Chapter Five
CHAPTER FIVE
S am emerged from the NCIS office where Juan would remain in hiding for as long as it took to make the case against the disgraced chiefs. She could only hope that would happen quickly, because it’d take everything she had to play her part as requested. Dishonesty didn’t sit well with her. She was a straight shooter, raised by one. Skip Holland had hammered into his three girls the importance of always telling the truth.
Not that she didn’t love a good white lie every now and then, but to be part of something like this? Never. She shuddered, imagining the many ways this could destroy relationships she’d spent years cultivating and valued above all else.
Vernon held the door for her. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah.” She didn’t look at him as she lied to his face. She’d have to get used to the despair that accompanied each lie.
“Back to HQ?”
“Yes, please.”
How would she bear to keep this from Nick when he was suffering so profoundly over the loss of Juan?
As she stared out the window, the SUV whipped through light Sunday traffic. She went over it all again, picking over the details shared by Truver and Juan and preparing herself to be involved in a fake homicide investigation.
She considered recusing herself and taking the West Coast trip with Nick. She’d been dreading his absence, the way she always did when she knew he’d be away. But how would she spend that kind of time with him and not come clean?
Juan had said they were protecting Nick by not telling him.
Would he see it that way when he found out she’d kept this from him?
Because he’d find out eventually.
Her stomach ached fiercely at the thought of disappointing him in any way, but not as fiercely as her heart ached. She hated this for her—and for him. She despised the way people wanted to tear him down after he’d stepped up for his country when Vice President Gooding had become ill and then again when President Nelson died.
If only they saw the sacrifice, the time, the commitment, the energy he put into the job. If only they knew how much he cared . From the first minute she’d learned of the Joint Chiefs’ betrayal, she’d seethed with outrage on his behalf. She would never forget his hurt, bewildered expression as he explained the situation to her while trying to make sense of it himself.
It defied belief and would never make sense.
Juan had said military officers took an oath of office to support the commander in chief, even when they didn’t share the same politics, religion or beliefs. That the highest ranking among them would attempt to kneecap their commander in chief had sent shock reverberating through the ranks as well as official Washington, the country as a whole and around the world.
Their actions had rattled the foundation under Nick’s presidency, giving his many political enemies enormous fuel for their illegitimate fire.
Sam had grown to loathe that word: illegitimate .
She and Nick hadn’t ever discussed it in detail, but she was painfully aware that the word stung him for more reasons than just the implication that he didn’t belong in the Oval Office. He’d been illegitimate from the start, born to teenage parents who hadn’t wanted him and raised by a grandmother who hadn’t wanted him either.
I want him.
She wiped away tears that suddenly filled her eyes.
I want him more than I’ve ever wanted anything or anyone. I honestly think I’d kill for him if it came to that. I hope it never does… But lie to him? I don’t know if I can do that.
Tears slid down her cheeks that she wiped away as quickly as they appeared. She couldn’t show up to HQ looking like she’d been crying. The last thing she needed was more reason for people there to talk about her. She’d given them more than enough cause by keeping her job while being the first lady and a mother, too.
The push-pull of competing demands never let up, but today’s events gave all-new meaning to the truly unique situation she found herself in.
Had she not been the president’s wife, Juan never would’ve insisted she be told that she was investigating the murder of someone who was still alive and well.
“When we get back to HQ, I’m going to brief the media on what we know so far,” she said to Vernon.
“Just give us a heads-up when you’re heading out.”
“I will.”
“Are you sure you’re okay, Sam?” Vernon asked with the fatherly concern he regularly directed her way.
Normally, she lapped that up like the fatherless girl she’d become last October. Today, she didn’t like knowing that he could easily tell that something was very wrong. “Yeah, all good. Just reeling about Juan, like everyone is.”
“I’m sick over it,” Vernon said. “He did the right thing—the patriotic thing—and paid for it with his life. ”
“I know.”
Her chest burned like it would with heartburn, but this felt an awful lot like shame. The lying had already begun. What she wouldn’t give for ten minutes with Skip Holland right now.
His words of wisdom were always with her, and one thing he’d said to her at the beginning of her career echoed loudly now: If you know something that your superior officers should know, tell them. Don’t sit on any bombs, or they’ll explode under you.
