Page 43 of The Hardest Hit
“Tsk,” said Aiden. “Come to the good side. We like universal health care and we bury our hypocrisy under layers of political correctness.”
Marnie snorted. “Do you really have a contact at the Guardian?”
“I do. And I have even taken the liberty of setting up an appointment for you with Sam tomorrow at three.”
Marnie hesitated a moment longer. “It’s not us,” said Marnie. “No one here gives a shit about any of the Deveraux except Eleanor and even then I can’t sell copy on her as long as she insists on protecting veterans.”
“I know,” said Aiden sympathetically. “It’s a terrible habit of hers. But if it’s not you, who is it?”
“Last year, the paper was bought about by an outfit called Interferon. Their goal is to put together a network to combat the mainstream fake news. But since we’re already in line with their agenda, they pretty much leave us alone. I meet with an owner’s rep every couple of months and that’s about it. Then a few weeks ago I got a call from the owner’s rep. She sounds freaked. She says she just talked to the CEO and he’s requested a personal favor for a friend. She’s going to send me contact information. I’m going to do what the person asks or I’m going to be fired.”
“Who was the friend and what did he want?” asked Jackson.
“I don’t know,” said Marnie. “Not really. It was an email address for a John Patches. It’s bullshit. It doesn’t go anywhere. But the requester asked for information on all of you and specifically Evan and Aiden Deveraux. He said not to worry too much about Dominique and Jackson, but he wanted to know about you and Evan and what you were doing. So I sent Harding. He’s good at that sort of shit. I thought it was probably for some sort of hit piece on Eleanor. I thought there would be more coke and hookers and less going to work and the gym. At least Evan dates. You don’t even cheat on your girlfriend. You’re boring.”
“Thanks,” said Aiden. “I try.”
“I sent Patches the report and a couple of days ago he emailed back and said to switch focus to Evan. I don’t know why Harding decided to follow up on Dominique except that he was pissed about some sort of run-in he had with her and you.” She pointed at Jackson.
“So of course he decided to go after her?” asked Jackson, annoyed.
“Dumb move,” agreed Aiden. “I think the last guy that tried to intimidate her is still in physical therapy.”
“No, they canceled that program in his prison,” said Jackson. “I’m pretty sure he’s just stuck with a limp now.”
“Oh good,” said Aiden. “I’d hate to think that he didn’t learn his lesson.”
Marnie watched the two of them with an unsettled expression. “You can’t just go around beating up people.”
“We didn’t. The man broke into her house and tried to kill us,” said Aiden. “But if you come after us, there are consequences. Now tell me all about this Patches person. There wasn’t any clue about who he is?”
Marnie hesitated, then sighed. “I thought it sounded bullshit and I thought the entire mess sounded guaranteed to expose us to liability, so I did a little digging. The email address isn’t connected to anyone. No social media, no websites. That means it’s a bogus account. Probably created just for communicating with us. I had one of our tech reporters do his thing.” She dug into her desk drawer and pulled out a manila file. “You can’t have the digital files, but you can have my paper back up. With the request coming from Interferon, I figure it was someone who knows the CEO. That limits the suspect list right there. It could be political, but since we’re not focusing on Eleanor, that makes me think it’s personal. I put together a shortlist based on who’s been linked with your names and is a prominent shareholder.”
Jackson took the folder and flipped it open. There were five names. He recognized all of them, but only one stood out. He held out the paper to Aiden.
“Granger,” hissed Aiden.
“Yeah,” said Marnie, “that’s where my money is at. I think Granger invested in Interferon, but currently, the stock is down, so there’s no point in selling, and even if he did, the Feds would just seize it. I think the court cases against him are not going well. I think he’s desperate and I think he called in a favor. Not that I can prove any of that. And more to the point, I have no intention of even trying to prove it.”
Jackson took the folder. “Thanks,” he said, tucking it under one arm.
“Excellent,” said Aiden standing up. “Here is Sam’s business card. The appointment is tomorrow at that address at three. Don’t be late. Bring your clip book, but be prepared to talk about how you hate this place and how you never want to work someplace like it again. Also, probably play up how you want to live up to reporting’s moral standards or something.”
“Thanks,” she said, picking up the card with a skeptical expression.
Jackson and Aiden were out on the street before Aiden spoke again.
“He’s focusing on Evan?” he asked, folding himself into the Aston Martin. Jackson jammed himself into the passenger seat and slid it as far back as it would go.
“Well, the stock pretty much did just blow up. And if Granger has even the thought that we’re responsible then he would have to guess that Evan pulled the trigger.”
“I don’t like this, Jackson,” said Aiden, starting the car. “We’ve barely got Evan back in the land of the fully functional. We can’t have Granger going after him.”
“You think we shouldn’t tell Evan about it?” asked Jackson, and Aiden made a grumpy noise.
“I’m not sure. He’s been really… He’s been happy lately, right?”
“Yeah,” agreed Jackson. “The last couple of weeks he’s been happy to see everyone. He and Nika were getting along great. He even loaned her that stupid suitcase for her conference.”
