Page 134 of State of Alert

“Is he in trouble?”

“I’m not sure.”

“What does that mean?”

“Just what I said. Have him call me.”

“I… I will. What should I do in the meantime?”

“Figure out where your son is. That’d help.”

“Oh… Okay. I will. I’ll do that.”

“Thank you.” Sam slapped the phone closed. “‘Is this the first lady?’For fuck’s sake. A cop is calling you right after your son’s girlfriend’s pain-in-the-ass mother was murdered, and that’s your first question?”

“If I didn’t work with you every day, it might be.”

“You’d never act a fool like that.”

“I might.”

“Don’t you dare! I’ve raised you better than that.”

“Whatever you say. What’s next?”

Sam thought about that for a second. “We need to put out a BOLO for the car Zoe is driving, as well as Zeke’s And get the plates out to Flock,” she said of the company that monitored license plate cameras. Doing that would make it more official that they were considered suspects, but they’d hit a wall in trying to locate them. She led the way back into the interrogation room, where Frank was on the phone asking when he might hear back from whomever he had called.

“I need someone immediately. I’m at the police station now, and she’s going after my kids. This is an emergency.”

Maybe you shouldn’t have fired Dunning,Sam wanted to say in her best smug tone.

Frank muttered a curse as he ended the call.

“I’d ask how the lawyer shopping is going, but apparently not well.”

“People don’t understand the word ‘emergency’ these days.”

“They understand the saying ‘your lack of planning isn’t my emergency.’”

“How could I haveplannedto need a defense attorney?”

Sam shrugged. “Seems to me that you had one of the better ones before you ran him off.”

“One of the better ones wouldn’t allow you to abuse the family of a murder victim.”

“He’s an officer of the court. He’s not going to risk his license or reputation for you. He was giving you his best advice to cooperate with us so you could be done with this. Your lack of cooperation is a huge red flag, which he could see as well as we can.”

“Wearecooperating! What more do you want from us?”

“I want to know where your daughters are.”

“I told you I don’t know!”

“Are you willing to continue this conversation without having an attorney present?”

He was obviously torn.

“We can charge you with obstruction and make youcomfortable downstairs until your new attorney arrives. It’s up to you.”

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