Page 136 of State of Suspense

“Avery had a good night and so did Shelby. She got some sleep.”

“That always helps.”

She dashed off a text to Celia, wishing her a great time on her cruise to Alaska with her sisters.

Celia responded a minute later. Thank you! I’ll miss you all.

We’ll miss you, too. Love you.

Love you, too!

Next she sent messages to Terry, Derek, Shelby, Lilia and Gideon Lawson, the chief usher, complimenting them in a job well done with the state dinner. Nick and I were blown away by every detail. Please pass along our thanks and appreciation to everyone who had a hand in pulling off such a wonderful evening.

Sam’s phone rang with a call from Gonzo. “Hey, I’m almost there.”

“We got ballistics back. Same gun did Tom and Avery.”

Sam sat back in her seat as the implication hit her square in the chest. The investigation had just taken a whole new turn.

“Everyone in the conference room.” Sam unlocked her office and dropped her coat onto one of the chairs. Grabbing the travel mug of coffee, her notebook and a pen, she followed her team into the room and closed the door.

Before she could say a word, Captain Malone came in with Chief Farnsworth.

“Good morning, gentlemen,” Sam said.

“Morning.”

They took seats at the table.

Sam turned to Gonzo. “Talk to us.”

“Ballistics determined the bullet that killed Tom and the one that was retrieved from Avery are from the same gun. There was a telltale mark in the same place on each bullet. It was determined they came from a nine-millimeter Glock.”

“What does this mean for the investigation?” Freddie asked.

“It changes the whole picture,” Sam said, “and forces us to ask who’d want to kill both Tom and Avery.”

“It also forces us to ask who might be next,” Malone said.

“That, too.”

“As much as I hate to say it, we’re going to need some help on this from the Feds,” Sam said.

“Agreed,” Farnsworth said. “I was about to say the same thing. We need them to tell us what cases Tom and Avery worked on together. We need to know what judges and other personnel were involved so we can warn them.”

“If they weren’t already locked up, I’d be looking hard at the couple who did the home invasion at Avery and Shelby’s,” Sam said.

“Might be worth having a conversation with them,” Cameron said.

“Where are they?”

Freddie went to the computer terminal. “Jessup. As a repeat offender and parole violator, he was denied bail. The wife, a first-time offender, was apparently unable to come up with the bail. I’ll request she be brought over from the women’s prison.”

Sam didn’t feel like trekking to Jessup, but if that’s what it took, so be it. “Freddie and I will start there. The rest of you get with Avery’s deputy, George Terrell, and Faith Miller to sync up on cases they had in common. I want everyone else involved in those cases put on notice as soon as possible that the two shootings are connected.”

“What are we doing about the follow-up we started on Tom’s case?” Gonzo asked. “Carlucci briefed me on the problem with getting the warrant for Henry Allston’s phone. Before she left this morning, Dani called the AG’s office and asked Allston for his cell number, saying it was for the file. He gave it to her, and she requested the warrant. It came through ten minutes ago.”

Sam thought about that for a second. “Go ahead with requesting his cell phone data.” She updated the others on her conversation with Cox the night before. “Something is off with him. I want to know what it is. I also want to know where that golf pro has gone.”

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