Fatal Identity (29 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

S
AM
WAS
GETTING
ready to leave the hospital to head home when her phone rang. Eager for news about the case, she took the call.

“Lieutenant Holland, I'm calling on behalf of U.S. Attorney Tom Forrester. He would like to see you in his office today at noon. Are you available?”

Sam swallowed hard. “Yes, I can do that. Do I need a lawyer?”

“That might be a good idea. We'll see you then.”

The chipper-sounding woman was gone before Sam could reply. Fuck. She found their lawyer friend Andy Simone's phone number in her list of contacts and made the call. When your husband is the vice president, receptionists tended to give your call higher priority, which is how she ended up speaking to Andy a minute later.

“Sam, this is a nice surprise.”

As he was a close friend of Nick's, they socialized with Andy and his wife, but Sam didn't have a regular reason to call him on her own. Not like Harry, who she had on speed dial. “I need a lawyer, Andy.”

“What's going on?”

“The U.S. Attorney would like to see me today at noon to discuss the possible assault charges he's going to file against me.”

“Ah crap, so he's actually going through with that?”

“Apparently. Are you available?”

“This isn't my specialty, but I'll get someone from my firm and meet you there. Let's say eleven forty-five in the lobby so we can talk for a minute before the meeting.”

“Thank you so much. I appreciate this.”

“It's no problem. And try not to worry—he'd be crazy to file charges when you and your husband are the most popular couple in America. He'd get run out of office.”

“I hope you're right about that.”

“We'll do everything we can. I'll see you soon.”

“Thanks, Andy.” She checked the time on her phone and saw that she had an hour before she had to meet him, so she went to the hospital cafeteria and choked down some tasteless scrambled eggs and toast. The food made her feel slightly less awful, but the curious stares from the other people in the cafeteria had her taking the weak tea she'd bought out to her car where she sat to kill time before the meeting.

She thought about calling Nick or her dad or her sisters or Malone or someone who could talk her down off the ledge, but she didn't call anyone. Rather, she watched the minutes go by on the dashboard clock, trying to remain calm ahead of the meeting.

Her phone rang and she took the call from Detective Watson in Tennessee. “Holland.”

“It's Watson. I've just come from the Rollings home.”

“How'd it go?”

“There were a lot of tears. It was... It was the coolest thing I've ever been part of in all my years on the job. To be able to give them this amazing news... Well, you know, we don't deliver good news very often.”

“No, we don't.”

“As you can imagine, they're very interested in seeing him. Mrs. Rollings's elderly mother lives with them, so they need a day or two to make arrangements.”

“That'll give him some time to recover from his injuries before they see him. He's rather banged up.”

“I hope you don't mind that I told them you're involved in the investigation, and naturally they said they'd like to meet you too and thank you for your help in finding their son.”

“I didn't do much of anything. He was the one who made it happen.”

“Still, I think it'd mean a lot to them to meet you.”

“I'll make that happen. Keep me posted on when you're coming, and I'll let Josh—or I guess it's Taylor—know.”

“How is he coping with everything?”

“As well as can be expected under the circumstances. It's a lot to take in.”

“He's going to adore Chauncey and Micki. There's nothing not to love about them. They're great people.”

“That'll make it easier for him, I'm sure.”

“I've taken enough of your time. I'll call you when I have flight information.”

“I'll look forward to hearing from you. I'm really glad you called. This feels like a win for all of us, which is not something I say very often in my line of work.”

“Trust me, I get it. Talk soon.”

Sam closed her phone and thought about the parents in Tennessee getting news they'd waited thirty long years to hear. She couldn't imagine how they must be feeling after learning their son was alive and mostly well after so many years of wondering what'd become of him. The not knowing had to be the purest form of hell on earth for a parent. She hoped she never found out what that was like. The very thought of it made her shudder and reach for her phone to text her son.

Just saying hi and I love you.

You're not supposed to text me in school, but I love you too.

Sam smiled at the predictable reply that provided an unreasonable amount of comfort in light of her troubling thoughts. He was such a good boy, and they were so blessed to have him in their lives, even when he chastised them.

At eleven-twenty she left the hospital and drove to the federal building on Fourth Street Northwest. She'd been there often on official business but never on business that involved the possibility of her being brought up on charges. By the time she parked, ran a comb through her hair and applied lipstick to bring some color to her hideously pale face, she had minutes to spare before she was due to meet Andy and his associate.

She ran up the stairs to the imposing building and nearly ran smack into Detective Ramsey as he emerged from the main doors.

He wore a thick plaster cast on his arm and a nasty scowl on his face. “Fancy meeting you here, Lieutenant.”

“Hey, Ramsey, how you doing? Good to see you up and about.”

“Fuck you.”

“You have a nice day now.”

“You're going
down
, Holland.”

She waggled her brows at him, talking over her shoulder as she moved past him. “Already did last night. My husband
loved
it.”

“Whore.”

Sam laughed and kept moving. He wasn't worth her time, but the encounter hadn't done much for her already-rattled nerves. Andy waited for her in the busy lobby with another man in a suit. Both were consulting their phones when she approached them.

“Hey,” she said. “Thanks for coming.”

“Hi, Sam.” Andy leaned in to kiss her cheek. “This is my colleague, Kurt Hager. He works on the criminal side of the house and is better versed in these sorts of things than I am.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Kurt said as he shook her hand. “And an honor to be of assistance.”

“We'll see if you're still saying that in an hour,” Sam said in a dry tone that made them laugh. “Listen, here's the deal, I laid the guy out. He said something extremely shitty to me, and I let him have it. The blow knocked him down the stairs, and he suffered a concussion and broken wrist. I just ran into him outside, and he's still pissed. If he's been here, clearly he's putting the pressure on the USA to charge me.”

