Page 130 of State of Alert

“No, so we can dig deeper into who else might’ve done this.”

“They’ve told you everything they know.”

“Have they?”

Freddie came into the room, handed Sam a sheet of paper and then sat next to her at the table.

Her backbone buzzed with sensation when she saw several highlighted rows of data that showed multiple thousand-dollar withdrawals from bank accounts belonging to Zoe and Jada.

Sam turned the page toward Frank and pointed to the highlighted rows. “What did your daughters need with thousands of dollars?”

“I… I don’t know. Those are their college funds. They aren’t allowed to access them.”

“Looks like they broke the rules. Where’d all that money go, Frank?”

He gave Dunning another frantic look. “Do something, will you?”

Dunning looked as if he had an itch he couldn’t scratch in polite company. “The lieutenant has asked you to call your daughters. I think you should do that now.”

“Look,” Myerson said, “I didn’t want to bring this up, but Zoe has had some trouble with drugs. She’s been sober for six months now, but it’s possible she’s relapsed. That would explain what she did with the money.”

“Where did she attend rehab?” Freddie asked.

Myerson looked like the proverbial deer in headlights. “We handled it as a family.”

Freddie looked at Sam. “You ever heard of anyone getting sober with only the help of their immediate family?”

“Nope.”

“We didn’t want it to ruin her life! We handled it.”

“Funny that none of you mentioned a drug problem before now,” Sam said.

“Because it’s personal and has no bearing on this case.”

“Well, now it does. What was she addicted to, and who supplied the drugs to her?”

“I… uh, you want specific drugs?”

“That’d be good.”

“I don’t recall.”

“Your seventeen-year-old daughter was an addict, and you don’t remember what she was taking? Can you understand how preposterous that sounds?”

Once again, Frank looked to Dunning for help.

“Tell her what you know, Frank. This is no time for evasiveness.”

“I’m trying to protect my daughter’s privacy. Doesn’t that count for anything?”

“I’m trying to figure out who murdered the wife you claimed to love with all your heart,” Sam said. “Doesn’tthatcount for anything? Doesn’tshecount for anything?”

“Of course she does! But she’s not here anymore, and Zoe is. What good will it do anyone if it becomes public that Zoe had a drug problem?”

“Call your daughters, Mr. Myerson. Tell them to come here right away.”

“You’re not going to do anything to stop this madness?” Frank asked Dunning.

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