Page 4 of State of Suspense

“Right.” He rolled his eyes. “Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

As he followed the kids upstairs, Sam crossed the main foyer to where her lead Secret Service agent, Vernon, stood waiting for her. She’d kept the messenger bag containing her service weapon, cuffs, notebook and other work items with her while the staff would manage the rest of their luggage.

Vernon greeted her with a smile. “No rest for the wicked, huh?”

“Never.”

Vernon held the door and gestured for her to go out ahead of him.

Her other primary agent, Jimmy, opened the door to the SUV for her.

“Thank you, Jimmy.”

“No problem, Sam.” She’d insisted they call her by her first name when they were alone.

“Where to?” Vernon asked.

“Let me check.” She called Freddie. “Where am I meeting you?”

“Come to HQ. We’re heading back from the scene now to figure out a plan.”

“I’ll be there in a few.”

“Welcome back.”

“I’d say thanks, but…”

“Yeah, it’s a tough one.”

“How’s his team holding up?”

“Not great from what I’ve heard. People are shocked and devastated. And as you might expect, the Feds want in on this. We’ve got them at arm’s length for now, but we’re not sure how long we’ll be able to hold them off.”

“That’s just great.” Jurisdictional battles were the last thing she needed with a U.S. Attorney headed to her morgue.

“To be expected with something like this, I suppose.”

“I guess so. What’s the latest from Stahl’s house?” Sam had succeeded in mostly punching out of that nightmare for the weekend.

“Eleven bodies found so far. They’re only about halfway done with processing the scene.”

She wondered how it was possible to still be shocked by the disgraced former lieutenant who’d twice tried to kill her. “What about the storage unit?”

“There’s been a hang-up there. The company has changed owners, and the new guy isn’t returning calls to give us access. We’ve got O’Brien and Charles working on finding him.”

“Part of me hopes that takes a while.”

“Right? We’re all terrified of what’s in that unit.”

“Makes me shudder. I’m almost at HQ. See you in a few.”

They followed the medical examiner’s van into the lot and parked outside the morgue entrance.

Vernon held the car door for her.

“We’ll be here for a while before we head out,” Sam told him.

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