Page 11 of State of Suspense

“Damn, he’s good,” Gonzo said.

“Learned from the best.”

“His sucking up is also exceptional.” Sam glanced at Faith. “Sorry for the banter. It keeps us sane.”

“I understand. No apologies needed.”

“What’s taking so long?”

“I’ll find out,” Faith said as she rose to leave the room.

“I already hate this case,” Sam said.

“That took longer than usual,” Gonzo said.

“Don’t make me laugh. It’s disrespectful.”

She hoped they came back soon, because this day was getting away from them, and they had miles yet to go.

Chapter Three

Another fifteen minutes passed in uneasy silence before Faith returned with Mr. Young and a woman Sam assumed was Mrs. Forrester. As they approached the open French doors to the living room, Conlon and Faith each had an arm around the woman. They guided her to the sofa and sat next to her. The woman had reddish-brown, shoulder-length hair and a trim figure. Deep, dark circles under her brown eyes made her look as if she’d been awake for days.

“This is Leslie Forrester,” Faith said. “Leslie, this is Lieutenant Holland, Sergeant Gonzales and Detective Cruz.”

“We’re so sorry for your loss,” Sam said. “We had a tremendous amount of respect and affection for Tom.”

She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue Faith handed her. “Thank you. He spoke of you all so fondly.”

“We apologize for intruding at such a difficult time.”

“I understand you have a job to do, and I… I want to know who did this to my Tom.” Her voice broke on a sob. “I just can’t believe he’s gone.”

Faith rested a hand on Leslie’s knee. “While you talk to Lieutenant Holland, would you mind if I took a look in Tom’s home office for some things we need at work?”

“Not at all. You know where it is.”

“And you’re okay with me taking anything we might need?”

“Of course. I want to know who did this to him and us.”

“Thank you.”

After Faith had gotten up to leave the room, Sam said, “I know it’s such a terrible shock, but we’re trying to understand what occurred in the days before Tom was killed.”

Again, Leslie wiped tears from her eyes. “Three days ago, he called to say he was sending someone to pick up the girls and me, that I was to pack a few things and go with them. He said he’d join us shortly.”

“Did he say why he was asking you to go with these people?”

“He didn’t.”

“When they arrived to pick you up, did you authorize the neighborhood’s security personnel to admit them?” Sam asked.

“I did.”

That answered one pressing question.

“Who came to pick you up?”

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