Chapter Thirty-One
Sam had a knot in her stomach as she rode home in the back of the Secret Service SUV. Today had been a lot. Not that every day wasn’t a lot, but finding out that your president husband’s AG was seriously compromised and then having to figure out how to handle that stick of dynamite hardly counted as a regular day at the office.
Not to mention setting up an operation that would use a federal judge as bait to catch a killer.
“What time are we leaving in the morning?” Vernon asked.
“Six forty-five.”
“Sounds good.”
“Does it, though?”
He chuckled. “We can sleep in when we’re retired.”
Sam met his gaze in the mirror. “You’re not retiring any time soon, are you?”
“Not for at least three more years. Maybe longer.”
Her heart swelled with affection for him. “That’s good to know.”
She saw the smile in his eyes. He cared as much about her as she did about him, which was funny, really. She’d been prepared to hate having a detail. What a nice surprise it had been to love spending her days with him and Jimmy, and how odd it was to feel that Vernon had arrived right when she needed someone to fill some of the tremendous void left by Skip Holland’s passing.
It was almost as if her dad had sent Vernon to watch over her for him.
She liked to think that was possible.
“Thanks for everything, guys.”
“Pleasure to work with you,” Vernon said.
“Is it, though?”
They parted laughing as Sam went inside, greeted by Harold.
“Evening, ma’am.”
“Evening, Harold. Is the president upstairs?”
“No, ma’am. He’s still in the Oval.”
Sam was surprised to hear that. He liked to escape as early as possible to spend time with the kids before dinner. “Thanks. I’ll find him there.”
“I can take your coat and get it upstairs for you.”
“That’s very kind of you. Thank you.”
“My pleasure, ma’am.”
Sam glanced longingly at the stairs to home before she headed toward the West Wing to find her husband.
Julie, one of the admins, was seated at her desk outside the office.
“Hi, Julie. Is he available?”
“He’s in a meeting. Let me check.”
This was the first time Sam hadn’t been waved right in.
Julie made the call and hadn’t put the phone back in the cradle when Nick came to the door.
Sam went to him, noting he looked stressed. “What’s up?”
“We can’t locate Juan.”
Her heart sank. “Oh no.”
“I’m beside myself.”
“What can I do?”
“I… I don’t know. We’re doing everything we can.”
“How long has it been since anyone heard from him?”
“He was on his two-day break, so it was the end of the day on Monday when I last saw him. No one has heard from him since he left here that day.”
“Have you notified the MPD?”
“Terry did when the chief called earlier about Cox.”
“What’s the latest there?”
“I’m meeting with Cox in the morning and plan to request his resignation, which is the last freaking thing I need to be dealing with right now. All I can think about is Juan risking everything to make me aware that Nelson’s joint chiefs were conspiring to get rid of me. And now he’s missing, or worse.”
“I wish there was something I could say or do…”
He gave her a quick hug. “Seeing you helps. I’m going to be here awhile.”
“Do you want me to stay?”
“You know I do, but you should go relieve your mom with the kids and spend some time with them.”
“If you want me to come down, just call me. I’ll be right here.”
“Thanks. Love you.”
“Love you, too. I’m so sorry about this.”
His grim expression said everything. “Me, too.”
Sam left him to get back to the people waiting for him in the office and went upstairs to the residence. She found her mom, Brenda, at the table with the kids in the family dining room.
“Sam! Ms. Brenda said we could have chicken tenders tonight!”
Alden’s excitement almost made her forget all the stress and worries of the day. “How did she find out that’s your favorite?”
“I told her! And she said that’s what we should have for dinner!”
Sam loved seeing the twins happy and excited and full of joy. She kissed the top of his blond head and then Aubrey’s before taking a seat next to Scotty.
“Thanks for this, Mom.”
Brenda smiled. “I had the best time this afternoon. Thank you for letting me cover for Celia.”
“We appreciate it.”
“What’s wrong?” Scotty asked between bites of chicken tenders and tater tots.
