Page 15 of State of Suspense

“Where’re all your people?” Gonzo asked.

“Gone.”

“Gone where?”

“Wherever people go when the party’s over. The Feds froze my assets, so I can’t pay them. People don’t stick around when the money’s gone, and team members are being arrested.”

“You must’ve been relieved that your son wasn’t murdered,” Freddie said.

“Of course I was.”

“If you ask me, you knew all along it wasn’t him who was dead,” Gonzo said.

“I don’t recall asking you.”

“Who gave the order to Aaron to murder Zach and make it look like it was Randy, right down to the red Vans sneakers?”

“I don’t know anything about that.”

Sam hoped he could tell they didn’t believe him. “What was your relationship with U.S. Attorney Tom Forrester?”

Bryant’s face twisted into a scowl. “I had no relationship with him. Not anymore.”

“Yet he was investigating you for campaign finance irregularities?”

“He was talking to my team about that. I wasn’t involved.”

“The U.S. Attorney himself was investigating you, and you had no involvement?”

“That’s what I said.”

“Did you ever meet him?”

“We were friendly. In the past.”

“Friendly how?”

“We played cards together a few times, rubbed elbows the way people do in this town.”

“As you know,” Sam said, “your electronic devices have been seized as part of the investigation into the death of Zachery Calder, as well as your business dealings here in the District.”

“So?”

“Do you want to think about your relationship with Forrester before you answer again?”

“No, I don’t,” he said with a hard stare. “I knew him. I thought he was a friend until he wasn’t.”

“It must’ve made you angry that he was investigating you and your campaign.”

“I didn’t care about him or his investigation. I knew he wouldn’t find anything.”

Gonzo gave an ironic chuckle. “It’s amusing you should say that, because Kent Sanders told us you were the one who ordered Forrester’s family detained, which is another word for ‘kidnapped’ in this case.”

“That’s a lie! I heard Kent got full immunity in exchange for a bullshit story full of lies.”

Gonzo eyed him skeptically. “Why in the world would bodyguards who worked for you kidnap Forrester’s family unless you told them to?”

“How should I know? They had their own shit going on. You should ask Kent and Aaron about that.”

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