“What did he say?” Kurt asked.

Sam sighed, hating to relive anything having to do with the hideous incident with Stahl that had led to her current predicament. “He asked me if I'd had a nice vacation after I came back from the thing with Stahl. I told him to fuck off and he said he was sorry that Stahl hadn't taken the starch out of me, or something equally offensive. I didn't think. I just acted. I punched him and I walked away. Next thing I knew I heard he was in the hospital.”

“Well,” Kurt said, “it's definitely an assault but with extenuating circumstances. Let's see what the USA has to say.”

They took the elevator to Forrester's office, where Sam was given VIP treatment, right down to the offer of a beverage.

“I'd love some water, please,” she said since they were offering.

Andy and Kurt settled on coffee, which they enjoyed while they waited for Forrester to join them. He came in a short time later, moving swiftly into the room. Tall with silver hair and shrewd blue eyes, he projected an air of confidence that Sam appreciated when they were on the same side of a case. Today his confidence only added to her nerves.

“Lieutenant,” he said, shaking her hand when she stood to greet him.

“Good to see you, Tom.”

“Likewise,” he said, his New York accent coming through loud and clear in the single word.

“This is Andy Simone and Kurt Hager, my attorneys.”

He shook hands with both of them. “Pleasure.” Forrester took the fourth seat in the grouping of chairs and poured himself a cup of coffee. “Heck of a bind you've put me in, Sam.”

“I realize that.”

“Your colleague is pissed, and rightfully so.”

“I understand.”

“I assume you're aware of the circumstances under which Detective Ramsey was assaulted,” Kurt said.

“I am,” Forrester replied, “and his choice of words was indeed unfortunate.”

“Unfortunate,” Sam said with an ironic laugh. “That's one way of putting it.”

Forrester put down the coffee and leaned toward her, elbows on knees, colleague to colleague, or so he wanted her to think. “Look, I'm in a really tough spot on this one, Sam. I'll be honest with you. The only reason my office hasn't already filed charges is because of who your husband is and because the president himself has asked me not to.”

“Don't let that stop you,” Sam said, earning scowls from Andy and Kurt. “Seriously, if you feel you have a case, charge me. If you don't, then don't. But don't base your decision-making on who I'm married to. Neither of us would appreciate that kind of special treatment.”

“I get where you're coming from, and I respect that you're not asking for special treatment when most people in your position would.” He paused and looked directly at her. “I'm not entirely sure I can successfully prosecute these charges, Lieutenant, so I'll be taking the case to the grand jury. I'll let the people decide.”

“Oh, well...” As Andy and Kurt exchanged smiles, she realized Forrester had found a way out of pressing charges, and Andy and Kurt had figured that out before she did. He was counting on her popularity—and Nick's—to get them both out of the bind they were in.

“It'll take a couple of months, but as soon as I know whether there'll be an indictment, I'll let you know.”

Sam exhaled a deep breath she'd been holding since she got the call from his office earlier. “Thank you.”

“I want to be clear about something. I'll do this once. And only once. The next time something that should result in clear-cut charges comes across my desk, I'll handle it the way I would for anyone else.”

“Understood.”

“Great.” Forrester stood, indicating the meeting was over. “Thanks for coming in.” He shook hands with each of them and sent them on their way.

They didn't speak until they were in the elevator.

“He's smooth,” Kurt said. “He found a way to get you off the hook and save face for his office at the same time.”

“I won't be off the hook until the grand jury rules,” Sam said.

“The likelihood of them bringing charges against a popular vice president's equally popular wife are slim to none,” Andy said. “And Forrester knows that.”

“You should be prepared for a firestorm in the media,” Kurt said. “When it gets out that Forrester is taking the case to the grand jury rather than moving forward with charges, your boy Ramsey isn't going to take that well.”

“I can handle it,” Sam said.

“It's apt to get really ugly,” Andy said. “For you and for Nick.”

Sam hated to be the source of trouble for him, but she knew what he would say if he were there. “Nick agrees that Ramsey had it coming after what he said to me, and I have to believe that most rational people would've done what I did in the same situation.”

“I guess you'll find out,” Andy said, holding up his phone so she could see the headline on his screen.

U.S. Attorney Meets with Vice President's Wife Ahead of Assault Charges. The story was already on the
Star
's website. She zoomed in for a closer look and saw that one of Darren's colleagues had written it.

“
How
do they already have that?” Kurt asked.

“Ramsey,” Sam said. “He saw me coming in here, knew why I was here and went straight to the media with it.” Sam's phone rang, and when she saw Freddie's name on the Caller ID, she said, “I've got to take this. Thanks again for coming.”

“Anytime, Sam,” Andy said.

“Keep us posted,” Kurt said as he walked away with Andy.

“What's the latest?” Sam asked.

“Jeannie and Tyrone went hard at Mrs. Hamilton,” Freddie reported. “They and everyone who watched aren't sure if she knew that Josh was Taylor Rollings. When they asked how Josh came to be in her custody she clammed up and asked for a lawyer. The guy she wants is in New York and can't get here until tomorrow, so she'll be spending the night.”

“And Jacoby?”

“Lawyered up. His guy is in court today, so he's a guest of the city for the evening too.”

“Excellent, which means they're all mine when I get back tomorrow.”

He snorted with laughter. “We predicted that's what you'd say. Since most of us have been working since Sunday, they sent us home until zero seven hundred when we'll pick it back up.”

Her phone rang with another call, this one from Nick. “Get some sleep, and I'll see you then,” she said to Freddie. “Thanks for the update.” She hoped she was hitting the right button to take the other call. “Hi, there.”

“Something you want to tell me, babe?”

“It's good news actually.”

“Not according to the
Star
.”

“You gonna believe them or me? I was the one in the meeting with Forrester.”