Chapter Seventeen
They walked next door to knock on Leslie’s door.
A woman Sam didn’t recognize came to the door and did the usual double take when she recognized Sam.
She showed her badge. “I’d like to see Leslie Forrester, please.”
“Come in.” She led them to the same formal living room they’d used the last time they were there.
They waited ten precious minutes before Leslie appeared in the doorway. “Have you found the person who killed my Tom?”
“Not yet, but we’re working hard on the case. We just met with Ralph and Laurel Sellers.”
Leslie grimaced at the mention of their names as she took a seat across from them. “I’m sure they had nothing but good things to say about us.”
“Laurel asked for you and the girls. She said her heart went out to you.”
“That’s nice of her.”
“I wondered why Tom was unwilling to provide receipts from the vet when demanding ten grand from the Sellers.”
“He felt it was none of their business.”
“But he still expected them to pay without proof of how much it cost?”
Leslie sighed. “I said the same thing, but he was adamant that Snowflake’s medical treatments weren’t their business. He was unusually unreasonable when it came to Ralph Sellers.”
“How so?”
“The guy infuriated him from the get-go. It was a case of instant dislike.”
“And he never said why?”
“I don’t think even he knew why he detested Ralph. He just did, and then after their dog attacked Snowflake, Tom was out of his mind with rage.”
“Why did Tom ask for ten thousand from the Sellers when the surgery only cost five?”
“He said we deserved something for the pain and agony we’d endured seeing Snowflake through a complicated recovery, not to mention the trauma to the girls, who witnessed the attack.”
“Ralph said that Tom liked to act like he was in charge around here. Is that true?”
“Tom stood up for what was right in all aspects of his life.”
“Did that annoy the other neighbors?”
“Sometimes. For instance, our homeowners’ association prohibits boats on trailers in driveways. Our neighbor across the street used to have his boat in the driveway all the time, saying it was temporary, but then it would be there for weeks. Tom didn’t like that, and he told him so.”
“How did that go over?”
“The man said his wife had breast cancer, and he had bigger things to worry about than whether his boat was pissing off his neighbor. He shut the door in Tom’s face. Tom felt bad about that confrontation. I took a meal over to them a week or so later, and they were very appreciative. Things have been fine with them ever since. And they eventually moved the boat.”
“Did he have trouble with anyone else that you know of?”
“The golf pro at the club.”
“Do you recall his name?”
“Tristan O’Walsh.”
“What was the issue?”
“He moved Tom’s tee times without telling him—three times. After the third time, Tom reported him to management and got the guy fired.”
“How long ago did that happen?”
“About eight months ago.”
“What came of that?”
“Nothing that I know of.”
Sam made a note to figure out what’d become of Tristan O’Walsh and where he’d been on Sunday morning. “Which country club?”
“Woodville.”
If she’d had more time, they’d go straight to the club, but that wasn’t happening today. Ugh, she hated days when she didn’t have time to do everything that needed to be done.
“Can you think of anyone else that would fall into the Ralph Sellers/Tristan O’Walsh category?”
“Not off the top of my head.”
“If you do, please call me. It’s critical that we have all the information we need to fully investigate Tom’s murder.”
“I will. I’m sorry I didn’t think of the golf pro sooner. That was quite a while ago, though.”
“I understand completely. This has been a terrible time for you, and we appreciate all your help.”
“Our goals are the same—justice for Tom.”
“Indeed they are. We won’t take any more of your time.”
Sam asked Vernon to use the lights to get her to the U.S. Attorney’s Office as fast as possible as the clock ticked down to her departure for the day. She was due for hair and makeup at two o’clock. The very thought of stopping what she was doing for that was unfathomable. But she kept remembering why she was doing it—and who she was doing it for—and that helped to keep her attitude properly aligned.
There was nothing she wouldn’t do for Nick. Today was proof of that.
She took advantage of the time in the car to check on Lindsey with a text. Hope you’re feeling better and will be sprung soon. Sorry I haven’t been able to check on you in person. Thinking of you!
Thanks for the message! Aren’t you dealing with the Canadians today?
