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“That’s a relief. I was worried about the mayhem she might unleash if they released her.”
“There’s some talk about the Joint Chiefs not being prosecuted, but they’ll be dishonorably discharged from the military with their pensions put under review.”
“How can they not be prosecuted for plotting to overthrow the president?” Sam asked as outrage bubbled up inside her.
“I guess they were smart enough not to leave a paper trail. All the conversations were in person and weren’t recorded.”
“But didn’t they confess to it?” Sam asked.
“Not in so many words,” Freddie said. “It’s more that they didn’t deny the rumor that was passed on to Nick.”
“Wow,” Sam said. “So you can do something like that and continue to walk free, but people get thrown in jail for a million lesser offenses.”
She felt terrible for Nick, who’d been so badly betrayed by people who should’ve had his back.
“If I may…” Vernon said, glancing at her in the mirror.
“Please,” Sam said. “Speak freely.”
“Over time, he’ll show people what he’s made of. There may be bumps in the road, like this thing with the Joint Chiefs, but in the end, the people will know the truth about him.”
“Thank you, Vernon. That helps.”
“Every president gets put through the wringer, whether they were elected or not,” Vernon said. “While this is worse than what most deal with, he’s not any different that way. Any time someone reaches the pinnacle of their career, the haters are there to tear them down. You’ve seen that yourself.”
“Yes,” Sam said, “I have.”
“People suck,” Jimmy said bluntly.
“You’re speaking my language, and I very much appreciate the support,” Sam said. “Enough about the haters. Vernon, your turn to tell me about your wife and family.”
“My wife, Evelyn, and I have been married twenty-six years and have four daughters ages twenty-four to seventeen.”
“Whoa,” Freddie said. “You must have some stories.”
“I could entertain you all evening with the adventures of parenting four preteen and teenage girls at the same time.”
“No wonder why putting up with me is no big deal to you,” Sam said.
“You said that. Not me.”
Sam laughed along with Freddie and Jimmy. A few months ago, she’d chafed against having a detail. Vernon and Jimmy had made it so bearable that she now preferred for them to drive her. Who said she couldn’t learn and grow?
Back at HQ, Sam and Freddie convened in the conference room.
“I have to be honest,” Freddie said.
“I wouldn’t want you to be any other way.”
“I feel like we’re wasting time on this case that could be better spent cleaning up Stahl’s mess.”
Sam leaned against the conference room table. “I agree it’s starting to add up that someone who was a great husband and father could’ve blown under tremendous pressure and done something extremely out of character.”
“That’s how I see it, too. The lawsuit would ruin him. It would’ve engulfed them all in an epic scandal. Like you said, imagine them having to explain to kids in middle school that Daddy ejaculated on his patients. They would have been taunted by their peers, and Eloise was already under enough pressure.”
Sam cringed. “Pressure like that could make the sanest person crazy.”
“What I want to know is why a guy who had it all would do something like that in the first place,” Freddie said. “He’d dealt with the deeply personal medical issues of thousands of female patients over the years. What caused him to suddenly become a deviant?”
