Romero nods to one of his associates, the smoker. The smoker pulls out his iPhone and starts tapping. After a few seconds, he walks over to the desk and holds the screen in front of Romero.

Romero glances at it, then looks up. “Two books. Good for you. They sell?”

“They did all right,” says Garrett.

“How does it pay?”

“Not great.”

Romero looks down again, scrolls for a minute. “Dartmouth, huh? That your girlfriend in the picture? It says here she’s your researcher. Nice.”

“We’re partners, yes.”

“And where is she this fine day?”

“Working on a different assignment.”

“I see.” Romero flicks his hand at his men. “We’re okay,” he says. They leave the room. Romero gestures toward an empty chair across from his desk. “Sit, Mr. Writer. Sit.”

Garrett perches on the edge of the chair. His mouth is dry. His feet tap against the floor.

Romero leans forward and stares at him. “So. What about Suzanne Bonanno?”

Garrett forces himself to stare right back. “Mr. Romero—”

“Tony.”

Garrett resets. “Tony, I’m told that you and Suzanne dated about twenty years ago. Is that true?”

Romero grins, leans back. “In my mid-twenties, man, I played the field as much as I could. Yeah, Suzanne. The Patriots cheerleader. Nice piece.” He leans forward and his expression turns earnest. “You have any idea what happened to her?”

“That’s what I’m trying to find out,” Garrett says. “After you two broke up—”

Romero puts up a hand. “Hold on, hold on. It’s not like we were serious. We just hung out here and there, had some fun.”

“Okay,” Garrett says, “after you two stopped hanging out, she started dating Cole Wright. This was when he was still on the team.”

Romero drums his fingers on his desk. His face is grim. “Yeah. I knew that.”

“So maybe you know she was supposed to be on a date with him the night she disappeared.”

“Right,” Romero snarls. “And now that prick is living in the White House, screwing the goddamn president. I guess he moved up in the world. Can you believe that shit? Only in America…”

“Did you and Suzanne keep in touch? Did she ever talk to you about Cole Wright? Ever complain about the way he was treating her?”

“Treating her?”

“Like, was he ever rough with her?”

Romero is silent for a few seconds. Garrett can sense his mind working. “Jesus Christ! Is that what your book is about? You think Cole Wright offed Suzanne Bonanno?”

“So she never talked to you about him?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“So she did?”

A few more seconds of silence. Then: “She did call me once. She was crying and sniffling and shit. Said Cole had slapped her around. She wanted me to do something about it.”

“Like what?”

“What do you think, Mr. Writer? She wanted me to find a couple guys to teach him a lesson.”

“And did you?”