Ghost of a Chance

“You give the credit to Captain Rooney and his men.”

“Rooney’s a clown,” Tasker said, displaying insight beyond his years.

“Those are my terms,” Alex said. “Take ‘em or leave ‘em.”

“All right,” