56
Laurie stepped back from the whiteboard and admired their handiwork. She and Jerry had been working feverishly for the last two hours.
“This has to be a record,” she announced. “Is it possible?”
“More than possible.” Jerry rose from the conference table and held up his right hand for a high five, which she returned. “We’re done filming!”
They had storyboarded the entire episode, scene by scene. Between the glamour of the Metropolitan Museum’s party of the year and the intrigue of the case, Laurie was certain they had another hit on their hands. They had also unearthed new evidence about Virginia’s intention to reduce her family’s inheritance and her son Carter’s agitation about her plans. Still, it was in Laurie’s nature to search for additional avenues of investigation.
She knew it was unrealistic to expect to solve the case every time, but she couldn’t help feeling a sense of disappointment. If they stopped at this point, Ivan Gray would continue to live under suspicion, and now so would Carter Wakeling. Even poor Anna and Peter were implicated to some extent, because they never told anyone about Carter’s concerns over the will. They hadn’t knowingly aided a killer, but they had placed the family’s reputation over the integrity of the original investigation.
“I’ll get to work on a rough edit,” Jerry said. “Drinks after work to celebrate?”
“Can I take a rain check for next week? I’m already booked tonight.” She was seeing Alex again. The thought of it put a smile on her face. In the meantime, she had a phone call to make.
• • •
Her father picked up on the second ring.
“Hey Dad. Do you have time for me to bend your ear with a work question?”
“Always.”
Laurie, Timmy, and Leo all “shared locations” with one another through their cell phones. She had already checked before calling to make sure that Leo was back from picking up Timmy from school. He’d be happy to watch his grandson for a second night in a row, and he was thrilled when he heard that he’d be doing it so Laurie could join Alex again.
“The good news is that we definitely got under Carter Wakeling’s skin today. He showed up an hour late for his interview and tried to back out. When we confronted him with what we knew about his relationship with Penny and his mother’s plans for the estate, he flipped his lid and took a swing at Ryan. It was a really hard punch. He was really out of control.”
“Laurie, in his state of mind, he could easily turn on you!”
“I realize that. He could attack me or someone else. I saw a side to him today that was frightening and volatile. He was demanding to know what we’d been told by Anna, Peter, and Penny.”
“My main worry is about you,” Leo said quickly. “But I agree that the others also might be in danger.”
“Dad, I can’t decide what to do. On the one hand, I want to keep a lid on the developments in our investigation until the episode airs. On the other, I certainly would never forgive myself if someone got hurt because I didn’t reveal a possible threat.”
“Trust me on this one,” Leo counseled. “Your show would take a major publicity hit if something bad happened while you sat on evidence. And the police might never cooperate with you again.”
He didn’t need to spell out another consideration: Laurie knew how Leo’s reputation in law enforcement had helped her build good working relationships with the police. In exchange, she had a responsibility to be more forthcoming with them than other journalists might be.
“Can I make a suggestion?” Leo asked. “What if I call Johnny Hon and give him a heads-up about what you’ve learned? He can weigh the new information in the context of the full investigation and decide what to do from there. He seems like a trustworthy person to me.”
It didn’t take Laurie long to agree that the suggestion to include Detective Hon was sound. She doubted he would leak anything to other media outlets, and, ultimately, what mattered was the safety of potential witnesses. If Carter was a killer who feared imminent exposure, he could be dangerous.
“Sounds good, Dad. Let me know how it goes. And thanks.”
“Happy to help. The only thing I ask in exchange is that you enjoy yourself tonight.”
She hung up, knowing that it would be an easy promise to keep.
When she was off the phone, she finally had time to sort through the snail mail waiting in the in-tray on her desk from that morning. She found a brown mailing envelope addressed to her from the probate court. She ran her letter opener across the seal as she walked to her office door and asked Grace if she could check whether Ryan was free. He had been the one to request a copy of Robert Wakeling’s will to compare against Virginia’s. His legal experience would come in handy during the review.
Grace shook her head. “I saw him hopping onto the elevator when I went to use the copier. My guess is that he couldn’t wait to tell Ivan about his impromptu boxing match with Carter Wakeling.”
Laurie rolled her eyes. Ryan had done a good job of appearing objective on camera, but she worried about his loyalty to Ivan off camera.