“He had a rough time last fall,” said Ray, alluding to the affair accusations.

“He didn’t do it,” Nissa said firmly. “She hit on him, and he rebuffed her. It made her angry. And it ripped up his life for three months. He’ll never be the same.”

The fire in her eyes surprised Mason. Nissa Roberts was very passionate about defending her boss. It was a good quality in an employee.

If the boss was worth defending.

“You seem very certain,” Mason stated. “I know the incident ended on a ‘she said, he said’ brick wall, and once the authorities decided no wrongdoing had happened, they let it go. But I’d say the general public favored the woman.”

“You’d be right. Nothing frustrated Carson more than being unable to prove he hadn’t done it. He was guilty from a trial by the press. It heavily influenced his decision to not run next time.” She took a tissue from the box on the table and blew her nose.

Mason politely looked away and scanned the schedule of the last two days she’d given them. “This says he was supposed to have a town-hall-type meeting last night. You’ve noted that he never showed.” He glanced up. “Did that surprise you?”

“Completely. Carson is meticulous about his schedule. And the fact that I hadn’t heard from him was upsetting. I called everyone I could think of and texted and emailed him a dozen times.” She dabbed at her eyes. “Now I know why,” she said softly. “Have they said how he was actually killed?”

“No. We’re hoping to hear from the medical examiner this afternoon.” Mason paused. “Do you possibly know if he had life insurance? Or who the beneficiary might be?”

“He has life insurance through the Federal Employees’. I think it was about three-quarters of a million. I don’t know who will get it. I assume one of his parents.”

Ray made a notation. They’d reached out to the parents earlier that day and spoken to a brother. The parents were distraught, but the brother understood the detectives needed to speak with them. He’d promised to call back later that day.

Mason hated to disturb immediate family when they’d had a crushing blow, but murder couldn’t wait. The first few days were crucial to solving a case. And family was always ruled out first.

“You haven’t offered any names or suggested a direction for us to take this investigation. There’s no one in particular that jumps out in your mind as having an ax to grind?” Mason asked.

Nissa shredded the tissue in her hands, her gaze on the mess. “No. I’ll let you know.”

Ray and Mason exchanged a glance. He wondered if the woman either wasn’t confident in her suspicions or had something she was keeping to herself. Mason slid a business card across the table. “Thank you for your time, Ms. Roberts. Please call if something else occurs to you.”

The three of them stood and began walking out the door. “Oh, Ms. Roberts. I know you were going back to DC tomorrow, but would you mind staying in town a few more days? There’s a good chance we’ll need to talk with you again. Just to clarify some things.” Mason gave the young woman a polite smile.

She paled and nodded. “Of course.”

Mason and Ray watched her head down the hall, high heels clicking on the tile.

Ray sighed. “I think we seem trustworthy and competent. Why do people hold back on us? Don’t they know we’re the good guys?”

“Give her time. I think we’ll be hearing from Ms. Roberts very soon.”

“Ready to take a look at Carson’s condo?”

“Let’s go.”

The Vancouver cop holding the scene log outside Carson Scott’s condo barely twitched an eyebrow at Ava’s and Zander’s FBI badges. “This is getting bigger every moment,” he commented as Zander signed. “Scott being a member of the U.S. House of Representatives pulls your agency into the investigation, the location of his body pulled in OSP, and our little department covers the ground his home stands on.”

“The more, the better, I always say,” Ava stated. The cop didn’t seem resentful; he was just stating the obvious. Jurisdictions did make investigations complicated. Usually the FBI waited until it was asked for assistance by other police departments, but the murder of a congressman fell directly under the FBI’s umbrella. She signed the log and froze as she recognized two names farther up.

Well, this will be interesting.

“Our day just developed a new twist, Zander.” She pointed the pen at Mason’s name.

“He caught the case?”

“Looks that way.”

Zander’s forehead crinkled. “Is that a conflict?”

“Personally, not at all. But Duncan’s opinion might be different.” Dammit. Duncan had better not yank her from this case. She was eager to get to the bottom of why a congressman had been murdered and left hanging in such a public manner. I want this case.

“Maybe we better give Duncan a call,” Zander suggested halfheartedly as he studied her face.

“Let’s go inside first and see what’s up.” Ava marched forward, not letting Zander put doubts in her head. Perhaps Duncan wouldn’t have a problem. She’d proven in the past she could work with Mason Callahan. Of course, they hadn’t been an involved couple when the Kent Jopek case had started.

Assistant Special Agent in Charge Ben Duncan had met with Ava and Zander that morning, to break the news of the young congressman’s death and to give them their new assignment. Ava had been stunned.