Not until later. How are you?
Better. They’ve ruled out all the really bad stuff and determined a virus I had before Christmas depleted my red blood cells and led to the current anemia. They think they caught my red blood count on the way back up. They’re keeping me for one more day to monitor vitals and then sending me home.
Glad to hear they found the cause and you’re on the mend. How’s Terry holding up?
He’s been amazing.
That’s great! I’ll check in tomorrow.
Can’t wait to see the pictures from tonight. We’re SO SAD to miss it.
There’ll be others. Focus on getting back to full health. We need our Lindsey!
I’m on it. Xo
Xoxo
Sam filled Freddie in on what Lindsey had told her.
“That can happen?”
“I guess so. Never heard of it before, but I’m glad it’s not something more serious.”
“Me, too.”
She had two hours before she had to head home for tea. That word rankled her. Tea. What a stupid word to describe a stupid event. Why did the women have tea while the men had high-level meetings? It made her feel like a fifties-era housewife. Next, she’d be vacuuming in a plaid suit and pearls.
She planned to take up that question with Nick as soon as she got the chance.
In the meantime, she needed to prepare for tea with the other guy’s wife.
Ugh.
Since she still had some time in the car, she called Lilia.
“Hi there,” her chief of staff said. “How’re you today?”
“Just ducky.”
“Uh-oh, what’s wrong?”
“I forgot everything you told me about the prime minister’s wife, and now I’m meeting her in a few hours, and I’m unprepared. I was hoping you might have a minute to review the info with me.”
“Of course.”
“I’m sorry I’m like this.”
“Like what?”
“Unprepared despite your efforts to give me what I needed for this.”
“You’re the busiest person any of us knows, and we’re happy to do this however it works for you.”
“I don’t deserve you.”
“Oh stop. Of course you do. I’m so delighted to work with you as you make history.”
“You’re too kind. Thank you for all you do. I’ll never be able to say it enough.”
“It’s my enormous pleasure. Now, about Mrs. Hutchinson… She’s an accountant by trade and the mother of four. Her youngest daughter has cystic fibrosis. She’s been very active in that community, advocating for funding, etc. She’s also a fierce advocate of early childhood education and vaccinations for childhood diseases.”
“Wow, that’s a full plate.”
“Indeed. By all accounts, she’s a lovely person. I think you’ll like her.”
“Will she like me?”
Lilia, that bitch, laughed. “Yes, Sam, she’ll like you. Most people do.”
“I’m not sure that’s true.”
“Well, the people I know adore you, so I assume she will as well.”
“Tell me her first name again?”
“Courtney.”
“Okay. Got it. Thank you for going over it with me after you already put it in writing weeks ago and gave me a copy—again—yesterday.” If the shoe were on the other foot, she’d never be as patient with Lilia as Lilia was with her.
“Whatever you need, whenever you need it.”
“You’re the best. I’ll see you shortly.”
“I’ll be here. We’re ready to help you shine.”
“Thank God and all the angels in heaven for you and your team.”
Lilia was laughing as they ended the call.
“That woman is a saint,” Freddie said without looking up from his phone.
“She sure is. Imagine having to manage me.”
“No, thank you.”
Sam sputtered with laughter as she smacked his arm. “Be quiet.”
“I’m just saying… She’s a saint.”
“She and Roni and the others in the first lady office are making it possible for me to continue to do this job while they make it look like I’m doing that job, too.”
“You are doing that job. Just because you’re not out doing some event every day doesn’t mean you’re not an active first lady.”
“Others did much more than I ever will.”
“And you put murderers in prison.”
“When you say it that way…”
“You’re doing something no one else has ever done. Your tenure as first lady won’t look like others, and that’s okay.”
“You need to listen to your grasshopper,” Vernon said.
“I’m trying to figure out when he got so wise.”
“Puleeze. I’ve always been wise. You just actually listen to me now.”
The laughter, the bantering and the reinforcements were just what she’d needed as she walked the tightrope between the competing demands in her complicated life.
They arrived at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the meeting with Young.
