Page 126 of State of Grace (First Family 2)

“Will do.”

“You got a weird vibe on Gretchen Henderson?” Freddie asked after she hung up.

“Yeah, but like Nick said, I met her for ten seconds. I need to give her a chance.”

“Your vibes are usually spot-on.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

She would give the woman a chance because it’d been a huge deal for Nick to nominate the nation’s first female vice president. As someone who thought such things were long overdue, Sam wanted to be supportive of him—and Gretchen. She wanted to be supportive of women everywhere who’d celebrate the elevation of a woman to the second-most powerful office in the world. And she hoped Gretchen proved her—and her gut—wrong.

They arrived at the Tappen home at eleven thirty. Judging from the cars in the driveway, the family was home, which was a relief. She didn’t have time to waste during her final workweek before vacation.

Snow was beginning to fall as she and Freddie went to the front door and rang the bell.

Lucas Tappen answered the door. “Oh. Hey. Did you figure out who killed my mom?”

“Not yet,” Sam said. “We’re still working on it, though. Is your dad home?”

“Yeah, he is. Come in. I’ll get him.”

“Thank you.”

They waited in the foyer while Lucas went to the back of the house to get his father.

Holding a dishtowel, Bob Tappen came out from the kitchen.

Sam noticed that the man looked terrible, like he hadn’t slept in days. Her heart went out to him. In the span of a few days, not only had he lost his beloved wife, but he’d also learned she’d been unfaithful. “We’re so sorry to bother you again.”

“It’s no problem.”

With Lucas lurking behind him, Sam said, “Could we speak to you in private?”

“Sure. Come on into the office.” He handed the towel to Lucas. “Finish up the dishes, will you, son?”

Lucas eyed Sam and Freddie before he said, “Sure.”

Bob showed them into the office and closed the French doors. “This was Pam’s office,” he said, glancing around at the disarray left behind by the Crime Scene detectives. “What can I do for you?”

“We have a slightly delicate question, and we’re sorry we have to ask this,” Sam said hesitantly, still not convinced this was a reasonable line of investigation. “But is it possible that any of your children or the Ouellette children might’ve found out about the affair and been angry enough to do what was done to Pam?”

At first, Bob seemed too shocked to answer. “Not my children. They adored their mother.”

“Molly knew about the affair. Is there a possibility that she—”

“Absolutely not! You’re implying that one of my children is a psychopath, because that’s what you’d have to be to do something like that.”

“What do you know about the Ouellette children?”

“I only know Aidan. I’ve met the younger siblings in passing, but I don’t know them at all.”

“Have you ever heard anything about any of them that would raise a concern?”

“Not that I can recall.”

“Thank you for your help.”

“You aren’t seriously looking at my kids for this, are you?”

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