AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I hope you understand that despite being released earlier, he’s still facing serious charges here in DC and may need to turn himself in to keep from making things worse. If he’d be willing to testify against the ringleader of this murder for hire, he may be able to reach a deal for immunity. But that deal will have a time limit attached to it.”
“I’ll get him back there in the next day or two. You have my word.”
“I’ll hold you to it.”
As he put down the phone, Malone and Faith came to the office.
Gonzo waved them in. “You won’t believe what I just learned.”
“What?” Malone asked.
“That’s not Randy Bryant in our morgue. He’s in Milwaukee with his mother, sleeping in his childhood bedroom.”
“Then who the hell is in our morgue?” Malone asked.
“I have no idea.”
Gonzo wentto talk to Byron Tomlinson. “Our guy from tonight just became a John Doe.”
“I thought you had an ID.”
“So did we, but it’s not him. They bashed his face in, so we’d assume it was him based on the student ID in his pocket and his signature red Vans.”
“Why would someone want you to think one guy was dead when it wasn’t him?”
“Maybe to get a kid off a murder-for-hire charge. We’ve got a congressman in the interrogation room who thinks his son is dead, and it’s possible he ordered the hit on the son. But the mother, who’s bitterly divorced from the father, says the son is asleep in his childhood bed in Wisconsin.”
“What the fuck?” Byron asked.
“That’s the question of the day. If you could work on getting me an ID of John Doe, that’d help tremendously.”
“I’m on it. Hopefully, his prints are in the system. I’ll let you know.”
“Thanks, Doc.”
When Gonzo returned to the pit, Cruz met him with a printout of information about the congressman.
“Give me the summary.”
“He’s serving his tenth consecutive term, has several influential committee assignments and is cozy with the leadership. He’s a big Second Amendment advocate, a supporter of cutting Medicare and Social Security and is active in a number of organizations that support veterans. His constituents seem to like him. He spends a lot of time at home in Wisconsin, courting their favor, showing up to local sporting events and high school stuff. He’s very much a presence in his district.
“The divorce from the wife, fifteen years ago, was ugly, as was the custody battle that followed for five-year-old Randy and seven-year-old Lauren. In the end, the ex-wife got full custody, and he got visitation. I went back a year on his social media and don’t see a single mention of his kids, which leads me to think they might’ve been estranged. One other interesting thing—for the first time since he was originally elected, he’s facing a very significant primary challenge from a younger guy who says he’s tired of business-as-usual politicians who talk a big game at home and then do their own thing in Washington. The polls have them tied, with five months until the primary.”
“Interesting. So he’s fighting for his political life even though he’s everything to everyone in his district, but has no relationship with his kids. Is there anything you found linking him to Forrester? Because how is therenota connection there?”
“I couldn’t find any connection between him and Forrester.”
Faith came up to them. “That’s because the connection was confidential.” She held up a sheaf of papers held together by a binder clip. “Tom was investigating him for campaign finance irregularities at the request of the attorney general. He’d been asked to keep it confidential and to handle it personally.”
“How’d you find that out?”
“Through inside channels. The info is legit. I can attest to that.”
“Huh,” Gonzo said. “So let’s take this one step at a time. The AG asks Forrester to investigate Congressman Bryant for possible campaign finance irregularities, but asks Forrester to see to it himself. Is that unusual?”
“Highly,” Faith said. “The U.S. Attorney rarely tends to cases on his or her own without staff involvement. Almost everything is assigned to an AUSA.”
“Okay, so Forrester digs in, Bryant’s son is arrested, Forrester orders us to release him, Forrester and possibly his family go missing, a kid who is supposed to be Randy Bryant turns up dead, and the real Randy Bryant is in Wisconsin. Have I missed anything?”
