Page 157 of State of Affairs (First Family 1)

D’Andre hesitated, for only a second, but he hesitated, nonetheless. “Sure. Come on back.” He led her into his office, where the walls were lined with books and the desk stacked with papers. “Pardon the mess. Happens when I’m writing my sermons.”

“Not to worry. My office is always a disaster.”

“You’ll have to pardon me for being somewhat stunned to have the first lady drop by to see me.”

“I’m not here as the first lady. I’m here as the commander of the MPD’s Homicide division.”

“You’re here about Calvin.”

“That’s right.”

“Why now after all this time?”

“Because Lenore reminded me recently that we had unfinished business when it came to your cousin.”

“The MPD never took much interest in what happened to my cousin,” he said with an edge of bitterness to his tone that she could certainly understand.

“You’re absolutely right, and I apologize for that. I was the Patrol officer who responded the night Calvin was killed. I’ve never forgotten Lenore or him.”

“So what can I do for you, other than confirm that yes, I was in a lot of trouble around that time, but I certainly didn’t kill the cousin I loved like a brother.”

“Did people think you’d killed him?”

“There were rumors that I’d had something to do with it, or that it was related to me in some way, but I’ve never heard anything solid that would tie it back to me or my friends at the time. I loved him. I would’ve thrown myself in front of that bullet to save him.”

“Did you know Javier Lopez?”

D’Andre’s eyes went wide. “What about him?”

“I’m asking if you knew him.”

“I went to school with him. Cal and I both did. He was in the grade between Cal and me.”

“What was your impression of him?”

“He was an asshole bully, always picking on people who couldn’t defend themselves. You know the type. No one liked him, but everyone was afraid of him.” He chuckled softly. “Except Cal, of course. He got right up in Javier’s face and told him he was a douche for what he’d done to this girl—her name was Maisy—by acting like he was into her when he was just making fun of her.”

“So you knew about their fight?”

“Everyone knew about it. People thought Cal was a badass for confronting him.”

“What did Javier think?”

“I don’t really know. I stayed away from him. I was no choirboy and made a lot of mistakes that I genuinely regret, but that guy was seriously bad news. From the time he was a little kid, he was just a nasty son of a bitch, and I don’t say those words lightly in this house of God. It’s the truth.”

“Did you ever consider that he was behind Cal’s murder?”

“I think most people figured he had something to do with it.”

Sam couldn’t bear to hear that. Most people thought Javier was probably involved, but somehow the police had never even talked to him about the case. She handed D’Andre her card. “If there’s anything else you think might be relevant, please give me a call.”

“I really hope you can get some answers for Lenore and Ayana. They’ve waited long enough.”

“I couldn’t agree more. Thanks for your time.”

In the car, she used the Bluetooth to call Freddie.

“Hey,” he said. “Where are you?”