“Roger, what is it?”
“I have more news. I think I know how Wargo got wind of you going to the cops.”
I hold my breath.
“Remember when I told you I needed to offer Marion an explanation for your visit this past week, and I gave her a totally watered-down version—that you were simply being interviewed for the cold case investigation? Well, when I spoke to her this morning, she admitted that she mentioned it to her brother Adam when he stopped by—she’s a world-class gossip, as I’ve come to learn.”
I stare at him across the table, horrified. “Adam was in school with Wargo, right? You think he’s the one who told him?”
“Not necessarily. She thinks he probably told some other people he knows from school, and it worked its way back to Wargo. He apparently doesn’t live all that far from here, just over the river in Pennsylvania. I have no idea if he still has any contact with Audrey.”
“But even if he’d heard I was being reinterviewed, why would he feel the need to kill me?”
Roger looks away. “I think Marion told her brother more than she’s letting on right now. My guess is that she’d been eavesdropping on my calls to you—and the ones I made to the chief. And she probably told Adam that you had new information that could come out at a trial.”
I shake my head, furious. “I can’t fucking believe this.”
“Also, Adam is probably aware of your address from Marion, and he might have shared that with someone as well.”
“So that’s how Wargo knew where to find me in the city.”
“I’m so ashamed, Button. I want to strangle her.”
So do I, I think.
“I can’t believe she had the nerve to admit it to you.”
“I’m sure it was purely strategic on her part. Better to lay her cards on the table now and manage the fallout, rather than having me learn about it later from a third party.”
“Of course.” Trying to protect her assets as best she can.
“Something else to consider,” Roger says, grimacing. “You and I spoke about Mulroney last week on the phone, and like I said, I think Marion’s been eavesdropping.”
“Okay, but if Marion blabbed about that, too, and it got back to Wargo, it still doesn’t give him a reason to kill Mulroney. I hired the guy solely to deal with my disappearance.”
“What if Wargo didn’t realize Mulroney’s true purpose? What if he thought you’d hired a PI to investigate Jaycee’s death?”
I nod dully. Maybe he’s right.
“I should call the police here and in White Plains, then,” I say. “Let them know the possible connection.”
“Absolutely.”
I have even less appetite than a few minutes before, but because of the effort Roger’s mustered, I manage to finish my french toast and coffee. We use the time to strategize how to inform my father about the attack before the news makes its way to him and decide that Roger will call him as soon as it’s a decent hour in California, and I’ll follow up later.
When I return to the guest bedroom after breakfast, my phone’s ringing from the top of the dresser. Hugh, probably. I need to loop him in, of course, no matter what our status is.
But to my surprise, it’s Derek, my contact at the company sponsoring the podcast. Odd. He’s never once called me on a weekend.
“Sorry to bother you on a Sunday,” he announces. “Got a minute?”
“Of course. Is everything all right?”
“I was told you were dealing with an emergency—which, by the way, I’m sorry to hear—and that you might not be able to host the podcast this week.”
I groan inwardly. This has Sasha written all over it.
“May I ask who told you that?”
“I don’t recall exactly; I had a phone message from my assistant. But I’m thinking that rather than simply posting an old podcast, it would be great to give Sasha a crack at hosting the show. And that way we can introduce our new tagline rather than having to hold off another week.”
My blood is boiling.
“There must be a bit of confusion, Derek,” I say. “There was a slim chance I wasn’t going to make it, but I’ve sorted it all out. I have every intention of being there on Tuesday. Should I call Bob and reassure him?”
Bob’s one of the top dogs at the company, and the one I made the sponsorship deal with. The time has come to finally invoke his name.
“No, not necessary,” Derek says, his upbeat tone fading. “Sorry if I misunderstood, and sorry, as well, for interrupting your Sunday. Have a good day.”
“You, too.”
Call ended and phone in hand, I collapse on the bed and study the ceiling, looking for answers that can’t be found in endless feet of perfect dentil molding.
I need to go back to New York, I realize. For starters, I can’t be in this house when Marion returns, especially after what she’s done. And if Roger’s theory is right—that Wargo killed Kurt Mulroney—I don’t have any reason to be afraid in the city.
Plus, I need to host the podcast. Derek’s aware that he’s crossed a line, but I know he could find a way to outsmart me, paint a false picture of me to Bob as someone who’s suddenly lost interest or is unwilling to be a team player.
And it’s essential for me to talk to Hugh. Not only about the attack but also about us. Dr. Erling’s right. I’m not going to find any answers sitting out here, trolling through LinkedIn.
I prop myself on one elbow and call him. When he answers on the second ring, we exchange awkward pleasantries and then I recount last night’s events to him, the emotion drained from my voice.
“Ally, this is horrible. Do you want me to drive out and pick you up?”
“No, I’ll take a car back. In the next hour. But . . . but I’m only coming if you’ll be honest with me.”
“Honest?”
“I think you have something to tell me, Hugh.”
I hold my breath, praying he’ll say, Ally, what do you mean? There’s nothing I haven’t been truthful about.
But he doesn’t.
“Yes,” he says. “I’ll be honest with you.”
30
While I wait for the car to take me back to the city, I sit in the kitchen with Roger, both of us quiet, lost in our thoughts. Once it finally arrives, Roger and I briefly cling to each other in the driveway.
“Thank you again, Rog. For everything.”
“Just promise me you’ll stay strong, Button.”
I can’t help but ache for him. Given what he’s discovered about his wife, his marriage troubles have now intensified.
Minutes later I’m off, on my way to learn what’s really going on in my own marriage. I want the truth from Hugh, and yet I’m scared it might break my heart. What if he’s really sleeping with Ashley Budd?
I’m scared for another reason, too. If Roger’s wrong and Wargo isn’t the one who pushed me and killed Kurt, I might still be in danger. But there are no other easy places outside the city for me to hole up in.
The Uber driver’s GPS thankfully takes us around Millerstown rather than through it. A couple of times I notice his eyes in the rearview mirror, and I assume he’s wondering what collided with my face, but he doesn’t ask. That’s not Uber-driver style.