Kiss the Girls and Make Them Cry(83)

“I don’t know,” Junior said. “I have to think about that. In the meantime, Michael, you be careful. I know that Sherman’s hired somebody to look into your background. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s having you followed.”

“Fred, I want to lay low for a while. With Ryan,” he hesitated, searching for the right word, “gone, we’ve tied off all the loose ends that we know about. There’s one in South Africa, but I don’t think she’ll be a problem. I’ll keep doing the money drops—”

“We’re not quite finished with the victims,” Junior said quietly.

Carter turned to him. “We’re not?”

“A few days ago Brad Matthews called me. He said he wanted to visit my father and asked if I could be at the house at the same time. Apparently even he has a conscience. When we were alone, he opened up to me, apologizing for what he had done. He didn’t want to deal with Sherman or you so he gave me the names of two more women who he said should receive payments.

“Even more surprising, he said he had personally reached out to the women. They accepted his apology and agreed to the settlement. All you have to do is meet with them and sign the papers. Nothing needs to be discussed,” he said as he handed him a slip of paper. “This is their contact information.”

“All right. I’ll do it. But after that, I’m finished.”

“Agreed. And a word of caution. No need to share this with Sherman. There’s enough venom already between Matthews and Sherman.”

“But two more victims. That’s another four million dollars. How will I—”

“You’ll get the money via wire. Let me worry about that.”

“Okay.”

“Michael, I’m sorry you’re in the middle of all this. I know you have a family. Be careful.”

Carter opened the door and stepped out. The rain was coming down hard, but he didn’t bother with the umbrella as he trudged toward his building.





90





“All dressed up and no place to go,” was how Gina felt as she contemplated her next move. There was no longer any doubt in her mind that both Paula Stephenson and Cathy Ryan had been the victims of foul play. What was going on at REL News went beyond an abuse scandal! Women were being murdered.

She considered but rejected the idea of contacting Carter & Associates. As a lone investigator she was far more vulnerable than she would be if she had the weight of a respected national magazine behind her. She had spoken to Jane Patwell, who reported that no progress had been made in naming a successor to Geoff. An ad hoc committee was scrambling to put out next month’s edition. Jane had promised to call her if anything changed.

The email she had sent to her mystery source, Deep Throat, had gone unanswered. Gina’s involvement in this case began, she recalled, when Cathy Ryan sent her an email, but after responding, she never heard from Cathy again. She shuddered at the thought that Deep Throat had met a fate similar to Cathy’s.

There was one small benefit that flowed from her REL News investigation being on hold. She opened her laptop and retrieved the phone number she was looking for. I have to do this, she said to herself. But that didn’t prevent a feeling of guilt as she started dialing. It was answered on the third ring.

“My name is Gina Kane. I’m hoping to speak to Philip Callow.”

“You got him.”

She had given a lot of thought to what she would say next. Part of her wanted to blurt it out in frank terms. Your gold-digger stepmother has set her sights on my much-older, retired father. Am I right to be concerned? But the situation called for subtlety.

“My dad is a widower, retired in Florida. He and your stepmother, Marian, have become very close. When I met Marian, she spoke about you and your brother, Thomas. I’d really like to meet both of you.”

“Why?”

It was the question she had anticipated. She was ready with her answer. “Because the way things are going, I believe they’re going to get married. If that’s destined to happen, I’d rather meet the new members of my family in advance versus waiting for the wedding day.”

There was a pause. “I guess that would be okay.”

“Excellent,” Gina said. “I’ll be happy to come to you. Where do you live?”

“Buffalo.”

“All right,” Gina replied. “Is your brother also in Buffalo?”

“We live together. When do you want to meet?”

“Any time and place that’s convenient for you and your brother.”

“Tomorrow afternoon? One-thirty?”

“That works for me.”

He gave her the name of a restaurant.

She had two thoughts as she ended the call. If Philip and his brother can start lunch at one-thirty, they must have flexible work hours. She wondered if they were thinking the same thing about me. Her second thought was how long does it take and how much does it cost to fly round-trip to Buffalo?

About ninety minutes and $351 were her answers.



* * *



The next day, she rode in an Uber to the restaurant. Gina had passed on the chance to catch an early morning flight and take the fifteen-mile ride to Niagara Falls. She and Ted had once talked about going there. She would wait until she could do it with him.