Page 215 of State of Suspense

“I heard you were on the way back. How’d it go?”

“It was fine. She wanted to make amends. I said, ‘No, thanks.’”

“Good for you.”

“Felt good. Anything new on Juan?”

“I just had a briefing with the FBI, the U.S. Marshals and NCIS. They’re chasing a number of leads, but so far nothing has panned out.”

Nick sighed. “I was so hoping for good news.”

“I know. Me, too. I’ll keep you posted.”

“Anything new with Cox?”

“Not that I’ve heard, but we’re keeping ears to the ground.”

“Thanks, Terry. Talk to you later.”

“I’m sorry, Nick,” Sam said. “I know it’s so upsetting to not have any progress in the search for Juan.”

“I swear to God, if one of the ex-joint chiefs did him in, I might kill them with my own hands.”

“No, you won’t, but you’ll want to.”

“He’s not going to be found alive, is he?”

Sam hesitated between telling him the truth and telling him what he wanted to hear.

“It’s okay. I can handle it.”

“Probably not at this point. If someone was holding him, they would’ve made demands by now.”

“Yeah,” he said on a deep breath. “I suppose so.”

“What’d Terry say about Cox? I couldn’t hear that part.”

“That they’re keeping their eyes and ears open. I don’t expect him to go quietly.”

“He might. His deepest shame has been revealed to all the world, and he’s lost everything in a matter of hours.”

“He’ll blame us for that, even though he did it to himself.”

“Just like Ruskin,” Sam said of Nelson’s now-disgraced secretary of State. “He can say what he wants, but the truth is on our side.”

“I’m worried about what else I don’t know about Nelson’s remaining people. This is two now who’ve disappointed me profoundly.”

“You can’t lump the others in with them. Everyone should be presumed innocent until they show you otherwise.”

“Are those more of Skip Holland’s words of wisdom?”

“You know it. He used to tell us to give people the benefit of the doubt until they gave you a reason not to trust them.”

“It’s good advice.”

“That said, if you get a gut feeling about any of them, you should trust that instinct.”

“I wish I had your instincts about people.”

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