Page 107 of State of Suspense

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.”

---