“I don’t know, Dad,” she said, shaking her head. “Are you saying he didn’t assault that woman?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. And what Chase is saying.”
“And you believe him?”
“I most certainly do.”
She shook her head again. Dad was always a sucker for a sob story. Whereas she was a hard-nosed reporter, he believed anything. As she saw it, it was Chase’s word against the woman he’d allegedly molested, so who was she to believe? This far-fetched tale about him catching the commissioner and the mayor’s wife in the act? Or the official story as it had appeared in an NYPD statement and accurately had been reported in the news? Tough choice. But judging from what she’d seen of Chase Kingsley so far, she was inclined to go with the molestation story. The guy was simply bad news.
“So what I want you to do is write a nice little piece, extolling Chase’s virtues, so to speak, and spread the rumor that his dismissal was a mistake.”
“What mistake? Why would the NYPD fire a cop for no reason?”
“I, um…” Her dad quickly glanced around, then said in hushed tones, “Let’s just say he saw certain things he wasn’t supposed to see.”
“What things?” she insisted. She wanted this on the record, so she could use it in a story if she had to.
He stared at her for a moment. “I keep forgetting what a tough reporter you are, honey. Is this the way you conduct all your interviews?”
“Of course. I’m a professional, Dad.”
“Right. Um…” He scratched his scalp, obviously torn.
“I’ll tell you what I heard,” she said, feeling sorry for him. “I heard Chase caught the commissioner and the mayor’s wife making whoopee in his office. So to make sure nobody would believe him if he talked, they bribed this suspect’s wife to fabricate a story about him that got him fired. Am I close?”
He stared at her. “My God, honey. You are good. Who told you?”
She shrugged. “I’ve got my sources. The big question is: do you believe him?”
“Of course I do.”
“What if he’s lying? What if the story is true and he really assaulted that woman? And this whole story about the mayor’s wife is something he made up to protect his reputation and make sure he can work as a cop again?”
Tex shook his white-haired head. “People don’t fool me that easily, honey. I’ve been treating patients for three decades. Trust me, by now I know if they’re lying or not. It’s called intuition, and after so many years I’ve got it in spades.” He stared at her. “You seem adamant to believe the worst about Chase, though. How come?”
“We met this morning in Uncle Alec’s office and he took an instant dislike to me and I to him.”
“You got off on the wrong foot, that’s all. Once you get to know him, you’ll see he’s a great guy. And, I’m sure, a very talented police officer.”
“I just wish he would let me in on the murder investigation.”
“What murder investigation is that?”
“Haven’t you heard? Paulo Frey was murdered. They found his body yesterday out at the Writer’s Lodge.”
“The writer that disappeared?”
She nodded. “Dan asked me to write the story.”
“And Chase doesn’t want you interfering with the investigation.”
“Nope. He feels reporters have no place in a murder investigation.”
“Well, I can certainly understand his aversion to reporters,” said Tex.
“You mean because of that hatchet piece that appeared in the Post?”
Her father nodded sagely, and gave her a grim smile. “He probably feels that that article sealed the deal on his career. Made him persona non grata.”
Her dad had a point. Chase would have an ax to grind with reporters. Unless the assault charges were true. In that case he simply didn’t want reporters snooping around and discovering other dark secrets from his past.
“I don’t know, Dad,” she said, shaking her head.
“You won’t spread the story that Chase was framed?”
“I don’t see how I can. Not unless I know for sure.”
He sighed. “Fair enough. Always check your sources, huh?”
“Exactly. Imagine I spread the story that Chase is innocent, and it turns out he’s been playing us for a fool. That would ruin my reputation.”
“Like I said, honey,” said her father, straightening. He fixed her with a kindly look. “After all these years, nobody takes me for a fool. Trust me. But if you feel you can’t do this in good conscience, then simply don’t.”
“You know what? I’ll do a little digging. See if I can’t find someone to corroborate Chase’s story. If the commissioner and the mayor’s wife are having an affair, I’m sure Chase isn’t the only one who knows about it.”
He gave her a warm smile. “You do that, and I trust that you will uncover the truth, like you always do. In the meantime… I hope this business between you and Chase won’t cause any awkwardness over dinner tonight?”
“I’ll behave,” she promised him. “Though I can’t vouch for Chase. The guy seems to hate me.”
“He doesn’t hate you, honey,” her father assured her. “He’s simply bitter and lashing out, that’s all. Once you break bread together all will be fine.”
Somehow Odelia doubted that.
Chapter 12
Odelia’s next stop was the expansive villa of famous movie star Gabby Cleret. And as she drove there in her old Ford pickup, the one she’d bought with her first salary, she couldn’t help musing on her recent talk with her dad. If it was really true that Chase had been wrongfully accused of a crime it wasn’t enough to spread the rumor around town. He needed to be officially exonerated. Get a chance to get his job back and get an apology from the commissioner. If—and it was a big if, she had to admit—he was right, and she found proof of this so-called affair, she wasn’t going to limit herself to simply spreading a few rumors. She was going to expose the commissioner.
The longer she thought about it, the more she became convinced that perhaps there was truth to the story. She had the highest respect for both her father and Uncle Alec, and knew both of them to be excellent judges of character. If they both trusted Chase, maybe he was telling the truth after all. Which meant he’d been the victim of a terrible crime, and justice had to be done. She’d always abhorred injustice, and now started to see her story taking a completely different direction. Instead of exposing Chase, perhaps she needed to expose the ones who’d got him kicked off the force?
She arrived at the oceanfront property of Gabby Cleret, just outside of Hampton Cove, located on one of those pieces of prime real estate that had long ago been snapped up by the more wealthy residents of the Hamptons.
Like Chase, Gabby had moved to Hampton Cove in a bid to escape the fallout of a scandal that had cost her her career. The details were a little fuzzy, but she seemed to remember she’d starred in a remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark, only with a female lead this time to take over Harrison Ford’s iconic role. It hadn’t gone down well with fanboys the world over, who’d viciously attacked both her and the picture, and had managed to destroy them both.
Apparently so-called fans hadn’t taken too kindly to their favorite movie being recast with a woman this time, and had been quite vocal about it, bombarding the movie and its star with all manner of vile abuse, with Gabby bearing the brunt of the attack. The actress had taken it badly, especially after the movie had tanked spectacularly, and had lost the studio millions of dollars, causing her career to stall. She hadn’t made another movie since, hiding from the storm out here in the Hamptons, and licking her wounds.
Odelia had met Gabby once, and had even interviewed her for the Hampton Cove Gazette. They’d gotten along great, and Odelia hoped she’d remember her and would be willing to talk about the Paulo Frey business.