Chapter Thirty
CHAPTER THIRTY
I n the morning, Nick got the kids up and ready for school while Sam went to the in-house salon for hair and makeup, which made her feel ridiculous when other women would feel pampered. To her, it felt like a waste of valuable time that could be spent more productively—having breakfast with her kids, for instance. But since the eyes of the world would be on her at the funeral and at the interview afterward, she forced herself to sit still as Ginger and Davida made her shine.
“You ladies are magicians,” she said when she saw the results of their efforts. “And you’re quick and efficient, which is greatly appreciated.”
“Our pleasure, ma’am,” Davida said.
“Thank you for coming in early for me.”
“No problem,” Ginger said.
Sam returned to the residence to change into the black dress she’d wear to the funeral and interview, which Trevor had confirmed for eleven thirty in the Map Room. That meant she wouldn’t get to work until close to one. She texted Freddie and Gonzo to let them know her plan for the day.
Gonzo replied right away. The roommate is on the morning shows, and people are taking to social media to express outrage that you interviewed him while knowing Juan was alive. This could get ugly fast.
Sounds like it’s already ugly. We’ll put out a statement from my office here and clarify in the interview.
I’d move fast on that statement. You’re already losing control of the story.
Will do. Thanks.
Sam called Lilia.
“Morning,” her chief of staff said. “Are you ready for the funeral?”
“That’s become the least of my concerns.”
“So you’ve heard about Isaac Erickson’s comments this morning.”
“I have, and I’d like to put out a statement that says that Lieutenant Holland is aware of Lieutenant Commander Erickson’s claims and will address them further in an interview she’s doing with the president later this morning.”
“We’ll get that out for you right away.”
Sam went up the stairs to the residence. “Thanks, Lilia.”
“Is it true that Juan is alive?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, thank heavens. That’s the best news I’ve heard in a while.”
“It was for me, too, but it’s since caused me a ton of heartburn, and I suspect that’s not over yet.”
“The story is catching wind, for sure. Let me get that statement posted for you. Trevor notified me of the interview. I’ll see you in the Map Room at eleven thirty. Good luck with the eulogy this morning.”
“Thanks.”
Sam was closing her phone as the twins came running out of the family kitchen, nearly crashing into her in the hallway. She hugged them both, thankful she hadn’t changed into her dress before going to the salon as the scent of maple syrup overtook her. “What’s the good word, my loves?”
“Nick said we gotta hurry up and brush our teeth or we’re gonna be late,” Alden said. “If we’re late, no recess.”
“Oh snap. Get going, then.” She kissed the top of two blond heads. “Love you to the moon.”
“And back?” Aubrey asked.
“Always.”
They ran off to finish getting ready for school.
Sam continued to the kitchen, where Scotty was scrolling on his phone while sipping from his coffee cup.
Nick used his chin to gesture to their son. “He says you okayed the coffee?”
“I did not okay it. I was passively aggressively backed into a corner that led to him believing I agreed to it.”
Without looking up from his phone, Scotty said, “There was nothing passive about it.”
His parents tried, and failed, to stop the laughter that burst from them simultaneously.
“That’s not funny,” Nick said, attempting a stern tone.
“Yes, it is,” Scotty replied with a grin. “And P.S., you suck at not laughing when the kid is being fresh.”
“We’re working on that,” Nick said.
“Don’t work too hard. It cracks me up how you try to be all parental, but you’re like a couple of fourteen-year-olds on the inside.”
Sam glanced at Nick. “I’m offended by that.”
“Truth hurts,” Scotty said.
“Don’t let it get out that Dad is like a fourteen-year-old on the inside. He’s got enough troubles being the youngest president in history.”
“The secret is safe with me if I still get my morning coffee. Do we have a deal?”
“See how he does that?” Sam asked Nick .
“I see, and it’s terrifying.”
Scotty got up, rinsed his cup and plate and put them in the dishwasher. “No need to be terrified, parentals. I promise to use my negotiation skills for good rather than evil. Most of the time, anyway.”
“Gee, that’s super comforting, son,” Nick said. “Thanks for clarifying.”
“No problem. Mom, you need to do something about Juan’s roommate who’s all over the interwebs spouting off about you lying to him about his best friend being dead.”
“We’re on it, but thank you for the advice.”
“Any time. Y’all have a good day.”
“What is happening?” Sam asked Nick after Scotty left the room.