Sam was glad to see he also had a salad on his plate. “Just a very, very crazy day.”
“More so than usual?”
“Yeah, it was.”
“We need a different word for those days. Like, nuclear crazy.”
“I don’t think we can throw the word ‘nuclear’ around under this roof.”
Her son’s deep guffaw touched her heart. She loved to make him laugh.
“You’re probably right about that. How about ballistic crazy?”
“That’s a good one. Today was definitely ballistic crazy.”
“Where’s Dad?” Scotty knew that Nick never missed dinner with the family if he could help it.
“Dealing with his own ballistic craziness. Have you seen Shelby and Avery?”
“I was up there earlier to see the kids,” Scotty said.
“How’s Avery?”
“Sore, but glad to be home.”
“I’ll run up and see them after dinner.”
“Are you hungry?”
“I’ll wait and eat with Dad.”
She supervised dessert, homework, baths and bedtime for the twins and looked in on Scotty, who was finishing his homework. As usual, he was watching a Caps game while Skippy snoozed next to him on the bed. “How was your day?”
“Another day in eighth grade paradise.”
“How’s it going with Beowulf?”
“Much better now that I actually understand it. I’m nominating you for mother of the year for getting me that guide.”
Just when she thought he couldn’t top the things he’d said to her in the past… “I do what I can for my people.”
“I’ll never understand the purpose of reading something centuries old when we’ve got enough problems to contend with in this century.”
“I feel like I had this very conversation with my parents once upon a time, and I have to say, I was right and so are you. There’s a lot of stuff that doesn’t get taught in school that would be far more useful than algebra and Beowulf.”
“We need to get Dad to make a law.”
“I’m sure he’ll get right on that. In the meantime, work hard and do your best. That’s all anyone can ever ask of you.”
“I wish it came naturally to me the way it does for Dad.”
“He’s a unicorn that way. The rest of us have to bust our rumps for good grades. The hard work makes the good grades worth it. I remember the first time I got all A’s on a report card in college. I thought it was a misprint.”
“Wow, that’s awesome. You must’ve been so excited.”
“I was shocked. I didn’t think I was capable. After that, I started to feel like anything was possible.”
“That’s really cool.”
“It took me a long time to hit my stride in school, thanks to the undiagnosed dyslexia that caused me no end of heartache. But things started to change when I decided to really apply myself. It was never easy because of the dyslexia, but I surprised myself and everyone else. That felt pretty damned good.”
“I should try harder. I want you guys to be proud of me.”
“Oh my goodness, Scotty. We’re so proud of you. No two parents have ever been prouder of their son than we are of you. Neither of us has any doubt that you’re going to do great things with your life, and we’ll always be proud of you. No matter what.”
“It’ll be pretty hard to top you two.”
“You don’t have to top anyone. Just do you. That’s more than enough.”
“If you could keep those study guides coming, it’ll be easier to make you proud.”
She laughed and leaned in to kiss his cheek. “Don’t stay up too late.”
“I won’t.”
“Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
The conversation with him had made her whole day, she thought as she ran upstairs to the third floor to knock on the door to Shelby and Avery’s suite.
Shelby answered with baby Maisie in her arms. She looked exhausted. “Come in.”
“I’m coming to check on all of you. I was glad to hear Avery is home.”
“So was Noah. He’s in with him now, taking care of Daddy.”
“Aw. Is it okay if I peek in on them?”
“Of course. Go right ahead.”
Sam poked her head into the bedroom, where Noah was “reading” to Avery in bed.
“Sam! Dada is home!”
“I see that, buddy. I’m so glad.”
Avery gave her a wan smile. His face was still pinched with pain, but thank goodness he was home and on the road to recovery.
“How’re you feeling?”
“Sore as heck, but glad to be out of the hospital and home with my loves. Noah is taking very good care of me.”
“I get you ice.” The little boy scooted off the bed, picked up the plastic cup from the table and toddled out of the room.
“He hasn’t left my side since I got home.”
“Poor guy.”