Or something to that effect.
The pain in her chest intensified as they pulled into the parking lot at HQ, the two sides of the argument waging war inside of her. National security depends on your discretion. It’s in his best interest that he not know about the inner workings of an investigation involving the plot to overthrow his administration . Don’t sit on any bombs, or they’ll explode under you.
In all the months since he’d passed, Skip’s voice had never been louder than it was right now.
Outside the morgue entrance, Vernon held the car door for her. “Anything I can do?”
“No, but thanks for asking.”
“Let me know if your answer changes.”
“I will.”
It was as if he knew, Sam thought, as she went inside, stopping at the morgue where Lindsey was performing the autopsy on the body that was not Juan Rodriguez.
“Just the woman I wanted to see. His prints aren’t in the system, so I need a formal identification from someone who knew him. Then I can wrap this up.”
“What was the cause of death?”
“Blunt force trauma. Every rib was broken, along with several vertebrae in his back and neck. He also suffered a severe head injury, which was the ultimate cause of death. Whatever happened to him was violent.” Lindsey looked up at Sam, who’d hung back, wishing she were anywhere but in the middle of this mess. “Can you take a look?”
“Sure.” Sam swallowed the bile stinging her throat and stepped up for a closer look at the man who she could now see was not Juan Rodriguez, as another piece of the puzzle clicked into place. They’d rushed to waylay her before she could take a closer look at him under the bright lights of the morgue and say, No, that’s not him after all. Despite the name tag on his chest and the identification in his wallet when he was found, that’s not Juan Rodriguez .
“Sam?”
A part of her died inside as she said, “That’s Lieutenant Commander Juan Rodriguez.”
“Are you okay?”
She shook her head. “Nick loved him. He’s distraught.”
“I’m so sorry. Are you handing the investigation off to Gonzo or Cruz?”
“To Gonzo.”
“What can I do for you?”
“Just the report when you have it.” The rest she’d have to handle herself. Somehow.
“Coming right up. Are you sure you’re all right?”
Sam forced a smile for her friend. “All good. Just another day in paradise.”
“Ain’t that the truth?”
Sam turned to leave, but stopped to turn back. “How’d your dress fitting go?”
Lindsey offered a sheepish grin, probably feeling silly over being so excited about things such as wedding gowns with Juan’s body lying on the table in front of them. “It was good. I definitely picked the right one for me. I love it so much.”
“I’m glad you’re happy with it. I wish I could be there with you for all of it.”
“Please don’t apologize. You’re the busiest person any of us knows. ”
“You’re important to me.” Sam hoped her words would offset the lie she’d told to one of her closest friends and colleagues, even if it was for national security purposes. “I hope you know that.”
“Of course I do. Likewise.” Lindsey gave her a curious look, as if she could plainly see that Sam was not all right. “If you need a friend, you know where I am.”
“Thank you. That means the world to me.”
Sam left the morgue, aware that she was leaving Lindsey with more questions than answers. That was the downside of being known by the people she interacted with every day. If something was off, she couldn’t hide it from them. If there was any upside to the last couple of hours, the numb feeling she’d had after closing the Forrester case had been replaced with dread.
She made her way to the pit, where her team was hard at work on their latest case.
Probably sensing her arrival, Gonzo looked up. “What was that about with NCIS?”
“Just some backstory on the case with the Joint Chiefs. Nothing we can use.”
“You were gone a long time for backstory.”
“Trust me, I was hurrying them along. You know how it goes when the Feds are involved.”
“True. We’re ready to brief you on what we have so far.”
Don’t sit on any bombs, or they’ll explode under you.
I hear you, Skippy. I hear you loud and clear.
“I have one thing I need to do, and then I’m all yours.”
“Sounds good.”
She went into her office, dropped off the lightweight jacket she wore in the early spring when it wasn’t quite cold and wasn’t quite warm. Then she walked toward the lobby and the chief of police’s suite of offices where his faithful admin, Helen, guarded the gates, even late on a Sunday. Today had been an all-hands-on-deck kind of day with the culmination of the Forrester case. How was it possible that case would become the least of her concerns today? “Is he available?”
“He has a meeting in ten minutes, but you can go ahead.”
