“What do you want me to do?” Ray asked. He’d never seen his boss look so desperate.
“I don’t know. I’ve got to get into the office, figure out if there is any way we can spin this thing. We’re going to have to report the story or we’ll look like fools.” Hugo cut his eyes sideways to Ray. “The police aren’t saying who they have in custody. We can have the one-up by breaking that part of the story wide open.”
“No!” Ray said. He turned, wanting to reach grab Hugo by his shoulders. “No, Hugo. We can’t do that to Roarke. He’s innocent. We know that. We can’t exploit him like that.”
“If we don’t, they will soon enough. If we get it out there first, we’ll have control over the story instead of lagging behind and trying to play catch up. We spin it first, and we have control over the story.”
Ray put his hands over his face, trying to get a grip. “Then let me take the story. I want to report it.”
Hugo shook his head. “No, Ray. You have to follow up on the sewage plant explosion. We’ve got to have another story to draw upon. You break that story wide open, and Gilda’s disappearance will take a backseat.”
Ray sighed, and his shoulders felt the burden of the task that could save his friend from eternal embarrassment. “Who are you going to put on Gilda’s story?”
“Jill, of course.”
“Hugo, Jill doesn’t have the sensitivity needed to cover this story.”
“You’re suggesting Trent?”
Ray ran his hands through his hair. “I don’t know. Trent is too inexperienced.”
“I’m going with Jill. But I’ll micromanage the story. Ray, I know what’s at stake, okay?”
Ray nodded then looked at his watch. “I’d better be going.” He looked at the staircase again, surprised that he hadn’t seen Hugo’s wife come down. He thought she had to leave for work pretty early.
“Make certain you are at the afternoon meeting. We’ll have a lot to discuss.”
“I know.” Ray went to the front door. He wanted to say something, anything, that might give some hope to the situation, but nothing came to him, so he gave Hugo a nod and walked to his car. He heard the door close behind him just as his cell phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Ray, it’s Mack. What are you doing right now?”
“Uh…”
“Good. Meet me at the corner of Eighth and Vessel in ten minutes.”
“But—”
“We’re going to find out what the news director of a station with a missing anchor does with his morning.”
Ray slid into a maroon Pontiac, keeping his sunglasses on. Mack smiled, and Ray noticed her glasses were even darker than his. In one sense, Ray felt ridiculous. He had a huge news story to cover, with the two leads the Electric Horseman had suggested, and here he was hiding out in the rental car of the sister of the woman on whom he had a crush. But in another sense, he trusted Mack. She’d already found out valuable information on Gilda, and maybe she could help him put together the puzzle pieces.
She handed him a steaming foam cup. “Here. Hayden said you liked coffee.”
“Oh. Thanks.”
“That’s his house up ahead,” she said, pointing to a huge, colonial-style mansion that seemed out of place in the neighborhood.
“So we’re going to break in and look for information?” Ray asked.
“That would be illegal,” Mack said. “We’re going to wait until he leaves, and then we’re going to follow him.”
Ray sighed. “Mack, I appreciate your involvement, I really do. But I’ve got a huge story to follow, and I can’t waste time sitting around waiting for Chad Arbus to drive to what will probably be his office.”
Mack smiled a little. “A hundred bucks says he doesn’t go to work.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Deal or no deal?”
Ray sighed. “Let’s go for ten. Anything over that does make one wonder about gambling tendencies, doesn’t it?”
She laughed. “Fine. Ten bucks.”
“Why do you think he won’t go to the station?”
“Because Hayden said that Mr. Talley has had a hard time reaching him, that he’s not answering his phone, and that he’s not keeping his usual hours.”
“Not surprising,” Ray said, “considering the circumstances.”
“You have to use your imagination, Ray,” she said. “And when I imagine what I would be doing in Mr. Arbus’s shoes, I imagine I’d be at the station and in everyone’s business.”
Ray stared down at his coffee. He really could use the caffeine, but he’d hate to gag in front of Hayden’s sister.
