by Marie Force
“Gigi…” He stopped several feet short of the bed. “Son of a bitch.”
She started to cry again, her chest heaving with sobs.
Cameron went to her, took her hand and gently brushed the hair back from her face. “We’ll nail him for this.”
Sam stood back to give him room, intrigued by the close bond between her two officers, a bond she hadn’t noticed before now.
“What do we know?” Cameron asked Sam, his expression fierce and furious.
“Gigi gave us a list of his friends. Dani is calling that in.”
“I’ll go look for him myself,” Cam said. “I’ll find him.”
“I don’t think that’s the best idea,” Sam said.
He whirled to look at her. “Why not?”
“You seem to be… How shall I say… Personally involved?” She raised a brow in inquiry.
Cameron blinked, appearing confused for a second before his eyes widened and his mouth opened as if he was going to speak. But no words came out. And then he seemed to sag all of a sudden as some sort of truth settled on him. “Maybe.”
The single word seemed to cost him something. As far as Sam knew, he’d been dating someone else for quite some time. Sam had met the woman a couple of times. “Let’s leave it to the others, then.” Her phone rang, and she stepped out of the room to take the call from Gonzo. “What’s up?”
“Nothing yet. Dani called me with his list of friends, and I’ve sent McBride and O’Brien to Fairfax to track them down. We ran them all and found a couple of outstanding warrants we’re going to use as leverage to get them to talk.”
“That’s something, anyway. Green is here. He’s extremely upset.”
“Really. Well, that’s interesting.”
“I thought the same thing, suggested as much to him, and it seemed to be the first time he entertained the idea of feelings beyond that of a colleague.”
“Doesn’t he have a girlfriend?”
“He does.”
“Hmmm…”
“I suggested he might want to leave the vengeance to the rest of the team.”
“Good call. Speaking of vengeance, Lenore Worthington is here looking for information about her son’s case after the developments overnight.”
Sam had promised to take a fresh look at her son’s fifteen-year-old unsolved homicide. “Is she still there?”
“She is.”
“Let me speak to her.”
“Hang on.”
Sam heard Gonzo speaking to someone in the seconds before Lenore came on the line.
“Lieutenant, I’d ask how your Thanksgiving was, but…”
Sam laughed. “It was pretty great until around nine o’clock.”
“I know you must be reeling today and have so many other things on your mind. I didn’t come here expecting to see you.”
“I made you a promise that I fully intend to keep, Lenore. My plan is to continue my life as it was on Wednesday.”
“Is that so? Well, that’d be quite something.”
“No matter what happens, I promise I‘ll investigate Calvin’s murder with fresh eyes and do everything I can to get you some long-overdue answers.”
“Thank you,” she said, sounding relieved. “That means so much to me.”
“I also fully intend to remain engaged with the grief group.” Along with the department’s psychiatrist, Dr. Trulo, Sam had recently founded the support group for the victims of violent crime. Their first meeting had been a big success, and a second was planned for mid-December.
“I’ll see you at the next meeting, if not before?”
“I’ll be there.”
“I know your participation meant so much to the other attendees, especially those who’ve just begun this journey,” Sam said.
“It helps me to help them. Thank you for making that possible.”
“I’ll be in touch, okay?”
“Thank you, Sam, and if I may… God bless you and your husband as you begin this new adventure. I’ll be cheering for you both.”
“Thank you. That’s very kind of you. Talk soon.”
Lenore gave the phone back to Gonzo, and Sam heard her saying goodbye to him.
“Whatever you said made her very happy.”
“I told her I fully intend to honor my promise to reopen Calvin’s case.”
“Let me know what I can do to help with that.”
“I will. For now, let’s find the guy who put our Gigi in the hospital.”
“I’m on it.”
Chapter Seven
Nick sat in the middle of the large conference table, surrounded by Nelson’s cabinet and the media that lined the room and hung microphone poles over the table to record their every word. ”We have the secretary of State?”
“Yes, sir.” One of the aides clicked a remote to bring Secretary Ruskin onto a screen via secure transmission from his flight to Iran.
“Thank you for joining us, Mr. Secretary,” Nick said. “I hope your trip has been uneventful thus far.”
“So far so good. We’re due to land in Tehran in two hours.”
“Thank you for making the trip. And thank you all for being here today. I’d like to start with a moment of silence for President Nelson.” The room went completely silent, and heads were bowed in contemplation. “May he rest in peace and may his memory be a blessing to all of us. I understand we’re all in shock over the untimely loss of President Nelson. None of us planned to be here today to discuss continuity of government, especially me. As you know, I recently announced that I didn’t intend to seek the party’s nomination in the next election cycle. Less than a week later, I took the oath of office to become the nation’s forty-seventh president. I’m the youngest president in history and only the ninth to come into office following the death of my predecessor. I can imagine any one of those things would give pause to those entrusted with serving in the president’s cabinet. Taken together, they might bring about a crisis of confidence.”
As he spoke, he was nearly blinded by flashes and almost drowned out by the machine-gun sound of camera shutters recording history.
