Part 2 (1/2)
”In advance of any political race,” Casey explained, ”Hunter had been inspecting the foundation's books to be absolutely certain that there were no donations or fundraising practices that could prove embarra.s.sing or controversial under public scrutiny. The night of the gala his chauffeur drove him down from Connecticut, and they picked me up at my apartment. In the car he mentioned that he was going to hire a forensic accountant to conduct a more thorough investigation because of what he called some 'irregularities.' Hunter quickly a.s.sured me that he was being abundantly cautious and was certain there was nothing to worry about. I never thought about it again until four years after I was convicted, when Mark suddenly resigned without notice.”
This was the first Laurie had ever heard of the subject. ”Is that unusual?” Laurie asked. She was not well-versed in the workings of private foundations.
”The finance reporters apparently thought so,” Casey said. ”The prison law library allowed us to search online media outlets. Apparently, the foundation's a.s.sets were low enough to trigger speculation. You have to understand, when Hunter poured himself into that foundation, he tripled fundraising results. It's one thing for revenue to fall off without Hunter at the helm. But the media reports said that total a.s.sets were actually down, raising questions about whether they were mismanaging the funds or perhaps worse.”
”How did the foundation deal with the speculation?”
She shrugged. ”All I know is what I could glean from my media searches, and the a.s.sets of a nonprofit foundation aren't quite as newsworthy as, say, a high-profile murder trial. But from what I can tell, once reporters started talking about Mark's sudden resignation, Hunter's dad appointed a new CFO while praising Mark at length. The story went away. But the fact remains, the foundation's a.s.sets were mysteriously low. I think Hunter detected the problem years earlier. Plus, I can tell you this: Mark Templeton was seated right next to me at the gala. He could easily have slipped a drug into my drink.”
Laurie had only agreed to see Casey out of curiosity and to tell Brett she had a lead on a possible story, but she could already picture putting each of these alternative suspects in front of the camera. She realized that when she envisioned the show, she still pictured Alex as the show's host. Once their last case was finished, he had announced that he needed to focus full-time on his criminal defense practice. His departure from the show left the status of what had been a deepening personal relations.h.i.+p between them unclear. She shook the thought from her mind and pressed on.
”And Mary Jane Finder? Who is she?”
”General Raleigh's personal a.s.sistant.”
Laurie felt her eyes widen. ”What's the connection there?”
”She began working for him a few years before I met Hunter. Hunter did not like Mary Jane from the very beginning, but was especially concerned about the authority she seemed to wield after Hunter's mother pa.s.sed away. He thought she was trying to take advantage of his father, or perhaps even marry him now that he was a widower.”
”The boss's son didn't like her? That doesn't seem like a strong motive for murder.”
”It's not just that he didn't like her. He thought she was scheming and manipulative. He was certain she was hiding something and was determined to get her fired. And here's the thing: when we were on our way to the gala, I heard him call a lawyer friend for a referral for a private investigator, saying he needed a background check on someone. Then I heard him say, 'It's a sensitive matter.' When he hung up, I asked him if it was related to the audit he was planning of the foundation.”
A knock at the conference room door interrupted them. Jerry popped his head in. ”I'm very sorry, but Brett's off his conference call. He's with Grace now, demanding to know where you are.”
Laurie didn't dare give Brett an exact location or he'd barge in here and take over the discussion. But she also didn't want to put Grace in a position where she was directly lying to her boss's boss.
”Can you please tell him you spoke to me and that I will be in his office in no more than five minutes?” Brett would a.s.sume that the conversation was a phone call. It would get him off Grace's back, but Laurie needed to hurry.
”Okay, so the private investigator was for the foundation,” Laurie said, getting back on track.
”No, it wasn't. Or at least, I don't think it was. I asked Hunter if it was related to the audit. He looked sort of warily toward his driver, Raphael, as if to say, Not now. It made me think that he didn't want Raphael to hear the name of the person he was checking on.”
”Maybe it was Raphael,” Laurie speculated.
”Absolutely not,” she said. ”Raphael was one of the kindest, most gentle men I have ever met, and he and Hunter adored each other. He was almost an honorary uncle. But he was also extremely trusting and wanted to believe the best about everyone, including Mary Jane. Hunter had stopped complaining about her in Raphael's presence to avoid putting him in an awkward position with a woman who was exercising more and more influence on the family staff. If Hunter was right about Mary Jane hiding something, she may have found a way to stop him from finding out the truth.”
”But was she at the gala?” Laurie asked.
