Fatal Series: Characters
An Interview with Detective Sergeant Sam Holland
We’re here today with Detective Sergeant Sam Holland of the Metro Washington, D.C. Police Department. Sam has agreed to take a few minutes out of her busy schedule to talk about the new book she’s featured in, Fatal Affair, and the Fatal Series, which continues in January 2011 with Fatal Justice and Fatal Consequences.
Thanks for joining us today, Sam!
Sam: (glancing at her watch) Sure, no problem.
Our readers are, of course, very interested in your romance with sexy chief of staff, Nick Cappuano.
Sam (rolling her eyes): I thought we were going to talk about the case. You know, the murdered United States Senator? Why are people more interested in my love life than they are in figuring out who killed the senator?
Well, it’s such a great story about how you and Nick met all those years ago, shared an unforgettable night together, and then never saw each other again until the senator was murdered. Why didn’t you ever see Nick again?
Sam: It was a series of misunderstandings. My jerk of an ex-husband, who was just my roommate at the time, he made sure I never got Nick’s messages.
You still seem upset by that.
Sam: Wouldn’t you be? Here you meet this absolutely perfect guy and then. . .
And then what?
Sam: The absolutely wrong guy makes sure you never see perfect guy again.
Wow, that sucks.
Sam: Doesn’t it? I spent four years married to that—
Family show!
Sam: Sorry. It’s just that sometimes when I think about this and other things Peter did, I see red.
Understandable. He kept you from the love of your life for six years.
Sam: Yeah, he did.
So what was that first moment like when you saw Nick again?
Sam: Well, I was in the earliest stages of a murder investigation, so it wasn’t like I had time to swoon or anything. And I knew he would be there because I had followed his career and was aware that Senator O’Connor was his boss and that Nick had found the senator dead in his apartment.
But still, did you have any kind of physical reaction to seeing him again all those years later?
Sam: There was kind of a pow. Right here. (Rubs her hand over her belly.) But I had to focus on the investigation and not on him.
How’d that go?
Sam: (laughs) Not so well. He’s pretty hard to ignore, especially when he turns those hot hazel eyes on me.
I hear that your story—and Nick’s—continues in the next book in The Fatal Series, Fatal Justice. How do you feel about that?
Sam: We’ll never understand why people are so interested in us. We plan to live our lives without paying attention to any of the hoopla.
Sounds like a good plan. What’s Fatal Justice about?
Sam: U.S. Supreme Court nominee Julian Sinclair comes to town for nomination hearings and is murdered. We also follow a new lead in my father’s unsolved shooting.
It’s been what? Two years now?
Sam: Yes. He was left a quadriplegic after a routine traffic stop went bad. His case remains unsolved.
That must be difficult for you.
Sam: If it takes the rest of my career, I’ll close that case. Mark my words.
My money is on you. Thanks for spending some time with us today. I wish you and Nick nothing but the best.
Sam: Thanks for having me! Gotta run back to work.
Be careful out there.
Sam (stops and turns back): That’s Nick’s line.
Wonder where he got that?
