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“There’s one other thing.”
“I’m almost afraid to ask.”
“The deal with Stevens may be in jeopardy. Word is out that Bryant is dead, and her attorneys are claiming that nullifies our deal with her.”
“The hell it does. We’ve got her nailed on murder-for-hire charges with or without Bryant’s testimony.”
“Gonzo told them we had him and he was willing to testify. Now they know that wasn’t true. They say that nullifies the deal, since the threat of Randy’s testimony was the thing that convinced Tori to take it.”
“Can we prove she was the mastermind of the plot to kill Rachel Fortier?” Joe asked.
“Yes, but—”
“No buts. The deal goes forward.”
“I’ll talk to Faith about it.”
“Thank you.”
“Let me know what Forrester has to say.”
“I will.”
Jake returned to his office feeling more unsettled than he had since they’d found out Conklin had known all along who’d shot Skip—and why. Something else was happening, and he had no idea what. He didn’t like the not knowing. He called Faith Miller’s cell number.
“Hey, Cap. What’s up?”
“Have you heard that Randy Bryant, the guy Tom ordered us to release earlier, was murdered?”
“What? No. Oh my God.”
“Have you heard any more from Tom about why he ordered the release?”
“I haven’t been able to reach him. I’ve tried for hours, but he’s not picking up on either of his phones.”
“Do we need to send someone to check on him?”
“I’m not sure what to do. I just got off the phone with my sisters, and we agreed to give him another hour to get in touch before we sound any alarms. He told his assistant he was leaving for the day around six, which is early for him, but he could’ve had a meeting outside the office. The weird thing is no one is picking up his home phone. I tried his wife’s cell, and it went right to voice mail. It’s odd for them to be off the grid. They have two daughters in high school. Tom jokes about how he and his wife, Leslie, are their bitches.”
“Something isn’t right. Since when does a U.S. Attorney order a murderer released, and then the guy turns up dead a couple of hours later? Not to mention the dead guy is the son of a U.S. congressman. And now we can’t find the USA.”
“I agree. It’s weird.”
“I’ll send my detectives to his house. Do you have an address?”
Faith recited the address, which was in Gaithersburg.
Since it was so far out in the suburbs, he decided to call Gaithersburg police to ask for a wellness check at the Forrester home.
“I’ll be back to you,” he said to Faith. “Let me know if you hear anything.”
“I will.”
Jake called his equivalent in the Gaithersburg Police Department to request the wellness check.
“Tom Forrester, you said? The U.S. Attorney?”
“Yeah, but keep it on the down-low, will you? We’re not sure what’s going on. He’s off the grid and so is his wife, which his team tells us is highly unusual.”
