that shouldn’t be allowed to go the distance in this career. If they’re bad or corrupt, they ought to be drummed out.”
“You’re preaching to the choir, my friend. I’ve always believed that.”
“So while I have you, Christina Billings called me last night. She’s having a stroke over Tommy taking the plea. I called the chief last night, and he agreed to have a conversation with Forrester about it. We have to stop this if we can.”
“I agree, but we may have trouble selling it to the rest of the department, including the aforementioned men who can’t handle your success, yada, yada.”
“I think Gonzo needs to issue a statement, owning it, citing the causes for his poor choice and tell the story of what his life has been like since his partner was murdered. In other words, play the sympathy card.”
“I can’t see him doing that,” Malone said.
“As far as I can tell, it’s going to be that or plead to a charge that’ll stop his very promising career dead in its tracks.”
“We’ll have a talk with him when he’s ready. In the meantime, I’ll text him and tell him not to sign anything until we can have that conversation.”
“Thank you.” Sam released a deep breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding as they discussed Gonzo. “It’ll mean more coming from you, and it’ll buy us some time to consider the options.”
“That’s the idea. I’ll text him right now, make it sound like an order.”
“That’s perfect. Let me know what he says.”
“Will do. So you and the doc have your first grief group meeting tonight, right?”
“That’s what he tells me.”
“You good for that?” he asked hesitantly.
“How do you mean?”
“Your dad and all that.”
“Um, well, define ‘good.’”
“I hope it helps you and others to talk about what you’ve been through,” he said.
“You’re welcome to come, Cap. Skip was one of your best friends. You have every right to be there if you’d like to be.”
“I’ll think about that. Thanks for the invite, and I really do admire you and Dr. Trulo for coming up with this idea. It’ll help a lot of people.”
“We hope so.”
“I’ll let you get back to work. See you at some point.”
“Later.” Sam slapped the phone closed and gave silent thanks for good friends who’d helped her through the toughest loss of her life. Knowing so many other people had loved her father and mourned his loss helped to lessen her own grief. His name came up every day, whether it be at work or at home, and the funny stories and sweet memories sustained her as she learned to navigate life without Skip Holland.
Chapter Seventeen
Thinking about her father and the grief group had Sam putting through a call to her sister Tracy.
“Morning,” Tracy said. “Did you catch the case of the woman who ripped off her friends?”
“Yep, and it’s a beast.”
“Your husband has the whole world going crazy over his decision.”
Sam winced. “And I should’ve told you guys before it went public.”
“Don’t worry about that. You have enough to think about.”
“Still… Common courtesy and all that.”
“We’re not sweating it, and you shouldn’t either. Did you see his mother on TV last night?”
“Unfortunately, yes. She’s so fucking gross. I might’ve asked Avery to do something about her.”
“As in the FBI?”
“The one and only.”
“Oh my God! That’d be freaking awesome!”
“That’s what I’m thinking too. Put a little scare into her and shut her up. If you could see what it does to him when she reappears… It makes me so furious.”
“I can only imagine how badly you want to stab her.”
“With every fiber of my being.”
“I’m sorry. For you and for him.”
“Thanks. I try to tell myself it is what it is, but seeing him hurt makes me crazy.”
“It makes me crazy, too, and he’s not even my husband.”
“Thank you for that. So I wanted to make sure to remind you that the grief group meeting is tonight if you guys still want to come.”
“I’m hoping to get there with Ang and Celia. No promises, though. It’s minute-by-minute for all of us.”
“Trust me, I understand that. At least we’ll have three people there besides me and Dr. Trulo.” Sam still wasn’t convinced she’d actually get Roni to go.
“You’ll have more than just us. People need this so badly. I need it. I’ve been so… I don’t know… off, I guess you’d say, since Dad died.”
“I know what you mean. I feel extremely off myself.”
“And with Thanksgiving coming… Ugh. I just want to forget it this year.”