Chapter Twenty-Two #2
He waved off her apology and followed the signs to the rental car area.
Twenty minutes later they were headed into downtown Knoxville, the GPS guiding them to Dowell Springs Boulevard.
When they arrived, they parked and walked into the office together, badges at the ready.
The main door to the office had been outfitted in black bunting in deference to Director Hamilton.
A photo of him hung in the main lobby, and it too had been veiled in bunting.
“Let me take the lead,” he said. “These are my people.”
Though she usually hated to cede control of an interview, in this case, he was right. “I’m along for the ride.”
The first person they encountered was one of Sam’s favorite things—a receptionist. Avery presented his badge at the reception desk. “I’m Special Agent-in-Charge Avery Hill, Criminal Investigative Division in D.C. This is Metro PD Lieutenant Sam Holland.”
“Oh, Agent Hill,” the woman said. Sam figured her to be in her mid to late fifties. “We didn’t know you were coming—and with the vice president’s wife!”
Sam wanted to groan and punch her. She did neither. Her days of punching people were over. For now anyway.
“I didn’t tell anyone I was coming. I’m looking for Danielle Koch. Is she here?”
“I… I’m Danielle. Why are you looking for me?”
“Is there somewhere we could talk? In private?”
“I… um… Sure, I guess. Let me get someone to cover for me.” She made a call and spoke softly to the person on the other end. A minute later, another woman appeared to take Danielle’s place at the reception desk. She eyed Avery with suspicion and Sam with recognition.
“You’re—”
“I know.” Sam followed Danielle and Avery into the office, past cubicles of agents working on computers and telephones, to the conference room located in the back of the space.
“What’s this about?” Danielle asked, the moment the door shut behind them.
“Director Hamilton.”
Her eyes filled with tears. “It’s so awful what happened to him. We’re beside ourselves, especially those of us who knew him personally and worked with him.” She wiped away tears.
“Before we go any further, I need to be assured of your discretion,” Avery said. “Nothing we say here can be repeated to anyone. Do you understand?”
She nodded. “I’m under an NDA, so I get it.”
“We’re investigating the possibility of his son Josh’s involvement in his father’s death.”
Danielle’s face went slack with shock at hearing that. “No.”
“You seem certain. Did you know Josh?”
“Not personally, but the director was such a good man. How could his own son possibly kill him?”
“It happens all the time in families. You should know that after years of working in law enforcement.”
Sam had so many questions, but she bit her tongue and forced herself to stay silent while hoping Avery had an actual plan here. She would’ve started by asking Danielle why she’d given her baby to the Hamiltons to raise.
“Mrs. Hamilton told us Josh was adopted during the time her husband worked in this office. Do you recall the Hamiltons adopting him?”
“I do. I remember that very well. Mrs. Hamilton was back in Virginia with her older children by the time Josh joined their family, but Troy was still here.”
“She also told us that the baby was yours. Is that true?”
Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open before snapping shut. “Mine?” she asked in a squeaky voice.
“That’s what she said. Is that true?”
“I… I’ve never been pregnant.” The statement led to more tears. “My husband and I, we wanted children. Very badly. But the Lord never saw fit to bless us in that way.”
“Was there another receptionist in the office at that time?”
“No, I was the only one.”
Avery glanced at Sam.
“What can you tell us about Director Hamilton’s relationship with his wife and with Deputy Director Jacoby during the time they were in Knoxville?” Sam asked.
“Troy and Dustin were best friends. They were inseparable. Courtney and Troy had their ups and downs as people do when they are parents of young children.”
“What do you mean by ups and downs?” Sam asked.
“They… For a time they were separated, but they later patched things up.”
“Do you know why they separated?”
“I don’t. He didn’t talk about it, and I never asked.”
“How long were they separated?” Avery asked.
“About six months. Courtney took the children and went home to Virginia to be with her family while Troy stayed here.”
“Was this before or after they adopted Josh?”
“Before.”
“You seem fairly certain about a timeline that took place thirty years ago,” Sam said.
“I remember it vividly. It was a difficult time for Troy, being separated from his family that way. We all thought it was somewhat cruel of Courtney to take his children away from him for so long.”
“What role did this office play in helping to investigate the kidnapping of Taylor Rollings in Williamson County?” Avery asked.
She seemed stunned by the question.
“Mrs. Koch?” Avery asked. “Are you all right?”
“What does that have to do with Troy’s murder?” she asked softly.
“We aren’t sure. That’s why we’re asking.”
“We supported law enforcement in Williamson County. For weeks, every agent assigned to this office worked that case, but we never found any sign of that poor baby.”
“We’ve found him,” Avery said.
“What? Where? Where is he?”
“I have to say again that what I’m about to tell you is highly confidential. It’s critical that you refrain from telling anyone.”
“I won’t say a word. I promise.”
“The baby who was taken thirty years ago was raised as Josh Hamilton.”
She shook her head, horror stamped into her expression.
“No. That’s not possible. There’s no way Troy Hamilton would’ve been involved in something like that.
He was heartbroken for the Rollings family.
He spent hours with them, consoling them and offering whatever comfort he could. It’s not possible.”
“I’m afraid the DNA has confirmed it.”
She shook her head and blinked back tears. “I can’t believe this,” she whispered. “Why would Troy have done something like that to those poor people?”
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out.”
“If there’s anything you remember from the weeks before and after the kidnapping that you could share with us, no matter how small or insignificant it might seem, it could help us get to the bottom of this,” Sam said.
The other woman seemed to think hard about that, and they gave her the time and the silence she needed.
“There was one thing that stands out in my memory,” she said haltingly.
It was all Sam could do not to pounce, to tell her to spit it out already, and she sensed similar tension coming from Avery.
“Something wasn’t right between Troy and Dustin. They were arguing a lot. At the time, I assumed it was because everyone was upset about the baby being kidnapped, but now… Now I’m not so sure.”
“Is there anyone else in the office who was here when they worked here?”
“One other person. Dale Owens. He’s one of the agents.”
“Is he here?” Avery asked. “Could we speak to him?”
“Yes, let me get him.”
“Remember,” Avery said, “not a word about Josh to anyone.”
Nodding, she left the room.
“What’s your take?” Sam asked.
“I have no fucking idea what the hell is going on here. I can’t get a read on this case.”
“Me either. It’s been a mind bender from the first second I met Josh.”
“I feel the same way she does about the possibility of Troy having been involved in something so sinister. It flies in the face of everything I knew about him, the things he believed in as a leader and law enforcement officer. All I can think is that if he was involved, someone had something huge on him, and he had no choice but to go along with it.”
“Could that someone have been Dustin?”
“I can’t imagine that either.”