“I’ve taken enough of your time. I’ll call you when I have flight information.”

“I’ll look forward to hearing from you. I’m really glad you called. This feels like a win for all of us, which is not something I say very often in my line of work.”

“Trust me, I get it. Talk soon.”

Sam closed her phone and thought about the parents in Tennessee getting news they’d waited thirty long years to hear. She couldn’t imagine how they must be feeling after learning their son was alive and mostly well after so many years of wondering what’d become of him. The not knowing had to be the purest form of hell on earth for a parent. She hoped she never found out what that was like. The very thought of it made her shudder and reach for her phone to text her son.

Just saying hi and I love you.

You’re not supposed to text me in school, but I love you too.

Sam smiled at the predictable reply that provided an unreasonable amount of comfort in light of her troubling thoughts. He was such a good boy, and they were so blessed to have him in their lives, even when he chastised them.

At eleven-twenty she left the hospital and drove to the federal building on Fourth Street Northwest. She’d been there often on official business but never on business that involved the possibility of her being brought up on charges. By the time she parked, ran a comb through her hair and applied lipstick to bring some color to her hideously pale face, she had minutes to spare before she was due to meet Andy and his associate.

She ran up the stairs to the imposing building and nearly ran smack into Detective Ramsey as he emerged from the main doors.

He wore a thick plaster cast on his arm and a nasty scowl on his face. “Fancy meeting you here, Lieutenant.”

“Hey, Ramsey, how you doing? Good to see you up and about.”

“Fuck you.”

“You have a nice day now.”

“You’re going down, Holland.”

She waggled her brows at him, talking over her shoulder as she moved past him. “Already did last night. My husband loved it.”

“Whore.”

Sam laughed and kept moving. He wasn’t worth her time, but the encounter hadn’t done much for her already-rattled nerves. Andy waited for her in the busy lobby with another man in a suit. Both were consulting their phones when she approached them.

“Hey,” she said. “Thanks for coming.”

“Hi, Sam.” Andy leaned in to kiss her cheek. “This is my colleague, Kurt Hager. He works on the criminal side of the house and is better versed in these sorts of things than I am.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Kurt said as he shook her hand. “And an honor to be of assistance.”