The minute she was able to break free for a second, she ducked into the bathroom and called Sergeant Tommy “Gonzo” Gonzales, her second-in-command at work.

“Sam. My God. I’m so sorry. How’s Ang?” Angela had cared for Gonzo’s son, Alex, for most of his life.

“Not good at all.”

“Do they have any idea what happened?”

“He took something he bought illegally, and I suspect it was probably laced.”

“Oh fuck. No way.”

“I want to find the person who did this to him. Anderson says there’s been a huge increase in ODs coming into the ER. It might be related.”

“Son of a bitch.”

“I want to track these motherfuckers down and make them pay for what they’ve done to my sister and her family—and all the others who’ve lost their lives because of this crap.”

“I’m with you,” he said. “There but for the grace of God go I.” He’d fought his own battle with painkiller addiction after the murder of his partner and had procured Oxy illegally.

“I thought of that earlier. You got so lucky.”

“And I know it. I’ll do what I can to help figure out what happened to Spencer. He was a good guy. I hate this for Angela and her kids. Poor Jack.”

“She just had to tell him. It was dreadful.”

“I can’t even imagine. It’s all so shocking and devastating.”

“Yes, it is.”

“I’m really sorry, Sam, for you and your whole family.”

“Thank you. Is it all over the news?”

“Nonstop coverage on every network that your brother-in-law is critically ill. Tons of speculation on what happened.”

“God. Just what Angela needs. Nick will release a statement soon.” And eventually people would learn that Spencer’s death was drug related, which would start a second firestorm. Sam would do whatever she could to protect her sister from that blowback.

“Is there any way you can get his phone to me?” Gonzo asked. “That’s the best place to start.”

“I’ll see what I can do to track it down.”

“Keep me posted. I’m here and will do whatever I can.”

“Thanks, Gonzo. Don’t say anything to anyone about the drug thing for now. We need more info before that gets out.”

“You got it.”

“I’ll be in touch when I have the phone. Another thing you can do for me is some gentle digging into why Narcotics hadn’t alerted us to the upswing in overdose deaths that Dr. Anderson told me he’s seen in the ER.”

“I’ll do that.”

“Try not to ruffle any feathers. Maybe start with Malone?” Even though he was still suspended following the incident that led to the death of Sergeant Ramsey’s son, Malone would have the inside scoop.

“Yeah, I will. Take care of yourself and give Ang our love. We’re all heartbroken for her.”

“Will do. Thanks again.”

Sam closed her phone and took one more minute to herself before she rejoined her sister’s unbearable tragedy.

Chapter Three