“Not for two days. She didn’t come back that night, and I assumed she was staying at her new place in Boston until I got a call from her new roommate there. Amber Keenan. Another cheerleader. Amber said Suzanne had never shown up. She wasn’t answering her cell, and neither was Cole.”

“What was the police response like?” asks Garrett.

“Shitty,” Felicia snaps. “I called the local police. They told me to call the state police. The state police looked into it but when they found out Suzanne had just moved to Boston, they tried to hand it over to the Boston cops, and they didn’t want to take it. Assholes. They said she was an adult who’d driven her own car to Walmart that night. She could have just driven off. No sign of her car in the parking lot or anywhere in the area. No signs of violence or abduction. It turned into a missing person investigation. Then the case just… dribbled away.”

My turn. “Did you or the police ever contact Cole Wright?”

Felicia nods. Her eyes are red now. “A Seabrook detective talked to me. He said that he’d talked to Cole and that he’d been cleared, that he wasn’t a suspect in Suzanne’s disappearance.”

“Did Cole get in touch with you after Suzanne went missing? Ever call to express his concern?” I ask.

“I didn’t hear a single word from him,” says Felicia. “I saw in the Globe a few days after that he was in Los Angeles at some high-end medical clinic having his knee looked at. His precious football knee.”

I see the opening and take it, just like I did in the courtroom when I was a public defender. “Felicia, this is a sensitive question, but I need to ask it.”

She looks at me and nods.

“Were you aware that it was against the rules for a Patriots football player and a Patriots cheerleader to see each other socially?”

“I was,” says Felicia. “So was Suzanne. During the few months they were dating, she reminded me that they had to keep it quiet.”

“And did you ever meet Cole Wright?” Garrett asks.

Felicia looks at the floor and nods. “I hated him from the get-go.”

Interesting. Cole Wright has a reputation for strong people skills. At least in public.

“Why is that?” asks Garrett.

“Why?” Felicia’s face hardens. “When he first walked in, he was all smiles and hugs, paying special attention to my girl. But I saw through that act.”

“Did he ever say anything rude or insulting?” I ask.

“To my face? No. But his eyes were cold. Like a snake’s. And the minute I realized Suzanne was missing, I knew that bastard was responsible.” Felicia breaks down. “I know he had something to do with it. I know it!”

Garrett leans forward. “Felicia, it hurts me to say this, but we think you’re absolutely right.”