Page 23 of State of Alert

“I need to tell you something that you can’t tell another living soul. I need you to swear on your life—and Marti’s—that you’ll keep this confidential.” She hoped that by invoking the name of his beloved wife, the gravity of the situation would become immediately clear to him.

It did. He stood, came around the desk and stopped a foot from her. “What is it?”

“Do you swear?”

“Whatever it is, Lieutenant, you’d better start talking before I lose my patience.”

“It’s a big deal.”

“I’ve already figured that out for myself.”

“I’m only here because my dad once told me that any time something happened that you should know, I should neverhesitate to come directly to you. But in this case, that’s not as simple as it might seem.”

He crossed his arms, tilted his head and studied her in a way he hadn’t in quite some time. “It’s obvious to me that you’re upset. I hope you know by now that you can trust me with anything, and I’ll always have your back.”

She choked back the huge lump that suddenly appeared in her throat.

“You know that, right?”

Sam nodded. “Did you hear that NCIS came and asked me to leave with them?”

“Yes, and that your detail drove you.”

“To the Naval Yard. They took me into an office, where I learned that Juan Rodriguez isn’t dead, but they need me to run the investigation as if he is. They told me this after getting me to swear I wouldn’t tell anyone else, including my husband or anyone here, that the body in our morgue is that of another man who resembles him, an officer who was killed in a motorcycle accident in Norfolk. I was told it was a matter of utmost importance to national security that I keep the information confidential and investigate Juan’s ‘murder’ the way I normally would.”

The chief’s expression never changed.

“So far, I’ve lied directly to Lindsey when I ID’d the man in the morgue as Juan.”

“Why?”

“Sir?”

“Why’re they asking this of you, and why did they tell you the truth?”

“Out of respect for me and Nick, Juan insisted that I be told the investigation is a sham, and NCIS is insisting on full discretion. I think they brought me in and briefed me mostly because I’d be able to tell the body wasn’t Juan’s when I got a closer look at him in the morgue. They needed me to be on board so they could continue their investigation of thedisgraced Joint Chiefs, all of whom will probably be pointing fingers at the others for the killing of the man who told the president of their nefarious plot.”

The chief finally blinked as he sat back against the edge of his desk. Reaching behind him, he picked up the receiver for his desk phone. “Helen, please ask Deputy Chief McBride to take my meeting with Captain Greyson.”

“Yes, sir.”

He put down the phone and turned back to Sam.

“I came right to you when I returned to HQ, with only a stop in the morgue to give the false ID to Lindsey.”

“Coming to me was the right thing to do.”

“I know. Skip told me so.”

A faint smile appeared on the chief’s face at the mention of his late best friend. “He was right, as always.”

“He’s never steered me wrong.”

“Will you tell Nick, too?”

“They were adamant that he not be told so he could later deny any knowledge of the investigation strategy if or, I suppose,whenit blows up that Juan’s death was faked.”

“Okay, but will you tell him anyway?”

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