Page 24 of State of Grace (First Family 2)

Sam gestured to a sofa in a nearby living room. “Could we sit for a second?”

“Um, sure.” He led the way and sat on the love seat while Sam and Dani sat together on the sofa.

“When was the last time you spoke to your wife?”

“Friday. She was traveling for work this past weekend, and she’s so busy that it’s not unusual that we don’t hear from her while she’s gone. She’s due home tonight.”

Sam couldn’t for the life of her imagine not speaking to Nick for four days. She’d go mad. “What does she do for work?”

“She owns a business that provides conference services to a wide array of clients, everything from registration support to publications, signage, etc. She does it all, and when she’s on-site at a show, she puts in sixteen-hour days.”

“So you don’t text with her or anything during the shows?”

“Hardly ever. Now that our kids are older, she doesn’t check in like she did when they were little. Wh-what is this about?”

“Mr. Tappen, I’m sorry to have to tell you that your van was found in Southeast with the body of a blonde female inside it. Your wife’s purse and other belongings were in the car. We’re working under the assumption that the body is that of your wife.”

His face seemed to go completely lax with shock. “Oh my God.”

“The medical examiner would like you to come in to identify her, if possible.”

“You… My Pam is dead?” he asked, his eyes filling as his hands began to tremble.

“I’m afraid so.”

“Oh God,” he whispered, dropping his head into his hands. “How can this be happening?”

“Are you home alone?”

“Yes, my sons are at football practice, and my daughter is away at college in Massachusetts.”

“Were you here when Pam left for her work trip on Friday?”

“No, I went from work to Delaware for a tournament for my sons’ AAU football team. Pam was so bummed to miss it.”

“Are you able to come with us to identify the body?”

“I, ah, yeah. I just need to, uh, deal with the stove.”

Sam nodded to Dani to go with him. They needed to ensure he didn’t make any phone calls or do anything other than shut off the stove and grab a coat. A few minutes later, Sam was driving Tappen to HQ, while Dani stayed behind to speak to the neighbors about whether they’d witnessed anything unusual involving the Tappens’s van the previous weekend. It was a long shot, but worth asking.

“Was your wife having any problems with anyone in her life?” Sam asked Mr. Tappen, who sat in the front seat with her. She’d debated whether to allow him that privilege, but since he wasn’t a suspect—at the moment, anyway—she’d had no reason to cuff him or treat him like a criminal.

“Not that I know of. I mean, we have teenagers, so we have issues with them, but it’s just the usual stuff that everyone deals with.”

“What kind of issues?” Sam asked, glancing at him.

The man looked shell-shocked, but who could blame him? He’d been making dinner when the police came to tell him his wife had probably been murdered.

“Staying out past curfew, drinking, smoking pot, slacking off in school. The same stuff everyone deals with.”

“How many children do you have?”

“Three. My boys are fifteen and seventeen, and my daughter is nineteen.”

Sam also couldn’t imagine not speaking to Scotty for four days, no matter how busy she was at work. “And you say it wasn’t unusual for her to go completely dark while working a show?”

“Not at all. We all understood that when she was working, we wouldn’t hear from her. She knew I could handle things at home and that I’d text if I needed her for something.”