He hugged her, feeling better. “I know.”
Amy stepped away. “Welcome home, big brother.” She glanced over. “But if your cats scratch that couch, you’re dead.”
Forty-five
Daniel shook his head as Nadine pulled out the letter. “Just no,” he said. “Stop.”
“What?”
“I don’t need to read that,” he said. “You were collaborating with a reporter from theSpear? Do you know what would happen if it came out we were involved in that travesty of journalism?”
“They lied and ran the story before it was ready. I have more evidence.”
Daniel laughed. “Come on, Nadine. That didn’t happen. The goal was to embarrass a powerful and influential man, and it backfired because of shoddy work.”
“TheSpear—”
“You know how many people called us with additional information after theSpearstory? None.”
“They might be scared. I’d be scared if it was Wilson threatening my character and the White Group was on his side.”
“Nadine.” He flipped through her stack of clippings and books. “You say this started with a Dot Volinebook? Look at what you have.People’s initials in a fiction book. Another unfinished book that is also, may I remind you, fiction. A letter that mentions men named Wilson and White and, for the record, is not addressed to and doesn’t mention Dot Voline. It could have been to anyone. You have a bunch of people who admitted to wrongdoing with no direct links to Wilson. Projects that were passed but had some unfortunate side effects for local communities. A bitter woman trying to blackmail a senator but who won’t go on the record. None of this adds up to John Wilson’s misconduct.”
“He’s being doing it for years,” she said. “He knows how to hide his tracks. You’re being deliberately obstructive.”
“What did you say?” His voice was icy.
“I have enough to warrant further investigation,” she said stubbornly. “I also have a plan for how that can happen.”
“No.”
“Daniel—”
He kept going. “After what you did to Dot Voline with that shameful obituary, I would suggest it’s better for you to stay clear of anything that would call your judgment into doubt. Again.”
“What if I limit it to the Dot Voline part of the story?” she persisted. “What he did to her?”
Daniel looked unimpressed. “That was what, forty, fifty years ago?”
“He still didn’t answer for it.”
“TheHeralddoes not do follow-ups on stories theSpearhas already butchered, and even if I thought this deserved attention, I would be concerned your ability to see it through.”
“I can do it.” She did her best to summon her old ice queen persona, but her voice trembled and tears came into her eyes.
“This is a professional office, Nadine.” Daniel’s mouth turned down. “Please control yourself.”
How could she answer that? She made it to the washroom, but her rage had overtaken her frustration by the time she slammed open thedoor. Thank God it was empty. She didn’t hesitate to text Lisanne, who was there within a minute.
“Who do we need to kill?” she asked when she walked in and saw Nadine’s face.
“Daniel.”
“That prick.”
Nadine laughed despite her tears. “You like him.”
“I like what he can do for my career, but I also know the kind of person he is. What happened?”
