“Ladies, I apologize in advance for anything she does while she’s here,” Scotty said after he entered the first lady’s East Wing office suite. “She’s incorrigible.” Stopping, he glanced at Roni and asked, “Did I use that word right? It was one of our vocabulary words last year, but that was a lifetime ago.”

“If you mean you can’t do a thing with her, then you used it right.”

“Excellent,” he said, grinning. He had dark hair and eyes and bore a faint resemblance to his father, even though he was adopted. The first time Roni met him, she’d noticed how he’d affected his father’s expressions and mannerisms, which she’d found so endearing. “My mom tells me you guys can help me deal with her exploding social media accounts. Dad says I’m going to start an international incident if I make the wrong kind of comment there, so I need all the help I can get. Not to mention the mail. She gets more than my dad does!”

“We heard that,” Lilia said. “Let’s see what we can do to help you manage that.”

Roni and Lilia spent a delightful hour with Scotty and Skippy, who was indeed incorrigible, but so cute, too. They were both covered in blonde dog hair by the time they had a plan in place to manage Skippy’s fame that would involve Scotty keeping them in photos and videos while they handled the messaging. Scotty said he had to head upstairs to the residence to get a jump on his dreaded algebra homework.

Before he left, he solemnly shook hands with them. “Thank you so much for being willing to help us.”

“It’s a pleasure,” Roni said sincerely. Running an Instagram account for the first dog sounded like the most fun anyone could ever have at a job. “I’ll be in touch with some thoughts about how we can show the two of you together, and with the twins, as we go forward. People love the narrative of a boy and his first dog.”

“Especially a boy who was adopted himself,” Scotty said.

“Absolutely.”

“Excellent. You know where to find us if you need me and the superstar.”

“Good luck with the algebra,” Roni said.

He scowled as he headed for the door to the suite. “I’m counting on my dad to outlaw it.”

“What an awesome kid,” Roni said to Lilia after he left.

“He really is, and Skippy is beyond cute. I love how he named her for Sam’s late dad.”

“It’s all so sweet. Running that account will be a blast.”

“I agree,” Lilia said, smiling, “but we’d better see about a lint brush for the office.”

With Sam, Malone, Farnsworth and AUSA Hope Miller positioned in observation, Gonzo and Jeannie entered the interrogation room, where Shane Ramsey paced like a caged animal.