“You hate the cases where people get killed for a reason, too.”

“True.Let’s get the visit to the last vic’s family taken care of so we can start figuring out who the hell did this.”

“According to the reports, Alexa Prescott has no family.”

“She must have someone mourning her passing.Let’s go to the address we have for her and see if anyone is there.”

“It’s in Arlington.”

“Of course it is.”

Chapter Seven

Like her father, Sam had an aversion to leaving the District for any reason, but it happened more and more often lately.“What’s going on at the White House?”she asked Freddie, who took out his iPhone once they were on their way to Arlington.“Anything new?”

“There was a mudslide in Juneau that buried an elementary school.”

Shocked, Sam glanced at him, almost afraid to ask.“Are there survivors?”

“No info on that yet.Search and rescue underway.”

“Oh God.”

“Nick made a statement.Do you want to see it?”

“Yeah.”

Freddie called it up and handed over his phone.

Sam fumbled with the phone, frustrated that she never knew which buttons to push.

Freddie reached over and pushed Play for her.

“Thank you.”As she watched Nick give the agonizing update about the tragedy in Juneau, she ached for him.And then to only be asked questions about the drones… She could see how offended he was on behalf of the people affected by the mudslide.

She handed the phone back to Freddie.“Why does the media have to suck so bad sometimes?”

“It’s a big deal that someone flew drones packing heat toward the White House.”

“It’s a big deal that more than three hundred babies might bedead, too.”

“Of course it is.”

“I suppose we’ll have to go to Alaska.”

“Maybe.”

“I hope it turns out to be a great story of triumph and not another horrible tragedy.”

“I hope so, too.”

“But you don’t think that’s going to happen, do you?”

“Anything is possible, but it doesn’t look good from what I’ve seen.”

Sam couldn’t allow herself to think too much about what those parents and loved ones were going through, or she wouldn’t be able to function.Before she’d had children of her own, this kind of news would’ve hit her as sad and tragic.Now, stories like this brought a whole other level of devastation as she imagined such a thing happening to her precious kids.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the Arlington apartment building where Alexa Prescott had lived.