Briefly Edie began to recount everything Ali had told her. Halfway through, though, the story came to an abrupt stop.
"My word!" Edie exclaimed. "I completely lost track of time. The first customers just pulled up, Ali. We have to go now. I'll call again later, but you take care of yourself. Don't let those turkeys push you around."
Once Ali put down the phone, she dozed for a little while, but by seven when she was wide awake, she called room service and ordered breakfast and newspapers. She managed to jump in and out of the shower before her breakfast tray showed up.
Sipping coffee, she went through the newspapers, where the homicideyes, a Riverside Sheriff's Department spokesman actually used the H-wordof prominent television news executive Paul Grayson was front-page news. So, unfortunately, was Ali's picture, which turned out to be every bit as bad as Ali had predicted it would be. The caption stated: "Former L.A.-area newscaster Alison Reynolds, accompanied by noted defense attorney Victor Angeleri, leaves the Riverside County Sheriff's Substation in Indio after identifying the body of her slain husband, Paul Grayson."
Trying not to look at the tabloid-worthy photo, Ali turned her attention to the accompanying article. Despite the use of a banner headline and the expenditure of lots of front-page column inches, there was surprisingly little content, and hardly anything Ali hadn't already gleaned on her own.
Today was supposed to be Paul Grayson's wedding day. Instead, the prospective groom is now a murder victim, having fallen victim to a bizarre kidnapping/murder scheme in which he was left bound and gagged in the trunk of a stolen vehicle that was abandoned on a railroad track near Palm Springs. The stolen vehicle was subsequently struck by a speeding freight train, killing Grayson on impact. An autopsy has been scheduled for later today.
A joint homicide investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department and the Riverside County Sheriff's Department is attempting to establish the exact chain of events from the time Grayson abruptly departed a posh bachelor party being held in his honor to the time an eastbound Burlington Northern freight train slammed into the vehicle in which he had been imprisoned.
Ali scanned the next several paragraphs, which mostly contained information she had already learned. She slowed and read more carefully when she reached the part that discussed the ill-fated bachelor party at the Pink Swan.
"We were all at the Pink Swan having a good time," said bachelor party host and former NBC executive Jake Maxwell. "I remember someone saying there was a call for Paul. I believe he went outside to take it, and he never came back. I finally went outside looking for him and noticed his Porsche was missing from the parking lot. I just assumed he'd decided he'd had enough and gone home."
Early yesterday afternoon, Mr. Grayson's Porsche Carrera was found stripped and abandoned in an apartment parking lot in Banning. The Camry destroyed by the speeding train had been reported stolen earlier in the day from a vacant-lot private-vehicle sales location in Ventura. The Riverside Sheriff's Department is asking that anyone with information on either vehicle contact them immediately.
Mr. Grayson was in the process of divorcing his wife, former local television news personality Alison Reynolds. He was due at a hearing to finalize their divorce at 10 A.M. yesterday morning. It was his failure to appear in court that prompted his fiancee, April Gaddis, to contact LAPD's Missing Persons Unit, which immediately began conducting an investigation.
The story continued on page two, but Ali didn't bother following it. There was nothing new here. She tried two other papers with similar resultsmuch the same story with no additional information and with equally bad photos of Alison Reynolds. Disgusted, Ali gave up, poured another cup of coffee, and turned on her computer. Once it booted up, she logged on and went to check out her new mail. Scanning the subject lines, she saw that three of them were addressed to Fred, the guy who had objected to the fact that Ali was divorcing her husband.
Dear Fred,
You are an ignorant asshole. I hope you die.
So much for reasoned discussion. That one was unsigned, and Ali simply deleted it.
Dear Fred,
You sound just like my first husband, and you know what? It's been years now and he still hasn't figured out how come I took the kids and left him. I tried to tell him his actions were pulling us apart, but he didn't want to hear itso he didn't hear it. It was a struggle, but money isn't everything. I know the kids and Itwo daughters and a sonare all better off.
CONNIE IN MI
Dear Fred,
Let no man put asunder? God must have heard what Fang did to Babe, and She smacked him a good one. Maybe She'll smack you, too. Sounds like you deserve it.
CASEY THE OLD BAT
Casey was someone who wrote in often. Usually Ali posted her comments, but this time they were a little too close to the "hope you die" one. Ali deleted Casey instead. As she was about to move on, a click announced a new e-mail, this one also addressed to Fred. But what caught Ali's attention was the sender's address, sugarloafmama.
Dear Fred,
I agree with you. Marriage vows are sacred, but they need to be kept by both parties involved. It reminds me of that old song, about Frankie and Johnny. "He was her man but he done her wrong." All I can say is, good riddance!
SUGARLOAFMAMA
Laughing, Ali posted Edie's comment. Anyone who lived in or around Sedona would know exactly who Sugarloafmama was. And the fact that Edie Larson held some reasonably strong opinions on any given subject, especially her former son-in-law, wouldn't be news, either.
Google sent me here. I thought this was a health care site. If I wanted advice to the lovelorn, I'd go to Dear Abby. You guys should get a life.
That one was unsigned and it went away. After that Ali read a whole series of comments that were essentially notes of condolence to her. One in particular stood out.
Dear Babe,
I understood exactly what you meant when you said you didn't know what to feel and that you couldn't cry. My divorce had been final for only two weeks when my husband committed suicide. He always said he would but I didn't believe him. I needed him out of my life. He was into meth and gambling both, and watching him destroy himself was killing me. But I didn't mean for him to die. For a long time I thought his death was my fault. It took three years of therapy for me to come to terms with what happened.
So please accept my condolences. I'm sure you loved Fang once. According to my therapist, I had to grieve not only for the man who was gone but also for the man who never wasand for the dream I once had about how our life together would be. Grieving for the dream is as hard as grieving for the person. Don't be afraid to seek help if you think you need it. But it's hard work. Harder than anything I've ever done.
I've been a cutloose fan for a long time. Through the months I know you've focused a lot of your anger on Twink even more so than on Fang. I understand that, as far as you're concerned, Twink is "the other woman," but I also suspect that she's much younger than you are and not nearly as smart. She isn't going to have the emotional resources you have to deal with this tragedy. Try to remember that her dreams are in ashes today, too, right along with yours.
Since your divorce from Fang wasn't final when his death occurred, I expect that you and Twink will find your lives intertwined in unexpected ways. I hope you can find it in your heart to be kind to her and to her innocent baby as well.