“Where’s Hayden?” he asked.
“She went in early, just to see how she could help Mr. Talley, if he needed it. She was up all night praying for Roarke. She feels horrible.” Mack adjusted her glasses and stared forward as she said, “You know if you hurt my sister in any way, you’ll pay. And I’m not talking in the gambling sense.”
Ray’s jaw would’ve dropped had it not been clenched shut with shock. “What?”
“I like you, Ray. I really do. And I have a feeling you know how to treat a woman—particularly a woman like my sister—with respect and decency. But if you for some reason decide not to, you’ll really be sorry. I’ve been known to make grown men cry, and not in the ‘happy tears’ sense.”
Ray swallowed, squeezing the cup in his hand.
“I like to pray, Ray. I pray a lot. In fact, while I was waiting for you, I prayed that we would find out the truth about this whole situation. And I believe God is going to answer that prayer. I pray for a lot of things and a lot of people. But nobody wants me praying for them when I’m angry, you know what I mean?”
Ray nodded a little. Though her voice was calm and even a little cheerful, the words and the threat weren’t lost on him.
“I think you two would make a great couple,” she continued, still keeping her focus ahead. “You’re really cute together. And Hayden likes you a lot. She talks about you all the time.”
“Oh…good…,” he tried to pull off casually.
“So it perplexes me as to why you would also be interested in another reporter. I think her name is Jill.”
“Jill?” Ray nearly shouted. “I’m not interested in Jill! I hate Jill!” Ray cleared his throat. “I mean, I dislike Jill. I very dislike Jill.”
“That’s not what Jill said,” Mack said, finally looking at him. She pulled her glasses down to the tip of her nose.
“Jill said what?”
“That you two were an item.”
Ray bit his lip, trying to keep a string of profanity from traipsing out of his mouth and making a really bad impression. “I just learned that Jill has feelings for me, but the feelings are not mutual,” he said eagerly. “I can’t stand Jill, and I can only imagine that her intentions were to ambush my relationship with Hayden.”
Mack studied him for a moment. “I believe you.”
Ray’s head throbbed with stress and sleep deprivation. And he noticed, for the first time, that Mack’s gun was barely visible beneath her sweater.
Mack smiled again. “Glad we got that cleared up.”
“Yeah…”
At the same time they noticed the large iron gate in front of Chad’s home slowly swinging open. Ray couldn’t deny how uncomfortable he felt spying on his boss. But then again, he couldn’t explain those missing e-mails either.
“Here we go,” Mack said as Chad’s silver Jaguar turned onto the street. “Let’s see where Mr. Arbus takes us.”
Ray nodded and slid down a little in his seat. It was going to be a long day.
They followed Chad for fifteen minutes on the highway. Mack was concentrating hard, and Ray didn’t want to break that, but he also wanted to clear up a few things.
“Mack,” he said gently, “I want you to know that I really like Hayden. She’s not like anyone I’ve ever known. But I don’t know if she’s the right person for me, either. I’m just getting to
know her.”
Mack didn’t glance over but nodded. “I know, Ray. You can’t just jump in without getting to know a person.”
“Okay, just so we’re clear.” Ray couldn’t take his eyes off her gun. “You carry that weapon with you all the time?”
“Yes,” she said.
“You know, I thought you and Hayden were a lot alike when I first met you, but now I’m realizing you two are pretty different.”
“We are,” Mack said. “And it doesn’t surprise me you’re drawn to Hayden’s innocence. She’s been like that her whole life. Some people mistake it for stupidity, but she’s not stupid. Naive, yes. But that seems to get her from one place to another. And sometimes I wish I had a little more of that, you know?”
Ray smiled. Yes, he knew. “Some people just seem to be born with good hearts.”
Mack nodded. “Yeah.”
“So let me ask you a question. Where did you all get your names? Being from a conservative family, it seems you’d all be named after people from the Bible or something.”
“We were all born during an unfortunate time in my mother’s life when she was addicted to soap operas.”
