That was a thought she’d never share with Nick, who suffered enough over the changes wrought for all of them by his “promotion” to the Oval Office.
Fifteen minutes later, the Secret Service had secured the area.
Vernon opened the back door while Q stood across from him, creating a human barrier. They hustled her up the stairs as reporters shouted questions at her about the Russians, the bombing, Gretchen Henderson, Nick and anything else they could think of.
She ignored them and stayed laser-focused on the door and what she was here to do. Peter had protected her at the end of his life. Today was all about getting justice for him.
Inside, she was ushered through security and taken directly to the courtroom. As soon as she was inside the room, Faith said, “The prosecution calls Lieutenant Sam Holland.”
After being sworn in, Sam took a seat and prepared herself to take an unhappy trip down memory lane.
“Please state your legal name for the record,” Faith said.
“Samantha Holland.” As she said those words, she realized she’d provided yet another headline for the pundits to chew on—that she’d never legally changed her name after she and Nick were married.
“And you’re the commander of the Homicide unit at the Metropolitan Police Department. Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“How long have you served in that role?”
“The last two and a half years of my fifteen years with the MPD.”
“What was your relationship to Peter Gibson?”
“He was my ex-husband.”
“And how would you describe your relationship with him prior to his death?”
“After our contentious divorce, he stalked and threatened me. He attached an explosive device to my car and sabotaged my relationship with my current husband.”
“How did he factor into this case?”
“A credible threat against our family was received by the Secret Service when my husband was vice president. Our team at the MPD investigated, along with federal authorities, and it came to my attention that Peter had gone missing around the same time that the threat was levied. It occurred to me that the threat might’ve come from him. So my team and the FBI started looking for him.”
“Was he found?”
“Yes.” Sam wished she could forget the photos of what’d been done to him. “He was dead in his apartment, tied to a chair, with injuries consistent with torture.”
“Can you describe his injuries?”
“He’d been whipped, had deep cuts and burns on his face and torso, and his fingernails had been removed.”
Faith gestured to a screen where the jury could view the photos.
Sam refused to look. Once had been more than enough for her.
“What was your reaction when you heard what’d been done to Mr. Gibson?”
“I was physically sick and emotionally shattered. What was done to him… It was beyond horrific.”
“Were you able to determine who murdered him?”
“Yes, by reviewing video from his apartment building in the days before. He was frequently seen with a man named Dante Fields.”
“How was he identified?”
“Through facial recognition software. He was well known to law enforcement. We tracked him down, arrested him and brought him in for questioning. He demanded a deal from prosecutors before he’d tell us anything. He agreed to plead guilty to reduced charges of felony assault in exchange for telling us who hired him to torture my ex-husband, hoping to get dirt about me.”
