Page 61 of State of Suspense

“Do you have any idea how much it costs to defend a case like this?”

“I do.”

“It’s your funeral.” She turned to Freddie. “Detective Cruz, please bring Bryant up to meet his new attorney.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“You can wait for him in interview one, second door on the left down the hall.”

“Thank you, and may I say, it’s an honor to meet you in person. I’ve long admired your work.”

Sam wasn’t in the mood for suck-up lawyers. “Thanks.” She pushed the chair into her office and wanted to scream with frustration when it wouldn’t fit between the desk and file cabinet, forcing her to get up and move to the other chair. Fuck, that hurt. Was it time for more pain pills? She glanced at her watch. Not for a few more hours. She’d never make it.

Gonzo came to the door. “You got a second?”

“Yep.”

He came in and closed the door. “There’re hundreds of messages between Cox and Forrester in Forrester’s email.” Gonzo put a stack of pages on her desk. “Archie pulled everything between the two of them for the last year. I thought you’d want to see this.”

“You thought right.”

He took a closer look at her. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I’ll go through this while Bryant talks to his new lawyer.”

“Who’d he get?”

“A guy named Tyson…” She looked down at the card she’d tossed on the desk. “Conway, Esquire.”

Gonzo smiled. “He introduced himself that way?”

“Sure did, and he doesn’t care that Bryant’s assets are frozen.”

“Interesting.”

“Whatever it takes to get Bryant in a room to answer our questions. Any word on his ex-wife and son?”

“Nothing yet, but Jesse’s team is on it.”

“They’ll find them.”

“I’m so disappointed in the mother, Rosemary. She seemed to understand the stakes. I didn’t expect this.”

“I’m sorry she let you down, but people suck.”

“Yes, they do. Hey, so I might need to take a little time off in the next few weeks. Christina and I have found a more secure apartment complex, and we’re going to move when our lease is up at the end of April.”

After the home invasion at Shelby and Avery’s, perpetrated by people he’d once arrested, Sam had advised her team to seek out more secure residences. She worried about their increased exposure due to her higher profile as first lady.

“Take whatever time you need. I’m glad you found a place.”

“It wasn’t easy. Everything is so freaking expensive.”

A thought occurred to her. “If you haven’t already signed the new lease, why don’t you just rent Ninth Street from us? We’ll give you a good deal.”

“What? No way.”

“Yes way. It’s sitting empty, and we’re never there.” Except for that dreaded meeting they had scheduled there for later in the week with Nick’s mother… “Well, almost never there.”

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