Page 165 of State of Affairs (First Family 1)

“Before I say anything else, I want to extend my personal apology that you were forced to wait this long for answers. That never should’ve happened, and I hold myself and others responsible for dropping balls that never should’ve been dropped.” She took a moment to collect her thoughts before continuing. “We’ve arrested a man named Javier Lopez, who was a year ahead of Calvin at Ballou.”

“Why do I recognize that name?” Lenore asked her daughter.

“He was the one Cal had the fight with when he got suspended.”

“That’s right.” Sam took them through the series of events, from Calvin calling out Javier for his treatment of Maisy, to the fight that led to Calvin’s suspension and Javier’s expulsion, to Javier’s rage at Calvin disrespecting him in front of his friends. “Javier admitted he shot at Calvin. He said he didn’t intend to kill him but just wanted to scare him. He said enough for us to charge him, and he said what he did in front of the Assistant U.S. Attorney who’ll prosecute him. We believe we have a very good case against him that’ll hold up in court. We’re going to do everything we can to make sure he spends the rest of his life in jail for what he did to Calvin and for his role in the gang rape of a young woman earlier this week.”

Lenore broke down into sobs.

Ayana put her arms around her mother and held on tight.

“It’s all so pointless,” Lenore said sometime later, after she’d recovered the ability to speak.

“You can be proud of the way he stood up for his friend and called out a bully.”

“Even if that cost him his life?” Lenore asked.

“You raised a very good boy who would’ve become a very fine man. I never knew him, but I’m proud of what he did.”

“Thank you,” she said softly.

“Please don’t thank me. This case should’ve been closed years ago. We’re going to be reopening every one of Detective Stahl’s unsolved cases and taking another look at them. Because of you and because of Calvin, other families might get long-overdue justice as well. But I don’t put all the blame on that detective. I could’ve done something about this two years ago when I took command of Homicide, and I’ll always be sorry I didn’t.”

“I don’t blame you. I blame him. He was the one who could’ve solved this case in an afternoon, the way you did.”

“Still… I should’ve revisited it before now.”

“What matters to me is that you gave me something I’ve wanted for fifteen years—answers. I needed to know why, and now I do. It doesn’t bring Calvin back, but it does bring a measure of peace I haven’t had before now.”

Sam nodded, taking comfort in Lenore’s words. “I want you to know that we’re going to learn from this. I swear to you, we’re going to do better in memory of Calvin.”

“Thank you for caring. It means the world to me.”

Lenore and Ayana walked Sam to the door. She hugged them both. “I’ll keep you apprised as the case proceeds.”

“I’d appreciate that. I plan to attend every hearing.”

Sam started out the door, but turned back to Lenore. “I hope if I’m ever faced with such a devastating loss that I’d handle myself with the same class and dignity you’ve shown from the beginning. I admire you more than I could ever tell you.”

“Being admired by someone like you is an honor, Lieutenant.”

“Thank you.” Sam left the house feeling as if she’d done her job but hollowed out on the inside over the many ways she and the department had let this family down. In the days ahead, she would do what she could to root out other cases like Calvin’s. Knowing Leonard Stahl the way she did, Sam had no doubt there would be more.

“Enough,” she said as she drove home to Capitol Hill. “That’s enough for today.”

They spent most of Wednesday hunting down high school friends of Javier’s. By midafternoon, they had two who were willing to testify to Javier’s rage at Calvin after the incident at school. They’d also talked to the ex-girlfriend of one of Javier’s friends who was willing to testify that being expelled for fighting with Calvin had only added to Javier’s rage, which strengthened the motive in their growing case. Apparently, he’d never expected the school to actually kick him out.

And when they sent Crime Scene detectives into Javier’s home, they uncovered a nine-millimeter handgun, which was the gun they believed was used to kill Calvin.

Sam hoped the lab would be able to tie the bullet that killed Calvin to Javier’s gun. They had enough without it, but connecting the gun would seal the deal.

At four o’clock, she left her team with a long to-do list for the next two days and went home to change for the Nelson viewing at the Capitol. While she’d rather be at work than attending a funeral and moving to the White House over the next few days, at least she got to spend those days with her husband.

“I won’t make you late,” was the first thing she said to Nick when she landed in the bedroom they shared to find him straightening his tie in the mirror. Like the entire downstairs, the room was full of packing boxes.

He smiled at her in the mirror. “It never occurred to me that you would.”

“Don’t stand there and lie to my face.”