Ray laughed. “Really?”
“Yes. We’re all named after soap-opera characters. Finally my dad made my mother stop watching them.”
“I had a different picture of your family. I can’t really see your mother watching soap operas.”
“My mother was a saint. She homeschooled all of us. I think soap operas were an escape for her during the day. I remember her up in her bedroom, huddled around an old black-and-white television. None of us were allowed to disturb her between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m.”
“Wow. Who would’ve thought?”
“I hate my name. Mackenzie. It sounds so…”
“Soap opera-ish?”
“Exactly. That’s why I go by Mack.” She suddenly sat up taller and pointed. “Look, he’s getting off the highway.”
She slowed down a little and followed carefully as Chad made two right turns and then a left into a mall parking garage.
“He’s doing a little shopping?” Ray asked.
“Yeah, except the mall isn’t open yet.” Mack pulled the car onto the first level of the garage and watched Arbus go up. “Come on. We’re going to have to follow on foot.”
Chad checked his rearview mirror as he headed to the top story of the parking garage. The morning light was getting brighter, but he’d made a good choice to meet him here. The mall employees were coming in, and there were several cars around so as to not draw attention to his.
He slowed down and found a parking spot. Rolling down his window, he looked around cautiously for a tan Oldsmobile. He spotted it a few cars away from his. Through the dark tint he could see a shadowy figure inside. As calmly as possible, he got out of his car and walked to the other car. He didn’t flinch as the Oldsmobile’s car door opened. Howard Crumm’s oily hair stayed stuck to his head even in the morning breeze. He didn’t look happy and didn’t mind showing it. Chad watched carefully as Crumm pulled out a briefcase and met Chad a few feet away.
“Don’t look so surprised,” Howard said. “You knew I would come.”
“Your past speaks for itself,” Chad replied.
Crumm kept a steady expression as he handed over the suitcase. “Count it if you’d like.”
“Sure. I’ll open up a suitcase full of money right here in the middle of a parking lot. Nobody will notice.”
“There’s a security camera up there,” Crumm said, without averting his eyes toward it.
“I know,” Chad said. “That’s just in case you decided to do something crazy, like kill me.”
“But if I don’t do anything, then nobody has any reason to look at those tapes.”
“Exactly.”
“In return for this,” Crumm said, “you will stop the investigation into the explosion.”
“Yes.”
“Enough damage has been done, but I can handle it as long as nothing else leaks out.”
“I’m sure you can,” Chad said. “You’re a capable businessman.”
“Save the compliments,” Crumm said. “I have your assurances there will be no more of the story aired, and that you will retract what you’ve already said?”
“We’ll smooth it over,” Chad said. “We’ll make a reference to our sources as untrustworthy, something like that.”
“It’d better look authentic.”
“Believe me, it won’t take much. The big story around town is our anchor’s disappearance. We’ll have no problem distracting our viewers.”
“And this reporter, Duffey, isn’t going to be a problem any longer?”
“I can assure you I will take care of him. Personally.”
Crumm’s face turned sour as he looked at the briefcase. “I’ll be on my way. I’d better never see you again.”
Chad smiled and turned toward his car. It was time he went back to the office and earned his money.
Mack kept a hand on Ray’s shoulder as they stayed in the shadow of the stairwell.
Ray was speechless. They’d watched the two men exchange a briefcase and a few words, though they couldn’t quite hear what was being said. What in the world was Chad Arbus doing meeting with Howard Crumm? And what was in the briefcase?
“We have to get closer!” Ray had whispered as they watched the two men. “I can’t hear anything they’re saying.”
But Mack kept her hand against Ray. “A picture speaks a thousand words, my friend.”
“What’s in the briefcase?” Ray asked.
“I don’t know,” Mack said. “But we’re one step closer to explaining why those e-mails disappeared.”
They watched both cars drive off and then walked back to Mack’s car. “Gilda knew something,” Mack considered, thinking out loud. “But what? What would Gilda know that Chad Arbus wouldn’t want anybody else to know?”
