Page 152 of State of Retribution

“I will, too, with the recommendations.”

“Talk soon.Love you.”

“Love you, too.Thanks for asking for my advice.”

Tracy laughed.“You’re never going to let me forget that, are you?”

“Not in this lifetime or the next.”

Sam was glad that Tracy was still laughing when they ended the call.She was rattled by what Tracy had told her about Ethan, who’d always been such a happy, funny kid.In the few times she’d seen him in recent months, she hadn’t noticed a change in him, but that didn’t surprise her.Kids tended to save their less-savory behavior for their parents.She’d made a point of having a close relationship with her nieces and nephews—or as close as she could with the schedule she kept.

Their family had been through a lot recently.The loss of Skip had been followed closely by the passing of Angela’s husband, Spencer.Both deaths had been a huge shock to Sam, a full-grown adult with coping skills.She couldn’t imagine how the kids had felt or what they might still be feeling after losing two people close to them—and both of them suddenly.

Sam sent a text to Dr.Trulo, asking if he had recommendations for a therapist who specialized in middle schoolers, boys in particular.

She was catching up on the latest reports on all of her team’s ongoing cases when a knock brought Dr.Trulo into her office, carrying a container and the smell of something mouthwatering.

“I was just about to come see you when I got your text.”He put the container on her desk and handed her a plastic knife and fork wrapped in a napkin.“Eggplant parm from the kitchen of Anita Trulo.Be warned.It’ll ruin you for all others.”

“I stand warned, and I can’t wait to try it.Tell her thank you for me.”

“Are you kidding?She can’t wait to tell everyone she knows that she made eggplant parm for the first lady, who also happens to be my friend.”

She smiled at how cute he was.

“I also wanted to see how my friend is doing in the midst of the latest nonsense.”

“Oh, you know how it goes.Another day, another crisis of confidence.”

“Balderdash.If anyone should be confident in what they contribute around here, it’s you.”

“What the hell does ‘balderdash’ mean?”

Trulo laughed as he sat in one of her chairs.“Go ahead and eat it while it’s hot.And ‘balderdash’ is a fancy way to say ‘nonsense.’”

“Ah, I see.Learn something new every day.”

“It’s all nonsense, Sam.I hope you know that.”

“Try telling that to the families of the people they killed and the woman who was raped in the name of retribution against me and Archelotta.”

“What’s this about Archie?”

“He was the one who traced Offenbach’s phone and put him in Atlantic City with his mistress when he was supposed to be in Philly.They kidnapped and assaulted his new girlfriend as part of their campaign of terror.”

“Good Lord.”

“How is it possible that these people walk among us as we at leasttryto uphold the law?”

“It’ll never make sense, but it happens in all the big departments.We don’t always hear about it, but it does happen.”

“Like this?”

“Sometimes.I can give you lots of examples from many different big departments that’ve had criminals in their midst.Naturally, it feels more personal when it’s happening to your department.”

“How many more of them are there?Stahl, Conklin, Ramsey, Hernandez, Offenbach… When does it end?”

“As long as human beings are wearing the badge, it’ll never end.”

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