by Marie Force
“Okay...”
“I’ll tell you why in the morning. You guys can call it a day.”
“All right. I’ll be there early.”
“See you then.”
Sam glanced at the clock, which was inching closer to seven thirty. If she didn’t head home soon, she wouldn’t get to see the twins before they were tucked in for the night. She looked at Freddie. “Go home. We’ll pick it up in the morning.”
“I’ll see you then.” Freddie took off toward the Metro, eager as usual to get home to his new wife.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
SAM DROVE HOME, thinking about each of the three things that had her attention—the Weber case, the hunt for the author of the anonymous note about her dad’s shooting and the situation with Gonzo and Ramsey.
At times like this, she wondered if it was possible for a head to explode. If so, hers was going to blow at any moment. The Gonzo situation was the last freaking thing she needed, and part of her was seriously pissed with her sergeant for putting himself—and her, by extension—in such a difficult position. On the one hand, she believed addiction was a disease that made sane people do things they’d never ordinarily do. On the other hand, he was a freaking cop who knew better than to go looking for drugs on the street.
Her stomach twisted with nerves and disappointment and fear for what was ahead for him. She’d do anything she could for him, but if word got out that he’d committed a crime, there wouldn’t be much she could do to protect him from the consequences.
She blamed the man who’d gunned down Arnold for all the troubles Gonzo had suffered through since that fateful night last January. Soon it would be a year since the young detective’s tragic death, which was hard to believe. So much had changed since then. Gonzo had been lost to the deepest kind of grief and self-recrimination for much of the last year, while Arnold’s close friend, Detective Will Tyrone, had decided to leave the department rather than continue to face the risks of the job on a daily basis. It had become too much for him.
Sam understood how that could happen. On many a day, it was too much for her, but she pressed on because the job was in her blood. She couldn’t imagine walking away, no matter how bad it got. Sometimes she allowed herself to entertain the idea of leaving, but she always came up short when trying to figure out what the hell she’d do with herself without the job that had defined her entire adult life.
She was waved through the Ninth Street checkpoint and parked in her designated spot. As she got out of her car, Celia drove through the checkpoint, waving to Sam as she went past. Sam waited for her stepmother to join her on the sidewalk and gave the other woman a quick hug. “How’s it going?”
“Oh, you know. It’s going.”
“Are you doing all right?”
“One minute I am. The next minute, I’m not.”
“What can I do?”
“I’m told it’ll take time.” Celia shrugged. “I’m thinking about finding a job so I don’t have so much time to kill. Taking care of your dad was a full-time job, and now that I don’t have that, I’m sort of lost.”
“That sounds like a good idea, but maybe go part-time at first. Ease into it.”
“I’ve put out some feelers with former nursing colleagues. We’ll see what comes up.”
“Why don’t you come have dinner with me? I’m sure everyone else has already eaten.”
“Sure, that sounds good. I’d love to see the kids.”
As they went up the ramp together, Sam was glad that Celia had agreed to come. She couldn’t bear to see the woman who had so lovingly cared for her father looking so sad.
“I suppose we should get rid of the ramps now that we don’t need them anymore,” Celia said.
“We can do it when we’re ready.”
“Will we ever be ready?”
“I think we will be eventually, but I’m not there yet.”
Celia offered a small smile. “Neither am I.”
“Then that’s not something we need to worry about now.”
“One day at a time.”
Nate, the agent working the door, greeted them with a warm smile. “Good evening, Lieutenant, Mrs. Holland.”
“Evening, Nate.”
Per usual around this time, they walked into bedlam, with Nick overseeing two five-year-olds in pajamas, their hair wet from a recent bath, as they pounced on thirteen-year-old Scotty, who was on the floor.
Celia laughed at the “ooph” that came from Scotty when Alden landed on his midsection.
Aubrey let out a shriek of excitement when she saw Sam and came running toward her, screaming Sam’s name.
Sam scooped up the little girl and wrapped her up in a tight hug, breathing in the fresh, clean scent of her. Over the child’s shoulder, she caught Nick watching her with a contented look on his face that made her heart lurch with happiness.
“How was your day, sweet girl?” Sam asked Aubrey.
“I miss Mommy and Daddy.”
“I know, baby.” Sam’s heart broke for her, as it did every time one of the twins mentioned their late parents. She couldn’t imagine absorbing such a blow at the tender age of five. In some ways, they were lucky because they wouldn’t remember much about the horror of losing their parents. But that also meant they wouldn’t remember much about the two people who’d loved them more than anyone. “Do you want to talk about Mommy and Daddy?”
She shook her head.
“You know you can, right? Anytime you want to talk about them, you can.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Do you want to call Elijah?”
“Can I?”
“Of course. You know he always wants to hear from you.”
“I’ll call him,” Nick said.
Elijah was good about taking their calls and being available to his siblings whenever they needed him. Now was no different.
“Aubrey wanted to say good-night,” Nick said. “Here she is.”
Sam put the child down on the sofa so she could talk to her brother.