Vernon walked them inside, where they navigated security and took the elevator.
A receptionist jumped up when she saw them coming. “Mr. Young is waiting for you.” She seemed to take great pleasure in showing them the way.
“Thank you.”
The young woman beamed with pleasure that told Sam she was a fan. “You’re welcome.”
Conlon Young stood when they came into his office. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days.
“Thank you for seeing us at such a difficult time,” Sam said.
“Of course. I want to do whatever I can to assist in your investigation.” He gestured for them to have a seat. “Can I get you anything?”
The pizza had made her thirsty, so she would love some water, but didn’t want to take the time. “We’re good, thank you.”
“How’s the investigation going so far?”
“Slowly, but we’re making some progress. Naturally, we’re focused on Damien Bryant, the campaign finance investigation and the men who took Forrester’s family hostage. They say it was on Bryant’s order. He denies that, but why else would they have done such a thing? Bryant says he had nothing to do with Forrester’s death, but we find that hard to believe. In the meantime, we’re also looking at a number of other possibilities, including the dispute with his neighbors, the Sellerses.”
Conlon pushed a manila folder across the table to her. “This is everything on the campaign finance investigation. As you’ll see, Bryant had recently been made aware that he was the subject of a criminal inquiry.”
Sam glanced at Freddie, who seemed as astounded as she was that Young was being so forthcoming with evidence. They rarely got that kind of easy help. “We appreciate the information. Can you elaborate on what we’ll find when we review it?”
“Bryant was up to his eyeballs in criminal enterprises.”
“How long had Forrester and Cox known that?”
“About a year.”
“And yet, they continued to hang out with him like old pals, knowing they were fraternizing with a criminal?”
“They were staying close, hoping he’d slip up and help the investigation.”
“You’ll have to pardon me if I find it preposterous that the AG and a top USA would hang out with someone they knew was a criminal for more than a year without doing something about it.”
“They were building the case.”
“Bryant knew Cox had asked Forrester to look into his campaign finance irregularities.”
“He didn’t know that until recently.”
A loud clicking sound rang out in Sam’s mind as pieces came together. That was why Bryant had taken Forrester’s family—because he’d found out what Forrester had been up to while pretending to be his buddy.
“How did he find out about it?”
“We aren’t sure about that.”
“If Cox and Forrester were the only ones who knew about it—in addition to you, I presume—who could have told him?”
“It’s possible that someone Forrester had spoken to inside of Bryant’s campaign as part of the probe tipped off Bryant.”
“I bet that made him good and mad.”
“Yes, I believe it did.”
“And that would explain why Bryant ordered his good friend Tom’s wife and daughters taken hostage, so he’d have leverage to put a stop to the investigation that was going to blow the lid off his whole game, an investigation overseen by two of his closest pals. Do I have that right?”
“That’s my thought as well.”
“What did Tom do when he realized Bryant had his family?”
“As you might imagine, he was extremely upset and concerned.”
“Did he fear that Bryant would harm them?”
“He wanted to think not, but he couldn’t be certain. All he cared about during the hours they were missing was their safety and getting them home.”
“Was he in contact with Bryant while they were missing?”
“Yes. Bryant made sure Tom knew who had them and why, and he outlined what he expected to happen next.”
“Which was?”
“For the investigation to be dropped and all documents associated with it destroyed.”
“What did Tom and Reggie say to that?”
“They told Bryant that wasn’t possible, and that by taking Tom’s family hostage, he was ensuring he’d die in prison. Reggie told him to let the Forresters go, and then they would talk about next steps in the investigation, but nothing would happen until Tom’s wife and daughters were safe.”
“How did Randy Bryant’s arrest on murder-for-hire charges play into this?”
“That was a wrench we didn’t see coming. Damien Bryant lost his mind when he heard his son had been arrested. He was facing stiff headwinds at home in Wisconsin with a primary challenger for the first time in more than ten years. The polling was looking rough, and having his son arrested was a disaster for him.”
“Not to mention if it got out that he’d kidnapped the wife and daughters of a U.S. Attorney…”
“Yes.”