“I believe our son is growing up and is now officially smarter than me and more diabolical than you. That’s some scary stuff.”
“Why do you get to be the smart one, while I’m the diabolical one?”
“Um, do you want examples?”
“Don’t you dare throw that Harvard degree in my face.”
That smile of his was devastatingly sexy, even when she was pretend-arguing with him. “Okay, I won’t.”
“And I’ll remind you that I have a master’s degree, and you do not , so maybe you should be the diabolical one.”
“It just comes so much more naturally to you.”
She headed for their room to change. “Oh, those are fighting words, mister.”
“Are they untrue?”
“I refuse to dignify that with a response.”
“You’re very sexy when you’re refusing to dignify me.”
“Not as sexy as you are in those glasses, or when you flex your power muscles. Did you talk to Jennings?”
“I did, and he told me to do what I felt was necessary, that the NCIS case is solid against Goldstein on the coup scheme, and they’re still piecing together the secondary plot to murder Juan.”
“I need to talk to Joe before we say anything publicly. He’ll be on the hook for this, too.”
“You said he’s attending the funeral?”
Sam went into the walk-in closet to get dressed. “As far as I know.”
“Well, you can talk to him there, or maybe call from the car?”
“Yeah, I’ll do that. The funeral will be packed. I may not get to talk to him there.”
Sam put on her engagement ring, the key necklace he’d given her for their wedding as well as the bracelet and other jewelry he’d given her. “Will you zip me?”
“I’d love to, but for the record, I much prefer un zipping you.”
“How did I know you would say that?”
He nudged her hair aside and kissed the back of her neck. “Because you know me.” When she was zipped, he gave her a soft pat on the bum and went back to finish packing for his trip.
“We had a dog when we were kids who’d literally moan when the suitcases came out,” Sam said. “I feel like that right now.”
“It’s two nights. I’ll be back so fast, you won’t have time to miss me.”
“That’s true.”
“Really?”
Sam laughed. “Got you.”
“Yes, you did,” he said with a chuckle.
“You know I’ll miss you every second you’re gone and be counting down until you get back. Nothing is the same when you’re not here.”
“There’s nowhere else I want to be but wherever you and our kiddos are.”
“Speaking of the kiddos, any word from Andy? ”
“Not yet, but I’m going to call him from the car. Let’s get going.”
They went down the stairs hand in hand to where Brant, Vernon, Jimmy and the rest of their details awaited them.
“Agent Hill said to tell you he’ll meet you at the cathedral,” Vernon said to Sam. “He had a stop to make on the way.”
“Got it, thanks.” To Nick, she said, “I hate that we’re going to a funeral for a good man who died far too young, but I like that we get to spend a rare weekday morning together.”
“That’s my girl, always seeing the bright side.”
“Morning,” Brant said. “Are you ready to go?”
“We are,” Nick said. To Harold, the usher, he said, “My suitcase is packed in the residence if someone can grab it for me.”
“We’ll take care of that for you, sir.”
“Thank you, Harold.”
“You got the word that I’m riding with POTUS?” Sam asked Vernon.
“I did. All good.”
Their coats were produced from some secret closet, and they were loaded into the back of The Beast for the ride to the National Cathedral.
As they drove through the White House gates, Sam called Chief Farnsworth.
“Morning.”
“Hi there. Wondering if you’re seeing the news with Isaac Erickson this morning?”
“Unfortunately, yes. What’re we doing about it?”
“We’re putting out a statement from the White House that I’m aware of his concerns and will address them more fully in an interview the president and I are giving later today.”
“Is the plan to come clean?”
“Yes, which is why I wanted to check in with you. I believe I’ll need to say I was working with the approval of my commanders. ”
“I think you should say with the approval of your chief—and only your chief—since no one else in the command structure was aware of this.”
“That’s going to cause us secondary issues, isn’t it?”
“Probably, but we’ve dealt with that before, and I’m sure we will again.”
“Okay, then, that’s what I’ll say. Be ready for the blowback.”
“I’m wearing my metal suit today.”
Sam laughed. “See you shortly.”
“I’ll be there.”
“All good with him?” Nick asked.
“Yep. We’ve got a plan.”
“Andy texted to say he doesn’t have anything to report yet, but he hopes to know more by later today.”
“I can’t even think about that without wanting to howl.”
“Same, but I think it’ll all work out.”
