Page 20 of State of Suspense

“I’m sure you understand that we prefer to investigate the murder of one of our own.”

“And I’m sure you understand that’s not going to happen.” She held her breath, waiting for him to reply while praying this wouldn’t get ugly. “General Cox, I have a job to do. I’m asking for your assistance. I assume we have the same goal here—to quickly determine who killed U.S. Attorney Forrester.”

“You assume correctly.”

“Are you available today?”

“I’m at home.” He gave her the address of his Georgetown condo. “You’ll encounter my security in the lobby. I’ll let them know you’re coming.”

“Thank you very much. We’ll be there shortly.”

A knock on the door preceded Freddie poking his head in. “Archie is looking for you.”

“Tell him to come in. We’re heading out in five minutes.”

“Where to?”

“To interview the AG.”

“As in the AG?”

“As in the one and only.”

“Wow.”

Sam understood his amazement. An interview with the country’s top law enforcement officer certainly wasn’t an everyday occurrence. She wondered if she ever would have gotten access to Cox without being married to his boss. Probably not, but whatever. She wasn’t about to look a proverbial gift horse in the mouth.

Freddie left and returned with Archie.

“Got some film to show you. Can you come to the conference room?”

“Yep.”

She took a seat at the table as Archie pressed play to start a video on a wall-mounted screen.

“This is from one of our cameras on Constitution Ave.” Archie stepped closer to the screen to point. “Watch this jogger as they approach the parked car.” Sam kept her gaze fixed on the figure dressed in dark clothing as they ran along the sidewalk. She held her breath as the person got closer to the car.

“He—I’m assuming it’s a man—barely pauses as he goes by the car, but I was able to zoom in to where he shot Tom.” Archie played that part of the film next.

She could clearly see the window shatter and the person inside the car slump forward.

How often did they catch a homicide on film, let alone one as high-profile as this?

Of course the film was of little use to them without a face to go with the body. But they now had a description of a compact but muscular person, who was most likely male.

“Tell me we got this from multiple other angles,” Sam said.

“I wish I could.” Archie sighed as he sat across from her. “We have one camera that’s out for repair on that block and another that’s been giving us fits for a while now.”

She glanced at Gonzo and Freddie. “Did our witness report anything that would help?”

“He didn’t see the actual shooting,” Gonzo said. “Only the aftermath.”

“Of course he didn’t see it.”

“We’ll be looking for pings in the area to figure out who was nearby, but if this was a professional hit, the person wouldn’t have been stupid enough to carry a phone. I’ve got the text chains printing now if you want to come up and grab them in a few minutes.” Archie stood and headed for the door. “We’re looking at numerous other cameras in the area, hoping to get a look at our shooter from a different angle. I’ll keep you posted.”

“Why can’t we ever get lucky enough to catch a killer red-handed, arrest them and call it a day?” Freddie asked.

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