Page 70 of Sharp Force
“I’m assuming it’s correct that one of the victims is Zain Willard.” Roxane gets to the real reason she’s calling. “Calvin Willard’s nephew, a lovely young man I met not so long ago at the lighting of the National Christmas Tree.”
“I won’t be releasing the names of the victims yet,” I tell her. “Not until their identities have been confirmed, the next of kin notified.”
“The news is everywhere, Kay. The next of kin must already know.”
“That would be a shame. No one should find out that way.”
“Listen, let’s not pretend.” The governor is getting testier. “I happen to know for a fact that Zain Willard is in the hospital with serious injuries. Already there are conspiracy theories questioning his innocence. We need to stop the vicious rumors, and that’s what Calvin Willard wants. The whole thing is unfortunately messy.”
“Murder always is, Roxane,” I reply.
“The less messy we can make this, the better.” The way she says it is meant to be intimidating. “Which brings me to another caseall over the news. Rowdy O’Leary, such a heartbreak for his family. I assume he drowned after drinking too much while fishing at night?”
“He’s pending right now. There are a lot of questions.”
“Well, my sincere hope is you’ll finalize his case ASAP so his poor distraught family can have some peace of mind.”
It’s not a hope. Roxane is giving me a directive, and I think of Maggie appearing at my office as I was leaving yesterday. I have no doubt that she passed on everything I said to Laverne, who then relayed it to the governor.
“I don’t have enough information—” I’m saying, when Roxane interrupts again.
“Certainly sounds like an accidental drowning.”
“That’s not what I’m thinking.” I tell her that much.
“A suicide, and his wife and two little boys won’t get insurance money, my guess is.” The governor continues leaning on me.
“The investigation is far from over,” I reply.
“It’s been a while since we had lunch at the mansion and a proper conversation, Kay,” Roxane says in a hard tone. “We need to get something on the books right away.”
She ends the call without saying goodbye.
“I’m probably about to get fired,” I tell Benton as another passenger jet passes low overhead.
“It can happen whenever she decides. You knew that when she asked you to return to Virginia,” he answers simply, bluntly. “When the governor appoints someone, she can unappoint them in the blink of an eye. We’ve always known that’s the danger.”
“This isn’t like her, and what it tells me is she’s getting a lot of pressure behind the scenes,” I reply as a text from Laverne lands on my phone.
I’m expected at the governor’s mansion tomorrow at noon. The day after Christmas, and I sigh in frustration.
“Exactly what I was afraid of, as if I have time for this,” I tell Benton.
“Someone’s holding Roxane’s feet to the fire,” he says. “And it’s probably coming from Calvin Willard. Sometimes when people are angry and overly aggressive it’s because they’re scared.”
“Scared about what exactly? His chances in the next election?”
“He can’t be happy about what’s happened. He’s got to be worried about how his enemies will use it against him the same way they did with Biden and his son Hunter,” Benton says. “So far, Calvin Willard has been doing extremely well in the polls. But that can turn on a dime.”
“Do you think he persuaded Roxane to sic the trooper on us? Would she be that heavy-handed? Or maybe ham-fisted would be a better way to describe it.”
“It depends on what’s at stake for her,” Benton says.
“I don’t think it’s hard to guess based on the chatter out there. Roxane is hoping to be picked as Calvin Willard’s running mate.” I paint the picture. “I suspect there’s not much she wouldn’t do if it meant being vice president of the United States.”
“But why is she pushing you about Rowdy O’Leary?” Benton muses.
“Appearances as usual. Roxane wants to look hard on crime but compassionate toward victims. Beyond that, I don’t know,” I reply, and the Pitié Bridge is just ahead.
