Page 9 of State of Suspense

“Not at all,” Sam said. “Do we have Forrester’s address?”

Faith recited the Gaithersburg address for Vernon.

Sam settled in for the forty-five-minute ride to the Maryland suburb. “Why didn’t Tom have a driver and security?”

“He had both, but he’d chosen to go out on his own the last few days.”

“I did a search for information about murdered prosecutors.” Freddie looked up from his phone. “Even though police officer killings are on the rise, prosecutor murders are extremely rare. There’s an association for District Attorneys that reported thirteen prosecutor deaths in one hundred years, but that stat is from ten years ago. Most of them are state and local DAs. There’s one unsolved U.S. Attorney murder in Seattle.”

Faith nodded. “We receive regular briefings on that case. Happened twenty years ago. The department uses that cold case as a reminder to stay vigilant. The Seattle police and FBI continue to investigate.”

“Had you heard of any threats to Tom or experienced an uptick in threats at your office?” Gonzo asked.

“We receive threats every day from people who feel they’re being unfairly prosecuted or railroaded or fill in the blank on how we’re abusing our power. Most of them are idle threats. Some we report to the FBI for further investigation.”

Sam sent a text to Avery. I found a way you can help us. Faith Miller said some threats received by their office are sent to you guys for investigation. Can you look into that and let me know if anything stands out?

I’ll get right on that.

Thanks. How are Shelby and the baby?

Wonderful. Coming home (to your place, that is) this afternoon.

Can’t wait to see them.

“Avery is taking a look at that angle,” Sam said.

“What’s our plan with Forrester’s family?” Faith asked. “Word is they’re in rough shape from their own ordeal, and that was before they found out he’d been murdered.”

“Have we gotten a statement from them since the kidnapping?” Sam asked Gonzo.

He shook his head. “They were too upset to talk. They were taken to GW’s ER after being rescued from the hotel where they were held. They spent last night there for observation and were sent home this morning only to learn Tom had been killed.”

“Who told them the news?” Sam asked.

“Tom’s top deputy, Conlon Young.”

“Why don’t I know that name?”

“He doesn’t work on cases. He’s the head administrative officer. He assigns cases, tracks every development, makes sure filing deadlines are met, in addition to many other things critical to efficiency and effectiveness.”

“I never gave much thought to how that happened.”

“It’s a critical role that keeps us from screwing things up. When Gonzo called me to tell me the news about Tom, I immediately called Conlon. He went to the Forresters’ house to notify the family. As far as I know, he’s still there. He and his wife, Nikki, are close with Tom and Leslie.” Faith glanced out the window as the city whizzed by in a blur of people, buildings and vehicles. “I still can’t believe he’s dead.”

Sam empathized with her after having lost Detective Arnold, her dad and then her brother-in-law. She was still processing Spencer’s death, weeks later. “It’ll take a while for it to seem real.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

“Tell me about his arrangement with the AG on the Bryant case,” Sam said.

“I don’t know much about that.”

“Would Young know?”

“If anyone in the office has the lowdown on that, it would be him. It was highly unusual for Tom to take on anything without at least some staff support.”

Sam made a note to herself. Find out why the AG wanted Forrester to handle the Bryant case personally. As she wrote that, she experienced a twinge of anxiety over possibly having to speak to the Attorney General, a member of Nick’s cabinet, about a case. That struck far too close for comfort, not that anything would stop her from talking to him if it came to that.

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