“However, I wish to assure you that despite whatever shortcomings you may see in me, I intend to give this job everything I have for the next three years. I remain firm in my resolve to sit out the next election cycle, which means my focus will be exclusively on the well-being of the American people as well as the safety and security of our nation. That said, none of you are obligated to stay in your posts, if you do not wish to. I know President Nelson appreciated your loyalty, and I understand that loyalty may not extend to me. Obviously, I prefer to work with a cabinet that’s loyal to me. I’ll accept the resignations of anyone who wishes to leave with my gratitude for your service to your country. If you choose to stay, I hope you’ll do so with an eye toward the future and not the past. I’m sure some of you must have questions and concerns. I’m happy to discuss anything that’s on your mind.”
He nodded to Trevor, who asked the media to clear the room now that they’d gotten their photos and footage.
After the journalists filed out, Nick waited to hear whether anyone had anything to say. For a long moment, there was only silence until Defense Secretary Tobias Jennings cleared his throat. “With all due respect, Mr. President, while your intentions may be pure, the reality is that there’ll be questions about whether you’re qualified to be president, or if you have the experience needed for the job.”
“Understood.” Nick kept his expression blank while he seethed on the inside. “However, in choosing me to be his vice president, I believe President Nelson had full faith in me to step in for him if the need arose, and as such, I’d hope the American people might be willing to give me a chance before they decide anything. I’ll work just as hard for the people who don’t support me as I will for those who do. I’ve devoted my entire adult life to public service, and I’m confident I have the experience needed to put together a dynamic team to serve the American people. But I can’t do it a
lone, which is why I’m asking for your support.”
“I have a question,” Attorney General Reginald Cox said after more than an hour of questions from others. “Your wife… I assume she’ll be leaving her position with the Metropolitan Police Department?”
“Actually, she intends to continue in her role.”
That was met with shocked silence.
“I’ll confess to finding that rather surprising,” Cox said.
“We’re meeting with the Secret Service on Tuesday to discuss the logistics. My goal is to make it possible for her to keep the job she loves while I’m in office. She’s been very successful in navigating the demands of her job while serving as second lady, and I have every confidence she’ll continue to do the same as first lady. I’d appreciate the opportunity to figure out a plan for her before it’s made public that she intends to keep her job.”
“I’m concerned about potential conflicts of interest,” Cox said, “with your wife serving as a law enforcement officer while you’re president.”
“Since she works for the District of Columbia and not the federal government, I can’t see where we have a problem.”
“The FBI is currently investigating the Metropolitan Police Department, with the lieutenant playing a central role in the investigation.”
“As I understand it, she’s already been interviewed and fulfilled her obligations to the investigation.”
Nick was thankful when Cox didn’t engage any further, but the AG had raised valid concerns. Add them to the growing list of issues he’d need to address. “If there’s nothing further, I want to thank you all again for coming in today. Terry and I look forward to hearing from each of you as to whether you intend to continue in your current role.”
“Thank you, Mr. President,” each of them said.
When he stood, everyone else did too. He left the room and walked with Terry back to the Oval Office.
“That went pretty well,” Terry said.
“Do you think so? I detected an undercurrent of hostility.”
“I don’t know if I’d call it that. Probably more like uncertainty. Everyone is still reeling from the news of Nelson’s death. Let’s give them a few days to get their heads around the change of command. I think most of them will stay and will serve you well. If they don’t, we’ll show them the door.”
When they arrived in the lobby outside the Oval, Terry’s father, retired Senator Graham O’Connor, was waiting for them. Graham jumped up to greet them. Nick could tell that his mentor and surrogate father was making an effort to be respectful in front of President Nelson’s shocked staff. But the second the door to the Oval Office closed behind them, Graham let loose with a giddy-sounding laugh. “Hot damn, Mr. President!”
Nick laughed as he hugged the older man, who’d wanted Nick to be president much more than Nick himself ever had. “You finally got your wish.”
“I did, but I’m heartbroken about David. Such shocking news.” Graham had been close friends with the late president for decades. “Do they have any idea what happened?”
“I haven’t heard. I hope we’ll know more after the autopsy.”
“I feel so sorry for Gloria,” Graham said. “Things were so unsettled between them and now this. It must’ve been so hard for her to come back here under these circumstances.”
“It was important that she be here to indicate a peaceful transfer of power,” Nick said.
“Agreed. It was big of her to do it, though, after everything that happened between them. I almost died of shock myself when I saw the news this morning. What it must’ve been like to get that phone call…”
“I’ll never forget it, that’s for sure. I’m sorry I didn’t call you myself last night, but everything happened so fast.”
“Not to worry. Laine and I turned in early after a nice day with the family and woke up to the shocking news this morning. I couldn’t wait to see you.”
“I’m so glad you’re here. And check out your son, the new White House chief of staff.”
“I couldn’t be prouder of you both. You’re going to do a wonderful job.”
“I’d like you to serve as a senior adviser.”
