Page 22 of State of Alert

“Coming right up. Are you sure you’re all right?”

Sam forced a smile for her friend. “All good. Just another day in paradise.”

“Ain’t that the truth?”

Sam turned to leave, but stopped to turn back. “How’d your dress fitting go?”

Lindsey offered a sheepish grin, probably feeling silly over being so excited about things such as wedding gowns with Juan’s body lying on the table in front of them. “It was good. I definitely picked the right one for me. I love it so much.”

“I’m glad you’re happy with it. I wish I could be there with you for all of it.”

“Please don’t apologize. You’re the busiest person any of us knows.”

“You’re important to me.” Sam hoped her words would offset the lie she’d told to one of her closest friends and colleagues, even if it was for national security purposes. “I hope you know that.”

“Of course I do. Likewise.” Lindsey gave her a curious look, as if she could plainly see that Sam was not all right. “If you need a friend, you know where I am.”

“Thank you. That means the world to me.”

Sam left the morgue, aware that she was leaving Lindsey with more questions than answers. That was the downside of being known by the people she interacted with every day. If something was off, she couldn’t hide it from them. If there was any upside to the last couple of hours, the numb feeling she’d had after closing the Forrester case had been replaced with dread.

She made her way to the pit, where her team was hard at work on their latest case.

Probably sensing her arrival, Gonzo looked up. “What was that about with NCIS?”

“Just some backstory on the case with the Joint Chiefs. Nothing we can use.”

“You were gone a long time for backstory.”

“Trust me, I was hurrying them along. You know how it goes when the Feds are involved.”

“True. We’re ready to brief you on what we have so far.”

Don’t sit on any bombs, or they’ll explode under you.

I hear you, Skippy. I hear you loud and clear.

“I have one thing I need to do, and then I’m all yours.”

“Sounds good.”

She went into her office, dropped off the lightweight jacket she wore in the early spring when it wasn’t quite cold and wasn’t quite warm. Then she walked toward the lobby and the chief of police’s suite of offices where his faithful admin, Helen, guarded the gates, even late on a Sunday. Today had been an all-hands-on-deck kind of day with theculmination of the Forrester case. How was it possible that case would become the least of her concerns today? “Is he available?”

“He has a meeting in ten minutes, but you can go ahead.”

“Thanks, Helen.”

“You’re welcome, Lieutenant.”

Sam knocked on the door to the office of Chief Joseph Farnsworth, also known as Uncle Joe to Sam and her sisters.

“Enter.”

She stepped inside and closed the door as the war continued unabated inside her—was this the right thing to do? If only she knew for certain.

He greeted her with a smile, full of the affection he’d had for her all her life. “How’s it going with the deceased Navy officer? Is NCIS hassling you?”

Rarely did she not know what to do in any given situation. Her dad used to say that intuition on the job was something people had, or they didn’t. It couldn’t be gained along the way. He said it was either in the DNA or not and that she had it in spades. She could only hope it would serve her well in this unprecedented situation.

---