Page 156 of State of the Union (First Family 3)

“Then we’ll get more,” Gonzo said fiercely.

“Call Patrol and ask for a couple of officers outside interview one. I don’t want anyone interrupting us. We also need to get one of the AUSAs here to listen in. I’ve got a call into their office. Let’s take our time and do this right.”

She no sooner got those words out than Sergeant Ramsey came bursting into the pit, eyes blazing.

“What’ve you done with my son, you fucking whore?”

Before Sam could come up with a witty, cutting response, Captain Malone moved into place between them. “Move along, Sergeant. Union or no union, I’ll kick your ass out of here so fast, you won’t know what hit you.”

“Where is my son?” he hissed, making an obvious effort to not rip Malone’s head off.

“Sergeant, you have five seconds to get the fuck out of here, or I’ll have you arrested,” Malone said.

Sam stood in the doorway to her office, arms crossed, unblinking as Ramsey glared at her with unfettered hatred.

“Three, two, one,” Malone said. “Detective Cruz, please take Sergeant Ramsey into custody.”

“I’m going,” Ramsey spat at Sam. “But if anything happens to him, I’ll own this place.”

After he stormed off, Sam said, “I was really looking forward to watching Detective Cruz arrest him.”

“Let’s move this along,” Malone said. “If Shane’s not our guy, I want him out of here ASAP.”

“He’s our guy,” Sam said. “I’m sure of it.”

“Now all you have to do is prove it.”

Roni Connolly’s favorite meeting of the day happened at four o’clock, when Scotty Cappuano and his dog, Skippy, came to the office to, as he put it, “take a meeting.”

Scotty was a handsome fourteen-year-old, and Skippy a sweet, full-of-energy yellow Lab mix puppy.

“Ladies, I apologize in advance for anything she does while she’s here,” Scotty said after he entered the first lady’s East Wing office suite. “She’s incorrigible.” Stopping, he glanced at Roni and asked, “Did I use that word right? It was one of our vocabulary words last year, but that was a lifetime ago.”

“If you mean you can’t do a thing with her, then you used it right.”

“Excellent,” he said, grinning. He had dark hair and eyes and bore a faint resemblance to his father, even though he was adopted. The first time Roni met him, she’d noticed how he’d affected his father’s expressions and mannerisms, which she’d found so endearing. “My mom tells me you guys can help me deal with her exploding social media accounts. Dad says I’m going to start an international incident if I make the wrong kind of comment there, so I need all the help I can get. Not to mention the mail. She gets more than my dad does!”

“We heard that,” Lilia said. “Let’s see what we can do to help you manage that.”

Roni and Lilia spent a delightful hour with Scotty and Skippy, who was indeed incorrigible, but so cute, too. They were both covered in blonde dog hair by the time they had a plan in place to manage Skippy’s fame that would involve Scotty keeping them in photos and videos while they handled the messaging. Scotty said he had to head upstairs to the residence to get a jump on his dreaded algebra homework.

Before he left, he solemnly shook hands with them. “Thank you so much for being willing to help us.”

“It’s a pleasure,” Roni said sincerely. Running an Instagram account for the first dog sounded like the most fun anyone could ever have at a job. “I’ll be in touch with some thoughts about how we can show the two of you together, and with the twins, as we go forward. People love the narrative of a boy and his first dog.”

“Especially a boy who was adopted himself,” Scotty said.

“Absolutely.”

“Excellent. You know where to find us if you need me and the superstar.”

“Good luck with the algebra,” Roni said.

He scowled as he headed for the door to the suite. “I’m counting on my dad to outlaw it.”

“What an awesome kid,” Roni said to Lilia after he left.

“He really is, and Skippy is beyond cute. I love how he named her for Sam’s late dad.”

---