Chapter Thirty-Six
“Did we break our own record?” Sam asked Nick when they were in The Beast on the way back to the White House.
“I think we might’ve. Twice in forty minutes is impressive, even for us.”
Sam had forgone a seat belt so she could snuggle up to him. “Which of the agents is most likely to write a tell-all book about the horniest first couple in history?”
His low grumble of laughter made her smile. “I’d put my money on Brant. It’s always the quiet ones.”
“Nah, he’d never do that to you.”
Nick’s secure BlackBerry rang with a call. “Gotta take this.”
Sam sat up so he could retrieve the phone from his pocket. “It’s Terry. Hey, what’s up?”
Nick put his arm around her, bringing her back to rest on him where she could hear the other half of the conversation.
“I heard you were on the way back. How’d it go?”
“It was fine. She wanted to make amends. I said, ‘No, thanks.’”
“Good for you.”
“Felt good. Anything new on Juan?”
“I just had a briefing with the FBI, the U.S. Marshals and NCIS. They’re chasing a number of leads, but so far nothing has panned out.”
Nick sighed. “I was so hoping for good news.”
“I know. Me, too. I’ll keep you posted.”
“Anything new with Cox?”
“Not that I’ve heard, but we’re keeping ears to the ground.”
“Thanks, Terry. Talk to you later.”
“I’m sorry, Nick,” Sam said. “I know it’s so upsetting to not have any progress in the search for Juan.”
“I swear to God, if one of the ex-joint chiefs did him in, I might kill them with my own hands.”
“No, you won’t, but you’ll want to.”
“He’s not going to be found alive, is he?”
Sam hesitated between telling him the truth and telling him what he wanted to hear.
“It’s okay. I can handle it.”
“Probably not at this point. If someone was holding him, they would’ve made demands by now.”
“Yeah,” he said on a deep breath. “I suppose so.”
“What’d Terry say about Cox? I couldn’t hear that part.”
“That they’re keeping their eyes and ears open. I don’t expect him to go quietly.”
“He might. His deepest shame has been revealed to all the world, and he’s lost everything in a matter of hours.”
“He’ll blame us for that, even though he did it to himself.”
“Just like Ruskin,” Sam said of Nelson’s now-disgraced secretary of State. “He can say what he wants, but the truth is on our side.”
“I’m worried about what else I don’t know about Nelson’s remaining people. This is two now who’ve disappointed me profoundly.”
“You can’t lump the others in with them. Everyone should be presumed innocent until they show you otherwise.”
“Are those more of Skip Holland’s words of wisdom?”
“You know it. He used to tell us to give people the benefit of the doubt until they gave you a reason not to trust them.”
“It’s good advice.”
“That said, if you get a gut feeling about any of them, you should trust that instinct.”
“I wish I had your instincts about people.”
“Mine are calibrated by up-close-and-personal interactions with criminals.”
“Which is why you know one when you see one.”
“Most of the time.”
As they approached the gates to the White House, Sam’s phone chimed with a text from Freddie. Wondering how it went.
All good. Will update you when I see you, but basically Nick told her to F off.
YES!
Tell me how you really feel!
Just did. He’s ok?
Yeah, he is.
That’s good. Glad to hear it. See you Sunday AM.
See you then and thanks for checking in.
“That was Freddie making sure you’re okay after seeing what’s-her-name.”
“Nice of him to ask.”
“A lot of people were upset about us seeing her.”
“I know.”
“They’ll be proud of how you handled it like Freddie was.”
“That’s nice to hear.”
“It’s true. We all know how tough this has been on you, and to see you take control of the situation was amazing.”
“I’m glad you thought so.”
“You sound a little flat. Are you having regrets?”
“Nope. I’m thinking about Juan.”
Since there was nothing she could say to that, she simply took hold of his hand and held on until they were inside and handing their coats to Harold.
“Thank you, Harold.”
“My pleasure, Mr. President.”
Nick took her hand again for the walk upstairs to the residence. “Follow the noise.”
Sam laughed, already feeling lighter now that they were home with their kids. “I was about to say the same thing.”
