander that you were brought in on this. If you weren’t the first lady, they would’ve let the case play out organically. I insisted you be briefed, or I wouldn’t go along with it.”
“Why?”
“I have tremendous respect for your husband and for you. He’s been so good to me, so encouraging and supportive. He certainly doesn’t need to invest his time and attention in me the way he has.”
“That’s who he is.”
“Yes, and this is who I am, Mrs. Cappuano. I insisted you be told the investigation was a sham, or I wouldn’t be part of it.”
“I have no idea how to proceed from here.”
“You’re being asked to play a role in a drama far bigger than you or your team. I know it goes against everything you believe in, but if I didn’t strongly feel it was in the best interest of the country, I’d never have done this to my mother.” He leaned in, intense and focused. “They tried to overthrow the United States government, ma’am. Surely we can’t allow that to stand.”
“No, we can’t.”
“Can we count on your support?”
Sam held his gaze as a million thoughts spiraled through her mind in the span of seconds. If she agreed to this, how many different ways would it ruin her life? Too many to count. In the end, her decision came down to one consideration, one man, the one person on earth she’d do anything for, even help to perpetrate a massive deception.
They’d tried to dispose of him.
Of Nick.
Of the best man she’d ever known, other than her father.
Juan was right. That couldn’t stand.
“Yes, you can count on me.”