She nodded and sent Ann-Marie what she hoped was a reassuring smile. “Thank you for meeting us.”
Ann-Marie sat at the table and fiddled with the cutlery. “My sister can’t be part of this, but I can.” She looked at the people sitting at the next table. “The woman you wrote about is not who she seems. She’s manipulative, deceitful, and only worried about herself.”
Ashley’s hand trembled as she pulled her new cell phone out of her bag. “Are you happy for me to record this interview?”
“As long as you agree not to identify me in any stories.”
“I could say that you’re a source close to Stephanie Welsh.”
Surprisingly, Ann-Marie shook her head. “You can call me a source close to Congressman Welsh. He deserves every bit of bad publicity he can get.”
“You sound bitter.”
Ann-Marie leaned forward. “He sucked every piece of vitality away from my sister. He undermines her confidence and blames her for everything that has happened. What kind of person does that to someone they say they love?”
Ann-Marie stopped talking when a waiter headed toward them. She took the menu he handed her and started looking at the different options.
While Ann-Marie was choosing what she’d order, Ashley ran through the list of questions she wanted to ask. So far, their lunch date had enough quotes to keep her writing for weeks. But there were always two sides to every story.
It would be interesting to see how Jasmine Alfredo’s story compared to Ann-Marie’s.
After the waiter left, Ann-Marie sighed. “Now, what do you want to ask me?”
Ashley looked at Bonnie. She knew exactly where she wanted to start—at the beginning.
***
That night, Matthew knocked on Ashley’s hotel room door. He had one hour to find out what everyone had been doing before he needed to leave.
The door opened and Bonnie smiled at him. “Come in. We’re still waiting for Harry, but he shouldn’t be too long.”
“Where is he?”
“Working. The owner of a gallery wanted him to photograph the opening night of an exhibition.”
“Hi, Matthew.” Ashley closed her laptop. “How was your visit to the youth center?”
“Have you been there?”
“No, but Bonnie has.”
“You need to go. Even half-finished they’re doing a lot of great things.”
Ashley frowned. “That’s what Bonnie said. But I don’t know how it will help my stories about Jasmine and Congressman Welsh.”
“It won’t, not directly. But it will give you a better appreciation of what The Reaching High Foundation has achieved. I’ll take you there tomorrow. We can meet some of the kids and see their programs in action.”
“I won’t have time. Ann-Marie told us about Jasmine. Congressman Welsh has been having an affair with her for more than a year. Jasmine knew he was defrauding the Foundation, but it wasn’t only the youth center that has suffered. They’ve taken money from other projects Jasmine was involved with. I’ve got a ton of writing to do and my editor wants the stories on his desk by Friday.”
Matthew wasn’t giving up. “The youth center is doing a lot of good things. It would make a great story.”
Ashley sighed. “I’ll try and get there, but I can’t guarantee anything.” She looked at the papers spread across her desk. “Did Hazel give you the name of the person who knew about Congressman Welsh’s affair?”
“No, but she did tell me where her friend works. It won’t be too difficult to track her down.”
A knock on the door sent Bonnie across the room.
“Hi, Harry,” Bonnie said. “How was opening night?”