They went up to the third-floor conservatory, where the twins and Scotty were playing Twister, overseen by Sam’s mom.
Alden saw them first, let out a scream and collapsed the other two when he rolled out from under them.
Aubrey landed on top of Scotty, giggling as he let out a loud oof.
She got up and ran to greet them.
Nick scooped up the twins and kissed their faces as they shrieked with delight.
Scotty came to hug Sam. “They’re bonkers tonight.”
“Who made them that way?” Brenda asked, giving Scotty a pat on the head.
Scotty flashed a sheepish grin. “I may or may not have riled them up.”
“Then you can deal with them at bedtime,” Nick said.
“No way. My job is after-school entertainment. Bedtime is all you, Pops.”
Sam, who was pleasantly surprised by how nice it felt to come home to her mother after a long day, kept an arm around Scotty. “He’s going to be our lawyer.”
“I have no doubt.”
“Don’t talk about me, ladies. I can hear you.”
“Who’s ready for dinner?” Nick asked.
A loud chorus of “me” had him sending them downstairs to wash up.
“Can you join us, Brenda?” Nick asked. “Sometimes Celia begs off in favor of peace and quiet in her suite after an afternoon on duty.”
Brenda laughed. “I don’t blame her, but I’d love to if you’re sure you don’t mind.”
“We’d love to have you,” Sam said.
“How’d it go just now?” Brenda asked.
“Really well. Nick told her to get lost. It was hot as you-know-what.”
Nick sputtered. “Samantha! That’s your mother.”
“She can handle it.”
“I love when he calls you Samantha. No one gets away with that.”
“I know, right? Hot AF.”
“I’m outta here.” Nick spun around and went downstairs, leaving them laughing.
“He’s all right?”
“Remarkably so.”
“That’s good. I’ve heard from your sisters how it goes when he sees her.”
“You should’ve heard that from me. I’m sorry you didn’t. And I want you to know that when I came home to you just now, I liked it. Felt like old times.”
Brenda hugged her. “For me, too. Thank you for asking me to fill in for Celia.”
“You should come help her when she gets back. There’s plenty of chaos to go around.”
“I’d love that.”
“Then we’ll make it happen.”
Sunday dawnedcool and cloudy with rain in the forecast for the afternoon. Sam hoped it held off until they’d pulled off a successful mission and had Peckham in custody. It was still dark when she stepped outside to go to work at six fifteen.
Vernon had insisted on coming in to drive her, accompanied by Agent Quigley, the one who was so young he still had acne. Jimmy was away for the weekend with his wife, attending his nephew’s second birthday party in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Sam and Vernon would be riding in the Emergency Response truck while Quigley followed in the SUV.
“You told him to park a few blocks away, right?” Sam asked Vernon as he held the car door for her at HQ.
“He knows exactly where to leave the vehicle and where he needs to be while this is going down. We’ll have eyes on you, but you won’t see us.”
“Thank you, Vernon. I know this is a stretch for you guys, but I won’t be anywhere near the front lines.”
“And for that, I’m thankful. Best of luck with everything today.”
“Appreciate it. We need all the luck we can get.”
“I have no doubt you’ve planned this down to the last second, and it’ll execute as flawlessly as it was planned.”
“You’re good for my ego.”
“I do what I can?—”
“Trademarked!”
She left him laughing as she went into the building, passing the morgue, which was dark at that hour. The ME staff would be in later, as they’d been working seven days a week to identify the bodies coming from Stahl’s house of horrors.
By seven ten, the full team had gathered in the conference room, most of them with coffee and breakfast in hand.
Sam wouldn’t be able to eat anything until this was done.
They went through the entire plan, point by point, one last time.
Standing at the head of the conference table, she scanned the room. “Questions?”
Seeing none, she glanced at Ruiz. “Let’s get everyone wired and ready to roll.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Ruiz said in a condescending tone.
Sam ignored her. She had no time for manufactured drama when people’s lives were at stake. “Thank you, everyone.”
Malone followed Sam into her office and closed the door.
“What’s the deal with Ruiz?” Sam asked. “Does she really have time to be passive-aggressive today?”