“It’s been a lot for him in just a couple of days.”
“For all of you. We’re all so thankful you’re all right.”
“What’s the latest on the investigation?”
“We’re going to use Judge Sawyer to lure out Harlan Peckham.”
“And she went for that?”
“She wants him caught as much as we do. With two-thirds of the key players having already been shot, she’s not looking to be next.”
“Are they watching her closely?”
“She and her family are surrounded by security, which is another reason she’s eager to be done with this.”
“What’s the plan?”
“We’re going to stage her coming out of church on Sunday, surrounded by ‘congregants,’ who’ll be our people. We’re working with your people and our Emergency Response Team.”
“How will it work?”
Sam talked through the gist of her plan with him, covering every angle from when Corrinne arrived at the church through to when she came out, surrounded by people who’d appear to be friends and acquaintances, but who’d actually be cops.
“Where will her family be?”
“She said she and her husband frequently ‘divide and conquer’ on the weekends, based on the kids’ activities. So we’re going to have them not be there that day.”
“And the rest of the congregation?”
“At the request of the pastor, they’ll be notified of what’s going on and asked to depart out the back, if they choose to come to church at all that day. They’re also being asked to tell no one about what we’re doing.”
Avery winced. “I don’t like that.”
“I didn’t either, but our thought is that no one at the church knows Harlan Peckham, and he runs around without a phone, so there’s really no way for him to find out about it even if it leaks.”
“I guess that’s true. What if he doesn’t show? What then?”
“A campsite was found today in Rock Creek Park that may be his. If so, we’re thinking he’s now without shelter or access to food and other supplies. By Sunday, I figure he’ll be wanting to get this done so he can get out of here. If he doesn’t show, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
“This guy is dangerous, Sam. Make sure everyone knows he’s capable of killing with his bare hands. I’ve seen him do it.”
Sam could see he was getting tired. “I’ll pass that along.”
“He also wears his hair in a braid down his back. I’ve never seen him any other way but with the braid. He must’ve tucked it into his hat when he shot Tom.”
Sam made a note. “That’s a good detail. Thanks.”
“I’ll let you know if I think of anything else that might help.”
“You know how to find me.”
“I’m still hoping to get us out of here soon.”
“Don’t worry about that. Stay here and let the staff pamper you and Shelby for a while longer.”
“They’re spoiling us rotten.”
“That’s what they do best. The real world will be out there waiting for you soon enough.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
“Plus, we like having you guys here.”
“We like being here. Noah loves having the kids downstairs. And the pool is pretty cool, too.”
“Relax and heal. Don’t worry about anything other than loving on your wife and kids.”
“That’s my favorite thing to do. I still can’t believe we have kids, as in plural.”
“Couldn’t be happier for you all. I’ll check in tomorrow.”
“Watch yourself out there with this guy on the loose. You’d be one hell of a prize for him.”
He was the second one to say that, which made her feel anxious. “Don’t worry about me. Take care of you.”
“Will do.”
Sam followed voices to the room Noah was using. Noah, holding his sleeping baby sister, was snuggled into bed with Shelby while she read a story. “Where’s your phone, Tinker Bell?”
“In the living room.”
Sam went to get it and entered Noah’s birthday, which she knew was the code Shelby used for everything. Sam relied on her rudimentary knowledge of iPhones to find the camera and returned to take photos of Shelby and her babies.
“Thank you for that,” Shelby said with a weary smile.
“I used an iPhone for you.”
“The sacrifices you make.”
“I know, right?”
Shelby giggled. “Thanks for making me laugh, too. It’s been a minute.”
“I do what I can for my people. I’ll check in tomorrow. Let me know if you need anything.”
“With all of us back under the same roof, even if it’s your roof, I have what I need.”
“My roof is yours. Always.”
“Love you.”
“Love you, too.” She blew a kiss to the little boy. “Night, Noah and Maisie.”
“Night, Sam. Maisie says night, too.”
Could he be any cuter?
“Sleep tight, you guys.”