Graham’s expression registered genuine shock. “Really?”
“Yes, really,” Nick said with a laugh. “That is if I can coax you out of retirement.”
“Hell yes, but we’d better make it part-time, or Laine will divorce me.”
“We can’t have that, and I’ll take whatever I can get.”
“I’m so, so, so proud of you.”
Nick hugged the man who meant so much to him. “This is all your fault.”
Graham laughed as he patted Nick on the back. “I’ll gladly take the blame, my friend.”
“I’m sure you’re very happy to have gotten your way, as usual.”
“I am feeling rather smug today.”
Nick took tremendous pleasure in the way Graham’s smile made his eyes dance with unfettered glee. It’d been nearly two years since they lost Graham’s son John, who’d been Nick’s best friend since college. For a time, Nick had wondered if Graham would ever smile again. “What do you think John would have to say about this?”
“If you ask me, he’s the one who made it happen,” Graham said. “He’s up there overseeing it all, and he loves seeing his brothers become the most powerful men in the world.”
“I hope so.” Nick never for one second forgot that he owed his career and position to the fact that his best friend had been murdered. What a strange and wild ride it’d been since the day he’d found John dead in his bed—and reconnected with Sam six years after their momentous first meeting.
“I can’t believe we’re standing in this office that now belongs to you,” Graham said. “Of course, it’ll need to be redecorated.”
“Least of my concerns. We’ve got a speech to write and a secretary of State about to land in Iran.”
“Before I let you get to it, I’m wondering what Sam will do,” Graham said, his smile fading. “There’s no way they’re going to let her continue to run the streets hunting murderers.”
“They’re going to have to let her, because she fully intends to be business as usual.”
“Nick… There’s no way. If she’s out working the streets, she’ll be a hundred times more vulnerable than any other first lady has ever been. Every terrorist organization in the world will see her as an easy target.”
Hearing that spelled out so bluntly was like a knife to the heart. “She’ll have a detail.”
“That won’t be enough. You have to try to reason with her.”
“You know my wife. You know who she is, and so do I.”
“I do know, and she’s brilliant at her job. Perhaps she could be convinced to put it on hold for a few years and go back to it after.”
“I can’t ask that of her. It would break her heart. I won’t ask it of her. She married a senator. She sure as hell didn’t sign on for this.” He gestured to the Oval Office and everything it represented. “I can’t ask her to be anything other than who and what she is, even if I’d prefer to keep her swaddled in bubble wrap so nothing can ever happen to her.”
“I understand. I just think you need to prepare yourself for possible pushback from the intelligence and security sectors.”
The thought of that fight made him weary, but he’d go to war for her if that’s what it came to. As much as he’d prefer the bubble wrap, it would make her miserable.
“I won’t take any more of your time, Mr. President. I’m only a phone call away if I can be of service.”
Nick hugged him. “I’ll be calling on you often.”
“I’m at your service.”
Terry walked his father out while Nick returned to the Resolute desk that’d been used by numerous presidents since the Queen of England had gifted it to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880. On the credenza behind the desk, he took note of the array of Nelson family photos. As he picked up a group photo of the Nelsons with their
twelve grandchildren, he experienced a wave of sadness for the family’s sudden loss.
The director of Oval Office Operations would be there shortly to begin the transition to making the office Nick’s.
Earlier in the day, he’d received calls from the prime ministers of Canada, the United Kingdom and Israel, the president of Mexico, the chancellor of Germany and other world leaders, offering condolences for President Nelson and support for Nick as he assumed the presidency.
Tom Hanigan appeared in the doorway, carrying a box. “Sorry for the interruption, Mr. President. I thought I’d help out by collecting some of President Nelson’s things.”
“Please come in. Do whatever you need to.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Nick returned the photo to the credenza and stood to give Tom access to the area.
“I met earlier with Terry and Trevor about the address to the nation tonight.”
“Thank you for your help with that and everything else too.”
Hanigan nodded. “People need the reassurance that it’s business as usual during the transition. You’ll need to get a press secretary soon. Trevor can handle it at first, but you’ll want someone permanent. That’s going to be critical. Among many other things.”
This would be, Nick thought, as difficult a transition for Tom Hanigan as it would be for him. He recalled what it’d been like to be going a million miles an hour as chief of staff to a senator, only for everything to stop in a matter of minutes when John was murdered.
“My door is open to you and any suggestions you may have, Tom.”
“You won’t need me. You already have a great team. They’ll take good care of you.”
“Your input will always be welcome.”
“Thank you, sir.” Tom packed up the photos, fountain pen, mementos and the personal files, all of it fitting into a single box that would be saved for the eventual Nelson presidential library. “President Nelson didn’t get a chance to leave the ceremonial letter to his successor, but if I had to guess, he would’ve told you to lead with your heart and take care of the people closest to you. He would’ve said he failed to protect the most important thing—his marriage. He was deeply regretful of the affair and the pain he caused Gloria and his children. He’d been very low since she moved home.”