Fatal Identity by Marie Force

“Wow.”
    â€œI knew that would get to you.”
    â€œRight here.” He rubbed his chest. “Now, how about you fill me in on what happened yesterday? It was only yesterday, right?”
    â€œYeah, it was. Feels like a lifetime ago, though.” She told him about the results of the IAB hearing, Josh Hamilton and what he’d uncovered on the Internet.
    â€œSo he just happened to see an age-progression photo that was of him ? What’re the odds of that?”
    â€œAstronomical.”
    â€œImagine seeing one of those photos, and it’s you . Jesus.”
    â€œYou haven’t even heard the real kicker yet. Guess who his father is?”
    â€œWho?”
    â€œTroy Hamilton.”
    â€œAs in the FBI director Troy Hamilton ?”
    â€œOne and the same.”
    â€œHoly shit. Sam, seriously... Are you kidding me right now?”
    â€œWould I do that?”
    â€œWhat’s your plan?”
    â€œTo keep him alive while we wait for DNA proof that he’s Taylor Rollings.”
    â€œSo you think he is?”
    â€œI think he could be. The resemblance to the photo is uncanny. It’s like someone drew a picture of him and posted it. His thirtieth birthday is next week, so the timing works. And according to Freddie, who I’ve got babysitting him, his father has been calling every fifteen minutes, which is more than he’s called his son in the last five years.”
    â€œSo Hamilton knows about the photo—and he knows that Josh knows.”
    â€œYeah, that’s the theory. How well do you know Hamilton?”
    â€œNot very well. From what I’ve seen at hearings on the Hill and in a few meetings at the White House, he’s a cool customer with an ego the size of Texas.”
    â€œIt’s well earned. He’s a legend in law enforcement circles.”
    â€œAnd in his own mind.”
    â€œSo you don’t like him.”
    â€œI don’t know him well enough not to like him, but something about him is off-putting. Can’t put my finger on it.”
    â€œYou think he’d be capable of kidnapping someone’s child and taking him home to raise as his own?”
    â€œHell if I know. I can’t imagine how anyone would be capable of such a thing. Those poor people. They’ve been through hell for thirty years. It sure would be something if you could give them some peace.”
    â€œIf Josh turns out to be Taylor, I fear that peace will be the least of what I’m giving them, and the frustrating part is that there’s not a damned thing we can do from an investigative perspective until the DNA comes back.”
    â€œYou could look into where Hamilton and his wife were the day Taylor went missing.”
    â€œHow can I do that without bringing down the wrath of Hamilton on me and the department?”
    â€œCarefully.”
    Sam could hear how tired he was in the way he said that one word. “You need to sleep now. We’ll talk more about this tomorrow.”
    He didn’t protest, which was unlike him, especially since he had such a complicated relationship with sleep. His insomnia had been awful since he became vice president, which was one of many challenges they’d faced after he accepted the president’s offer to replace the ailing Joe Gooding.
    â€œThanks for waking up earlier,” she whispered.
    His hand moved in small circles on her back. “Sorry I scared you.”
    â€œYou really did. Sorry for all the times I’ve scared you.”
    â€œLove you, baby.”
    â€œLove you too. So much.” If anything ever happened to him... No, she couldn’t think about that or she’d go mad. There were two agents stationed right outside the door to ensure that nothing happened to him. But they hadn’t been able to prevent severe dehydration. Her stomach ached from the fear of the many things that could happen to someone she loved that no one could prevent.
    â€œStop,”