Page 167 of State of Suspense

Sam swallowed. “Yes, sir.”

“Don’t let that happen.”

After he left the room, Malone said, “He’s not exaggerating. If you don’t think you can make this happen smoothly and with no harm coming to the judge, don’t do it. We’ll find another way to get this guy.”

“I don’t know how we’ll ever find him. By now, he probably knows we have his stepmother in custody, which means he realizes we’re taking a hard look at his family and at him. This is a guy who knows how to get gone. If we don’t find a way to draw him out, we’ll never find him.”

“I tend to agree, which is the only reason I’m going along with this.”

“I understand the stakes, Cap. We’ll run through all the contingencies and game it out every which way. We’ll be ready.”

“What’s your next move?”

“I’m going to church.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

“Mr. President, Mr. Kavanaugh would like a minute.”

“Send him in, please.”

Nick stood and walked around the desk to greet his deputy chief of staff and longtime friend. It was such a comfort to him to have people like Derek, Terry, Christina and Harry with him on this journey.

“What’s up?”

They sat on sofas facing each other.

“With Terry out, I wanted to check in to see if you need anything other than all the usual madness of nonstop meetings, briefings and other fun stuff.”

Nick laughed. “It’s nonstop fun around here. I have been thinking about Fort Liberty and the aftermath of the shooting. What are we hearing from General Stern about the situation there?”

“I’ll check in with Secretary Jennings and ask for an update.”

“It doesn’t feel right to me that we didn’t visit after the shooting.”

“I understand and will see what can be done.”

“Thank you. Now, about this upcoming travel schedule…”

“It’s a beast.”

Nick was leaving the following week on a West Coast fundraising trip in support of the upcoming midterm elections. He’d be in six cities in three days, with stops to meet with labor leaders in Detroit and Chicago on the return trip. He was already dreading four days away from home.

Had he told Sam about the trip? He couldn’t recall. That needed to be taken care of as soon as possible. What did it say about him that the thought of being away from his wife for a few days made him as depressed as he’d been in a while? Since assuming the presidency in late November, he’d stayed close to home in an effort to show the American people he was doing the job.

“You have time blocked on the schedule for Friday afternoon. Will you need staff support for that?”

Nick grunted out a laugh. “No. I’m afraid to tell you where I’m going.”

“Uh… Not sure what to say to that…”

“Sam and I are meeting with my mother and her attorney at Ninth Street.”

Derek’s expression went flat with shock. “You’re doing what?”

“You heard me correctly. She requested a meeting, and I agreed to see her.”

“Why?”

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