Sam nodded. “I’m clinging to that.”
She used the rest of the ride to review her speech and prepare herself to speak in front of a crowd, which would never come easily to her due to her dyslexia.
When they arrived at the cathedral, they were driven to the main door.
“Remember coming for John’s funeral and how we had to take the Metro because we wouldn’t be able to park?”
“I do remember that, and how nervous I was to speak.”
“Now we’re dropped off at the main door.”
“One of the perks. How’re you feeling?”
“As okay as I ever am when I have to do stuff like this.”
“You’ll be fine. You’re an old pro by now.”
“Sure I am.”
Her stomach was on fire with nerves as she took in the huge crowd that’d turned out for the funeral. Many faces were familiar to her, but far more were not. Did the strangers in the audience wish her well, or were they among the many who wanted to see her and Nick fail as the first couple ?
She couldn’t think about that, or she might need to vomit.
As they made their way down the center aisle of the soaring cathedral, everyone wanted to shake their hands and have a word with them. Sam wondered how many of the people, currently kissing up to them, would’ve backed Goldstein’s efforts to overthrow Nick’s administration. Probably more than half of them.
It took more than fifteen minutes to reach their assigned seats in the row behind Tom’s family. She noted that the now-disgraced former Attorney General Cox was in attendance, along with Congressman Damien Bryant, who was out on bail on numerous felonies, including kidnapping Forrester’s family. She couldn’t believe he’d had the audacity to show his face at Tom’s funeral.
The two men glared at Sam as if they’d rather have her in the casket. She was always amused at how people looked for someone else to blame when they’d ruined their lives all on their own.
Sam hugged Leslie Forrester and her daughters, Aurora and Naomi, as well as the Miller triplets, Faith, Hope and Charity, who’d served as Assistant U.S. Attorneys under Tom’s leadership. Conlon Young, Tom’s chief administrative assistant in the USA’s office, and his wife greeted Sam, who introduced them to Nick.
“I never got a chance to personally thank you for arresting the man who killed Tom,” Conlon said to Sam. “We’re forever in your debt.”
“I was just doing my job.”
“It means everything to us that the person who took him from us will be brought to justice.”
Sam, who’d never met Conlon before Tom was murdered, had found him to be a bit smarmy during the investigation. That impression hadn’t changed in the aftermath of Peckham’s arrest .
“Thank you for being here, Sam,” Leslie said. “And you, too, Mr. President. Tom would be honored by your presence.”
“Sam thought of him as a friend,” Nick said. “We appreciate his service to the Justice Department.”
They were asked to take their seats when the service got underway with a stirring hymn as the pallbearers rolled Tom’s casket down the center aisle. Moving through the motions of the service, Sam was reminded that Nick had been raised in church, while she’d grown up without religion.
After the opening prayers and readings by the Forrester daughters, an usher escorted Sam to the lectern. She laid the printed pages of her speech on the dais in case the teleprompter failed her. At times like this, she most feared her dyslexia kicking in and making a fool of her in front of the crowd gathered before her as well as those watching the live stream.
“On behalf of Leslie, Naomi and Aurora Forrester, as well as Tom’s dedicated staff at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, thank you for being here today to honor the life and service of a man who gave most of his career to public safety and the pursuit of justice. Many people are unaware of how involved U.S. Attorneys are in keeping our communities safe from all kinds of crime. Tom was an inspirational leader, a law enforcement officer of the highest order and a friend to many of the people gathered here today, including me. I’ve worked closely with Tom and his team for years, especially since assuming command of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide division.
“He was the kind of public servant we all aspire to be—honest, ethical, loyal, hardworking and true to the rule of law. He gave his life in service to his country and should be remembered as the hero he was. As a U.S. Attorney, Tom was part of a tradition that dates back to the Judiciary Act of 1789, which directed the president to appoint in each federal district ‘ a meet person learned in the law to act as an attorney for the United States.’President Washington nominated the first U.S. Attorneys on September 24, 1789. The United States Attorney was ‘to prosecute in (each) district all delinquents for crimes and offenses cognizable under the authority of the United States, and all civil actions in which the United States shall be concerned.’
“I’d like to share with you a statement made by Mr. Justice Sutherland in Berger v. United States in 1935 that aptly summarizes the role Tom fulfilled so admirably.
