Page 130 of State of Affairs (First Family 1)

“Likewise.” To the super, Sam said, “Can you please let us in?” She flashed the gold badge that went a long way toward getting things done.

“Uh, yes, ma’am, Mrs. Cappuano,” he said, clearly flustered to have the first lady in his presence.

“It’s Lieutenant Holland, and could you please hurry it up? We’re very concerned about Detective Carlucci.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He spooled through a huge ring of keys. “Pretty one, that detective.”

Sam wanted to punch him in the face, but that wouldn’t get them inside any quicker.

Freddie put a hand on her arm, probably to keep her from actually punching the guy.

Only because she was so tempted did she let him keep his hand there and not shake him off the way she normally would.

Finally, the guy found the key and had the door open a minute later.

“Stay here,” she said to Dani’s sister. “Let us check it out first.”

“Please…”

“I know. Cam, stay with her.”

Weapons drawn, Sam and Freddie went inside the townhouse. A sour smell greeted them. She couldn’t immediately identify what it was, but at least it didn’t smell like blood. For that much, she gave thanks. “Dani!”

No response.

They checked the first floor of the townhouse, which was decorated in a sleek, modern style that suited Dani, before venturing upstairs, where the smell was noticeably worse.

Sam nudged a door open and found what looked like a guest room. A second room was an office, and the third was a full bathroom. At the end of the hallway, she stepped into the largest bedroom, where a foul odor hit her in the face. “Dani?”

A low moan from an adjoining room had them moving quickly to get to her.

Dani lay on the floor of the bathroom in a war zone of vomit and other bodily fluids.

“Dani! Oh my God! What happened?”

“Food poisoning,” she whispered. “I think.”

“Call for a bus,” Sam said to Freddie, who ran from the room.

The smell nearly made Sam vomit herself, but she found a towel on the counter, wet it and used it to bathe Dani’s face.

“Sorry.”

“Shh, don’t be sorry. As long as you’re okay, we are too.”

Twenty minutes later, with Dani and her sister on the way to the hospital in the ambulance, Sam eyed the Secret Service SUV. She handed her keys to Freddie. “I’m going home to change. Get back to HQ and pick it up with Lopez. I want everything you can find on him before I talk to him about Calvin.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Green said for both of them.

As she walked over to the SUV, she couldn’t believe she was going to do this, but it would get her back to work faster than if she took Freddie and Cam to HQ and then went home. She cut through the next-door neighbor’s lawn, using the grass to clean the puke off the bottoms of her shoes. Poor Carlucci had been so dreadfully ill. Sam hoped she was going to be okay.

Vernon lowered the window and raised an eyebrow. “May I help you, ma’am?”

“I could use a ride home to change.”

He jumped out of the car and opened the back door for her.

“Sorry, I’m a little fragrant. My colleague has a bad case of food poisoning.”