Page 203 of State of Suspense

She spent two hours in the conference room with Vernon, Jimmy and four other Secret Service agents who’d be brought in to supplement her detail on Sunday.

“The main thing I need is for you to be out of sight,” Sam told them. “If Peckham senses Secret Service, he’ll know he’s walking into a trap.”

“No one will know we’re there,” Vernon assured her.

Cox’s firing had bumped every other story out of the headlines, even the search for Tom Forrester’s killer.

Terry had heard through the grapevine that Cox’s wife, upon hearing the news of her husband’s firing, had transferred all their available assets to a new account in her name only and had filed for divorce.

His downfall—and that of his weasel nephew Allston—gave Sam tremendous satisfaction.

With every day that passed without any word about Juan, Nick became more despondent over the fate of the man who’d been such a loyal aide. On the advice of the agencies searching for him, they’d managed to keep his disappearance out of the media, but word would get out soon enough.

Before she left work on Friday, she checked in personally with every member of the team to make sure they were set to meet at HQ at zero seven hundred on Sunday morning, that they understood the clothing requirements as well as their roles in the operation.

Officer Neveah Charles, the newest member of Sam’s squad, would be with Cori throughout. She would meet Cori at her home at nine fifteen on Sunday morning, and then ride to church with her, sit with her and accompany her outside after.

Sam asked Neveah to come into the office as her last order of business for the day on Friday before going to Ninth Street for the dreaded meeting with Nick’s mother. She couldn’t think about that yet.

“You wanted to see me, LT?” Charles asked from the doorway.

She had flawless brown skin, expressive dark eyes and long hair that she wore in a tidy bun. She’d impressed the hell out of Sam with her attention to detail when planning Skip’s police funeral, and Sam was thrilled to now have Neveah on her team.

“Why didn’t you choose modeling rather than something stupid like police work?”

Neveah laughed as she came in and shut the door.

“If I looked like you, I’d be modeling rather than dodging bullets.”

“Thank you. I think. My family would much prefer I’d chosen something safer.” She’d recently shared how she’d witnessed her mother’s murder and how that had made her want to be a police officer.

“I’ll bet.”

“But what fun would that be?”

“That’s why I like you so much. You think this job is fun. You’re weird like me.”

“That might be the best compliment I’ve ever received.”

“I thought we’d talked about the sucking up.”

“I wasn’t sucking up. I meant it.”

Sam rolled her eyes. “I suppose I ought to enjoy you while you’re sweet and innocent. Cruz was like that until he spent years working with me. Now he’s ruined.”

“I look forward to being ruined by you.”

“Let’s talk about Sunday. How’re you feeling about your assignment?”

“I feel good about it. I spoke to Judge Sawyer earlier, and I’m set to walk down the sidewalk to her home at nine fifteen, as if I’m a neighbor going to church with her.”

“Did she tell you to call her Cori?”

“She did.”

“You should do that when you’re with her.”

“I will.”

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