Page 119 of State of Grace (First Family 2)

Swoon.

“Hey, it’s me. Love the voicemail message. So I told you Bryson Thorn was murdered last night. Gonzo called to tell me his wife, Tiffany, was accusing us of arranging it and asking how could it not be related to the lawsuit. Apparently, she’s talking about taking her claims to the media. He said he tried to talk her out of it, but who knows what she’ll do? Let me know that you got this message.”

Sam ended the call and decided to text the same information to Christina, just in case Nick didn’t get the message.

When she’d done what she could to tip them off, she got up, showered and got dressed for work before she went to rouse Scotty and the twins. With just a few more days of school until Christmas vacation, they moved slowly and were grumpier than usual as they ate the pancakes she made for them in the family kitchen.

During their upcoming vacation, she was determined to cook as many meals for their family as she could so her kids would know she was capable of making more than pancakes.

Elijah’s presence helped to elevate the mood, but they were all sad to hug him goodbye for a few days as he headed back to school for final exams.

Scotty left with his detail, and the twins were fifteen minutes behind him with theirs. She left shortly after they did and arrived at HQ minutes before her tour was to begin at eight.

She was greeted by Captain Malone, who appeared in her office doorway five minutes after she arrived. “Morning.”

“We have Green’s ex in lockup making a huge stink about being unjustly accused.”

“Did you tell her we have her on video damaging Green’s vehicle?”

“She says it wasn’t her.”

Sighing, Sam gathered her hair into a ponytail that she twisted and secured with a clip. “I’ll go have a talk with her, and then I’m getting everyone into the conference room to start at the top with the Tappen case.”

“Thank you for dealing with Green’s ex, and let me know when you’re meeting. I’ll join you.”

“That’d be good. Any word from Gonzo about the Thorn case?”

“He’s been here all night working the case. He can report on it at the meeting, and then we’ll divide and conquer.”

“I need some threads to pull on Tappen. I just keep coming back to the affair she was having with the father of one of her son’s teammates. How can that not be related to her murder?”

“We’ll talk it through and find you some threads.”

Sam stood to follow him out of the office. When he took a left to go to his office, she took a right toward the stairs that led to the jail in the basement. She heard Jaycee before she saw her.

“I’ll sue your asses off for unlawful incarceration,” she shrieked at the top of her considerable lungs.

“One of yours, Lieutenant?” the sergeant at the desk asked her.

“The ex of one of mine.”

“He dodged a bullet. She hasn’t shut up since they brought her in last night.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“We’d appreciate that.”

Sam approached Jaycee’s cell right as she started a fresh diatribe about cops using their authority to persecute innocent people. “Shut up,” Sam said, amazed to think she’d found the woman in the cell attractive on previous meetings while she’d been dating Cameron.

Stunned by Sam’s sudden appearance, Jaycee slammed her mouth shut, but it stayed that way for only a second. “How dare you tell me to shut up?” She was a curvy blonde with blue eyes, a looker who was no doubt accustomed to getting her own way in life and love. It would’ve been a shock to her system to be dumped by Cameron, Sam decided.

“How dare you vandalize Detective Green’s property?”

“I didn’t do that!”

“We have you on video, Jaycee, so you can quit all your bullshit about persecution and cops having an unfair advantage.”

“The video isn’t admissible. It’s entrapment if I don’t know there were cameras.”