”Oh, she certainly was, in the seat right next to General Raleigh. There was a reason Hunter was worried about her agenda.”
Laurie could almost picture Brett starting to look at his watch, counting the minutes until her arrival. ”Casey, this list is a great start. Let me do some preliminary research and get back-”
”No please, I have so much more to say. You're my only hope.”
”I'm not saying no. In fact, I'm very intrigued.”
Casey's lower lip started to shake. ”Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry.” She fanned her eyes. ”I swore I was not going to cry. But you have no idea how many letters I've written to lawyers and law clinics and reporters. So many of them wrote back saying the same kind of thing-I'm intrigued, or let me look into it. And then I'd never hear from them again.”
”That's not what's happening here, Casey. If anything, I should be the one worried that I'll pour a lot of resources into investigating these claims, only to find out that you've taken your story to the nearest website that will hit the publish b.u.t.ton.”
She shook her head adamantly. ”No, absolutely not. I've seen the hatchet jobs these so-called journalists come up with. But I know your show, and I know that Alex Buckley is one of the best defense attorneys in the city. I won't talk to any other media until you make up your mind.”
The mention of Alex's name grabbed Laurie in the heart.
Casey implored her. ”When can we meet again?”
Laurie remembered Jerry's text message from earlier. She said we wouldn't be able to get rid of her until she saw you. Right now, she needed to get rid of her.
”Friday,” Laurie blurted. That was two days from now. She was about to backtrack when she realized it would be a good idea to meet Casey and her family outside the office before making any final decisions about whether to proceed. ”In fact, I can come to you. Maybe meet your parents?”
”My father pa.s.sed,” Casey said sadly, ”but I'm staying with my mother. We're in Connecticut, though.”
I guess I'm going to Connecticut, Laurie thought.
They were at the conference room door when Laurie realized she'd forgotten to follow up on one part of the earlier string of text messages. ”My a.s.sistant producer mentioned that you know Charlotte Pierce?”
Three months ago, Laurie had had no sense of Charlotte Pierce as a person. She thought of Charlotte as ”the sister”-as in ”the sister” of Amanda Pierce, the missing bride whose disappearance was the subject of Laurie's most recent special. But, to Laurie's surprise, once the production was over, Charlotte had invited her to lunch. Several meals later, Laurie now thought of Charlotte as a friend, the first one she'd made in a very long time.
Casey grinned sheepishly. ”I may have overstated our connection,” she confessed. ”My cousin, Angela Hart, works with her. They're super-good friends, but I've never actually met her.”
Laurie watched as Casey put on large dark sungla.s.ses, twisted her hair up, and pulled a Yankees cap low over her forehead. ”It was bad enough being recognized at the mall,” she said bitterly.
As Laurie rushed to Brett's office, she dictated a reminder to herself to call Charlotte to see if she had any insider information. She also made a mental note: Casey Carter was willing to stretch the truth if it served her purposes.
6.
Brett's secretary, Dana Licameli, gave Laurie a sympathetic look as she waved her into what felt in that moment like the gallows. ”Beware,” she warned. ”I haven't seen him on a tear like this since his daughter came back from Europe with a pierced nose.”
Brett immediately swiveled in his chair to face her. ”I thought with your extended sojourn from the office, you might return with a tan, smelling of rum and sunscreen.” He glanced at his watch. ”Nearly three hours at 21 Club? We should all be so lucky. Don't blame your staff, either. They did their best to cover for you, but I made Dana sneak a peek at your calendar on your a.s.sistant's computer.”
Laurie opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. She hated the idea that she had subjected Jerry and Grace to Brett's abuse during her absence. If she said what was truly on her mind, all three of them would be out of their jobs. She finally found words she was able to force herself to mutter. ”My apologies, Brett. I obviously forgot we had a meeting scheduled for this afternoon.”
Her dry delivery seemed to calm him down. He even gave her a half smile. At sixty-one by her last count, Brett was still quite handsome. With a full head of iron-gray hair and a strong jaw, he had the look of one of the many news anchors he'd hired over the years.
”Don't be so snarky. You know there was no meeting. But you've been avoiding me, and we both know why.”
”I haven't been avoiding you,” Laurie fibbed, tucking a long strand of light brown hair behind one ear. She had just been waiting for that darned release from the Texas widow, so she could tell Brett they were officially ready to roll. ”I really thought we had our ducks in a row on the medical-professor case. The widow was dragging her feet, but I was sure she'd come around.”