Page 154 of State of Grace (First Family 2)

As Sam took a seat next to Celia and across from Shelby, she experienced a feeling of profound happiness that caught her by surprise. She wouldn’t have expected to feel this kind of happiness with the first Christmas without Skip looming. But with her family gathered around the dinner table like it was any other night in any house in America, Sam was happy.

Nick had been right when he said it didn’t matter where they lived. As long as they were together, they were home. Even if home was the most famous house in the world.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The next morning after she saw the kids off to school, Sam called in to work for the shift-change meeting at eight o’clock. “Update me, people.”

“How’s your arm?” Freddie asked.

“It’s fine.” The numbness had worn off in the middle of the night, and it hurt like seven angry bitches, but she wasn’t admitting that to anyone. “Talk to me.”

“Bob Tappen made almost as big of a scene as Josie Ouellette did after he heard Lucas had been arrested,” Gonzo said. “We showed him the video of Lucas entering Mark’s office and shooting him. The poor guy completely lost it when he saw that. We had to call the paramedics to tend to him.”

“I feel for him,” Sam said. “His family has been nearly destroyed in the span of a week.”

“We’ve presented the cases against Grace and Lucas to Charity, and she’s proceeding with charges against both of them. Lucas will be charged as an adult.”

Sam felt sick at the waste of two promising young lives. “Did they honestly think they wouldn’t get caught?”

“I suspect that’s exactly what they thought,” Green said. “It never occurred to either of them that anyone would think they did this.”

“Hell, I didn’t think they had done this,” Sam said. “I wish it had occurred to me sooner so we could’ve saved Mark.”

“We got there as fast as we could after we realized he was a target,” Freddie said. “And not for nothing, he flat-out lied to us at the beginning when we asked him if anyone else knew about the affair. Grace had already confronted them about it and made her threats. If he’d told us that she and Aidan knew, we could’ve talked to them and maybe figured this out sooner.”

“That’s true,” Sam said. “Did someone brief the media?”

“Gonzo did it, and he did a great job,” Jeannie said.

“Aw, shucks,” Gonzo said.

“Did they ask about the lawsuit against Thorn?” Sam asked.

“They did,” Gonzo said, “and I was able to deflect the attention away from that and right onto Tiffany, where it belongs.”

“Thanks for that. Well, since Gonzo and the rest of you have everything well in hand, I’m officially on vacation from job number one. Try not to eff anything up while I’m gone.”

“We’ll try not to,” Gonzo said, chuckling.

“I’ll see you all on Christmas Eve?”

“We can’t wait,” Jeannie said. “Good luck tomorrow in Des Moines. We’ll be thinking of you both.”

“Thanks. Good work on both cases, everyone. I was hoping to have the chance to say this in person, but I want to thank you all for the great work this year. We’ve had a rough year losing our beloved Detective Arnold, and I’m proud of the way we’ve come together to continue the work, despite our heartbreak. Cameron and Matt, we appreciate the contributions you’ve made since you joined our squad. Cam, it wasn’t easy for you to come in and replace someone who was irreplaceable to the rest of us, but you’ve done an admirable job of making it work.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant. It’s an honor to work with you guys.”

“We lost my dad, and we solved his case and a bunch of others. Detective Tyrone decided to leave us. Freddie, Jeannie and Gonzo got married. A few things changed in my personal life…”

The others laughed at her understatement.

“Through it all, we kept our eye on the ball, and we got the job done. I’ll always be proud of us for surviving this year. Homicide is a tough, often thankless job, and I’m glad I get to do it with all of you.”

“Likewise, LT,” Jeannie said. “If I may add, we’re so proud of the way you handled the outcome of your dad’s case and how you didn’t let it break you or ruin your love of the job. None of us would’ve blamed you if it had. And we’re also proud to have the country’s first lady leading us and to be able to say our wonderful new first couple are our friends.”

The round of applause Jeannie started embarrassed Sam. “Thanks, Jeannie. You guys make me look good every day. I’m looking forward to celebrating with you all on Christmas Eve. I’ll see you then, if not before.”

“We’ll be there,” Freddie said for all of them.

---