Nick slipped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head. “Long day, huh?”
“Yep. Is there food?”
“Of course there is. Shelby never disappoints. Chicken and stuffing keeping warm in the oven.”
“Yummy. I brought home a hungry friend.”
“I see that.” Nick hugged and kissed Celia. “How’re you doing?”
She leaned into his embrace. “Eh, okay. It helps to be here surrounded by kids and activity.”
“Our home is your home. Anytime you need kids or chaos, we’ve got you covered.”
“Thank you, Nick. It means a lot to me to have so much support.”
“Keep an eye on Aubrey and send her in if she needs me when she gets off the phone.” Sam took Celia by the hand to lead her into the kitchen. “Wine?”
“Yes, please.”
Sam poured chardonnay for both of them and served up the dinner Shelby had made. “Thank God for Shelby.”
“You must say that every day.”
“I do. We’d be lost without her. She’s the glue that keeps this whole operation from spinning out of control.”
“You don’t give yourself enough credit. You’re part of the glue too.”
“No, I’m not. She’s the one who makes it all happen.”
“I beg to differ, but I’ll let you give her all the credit.”
“We’re very lucky to be able to have a family and two demanding careers. I’m under no illusions that we could do it without our village, which includes you and Tracy and Angela.” Sam’s sisters were a critical part of the glue that held her together.
“I’m happy to be part of your village.” Celia’s eyes filled with tears that she dabbed at with a napkin. “It’s good of you girls to keep me around now that your dad is gone.”
Sam stared at her. “Keep you around? We’re not doing that because we have to, Celia. We’re doing that because we love you. And not just because you took such marvelous care of Dad when he needed you, but we love you for you.”
Tears rolled down Celia’s cheeks. “Thank you. I love all of you so much. I never had children of my own, but if I had, I’d hope they’d be just like you and your sisters.”
“We’re all yours. There’s no getting rid of us.”
“I’m sorry to be such a waterworks. I’ll be totally fine one minute and a blithering mess the next.”
“I cry in the car when there’s no one around to see me.”
“I cry in the shower.”
“That’s a good place too.” Sam placed a hand over Celia’s. “From what I’m told, all of this is perfectly normal. We miss him.”
“I miss him so much. Even when he was unable to do anything, we still talked about everything, and that’s what I miss the most. His company.”
“He was always very good company.”
“Yes, he was.” Celia smiled softly. “He was my favorite person to talk to.”
“He was tied for first with Nick for me.” Sam took a sip of her wine. “Whenever you need someone to talk to who knows exactly what Skip would say in just about any situation, call me.”
“That’s very kind of you, Sam, but you’re so busy—”
“I’m never too busy for you.”
While they finished their dinner, Sam steered the conversation in a lighter direction. They talked about Angela’s third child, who was due next summer, her niece Brooke’s internship at the Smithsonian and the Alaskan cruise that Celia planned to take with her sisters in the spring.
They worked together to clean up the kitchen before Sam walked her stepmother home, hugging her at the foot of the ramp that led to her front door.
“Thank you for this, Sam. It was just what I needed.”
“We’re three doors up the street anytime you need us. Just come over whenever you want. No need to call or text or knock. My home is your home.”
Celia hugged her again. “Thank you.”
“Sleep tight.” Sam waited until Celia was inside with the door locked before she returned to her own home, slowly walking up the ramp, filled with grief that her dad would never again come buzzing up that ramp in his chair. He’d loved being able to visit them.
Sam would never forget the day that Nick had the ramp installed as a surprise for her. Of course she’d thought someone had blown up the stairs to their house and had nearly called in the cavalry, but fortunately she’d been set straight before she did that. That still ranked right up there as the nicest thing anyone had ever done for her.
Nate admitted her just as Nick was coming down the stairs.
“How’s Celia?” he asked.
“She’ll be okay. Eventually.”
“And you?”
“Same.” She put her arms around her husband and held on tight, appreciating that Nate stepped outside to give them some privacy. “I miss him like crazy.”
“I know you do. I do too.”
“How do you think Scotty is doing with it all?”
“He misses him, but he seems to be rolling with it in his own way. They’re reading in the twins’ room if you want to tuck them in.”
“I want to. Let’s go.”
They went upstairs and stood in the doorway, watching Scotty read to the rapt little ones who hung on his every word.
“My heart,” Sam whispered to Nick.
“I know. I can’t take it.”
“Get a picture, will you?”
He subtly removed his smart phone from his pocket and took the photo, earning a scowl from Scotty even as he never missed a beat in the story. When the book was finished, Alden wanted another.
“You already had two, and that’s enough for tonight,” Scotty told him. “You have to get up early for school and so do I.” He kissed each of them on the tops of their heads and scooted out from between them. “All yours,” he said to his amused parents as he cut between them to exit the room.
Sam and Nick went in to tuck in the twins and kiss them good-night.
“Sweet dreams,” Sam said, caressing Aubrey’s soft hair.
