Page 111 of State of Suspense

“What? Are you out of your mind? You loved him? He was a married man!”

“I know,” she wailed. “I know he was.”

“Then what the fuck are you talking about?”

Sam appreciated Conlon taking over this interrogation, since she was out of patience with the entire situation.

“I can’t help how I felt about him.”

“Surely he never acted on whatever it is you think was going on.”

She shook her head. “He didn’t.”

“But you put the word out around the office that he did, right?” Sam asked.

“I… I didn’t mean to…”

Conlon exploded, “How dare you besmirch a good man’s reputation this way? Go pack up your desk and get the hell out of here.”

“No! Mr. Young, please.”

“Get out of my sight!”

After the woman ran from the room, Conlon turned to them. He was so furious, his hands were shaking. “I’m so sorry you had to witness such an ugly scene. I had no idea about any of that. If I had…” He shook his head in disgust. “How dare she say such things about Tom, who was loyal to Leslie from the minute they met in college?”

“Sorry you had to deal with that on top of everything else,” Sam said.

“How did you know to ask her about that?”

“Something we heard in the course of the investigation.”

“I’ll put out a memo detailing her actions and subsequent dismissal.”

“We’ll, ah, just be going, then,” Sam said, eager to get out of there.

“Holy crap,” Freddie said under his breath on the way to the elevator.

“No kidding.”

Sam glanced at her watch. “Goddamn it. I’ve got to go home.”

The elevator doors closed for the ride to the lobby. “Don’t worry. We’ve got it from here. I’ll talk to the goons about who else might’ve acted on Bryant’s behalf to kill Forrester and go over this file that Young gave us. I’ll also track down the golf pro.”

“Thank you. I know this entire situation is preposterous.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m the boss, the commander, and I’m leaving in the middle of a hot investigation into the death of a colleague to go have tea with the Canadian PM’s wife. It’s madness.”

“It’s fine, Sam. No one else is stressing about that.”

“Tell me the truth.”

“Always.”

“Am I crazy to try to do both of these things at the same time while pretending I’m a good mother, too?”

“You’re a wonderful mother, and you’re not crazy to do both. You’re an inspiration to so many women and young girls who want to be just like you.”

---