“ ‘ The United States Attorney is the representative not of an ordinary party to a controversy, but of a sovereignty whose obligation to govern impartially is as compelling as its obligation to govern at all; and whose interest, therefore, in a criminal prosecution is not that it shall win a case, but that justice shall be done. As such, he is, in a peculiar and very definite sense, the servant of the law, the twofold aim of which is that guilt shall not escape or innocence suffer. He may prosecute with earnestness and vigor—indeed, he should do so. But, while he may strike hard blows, he is not at liberty to strike foul ones. It is as much his duty to refrain from improper methods calculated to produce a wrongful conviction as it is to use every legitimate means to bring about a just one.’
“Tom was indeed a ‘servant of the law,’ who strove every day to be impartial, to prosecute with earnestness and vigor and to enforce the law with an eye always on justice, fairness and equality for all. Tom gave his life in service to the law, his country and our city. We are lesser for having lost him to this most senseless of crimes.
“To Leslie, Naomi and Aurora, he was a husband and a father. I had the honor of getting to know Tom’s family during the investigation and learned more about who he was off the job. Leslie noted how Tom’s work was busy and intense, but he always tried to leave the job at the office when he came home to her and their girls. His daughters reported how much he enjoyed driving them to school, practices and games and how he made a point to be present with them during their time together, ignoring his phone and the relentless demands of his job for the few minutes a day that he had with them. I know I speak for everyone who had the pleasure of working closely with him when I say he was almost as beloved on the job as he was at home.”
She looked up and caught Faith Miller dabbing at her eyes with a tissue.
“Tom, we thank you for your service to our country and the District. Those of us who are left behind will endeavor to live up to your legacy as we continue the important work of keeping our community safe. May you rest in eternal peace.”
“Why don’t you tell them how he cut you a deal to avoid being prosecuted for assault, you fucking bitch ?”
Everyone turned as one to see former Sergeant Ramsey, looking disheveled and possibly drunk, standing in the center aisle, his fist directed at Sam, who ignored him as she made her way back to her seat next to Nick. At the same time, several police officers and Secret Service agents swiftly escorted the former SVU detective out of the church and hopefully into custody.
“What the hell?” Nick whispered.
“Ramsey is still mad that Tom didn’t charge me with assault after I pushed him down the stairs.” Tom had saved her career by convening a grand jury that had, after hearing about how Ramsey had told Sam she’d deserved to be wrapped in razor wire by Stahl and threatened with fire, chosen not to indict her on assault charges.
“So he disrupts the man’s funeral?”
“That’s the least of what he’s done.”
With Ramsey removed from the cathedral, the service continued with several other speakers, including Conlon Young, who spoke from the heart about his close friend and mentor.
When the service concluded, Leslie turned to them. “ Thank you again for your beautiful words and for being here today.”
Sam hugged her. “I’ll be thinking of you and your girls.”
“We appreciate everything you did for us—and for Tom.”
She nodded. “We’ll be with you through the long haul in getting justice for Tom—and for your family.”
“That brings me comfort.”
Sam hugged the Miller sisters and then took Nick’s hand as they were escorted to a side door by Brant, Vernon, Jimmy and several other agents. She climbed into The Beast first and immediately called Freddie.
“Did you hear what Ramsey pulled at the funeral?”
“Everyone’s talking about it. He’s being booked on numerous charges, including creating a public nuisance.”
“Cox and Bryant were there, looking at me as if they wanted me dead. All examples of men who screwed up their own lives and need someone to blame.”
“I can’t believe Bryant had the stones to show up after orchestrating the kidnapping of Forrester’s family.”
“I can’t believe he made bond.”
“Apparently, it was set at three million, and he put up one of his houses to secure it.”
“Disgusting. What else is happening? Any sign of the Myerson girls or Zeke?”
“Nothing new.”
“I guess it’s safe to assume at this point that they’re on the run. Let’s bring in Jesse Best and the marshals to find these kids before they hurt themselves or someone else.”
“I’ll call him.”
“What’s happening with Frank?”
“We brought him upstairs, got him a hot breakfast, a shower and a change of clothes. He tried to call the girls again, but didn’t get through.”
“Thanks for handling that. I’ve got the TV interview at eleven thirty. I’ll be in right after. ”
“See you then.”
Sam hated days like this in which it seemed everything else took priority over her victim of the moment, but Tom’s funeral and the interview were both important. She’d take care of business and then get back to securing justice for Elaine Myerson.