The children’s eyes were heavy with sleep so they tiptoed out of the room, leaving the door cracked open the way the kids liked it.
Next, they popped into Scotty’s room, where he was finishing up some homework while listening to a Capitals game on the TV.
“Yes, I took a shower. Yes, my homework is almost done. Yes, my alarm is set and my backpack is ready for the morning. Anything else?”
Sam bit her lip so she wouldn’t laugh out loud at his sauciness. “Am I allowed to ask how your day was?”
“It was fantastic. My algebra teacher was out sick and we had a sub who had no clue what we were supposed to be doing. Best day of eighth grade I’ve had yet.”
Sam couldn’t stop the laughter that exploded out of her at that.
Nick glared at her. “It’s not funny.”
“Yes, it really is.”
Scotty offered her a fist bump. “Mom for the win.”
Sam bumped her fist with his. “Thanks for reading to the Littles.”
“I love to read to them. They’re so fun to have around.”
Sam sat on the edge of his bed. “I’m so glad you think so. A lot of thirteen-year-olds would be annoyed by the sudden appearance of two five-year-olds.”
“I’m not most thirteen-year-olds.” There wasn’t an ounce of arrogance in the statement. Only truth.
“No, you’re not, and we’re incredibly thankful for you.”
He flashed a crooked grin. “You guys are okay too.”
“Gee, thanks, pal.”
“Where are we with the dog discussion?”
“It’s still in the consideration stages. We’ll get back to you when our team makes a decision.”
As he rolled his eyes, Sam leaned in to kiss his cheek, and he allowed it. “Love you.”
“Love you too.”
“Lights out at ten,” Nick said as he followed Sam from the room.
“Yeah, yeah. Let’s hope there’s no overtime in the Caps game.”
“Ten.” Nick closed Scotty’s door and followed Sam into their room, where he released a deep breath. “Another long-ass day in the books.”
“How’re you holding up?” Sam locked her service weapon and cuffs into the bedside table drawer and turned to him.
“I’m okay, but the press attention is unprecedented. The GOP leadership is demanding Nelson’s resignation, but he’s not planning to resign. He told me that in our meeting earlier, said I don’t need to worry. If they want him out, they’re going to have to force him out. The matter is personal, between him and his wife, and has no bearing on his job. The White House press office released a statement to that effect earlier.”
“And how was that received?”
“As you might expect. Some people agree that it’s a personal matter between the first couple. Of course the opposition thinks he has a moral obligation to resign. Yada, yada, yada. It was good to hear right from him that he has no plans to resign though.”
“I’m sure it was. I, too, am relieved to hear that news.”
“What’s the latest on the case?”
“We informed Congressman Wilton today that he might be the father of Tara’s child.”
Nick’s mouth dropped open. “Seriously?”
“Yep. He was one of several guys Tara was seeing around the time the baby was conceived. We’re working on locating the others.” Sam went into the bathroom, stripping off clothes as she went. “What’s your take on Wilton?”
“He’s a good guy.”
“That was my sense as well. He was genuinely shocked to hear tha
t the baby might be his.”
“Anyone would be, especially if the relationship ended.”
“I get the feeling that having a relationship wasn’t a priority for her after the guy she planned to marry broke up with her. I think she did want a baby more than anything, and was possibly determined to make that happen. We’re still trying to get the full list of the men she dated around that time. We’ll get DNA from all of them to determine who fathered the baby.” A thought occurred to her that had her reaching for the phone to call Freddie.
He answered on the fourth ring. “Hmmm?” He’d better answer or she’d have to remind him once again how Homicide detectives are always on duty. She thought he’d learned that lesson after Elin shut off his phone when they were first together.
“You’re not already asleep.”
“How do you know?”
“Wake up and listen to me. It’s entirely possible that Delany really didn’t know about all the guys Tara dated. I mean, if you’re Tara, do you tell your assistant that you’re going out with several different guys at the same time? I wouldn’t tell you that.”
“I’m extremely glad to hear that.”
“I’m calling Malone to see where we stand with the dating app and the dump of her phone.”
“Do you want me to call him?”
“Nah, go back to bed or whatever you were doing.”
“You really don’t want to know.”
“I’m out.” She heard him laughing as she ended the call. “I don’t know why I put up with his nonsense.”
“Because you love him like a brother?” Nick said.
“Ugh, whatever.” She put through the call to Malone, who answered on the first ring. “Thank you for not being a newlywed.”
“Huh?”
“Took Cruz four rings to pick up the damned phone.”
Malone laughed. “You’re spreading the joy around evenly tonight, I see.”
“That’s me. A good time had by all.”
Nick cracked up in the bathroom.
“What can I do for you this evening?”
“You can tell me what the hell is happening with the warrants for Tara’s phone company and the dating app.”
“We’re getting major pushback from both. The phone company says we need to find her phone and then they can help us. The dating app is screaming about the privacy of its users and how it’ll put them out of business if cops start showing up on the doorsteps of the men she dated.”