“Or vice versa,” Ray said. “Who knows who erased those e-mails? Maybe it was Gilda, maybe it was someone else.”
“True,” said Mack. “We’re going to have to get back on Gilda’s computer somehow.”
Chapter 34
Please tell me you have more to the story,” Hugo said, his eyes full of desperation. “Because right now, I can’t figure out how to spin Gilda’s thing in a positive way. We’ve got to have something big on the sewage plant.”
“Mr. Talley, I’ve got a huge break in the story,” Ray answered, then paused. “I think. But I’m going to need access to Gilda’s computer.”
Hugo grumbled. “Why?”
Ray quietly closed Hugo’s door. “Mr. Talley, I don’t know how to tell you this, and right now I think it’s best if I give you as little information as possible.”
“Me too,” Hugo said, looking like he might just start crying.
“We know that Petey Green tried to contact Gilda concerning the plant and the chemical. But there may be more. And”—Ray took a deep breath—“this may go up into management.”
“Management.”
“Yeah.”
“Are you talking about—what are you talking about?”
“Chad Arbus.”
“How could he be involved in the plant explosion?”
“I don’t know exactly. But I do know that Mr. Arbus and Howard Crumm met this morning in a parking garage.”
“How do you know that.”
“I’m an investigative reporter, sir.”
“You’re spying on our boss?”
“What legitimate reason could Mr. Arbus have for meeting with Howard Crumm?”
“I don’t know, but there are always two sides to a story. We can’t just go around making assumptions, Ray. I need cold, hard facts.”
“I know, sir. That’s why I need Gilda’s computer. I happen to know that a bunch of e-mails between Gilda and Arbus are missing. I checked this morning with the IT department, and the techs said they’d also been erased from the backup system.”
“Ray, you’ve
always been gutsy. That’s one thing that I like about you. But you’ve gone too far. Implying that—well, whatever you’re implying could get us all in a lot of trouble.”
“You know me well enough to know that I don’t chase rabbits. If I didn’t think there was anything significant to this, I wouldn’t ask. Sir, not only is sweeps week on the line here, but so is the integrity of our station. You’ve got to at least let me check this out. If I don’t find anything, I’ll back off.” Ray took a step closer as Hugo contemplated this. “Let me take a look at her computer.”
“Yeah, well, good luck with that. The police confiscated it this morning.”
Captain Wynn stood to shake the young woman’s hand, which was so soft it made his entire body tingle. He stretched a delighted grin across his face. “Captain Tony Wynn.”
“Mack Jones.” The woman flashed a badge, but Wynn was too busy looking at her to take notice of it. “Las Vegas Police.”
Captain Wynn nodded. “Someone from your office called earlier to say you’d be by.”
“May we speak in private?” the woman asked, and Captain Wynn rose to shut his door. There weren’t too many women in law enforcement that Wynn found attractive. Maybe it was because he had to work with them. But this woman he could definitely look at all day. And she looked a little familiar. He wondered if he’d seen her on TV. Maybe during the Las Vegas bank robbery that made national news last February.
“What can I do for you?”
“As my supervisor mentioned, we’re interested in Roarke Keegan.”
“She didn’t say why,” Wynn said, opening his hands. “And as you may know, I’m a curious person.”
“Of course,” the woman said, smiling, and there was a lot of flirt in that smile. “I understand you have the computer of the woman who disappeared.”
“Yes.”
“May I take a look-see?”
Look-see. Cute. He hadn’t heard that word in a while. It reminded him of his grandmother. “You want to tell me why?”
“This may sound strange, but we’ve got an egregious and assailable situation involving an eidetic individual who is indubitable in her report of an arcane robbery in south Las Vegas. Now, I’m not convinced. At one point, she abjured her written statement, which then caused us to have to retract our avouchment. And you know how embarrassing that can be.” Wynn nodded a little. “So as you can see, the situation is precipitating, but if our theory holds together, you and I are going to have one stupefying story for the media.”