“Thanks, Helen.”
“You’re welcome, Lieutenant.”
Sam knocked on the door to the office of Chief Joseph Farnsworth, also known as Uncle Joe to Sam and her sisters.
“Enter.”
She stepped inside and closed the door as the war continued unabated inside her—was this the right thing to do? If only she knew for certain.
He greeted her with a smile, full of the affection he’d had for her all her life. “How’s it going with the deceased Navy officer? Is NCIS hassling you?”
Rarely did she not know what to do in any given situation. Her dad used to say that intuition on the job was something people had, or they didn’t. It couldn’t be gained along the way. He said it was either in the DNA or not and that she had it in spades. She could only hope it would serve her well in this unprecedented situation.
“I need to tell you something that you can’t tell another living soul. I need you to swear on your life—and Marti’s—that you’ll keep this confidential.” She hoped that by invoking the name of his beloved wife, the gravity of the situation would become immediately clear to him.
It did. He stood, came around the desk and stopped a foot from her. “What is it?”
“Do you swear?”
“Whatever it is, Lieutenant, you’d better start talking before I lose my patience.”
“It’s a big deal.”
“I’ve already figured that out for myself.”
“I’m only here because my dad once told me that any time something happened that you should know, I should never hesitate to come directly to you. But in this case, that’s not as simple as it might seem.”
He crossed his arms, tilted his head and studied her in a way he hadn’t in quite some time. “It’s obvious to me that you’re upset. I hope you know by now that you can trust me with anything, and I’ll always have your back.”
She choked back the huge lump that suddenly appeared in her throat.
“You know that, right?”
Sam nodded. “Did you hear that NCIS came and asked me to leave with them?”
“Yes, and that your detail drove you.”
“To the Naval Yard. They took me into an office, where I learned that Juan Rodriguez isn’t dead, but they need me to run the investigation as if he is. They told me this after getting me to swear I wouldn’t tell anyone else, including my husband or anyone here, that the body in our morgue is that of another man who resembles him, an officer who was killed in a motorcycle accident in Norfolk. I was told it was a matter of utmost importance to national security that I keep the information confidential and investigate Juan’s ‘murder’ the way I normally would.”
The chief’s expression never changed.
“So far, I’ve lied directly to Lindsey when I ID’d the man in the morgue as Juan.”
“Why?”
“Sir?”
“Why’re they asking this of you, and why did they tell you the truth?”
“Out of respect for me and Nick, Juan insisted that I be told the investigation is a sham, and NCIS is insisting on full discretion. I think they brought me in and briefed me mostly because I’d be able to tell the body wasn’t Juan’s when I got a closer look at him in the morgue. They needed me to be on board so they could continue their investigation of the disgraced Joint Chiefs, all of whom will probably be pointing fingers at the others for the killing of the man who told the president of their nefarious plot.”
The chief finally blinked as he sat back against the edge of his desk. Reaching behind him, he picked up the receiver for his desk phone. “Helen, please ask Deputy Chief McBride to take my meeting with Captain Greyson.”
“Yes, sir.”
He put down the phone and turned back to Sam.
“I came right to you when I returned to HQ, with only a stop in the morgue to give the false ID to Lindsey.”
“Coming to me was the right thing to do.”
“I know. Skip told me so.”
A faint smile appeared on the chief’s face at the mention of his late best friend. “He was right, as always.”
“He’s never steered me wrong.”
“Will you tell Nick, too?”
“They were adamant that he not be told so he could later deny any knowledge of the investigation strategy if or, I suppose, when it blows up that Juan’s death was faked.”
“Okay, but will you tell him anyway?”
Sam held his gaze for a long moment before she looked away. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Yes, you do.”
Surprised by his tone, she looked up at him again. “What do you mean?”
“You can’t keep this from him, Sam. He’ll never forgive you, even if your intentions are pure. I read the statement the White House released that said the president is heartbroken by the senseless murder of his aide, who’d also become a friend during the months they’d worked closely together.”
“Nick likes him a lot, and Juan took a huge risk to warn him of what the Joint Chiefs were planning.”
“How will you look him in the eye and keep this from him? ”
“I don’t know! They said it was in his best interest that he not know.”
“What do you think is in his best interest?”
