Page 17 of State of Grace (First Family 2)

“I need to see my own kids,” Nick said after he and Sam left the press room.

“Me, too.”

Chapter Four

They climbed the stairs to the residence where they found the kids in the kitchen under the supervision of Sam’s stepmother, Celia, who’d moved into the White House to help with the children. After the recent loss of her husband, Skip, Celia had welcomed the distraction that came with being part of their chaotic life. As she hugged Sam and Nick, she, too, looked as if she’d been crying.

Their fourteen-year-old son, Scotty, was subdued as he stroked Skippy’s soft fur while the twins chattered on, blissfully unaware of the tragedy that had occurred in Des Moines. Sam hoped to keep them unaware. Her phone rang, and she stepped out of the kitchen to take the call from Archie. “Hey,” she said. “What’s up?”

“I was able to tie the IP address to the post your guy made under an anonymous account. We’ve got him.”

“That’s great, Archie. Thank you for this. Let me know what I owe you.”

“No charge. What he did was lame. He deserves whatever you have planned for him.”

“We have a massive lawsuit planned, and you’ve provided the final piece we needed.”

“I sent the info to your personal email.”

“Appreciate this, my friend.”

“Anytime. How’re you guys holding up over there? It’s just the most horrible thing.”

“It really is, and we’re taking it a minute at a time.”

“I saw Nick just now. He said all the right things.”

“It’s hard to know what the right things are during something like this.”

“He got it right. People are fed up with this shit.”

“It’s a very difficult issue, but one that needs some sensible solutions.”

“If anyone can get this done, Nick can.”

“I guess we’ll see. Thank you again for using your superpowers to help me.”

Laughing, he said, “Happy to do it. See you tomorrow.”

Sam ended that call and put through another to Andy.

“Hey,” he said. “Saw you guys on TV just now. It’s so awful.”

“Yes, it is.”

“Nick did a good job of setting the right tone.”

“I think so, too. In other news, I heard from my IT guy, and he was able to connect the dots to our friend Mr. Thorn. I’ll forward his info to you the next time I’m on a computer.”

“That’s great news. I’ve got the suit ready to be filed and served as soon as you give the green light.”

“Hang on a second.” She gestured for Nick to join her in the hallway. “Andy has what he needs to file the suit against Thorn. Just confirming you’re still on board.”

“I’m on board, but will we be crucified for the timing after the shooting?”

“We could say it was already in the works when the shooting happened, which is true.”

He thought about that for a second. “Tell Andy to go ahead, then.”