Part 10 (1/2)
”Ms. Day?”
”Yes,” she said curtly. ”We're clear.”
”Good. That will be all for now.”
Angela stood up and headed for the door, feeling Dudley's glare boring into her back. When she'd made it through the anteroom and the lobby, and the elevator doors had closed in front of the receptionist who had watched her walk all the way across the lobby, Angela allowed her head to fall back against the car wall and closed her eyes as it began to descend. The risks in her life had suddenly risen immeasurably. She hoped Jake Lawrence would leave her alone.
”What do you think, Carter?” Dudley stood in front of the window, hands clasped tightly behind his back, gazing out at the snow falling on Richmond. ”What did you think of Angela Day's performance?”
”Performance?”
”What was truth and what was for our benefit?”
Hill shook his head. ”I don't know, Bob. If any of that was acting, she should win an Oscar.”
”Do you think Jake Lawrence really a.s.saulted her?”
”Yes,” Hill answered thoughtfully. ”I'm convinced. I saw sincere emotion in her expression.”
As Dudley watched, the snow began to fall more heavily. The James River, only a quarter of a mile away, was all but obscured. ”But why would he do that, Carter? What was his motive?”
”I don't think there was any motive, other than getting some action. It's as simple as that.” Hill shrugged. ”After all, she is pretty.”
Dudley pivoted slowly away from the window. ”What did you say?” he asked coldly. ”That she's pretty?”
Hill shook his head. ”Don't get me wrong. I was just making a point about how Lawrence-”
”First of all, according to the preliminary information your people dug up, she's a Wop from a trailer park.”
”Well, yes, but-”
Dudley's lip curled. ”Worse, she's a n.i.g.g.e.r lover. She hangs around with that reporter b.i.t.c.h Olivia Jefferson from theTribune .”
Hill grimaced.
”She's one of those bleeding hearts who feels sorry for savages whose ancestors ran around spearing water buffalo and running from lions, whose cousins still do.”
”Jesus, Bob, you've got to be careful about that kind of stuff. One of these days you're going to do that in public. Then there will be h.e.l.l to pay.”
”I don't care about the public,” he muttered. ”What I care about is figuring out what Lawrence is up to.”
Hill glanced at the ceiling and groaned quietly. ”I think it was simply as she described. He was looking for a little action.”
”You're being naive, Carter.”
”Bob, people I know in New York have told me that he's got a h.e.l.luva s.e.x drive. It borders on addiction.”
”What people?” Dudley hissed. ”Have you spoken to any woman who's ever actually been a.s.saulted by Jake Lawrence?”
”Well, no,” Hill answered slowly. ”The people I spoke to said they'd heard about him from others. But they weren't rumormongers.”
”Everyone's a rumormonger. Remember that.”
”These were senior people at several of the large investment banks I'm talking about.”
”And we all know how ethical and honest they can be.”
”Well . . . ”
”So you didn't press them on how they acquired their information concerning Jake Lawrence?”
”No,” Hill admitted.
”Well, I suggest you do, Carter. I have. And when you really drill down there is no hard evidence of anything concerning Jake Lawrence. And I'm not talking about silly s.e.xual dalliances that you, I, Jake Lawrence, and the rest of the male galaxy are guilty of. I'm talking about any hard information at all. I can't even find a picture of him.” Dudley turned back toward the window. Only the closest building was still visible through the snow at this point. ”From now on, Carter, we will monitor Angela Day very closely.”
”Are you worried that Lawrence might try to use her as some kind of information source? Inside information?”
”Of course I am.”
”But how could she help him? What kind of information could she possibly have access to that would help him take over Sumter?”
Dudley shook his head, gazing into the storm settling down onto the city. ”I don't know. But by five o'clock this afternoon I want your people to get us a second, much more detailed report on Ms. Day. Not just the easy and obvious stuff this time. I want to know exactly what time she gets up in the morning, what she eats for breakfast, who her friends are, who she's s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g, and how he's doing it to her. I want to know what drawer she keeps her d.a.m.n panties in!” Dudley paused to catch his breath. ”Do you understand?”
Hill nodded and turned to go. He'd made a career out of doing Bob Dudley's dirty work. This was simply another filthy example.
”One more thing, Carter.”
Hill sighed quietly and stopped. ”Yes?” he asked, trying to mask his irritation.
”Do you think any of this could be related to that article Liv Jefferson wrote?”
”Sir?”
Dudley moved away from the window to his desk. ”Thearticle,” he said loudly, frustrated that Hill didn't understand exactly what he was talking about right away. ”The one accusing me of shutting down our branches in minority-dominated areas of the city, of orchestrating a conspiracy to deny mortgages and other services to minorities across the state.”
”I suppose, but I don't think it's likely.”
Dudley clenched his hands more tightly. ”I called theTrib 's publisher the day that article came out, and I told him I was going to sue the paper. He told me he would welcome that. He told me he had evidence supporting Liv Jefferson's claims. A memo or something.” Dudley stared at Hill. ”Do you think that's possible?”
Hill shrugged. ”I have no idea.”
Dudley pursed his lips, then nodded. ”You've been tasked, Carter. Get to work.”
Angela slowly replaced her office phone in its cradle after listening to her voice mail. The last message had been from Kate Charboneau, the attorney who had represented Angela in her divorce from Sam Reese six years ago. And in Angela's failed attempt to win custody of Hunter. She and Kate hadn't spoken in two years, and now Kate wanted to get together for a drink after work. One of the men who had lied in court about having s.e.xual relations with Angela during her marriage to Sam Reese had contacted Kate late yesterday and there was an important development to report.
Angela gazed across the large room at Ken Booker, who was staring back at her from his doorway. Jake Lawrence had promised to talk to his people about helping her. Perhaps, despite Tucker's skepticism, Lawrence had come through after all. But why this time? What made this situation so special?