Page 66 of The First Gentleman

He was surprised to find the First Gentleman so down-to-earth. Straightforward. Even with all Garrett’s suspicions, even with his reporter’s guard up, he actually liked the guy.

And he was blown away by what Cole Wright had to say.

CHAPTER

61

Seabrook, New Hampshire

They definitely did not cover what I’m about to do at Columbia Law. I’m trained as a lawyer but thinking like a damn criminal.What the hell has happened to me?

I need to put a crucial piece of evidence back where I found it—then make sure the police find it.

It’s barely twilight and I’m trying to follow the same path Garrett and I took through the park last night. I don’t see any hikers, but I freeze every time I hear skittering in the underbrush. I duck down behind a tree and watch for moving shadows. I hear it again. Too light to be human. Probably a squirrel, right?

This is no place for a girl from Bed-Stuy.

When I get to the big memorial rock, I orient myself and plunge through the thicket into the small clearing. I’m wearing my work gloves, but I didn’t bring a shovel. I didn’t want to draw attention to myself. All I brought was an ice scraper from the trunk of the Subaru.

I kneel down and brush a section of leaves aside, then use theice scraper to dig down through the soft dirt. Six inches… twelve inches… I cannot believe I’m doing this. Two feet now. My forearms are covered in dirt. At three feet down, I lean back, breathing hard. Enough. I sit there for a moment looking around, listening for sounds, watching for shapes.

I pull the plastic bag out of my pocket and take out the tennis bracelet. I drop it into the hole I just dug.

Suzanne, I hope this helps bring you home.

CHAPTER

62

Transcript of 911 call

DISPATCHER:Seabrook Police Department. What’s your emergency?

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER:I need to talk to an investigator with the state police.

DISPATCHER:What is your emergency, please?

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER:I have information concerning a homicide.

DISPATCHER:Ma’am, what is your location?

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER:Look, I know this call is being recorded. Connect me with a state police investigator right now, or I’ll hang up and you can explain to your supervisor why you didn’t help a citizen report a murder.

DISPATCHER:Hold, please.

[Pause in audio]

GAGNON:New Hampshire State Police, Detective Sergeant Gagnon. Can I have your name, please?

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER:My name doesn’t matter. Just listen. Suzanne Bonanno was buried in the woods in Seabrook, forty feet west of the Reverend Bonus Weare memorial rock.

GAGNON:Ma’am, can I get—

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER:No, you can’t.

[Call ends abruptly]

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