Page 106 of State of Denial

“People will freak out about us going to Bora Bora, even though it’s something we do every year.”

“Every president takes a vacation, and every president takes heat for it.”

“But those presidents were elected. Mine wasn’t, so everything he does is that much more fraught. And now this thing with the Joint Chiefs...”

“That’s outrageous. Everyone thinks so.”

“No, Freddie, not everyone thinks so. Many people think the Joint Chiefs are patriots for trying to rid the country of a president who wasn’t elected.”

“A lot of people think it’s outrageous, Sam. Nelson chose Nick to be his VP. The Senate confirmed him. The VP’s primary role is to step in if the president dies or becomes incapacitated. He’s legitimate by anyone’s definition, by the Constitution’s definition.”

“I appreciate your loyalty to him and to me, but if he wasn’t my husband and your friend, we might be outraged by how he achieved the office, too. I’m just playing devil’s advocate here.”

“I still say it’s bullshit. I hope the Joint Chiefs are charged with treason.”

“We’ll see what happens. Nick said it’s up to the AG as to whether they’ll be charged. He has to stay out of it, so it doesn’t look like he’s trying to influence the Justice Department.”

“Did he tell you that before or after the booty call?”

“After,” Sam said with a wink and a grin. She nodded toward a woman coming toward them. “There she is.”

Cara Quinn had light brown hair and a pretty face that was set in a frown as she approached her front stoop, where they waited for her. She had a multicolored knitted scarf wrapped twice around her neck.

Sam and Freddie stepped aside to let her come up the stairs and unlock the door. They followed her inside.

“We’re sorry to intrude at this difficult time,” Freddie said with the personal touch that always resonated with the people they met on the job.

“I’m in total shock. I just came from my therapist. I was hoping she could give me some guidance on how I’m supposed to go forward without Lili and the kids.” Her voice broke as she unwrapped the scarf and removed her coat. She hung both on a hook inside the door. “They were my babies, too. I was their godmother, their adopted aunt, their friend, their cheerleader. I’m devastated.”

“We’re very sorry for your loss,” Freddie said.

“It’s unimaginable. I don’t know what to do with myself.”

They followed her to a cozy living room full of pillows with inspirational sayings on them, candles and framed flower artwork. Sam thought it was the kind of living room a woman would want for herself if she didn’t have to accommodate anyone else’s taste.

Cara curled into a chair and pulled a blanket over her lap.

Sam and Freddie settled on the sofa.

“How long had you known Liliana?”

“We met in college at UVA. We were roommates for three of our four years and for five years after college, while she went to law school at American and I went to grad school there. She was my very best friend from the day we met until…” Tears flooded her eyes and slid down her cheeks. “I lost my fiancé in an accident when I was twenty-six. I’ve never married, so Lili’s family was like my own.”

Sam’s heart went out to her. She’d suffered far too much loss in her life.

“What can you tell us about her relationship with her husband?” Freddie asked.

“They were wildly in love from the minute they met through a mutual friend when we were all at UVA. They were together from that first night on. They were that couple people loved to hate, you know?”

Sam suspected she was half of one of those couples, but she wouldn’t change a thing.

“The kids arrived, and things got hectic for them as they juggled careers and caring for four young kids. It was a lot. For the first time, some cracks began to appear in their relationship lately.”

“How long ago did that happen?”

“About three years ago. It was the first time I ever heard her voice discontent with him. She felt he wasn’t doing his share of the parenting. I would argue that he couldn’t help being called out to deliver babies at all hours, but she said it was more than that. He was disconnected from her and the kids even when he was home. I’ll confess to being shocked the first time she told me that. I’d never seen any sign of that in him, and I spent a lot of time with them.”

“Did you consider him a close friend, too?”

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