“Please,” Nick said. “Spare me the details.”

“How’s Sam?”

“Fine,” he said, pleased that she’d asked. That, too, was progress. “She’s seen a lot over the years, so she bounces back from something traumatic like what happened yesterday a lot faster than most people would.”

“She must be pissed, though. Tommy was enraged over it.”

Not sure what Christina was getting at, he said, “I think she was more disappointed that she wasn’t able to talk Reese out of the gun in time. Apparently, she almost had him when SWAT showed up.”

Christina looked at him like he was speaking Greek. “I mean over the suspension. Tommy said it was totally bogus. You helped them close the O’Connor case and now to have Internal Affairs investigating your relationship! Let’s just hope the media doesn’t catch wind of it.”

Nick felt like she had punched him. “Yeah,” he said. “Let’s hope not.” He stood up and reached for his new overcoat. “What time do the Girl Scouts get here?”

“At noon. Why?”

“I’ll be back before then.”

“Where’re you going?” she asked, baffled.

“I’ll be back.”

“Tony Sanducci,” Gonzo said, “age thirty-nine, native of Cleveland, Ohio. He’s been actively protesting abortion for the last decade. Suspected in several violent altercations at abortion clinics, but none of the charges stuck. His rich parents apparently hire a team of high-priced lawyers who always get him off.

“Married, four children, lives outside of Cleveland but opened a storefront in the District, on New York Avenue, three weeks ago and has been operating out of there since then. Has a legion of loyal followers who read his daily blog by the thousands and take their orders directly from him. Works outside the boundaries of the mainstream movement, which says it disapproves of his tactics but doesn’t do anything to stop him.”

“Passive approval,” Sam said.

“Exactly,” Gonzo said. “His editorial in the Washington Post was a thinly veiled hate rant. It was clear that he’d do anything to keep Sinclair off the court.”

“We need to talk to him,” Sam said. “Let’s figure out who his most faithful followers are, too. Those who inspire legions of zealots have people in their ranks who’d do anything for the leader. He may not have put out the word he wanted Sinclair killed, but reading that editorial, it’d be hard not to get that message.”

“I can’t believe the Post even printed it,” Jeannie said.

“Freedom of speech,” Skip said.

“I’d also like to know why the Secret Service offered protection,” Sam said. “Did they know of specific threats?”

“When you have a million people descending on the city to protest a specific nominee, that warrants protection,” Skip said.