“Captains don’t like taking orders from lieutenants.”
“That wasn’t an order for her. It was an order for everyone else.”
“I know that.”
“It’s disappointing when other women on the job act like that. Like we don’t have enough to deal with fending off the misogyny?”
“I hear you.” He sat in front of the desk and took a sip from a tall coffee. “Are you still feeling good about the plan?”
“Hell no. I’ve never felt good about it, but I haven’t heard a better idea.”
“There hasn’t been a single sighting of Peckham since his campsite was found, even with our people and multiple other agencies searching for him.”
“He knows how to stay off the radar.”
A knock sounded at the door.
“Enter.”
The chief stuck his head in. “Safe to come into the hornet’s nest?”
“The queen hornet is perturbed.”
Farnsworth came in and shut the door. “Over what now?”
“Captain Ruiz doesn’t do teamwork when she’s not the one calling the shots.”
“Ah, I see. Well, you’re in charge of this operation, so hopefully she’s giving you what you need.”
“Yes, and she’s thrilled about it.”
“Are we all systems go?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then I’ll leave you to it and hope for the best possible outcome.”
“You and me both.”
At eight thirty, Sam was the last one to be wired in the conference room, with an earpiece that would allow her to monitor the activity of the entire team.
“Thank you,” she said to Ruiz.
“You’re welcome.”
Sam and Vernon followed Ruiz to the Emergency Response vehicle parked outside the main entrance. It looked like a cross between a bus and an oversized fire truck, emblazoned with the MPD logo, which gave her pause.
“This can’t be anywhere near the church,” she said.
Ruiz glanced back over her shoulder. “No kidding.”
“What’s your problem?”
“I have no problems.”
“You could’ve fooled me.”
“I know you’re used to being the boss of everything, but in this truck, you’re under my command.”
Sam laughed, which resulted in a nasty scowl from the other woman. “Whatever you say, Captain.”
“That’s right, Lieutenant. Whatever I say.”
She glanced at Vernon, caught him trying not to laugh and rolled her eyes. “Glad we got that worked out before people’s lives were in danger. Phew, what a relief.”
Ruiz gave her a filthy look and went to the other end of the vehicle.
“What the hell?” Sam asked Vernon as they took seats on one of the benches behind the row of computer terminals where members of Ruiz’s team were positioned.
“She hates you cuz she ain’t you.”
One of the guys sitting behind a computer turned to them. “That’s the truth. She wishes she had your swagger.”
Sam never knew what to say to that. “All I care about is making sure this goes off without a hitch. The rest is just a distraction.”
“Agreed.”
The officer’s one-word reply confirmed what she’d heard about the people on Ruiz’s team not liking her any more than Sam did.
“Why do people have to be so extra?” she asked Vernon quietly so she wouldn’t be overheard.
“Is that a rhetorical question?”
“I guess so.”
On the drive toward the church neighborhood, Sam received a text from Detective Charles that she was on her way to Sawyer’s home to meet up before church.
Sam’s entire system went haywire with out-of-control nerves.
This was a terrible idea.
She should call it off before someone was killed. Perhaps more than one person.
What had she been thinking to suggest they use a federal judge to lure a killer? “We shouldn’t do this,” she whispered to Vernon as a feeling of panic overtook her.
“It’s too late to turn back now, Sam. Take a deep breath.”
More than anything, she wanted to go back in time a few days and stop this before it ever got started. Cori should’ve told her no, no way would she be used as bait to catch a murdering scumbag.
Sam tucked trembling hands between her legs while focusing on breathing.
“When I’m out there in the middle of it, I never get nervous like this.”
“Because you can help to control the outcome out there. In here, you’re a bystander.”
“I’m watching people I command and care about put their lives on the line while I’m safely ensconced. That doesn’t feel right to me.”
“It’s how it has to be.”
“Yeah, I know.” That didn’t help her to feel less guilty about asking her team to take risks that she couldn’t take right along with them.
Sam’s earpiece crackled to life. “Sawyer and Charles leaving for church with Sawyer driving her Lincoln Navigator.”
“Here we go.”