“I want to talk to Bob Minor and Ray Jestings. I want to know if the team knew they had a mentally ill player in their midst.”

“How could they not know?”

“What do you mean?” Sam asked, taken aback by his vehemence.

“I haven’t spent that much time with my dad since he’s been back on the scene, but it’s so obvious that he has a problem of some sort. I would’ve recognized that even if I hadn’t already known his history, you know?”

“I do see what you mean. But your dad is doing okay now, isn’t he?”

“He seems to be, but there are moments... Glimpses, I guess you’d call them, of the manic side from time to time that worry me. I know my mom sees it too, but we don’t talk about it.”

They got into the car with Freddie still driving.

“Are you worried about him?” Sam asked when they were on their way back to the city.

“I’m more worried about my mom and what’ll become of her if he has another breakdown. She’s so happy—happier than I’ve ever seen her. I don’t want anything to spoil that, you know?”

“Is he taking his meds?”

“As far as I know. It’s not something that comes up over dinner. I’d love to ask him, but I don’t have that kind of relationship with him.”

“Would your mother ask him?”

“We don’t talk about it.”

Sam pondered the situation with a growing sense of unease. It had been a big gamble for Freddie and his mom to accept his dad back into their lives more than twenty years after he left without a word to them. He’d confessed to hiding his bipolar disorder from them. Freddie had struggled with the situation and had reluctantly—at first—allowed his dad back into his life. Sam would hate to see him hurt again if his father was unable to maintain the relationship.

Her cell phone rang and she took the call from Gonzo.

“I think I’ve got your murder scene.”

“Where?”

He rattled off an address that Sam knew was close to the Office of Personnel Management on E Street.

“Head for Foggy Bottom,” she said to Freddie. To Gonzo, she said, “Rope it off. We’ll be there shortly.”

“Already done. I’ll be here.”

On the way, Sam called Lindsey and asked her to come to the scene to get a sample of the blood so they could run the DNA to see if it was a match for Willie. Next she called Deputy Chief Conklin, who had all kinds of contacts within the federal government. “I need security film from OPM and surrounding buildings on E Street Northwest.”

“I’ll get right on it,” Conklin said. “Assume you’ll want CSU there too, so I’ll take care of getting them dispatched.”