Page 56 of Coveted Justice

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Tanner’s campaign barbecue with a group of educators had turned out well. They were receptive to his education plan, and they asked good questions. They weren’t afraid to challenge him, and he was definitely going to take some of their suggestions onboard. He’d never been a teacher in the trenches, but he had nothing but respect for the profession.

The press, on the other hand, wasn’t as enamored with his speech as the rest of the attendees. They didn’t want to talk about classroom ratios and teacher pay. They wanted to talk about Marty’s murder and Tanner’s drinking. Any other subject simply didn’t interest them.

Honestly, he didn’t mind talking about his alcoholism, but it was clear that the discussion upset his daughter Amanda whenever it was brought up. She and Josh had come along to this campaign stop today and now he wished he’d left her at the office. She was standing off to the side with Josh, her expression growing more troubled with every passing query from a reporter out to score a big headline.

Just as the questioning was starting to die down, a young man stepped forward. Tanner hadn’t seen him before, but he was wearing press credentials.

“What about Wade Bryson? And his son?”

“What about him?” Tanner replied, keeping his tone even. They all wanted him to go on a rant about crime and serial killers. He wasn’t going to do that. He also wasn’t going to toot his own horn about catching Bryson or his son. They’d done that as a team. Ultimately, Logan was the hero in this story. “He’s dead and his son is behind bars.”

“But the two daughters are still at large,” the young man pressed. “Should the public be worried about them?”

“We don’t know what Bryson’s daughters knew or didn’t know. We don’t know if they had any part in the crimes. They may be as much a victim as anyone else, and they’ve disappeared to protect their privacy.”

“So you think that they’re innocent?”

“I’m saying that we simply don’t know enough to even conjecture. If they are innocent, then I can’t say that I blame them for not wanting to be known. If they aren’t, well…that’s a whole different story.”

“But they could be killers?”

The man was persistent, Tanner had to give him that. Was he some sort of true crime junkie? There were far too many of those these days.

“They say that the average person walks by thirty-six murderers in their lifetime,” Tanner said. “If that’s true, then many people might be killers. Statistics show that about half of murderers are never caught, let alone prosecuted.”

“I would imagine in your line of work, Tanner, that you’ve walked by a lot more than that.”

“You’re probably right but that’s the nature of law enforcement.” Tanner was done with this line of questioning. He didn’t want to run for governor on his record of bringing in serial killers. “Are there any other questions?”

It looked like the young reporter wanted to ask one more but Brian, Tanner’s campaign manager, tapped the man on the shoulder motioning to him to step away from the crowd.

“Tanner, would you be willing to take a test to prove that you’re not currently drinking?”

That question came from one of the older political reporters that had been following the campaign.

“If I thought it would make any difference, I would be happy to do that. But frankly, the people that think I spend my free time drunk as a skunk aren’t going to be swayed by any test. They’ll just assume that I faked it or that I paid someone off. The people that support me know that it’s been decades since I last had a drink, and that I don’t intend to have a drink anytime in the future as well. That’s good enough for me. The people I care about believe in me. That’s all that matters.”

Glancing over, he could see Amanda’s chin visibly quivering as if she was trying to hold back tears. Dammit, this was exactly what he didn’t want happening. Maddie kept saying that they’d all be fine, and he needed to keep going, but on days like this he had to wonder if he was being a selfish son of a bitch.

“My supporters know who I am,” Tanner said. “They also know who Arnold Hudson is as well.”

Brian ended the question and answer period, and the reporters disbursed to file their stories.

“Who was that guy?” Maddie asked, coming to stand next to him. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him before.”

“I have no idea, but Brian talked to him so maybe he knows.”

The campaign manager, who always seemed to know where to be, must have heard his name.

“He’s a crime reporter,” Brian said before Tanner had a chance to even ask. “He doesn’t work the political beat, he works crime.”

Some people might say crime and politics were one and the same.

“Why is he here? There’s no news about Wade Bryson. Or did I miss something today? Has another disciple popped up and murdered someone?”

“I don’t think so. I asked him why he was here and he was hoping for a new spin on the Bryson story. A murderous family, and all that. He asked to speak to you privately.”

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