Fatal Reckoning (Fatal #14)(18)
“I hear the tip line has been doing robust business. We’ll dig into that as soon as we give him the send-off he deserves.”
“Yes, we will.” Her father’s death had relit the fire inside her that burned for justice on his behalf. In the four years since he’d been shot, she’d investigated countless leads that had led nowhere. Skip had somewhat calmly accepted his fate, but Sam had seethed with outrage. While her father contended with his new reality, the person who’d put him in a wheelchair remained free. The sheer unfairness of that was almost more than she could bear at times.
“There’s a massive scrum of reporters at the gate,” Freddie said. “Just so you’re aware.”
“Ugh,” Sam said. “What do they want from us? We gave them a statement.”
“You know that’s never enough where you guys are concerned.”
Shelby came bustling in with Noah strapped to her chest. “Sorry we’re running late. Someone was cranky this morning.”
“Avery?” Sam asked.
Alden and Aubrey went dashing over to see Noah, who, along with Scotty, had become their favorite part of living there.
Shelby laughed. “Nope, not Avery. This little man didn’t want to cooperate with his mama. It might’ve been the first time, but I suspect it won’t be the last.” She corralled the children into the kitchen. “Let’s get some grub into those bellies so we can head to school.”
“We’re going home to sleep for a bit,” Freddie said, “but we’ll be back later to check on you.”
Sam hugged him again. “Thank you for this. It shall be remembered forever.”
“Skip will be too.”
Because she didn’t trust herself to speak, she nodded and saw them out. “I can’t believe they came home.”
“I can,” Nick said. “He’d never let you go through this without him. You’d do the same for him.”
“Yeah, I guess I would. I’m going to run up and take a shower while I can.”
“Take your time. I’ll help Shelby.”
“Maybe you should take the kids to school this morning so Shelby doesn’t have to deal with the reporters by herself.”
“Good call.” He gave her a quick kiss. “I’m on it.”
While he went to alert Brant that he’d be taking the kids to school, Sam dashed upstairs to prepare for another long, emotional day.
* * *
THE OUTPOURING WAS nothing short of astonishing. Food, flowers, cards, people… Five minutes at her dad’s house and Sam could see they were overrun and in need of the kind of assistance only one person could provide. Sam placed a call to her White House chief of staff, Lilia Van Nostrand.
“Sam.” In recent weeks, Lilia had finally conceded to calling Sam by her given name whenever possible. “I was just going to try to call you. I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am for your loss. Harry and I were away for the weekend, and I barely glanced at my phone.”
“That, in and of itself, is one hell of a coup by my good friend Harry.”
“He is very distracting.”
“I can hear you blushing over the phone.”
“You can’t hear someone blush.”
“In this case, I can.”
“I’m trying to be serious and express my heartfelt condolences.”
“Thank you.”
“Are you doing all right?”
“I’m muddling through. It’s a shock, but in many ways, it’s also a relief. Seeing him so diminished every day for the last four years was far more painful than I realized until it was over.”
“That’s a very interesting perspective. What can I do for you?”
“We’re being slammed with kindness. I could use someone to manage it all for us.”
“Say no more. I’ll be there within the half hour.”
“There’s a meeting with the department rep at ten to go over what’s going to happen. Can you attend that too?”
“I am at your disposal and honored to help in any way that I can.”
Sam breathed an audible sigh of relief. In Lilia’s hands, this wouldn’t turn into the total shit show that it would be without Lilia and her mad organizational skills. They needed all the help they could get to record the tsunami of gifts and condolences, so they could be properly acknowledged later.
“Lilia is coming to help.” Sam joined Celia, Tracy and Angela, who were seated around the kitchen table making checklists and going over the details for the next few days. “And Freddie and Elin cut their trip short. They came by this morning. He said the department is holding a candlelight vigil tonight at HQ.”
“Oh, Freddie,” Celia said, dabbing at tears.
“I can’t believe they came home,” Ang said. “That’s so amazing.”
“Do you think Gonzo will come too, Sam?” Tracy asked.
“I’m not sure if he can.”
* * *
AT THAT VERY MOMENT, Sergeant Tommy Gonzales was locked in a standoff with his counselor and the director of the Baltimore-area rehab center. They’d called him into the office after his morning group session to share the news of Skip’s passing, the shock of which was still reverberating through Gonzo’s heart. Imagining what Sam and her family must be going through made him feel sick. Then they’d told him it was in his best interest to stay in treatment, where he’d been making good progress.