Page 154 of State of Retribution

“Will you talk to Archie?I’m so worried about him.”

“I’ll reach out, and I’ll check on you later, too.”

“Hey, Doc?”

He turned back to her, brow raised.

“Thank you for being someone I can trust in this place.You’ll never know what that means to me.”

“Likewise,” he said with a warm smile.“Be good to yourself, my friend.”

Sam passed Christi’s contact info on to Tracy.Her dad is my good friend Dr.Anthony Trulo, the department psychiatrist.If he recommends her, it’s not just because she’s his daughter.He’s going to tell her to expect a call from you and is requesting VIP service.

Tracy responded a few minutes later.Thank you so much, and of course I know about your Dr.Trulo and how much you love him.If he recommends her, that means a lot.I’ll call her today.It feels good to have a plan.Thank you for the advice, baby sister.You’re the best.

Please keep me posted on how Ethan is doing, and let me know if you guys need anything at all.I’m HERE for you and your kids.Always.Love you.

Love you, too.So much.

Next, she sent a text to Celia, Tracy and Angela, telling them Dr.Trulo had found an organization that needed the ramps.He’s also offered to oversee the removal and make it easy for us.I told him to go ahead.No sense putting it off any longer when someone could be using them.I think Dad would approve.

He would,Angela replied.You know how he felt about waste.

I just said that to Dr.Trulo.

Agreed,Celia said.Let’s get it done.

Makes my heart hurt,Tracy said,but it’s time.Please thank your Dr.Trulo for us.He’s a treasure.

Indeed he is, and I will.

After she used the BlackBerry to ask Nick about the neighbor who could help take down the ramps, Sam put down the phone and glanced at the photo of her standing behind her dad in his wheelchair.She’d had it reframed after Ramsey ransacked her office and smashed the original on the floor.

She picked it up and used a tissue to wipe dust off the glass.“They can take your ramps, Skippy, but you’ll live forever inside of me and the rest of us.I hope you know how much we love and miss you.”

As she returned the photo to its place of honor on her desk, she yearned for him and his words of wisdom as she faced yet another crisis within the department.He’d hated how rough it had been for her to come into the place he’d loved to work so much and face strong headwinds from her male colleagues from the get-go.Most of them had been convinced the only reason she even got the job in the first place was because of her last name.Never mind the two criminal justice degrees she’d earned, with dyslexia, no less, or the years of hard work that’d brought her to the rank and role she now held.

But yeah, sure, it was all because of her dad and his best friend.It had nothing to do with her skill or tenacity or determination.To hear them tell it, it was all a big handout.

“Sam, come here,” Freddie said.“You’re going to want to see this.”

What fresh hell would this be, she wondered as she followed her partner to the conference room.The others were gathered around the TV, which showed Lenore Worthington speaking to the media outside of HQ.

“I came over here as soon as I saw that monstrous video posted by two men who clearly suffer from sociopathy and chronic misogyny.Sam Holland wakes up in the morning with more moxie in her little finger than those two idiots will have in their entire lifetimes.”

Sam’s eyes flooded with tears.

Freddie handed her a tissue.

“I’ve known Sam for more than fifteen years.She was the first officer to arrive after my son was fatally shot in my driveway.I’ll never forget her kindness or her compassion on the worst day of my life, and I’ll always be thankful for everything she did to get justice for my Calvin.Thanks to the grief support group she founded for victims of violent crime, I can give you the names of thirty other people who’d say the same thing.She’s the real deal, an asset to this city and this community, and anyone who says otherwise has their own agenda.The men who posted that video aren’t law-abiding police officers.They’re criminals and should be treated as such.And anyone who’d accuse her of being racist, on the job or otherwise, has never spent five minutes with her.That’s all I have to say.”

Lenore pushed through the crowd to get to the main doors and was in the pit a few minutes later.

Sam left the conference room to hug her friend.“Thank you.”

“I’ve got no time for that nonsense, girlfriend.How’re you holding up?”

“I’m finding out how many friends I have, and I’m honored to call you one of them.”

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