Page 137 of State of Affairs (First Family 1)

“He didn’t handle it. What did he care about another dead Black kid?”

Sam sighed as she made eye contact with Malone. “I was afraid you might say that.”

“I tried to get him to seriously investigate because there were a lot of oddities, but he refused to give the case more than a cursory glance, and since he outranked me, there wasn’t much I could do to overrule him.”

“I used to work for him. I know how that went. Can you shed any light on the oddities, as you referred to them?”

“For one thing, Calvin didn’t hang with kids who were in trouble. You were more likely to see him at drama club or band practice than on the streets. His mom worked really hard to keep him away from trouble, and by all accounts, she’d succeeded at that.”

“So there was never any talk of it being a gang hit?”

“No, not at all.”

“Wrong place, wrong time? Mistaken identity?”

“Both were possibilities. He had a cousin who was the exact opposite of him. All in with the gangs, in and out of trouble, long juvie record.”

“How old was the cousin?”

“I don’t remember exactly, but a couple of years older than Calvin.”

“Do you remember his name?”

“I don’t, but Calvin’s mother could tell you that.”

“Does the name Javier Lopez mean anything to you?”

He thought about that for a second. “I can’t say that it does. Why?”

“He was listed as a classmate of Calvin’s, and his name has come up in another investigation.”

“I don’t remember anyone by that name.”

“Have you heard the FBI is investigating the MPD?”

“I read about that in the Post.”

“Would you be willing to tell them what you told me about Stahl’s reluctance to investigate Calvin’s case?”

“Hell yes, I’d be willing. It always pissed me off that he got away with the shit he did, and even though he’s already doing hard time, I’d be happy to tell the FBI how he behaved back in the day. He’s the kind of cop that gave all of us a bad name.”

“I’ll pass along your name to Agent Hill, who’s leading the investigation. One other thing I wanted to ask. What’re your recollections of Paul Conklin?”

“I heard about his involvement in your dad’s case and that of Skip’s first partner, Steven Coyne. That was such a shock to me. I can’t imagine how it must’ve been for you and everyone there.”

“It was pretty horrible to know someone my dad considered a close friend had sat on that info for four long years.”

“Your dad was a great guy. I was so sorry to hear he’d passed. As for Paul, he always struck me as a straight-up kind of dude. Had some trouble with booze way back when, but as far as I knew, he’d kicked it and gotten himself straightened out.”

Thanks to my dad, Sam wanted to say, but didn’t. “I very much appreciate your insights into all of this.”

“I’m happy to help, and I’m so glad you’re taking another look at the Worthington case. That one nagged at me for years, and I’ve always wished I’d had the stones to stand up to Stahl. But you probably remember what it was like to be a low man—or woman—in the department and how hard it is to bump up against more senior officers.”

“I do remember.” She’d have found a way to work around Stahl, the way she had for years when she was miserably under his command. Even before then, she’d raised hell about Calvin’s case long before she had any standing to do so, but despite her best efforts, it hadn’t gone anywhere. The case had gone cold, and fifteen years had passed without any new leads.

“I definitely think the cousin is worth a closer look. He was into all sorts of shit back in the day. Not sure about recent activity, but you’d be able to find that out.”

“You’ve given me a thread I didn’t have before, and I appreciate it.”

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