Page 97 of State of Denial

Nick glanced at Terry for his input. Thus far, the public had been told that Ruskin resigned along with several of former President Nelson’s cabinet members, who’d chosen not to continue to serve in Nick’s administration. They hadn’t been told the truth, a fact that Ruskin had been playing to his advantage in the weeks since Nick fired him.

“Go ahead with the statement,” Nick said. “Let him sweat whether we’re going to release the pictures of him cavorting with naked women next.”

“Yes, sir, Mr. President,” Trevor said.

CHAPTER TWENTY

“Iwant to see Marcel Blanchet’s mother,” Freddie said to Gonzo as they began their day. “She lives in Bowie, Maryland, so we’ll head out there and see what she knew about the lawsuit.”

“Can I come?” Sam asked from behind them.

Freddie spun around. “What’re you doing here?”

“I’m back.”

“You’re on a leave of absence.”

“I was. That’s over now.”

“It was one day, Sam.”

She shrugged. “Did the trick. What’d I miss?”

Freddie wasn’t sure how to respond to this turn of events. Did her return mean he was no longer in charge of the case? Part of him wouldn’t mind that, but the other part was sort of disappointed.

“We, ah, talked to the partner, Rory McInerny and his wife, Brittany, as well as the four women suing Dr. Blanchet.”

“You can bring me up to speed on the way to Bowie,” Sam said.

“I don’t need to go if you’re with him,” Gonzo said. “I want to take a closer look at the wife and her text messages since gunpowder residue was also found on her hand.”

“Interesting,” Sam said. “I didn’t see that coming.”

“We didn’t either,” Freddie said. “It threw a wrench into things right when we were starting to think he had killed his family and then himself.”

“What are you hearing from Crime Scene?” Sam asked. “Any stray bullets that might indicate a struggle over the gun that would put residue on the mother’s hand?”

“Still waiting for their report,” Freddie said.

“You can call Haggerty,” Sam said. “He’ll tell you what he knows so far.”

“I’ll do that on the way, unless you want to take it from here,” Freddie said.

“Why would I want to do that? It’s your case. I’m just along for the ride.”

“Oh. Okay. Well, let’s go to Bowie, then.”

As they approached the morgue, Lindsey came through the automatic doors and stopped short when she saw Sam. “Thought you were on leave.”

“I was. I’m back.”

“Good to see you. Everything all right?”

“So far so good, Doc. How are you?”

“Fine.” Lindsey gave her a wary look. “You sure you’re okay?”

“I’m good. I needed a break. I took one. Now I’m ready to get back in the game.”

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