“Damn,” shemuttered.
“What?”
“I spotted Larry at a coffee shop getting cozy with ablonde.”
“So?”
“For starters, his wife is a brunette. I was hoping it was Lizzard, but this isn’t the woman I saw withLarry.”
Agitation swept over Crockett’s face. He grabbed his laptop, banged something out, and swung the computer around. “Is that who you saw himwith?”
Alexandra stared at the photo of the short-haired platinum blonde. Her big curls flowed up and back, the elegant styleunforgettable.
“That’s definitely the hair, but the woman had her back to me. I didn’t see her face. Who isthat?”
“RuthLizzard.”
27
The Hospital Visit
The following morning,Alexandrakissed her man goodbye before he left for work, checked in with her mom, and called her former boss in LA. While he was disappointed things didn’t work out with the affiliate station, he wasn’t surprised. She checked Incognito’s website and her heart dropped. No change. The club was stillclosed.
She left the condo and drove to Wilde Innovations. While she had her money on Larry Berry, she needed to play this coy. She entered the suite, set her phone on Do Not Disturb, and asked the receptionist to contact Ellen. The ever-efficient assistant whisked her into Natalie Floyd’s office for her first fake follow-up interview. When finished, Natalie dropped her off at Decker’soffice.
“C’mon in,” hesaid.
She closed the door and sat across from him. “Is Ruth Lizzard’s blackmail relevant to what’s happeninghere?”
“It could be. I don’t mind telling you. I’m bisexual. She saw me at a bar with a man and threatened to out me if I didn’t convince Crockett to give her the Veepspot.”
“So, she’s super manipulative. Was she always likethat?”
“No, about a year ago she underwent this major transformation. Clothing, hair. Her face, too.” He shrugged. “She was on vacation for two weeks and returned to work a different person. She changed her long, dark hair to short blonde curls. Her clothing went from unremarkable to upscale. She dropped some weight, too. I don’t usually pay attention to those things, but in this case, it was extreme. I remember her telling me she would do whatever necessary to land that VPspot.”
“Do you think it’s possible Larry’s behind the recent productfailures?”
“Our software’s complexity would make that a challenge. I’m not sure Larry’s got what it takes to override the code and then conceal his work. Ruth, however, could pull itoff.”
“Thank you, you’ve been superhelpful.”
“Crockett said your hunches are spot-on. I hope you’re right. We can’t afford any more failures. Let me know if you need anythingelse.”
She rose. “And for the record, anything you tellme—”
“You have Crockett’s back. I trust younow.”
“Thank you for saying that, Decker. Can you take me to Larry’s office,please?”
“You’re welcome to go wherever you need. You don’t need anescort.”
“Which direction isit?”
He pointed. “Three doorsdown.”
She opened his door. “Thanks for yourtime.”
“You’re the first journalist I actually trust. Don’t prove mewrong.”