“How do I know how these things work in official Washington? They’re already looking for ways to get rid of him. If they find out he knew that Juan’s death was faked by NCIS, would they impeach him for going along with that?”
“His party has control of Congress. He won’t be impeached.”
“See? I don’t even know how these things work. They’ll find another way to tear him apart and undermine his administration.”
“They’ll do that for as long as he’s in office, Sam.”
“Do you see why he didn’t want to run?”
“I’ve always understood why he didn’t want to run.”
Sam dropped into one of his visitor chairs. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Yes, you do.”
“What if I tell him and he ends up caught up in some massive scandal or something that he could’ve avoided if I’d kept my promise to NCIS?”
“He’ll know how to manage the information.”
“The NCIS agent, Truver, said they felt it was in his very best interest to know nothing about this. Why would she say that if it wasn’t true?”
“I don’t know, but think of it this way… You tell him. He has the information. No one but the two of you will know he has it.”
“That’s true.”
“Maybe they expect you to tell him, so they won’t have to. They want him to be able to say later that he wasn’t in the loop on the investigation that included him and his administration.”
That possibility hadn’t occurred to her. “You think?”
“No clue, but if I were you, and I thank God above every day that I’m not you, I’d protect my husband. He is national security, you know?”
“You’re right, as always.” She glanced at him, suddenly feeling emotional. “I appreciate you talking through the personal aspect of this as well as the professional.”
“I’m always here for you. You know that.”
“I do, and that makes all the difference, especially since October.”
“I hope you know that works both ways. If I can’t have my buddy around, having his daughter in my daily life helps to fill the void a bit.”
“Really?”
He smiled. “Yes, Sam. Really.”
“Wow, and here I thought it was always you taking care of me.”
“We’re taking care of each other without the man we both loved.”
“Don’t make me cry. Chicks crying on the job bug me.”
He laughed. “You crack me up, Holland.”
“I do what I can for my people. Speaking of my people… What do I do about this bullshit investigation?”
“You go forward the way you would with anything else. Work the case. Who knows what you might uncover in the process?”
“And that’s not a waste of taxpayer dollars? To investigate a murder that didn’t actually happen?”
“We can easily say later, if or when it becomes an issue, that we were acting in concert with NCIS and federal authorities.”
“You’re good at this.”
He huffed out a laugh. “I sure hope so after all these years, and PS, so are you. Coming to me with this was one hundred percent the right call. It’ll stay between us and only us. Understood?”
“Yes, sir. Thank you. ”
“I want you to brief me—in person. No paper trails between us.”
“Got it.” She took a deep breath and tried to get her game face on so she could go out there and do the job. “You’re sure we’re doing the right thing here?”
“Not one bit sure, but I guess we’ll find out. Either way, we’re in it together, kid.”
She stood to leave. “That makes all the difference. I’ll check in later.”
“Sam.”
Turning back, she raised a brow.
“He’d be so, so proud.”
All she could do was nod, fearing she might still lose her composure. Nothing he could’ve said would mean more to her, as he knew. Making her father proud was one of her top goals on—and off—the job.
With the chief on board, it became more bearable to go through the motions. Hopefully, when the others learned the truth, they wouldn’t hold it against her.
As Sam was leaving the chief’s office, Jeannie McBride approached from the other end of the corridor, smiling when she saw Sam. Her white uniform shirt was untucked over her pregnant belly.
“Deputy Chief McBride, how goes it?”
Jeannie put her hand on the baby bump. “Getting bigger by the day and busy doing a million things I had no idea needed to be done around here.”
“We miss you in the pit.”
“I miss you guys, too, but this is the right job for me now. I’m so tired at the end of the day I can barely function. I wouldn’t have the stamina to chase you around.”
Sam laughed. “I barely have the stamina to chase me around.”
“I heard about Juan Rodriguez. I’m so sorry. I know Nick was close to him. ”
Sam winced to herself. “He was. It’s terrible.” God, the lies just rolled off her tongue. “I need to get back to it. Come visit once in a while, you hear?”
“I will. Good to see you.”
“You, too, Chief.”
Back in the pit, she said, “Everyone in the conference room in five.”
It was time to shift this phantom investigation into high gear.