“This whole thing sounds insane to me. Are you able to see that from your vantage point?”
“I am.”
“What was your advice to Tom while his family was missing?”
“To do whatever Bryant wanted to get them back.”
“Did he?”
“He talked to Bryant repeatedly, begged him to let them go and said he’d figure out a way to protect Bryant. But he didn’t believe that Tom and Reggie would stand down. He was furious that they’d pretended to be his friends while secretly investigating him.”
“How did you feel about Tom’s friendship with Bryant?”
“I’d repeatedly advised him that it was dangerous to his career and reputation to be associated with Bryant, especially knowing what we did about his criminal enterprises, but he said he needed a little more time to make the case. Then his family went missing, and we quickly tracked that to Bryant. Tom was frantically trying to secure their release when Bryant’s son was arrested, and everything unraveled quickly.”
“How so?”
“Bryant became unhinged. He thought Tom and Reggie were behind the arrest of his son.”
“Unhinged how?”
“He told them to get his son out of lockup, or he’d start killing Tom’s family one by one.”
“That was when we got the order to release Randy.”
“Yes. I told Tom it was a mistake to play ball with Bryant when we could send in the FBI to arrest him, but Tom was adamant that his family was more important than nailing Bryant. We didn’t know where they were or who was with them. He knew his request to Chief Farnsworth would be met with disbelief, but he did it anyway.”
“It was a shocking request, especially coming from him.”
“Tom was a rule follower all his life, but when his family was in grave danger, he didn’t care what he had to do to keep them safe.”
“As a wife and mother, I understand that, but why didn’t he ask for help in finding his family?”
“Bryant told him if he sent law enforcement after him or them, he’d kill them.”
“What happened when Tom received word that his family had been rescued?”
“He cried. He was so undone that he couldn’t speak for a few minutes. In all our years together, I’d never known him to cry. I asked him where he was, and he said he’d be in the office shortly. He had something he had to do first.”
“Did he say what that was?”
“No, and I asked, but he wouldn’t tell me.”
“Bryant was still in custody, so he couldn’t have been the one to kill him.”
“I honestly don’t know where Tom went or why he was parked on Constitution Ave.”
“I’m going to be blunt with you, Mr. Young. I have no idea what we’re dealing with here. The person with the greatest motivation, as far as we can tell, to kill Tom was locked up at the time of his murder. He wasn’t released on bond until later that day. Bryant’s thugs were locked up as well. Was there anything else Forrester was involved in that could’ve led to his murder?”
“I mean… Of course we’re always dealing with people who’d like to see the prosecutor killed for daring to charge them with crimes, but there’s nothing recent that stands out.”
“How about over the last few years?”
“I’ve racked my brain, trying to think of something that would’ve led to this happening now, and I just can’t figure out how it wouldn’t be related to Bryant.”
“He told us he barely knew Forrester,” Freddie said.
“I can’t imagine why he’d say that when they’ve been friends for years,” Young replied. “A lot of people know that. It wasn’t a secret.”
“Was Cox’s friendship with Bryant well known, too?”
“Bryant would’ve met Reggie through Tom. You have to understand… Bryant was fun to hang out with. There was always a lot going on around him. I’ve played poker at his place with them. It was a good time. Staying close to a congressman on the Judiciary Committee would’ve been appealing to Reggie—and Tom to a lesser extent.”
“I’m still having a hard time picturing the Attorney General and a USA staying cozy with Bryant after figuring out he was a criminal,” Sam said.
“As I said, they were hoping he’d slip up and help the case they were building.”
“I’m not sure how we’ll prove he was involved in what happened to Tom, with him and the men who worked for him locked up at the time of the murder.”
“Were all of Bryant’s guys locked up?”
Sam glanced at Freddie.
“Not all of them.”
“Let’s figure out where the rest of them were when Forrester was killed.” To Young, she said, “Thank you for your time and the cooperation. It’s very much appreciated.”
“Whatever I can do to find the person who took Tom from us.”
Sam handed him her card with the usual instructions to call if anything else came to mind that might be relevant. “We’ll be in touch.”