Page 143 of State of the Union (First Family 3)

“In what way was he ‘bugging her’? What was he doing?”

“Asking her to dance with him, not taking no for an answer, buying her drinks she didn’t want. That kind of thing. Cassie told the other guys to do something about him, but they were all drinking and partying and didn’t care that their friend was being a dick. Ling and I ended up leaving so she could get away from him.”

“How did he react when he realized you were leaving?”

“He followed us out of the bar, yelling that she’d be sorry for missing out on a chance to be with him.”

“You heard him say that? She’d be sorry?” Sam asked, her backbone buzzing with the tingles that came from finally catching a break.

“I did.”

“Why haven’t you mentioned this before?”

“I’d forgotten about it until just now. I’m so sorry. Everything has been so awful since Ling was killed. My thoughts are all over the place.”

“How can we find this guy?”

“Cassie would know.”

“Where is she?”

“Working at Tucker’s Steak House down by the Feds stadium. She’s not allowed to look at her phone during her shift, or I’d text her. I can get you the address.”

“I know where it is,” Freddie said. “What’s her last name?”

“Richardson.”

“This was helpful,” Sam said. “Thank you so much.”

“I wish there was more I could do.”

“You’ve given us more than we had coming in here. If it turns out that Shane was involved in her murder, we’ll need you to testify.”

“Whatever I can do to nail the bastard who took her from us.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

They left Lily with promises to keep her apprised of the investigation. Back in the SUV, Freddie gave Vernon the address of the restaurant.

Sam put her head back and closed her eyes for a second as pain radiated from her hip. She was doing too much and would pay for it later, but they finally had something to work with, so she couldn’t stop now.

“I could go talk to Cassie if you want to go home,” Freddie said.

“Not going home.” From her coat pocket, she found the pain pills she’d stashed there earlier and downed them with water from one of the bottles Vernon and Jimmy kept in the back of the SUV. The agents were handy to have around. She hadn’t needed pain pills in a while, so taking one felt like a setback. But she’d learned to stay ahead of the pain.

When they arrived at the restaurant, they had to deal with the stunned reactions of staff and patrons alike when they realized the first lady was there.

Sam and Freddie showed their badges to the hostess. “Lieutenant Holland, Detective Cruz, MPD. We’re looking for Cassie Richardson.”

“Is she in trouble?” the hostess asked.

“No, she isn’t. Can you get her for us, please?”

“Sure.”

The hostess took off on heels so high, she could hardly walk.

“I don’t understand the allure of heels that high,” Sam said. “They must be five or six inches. That makes no sense.”

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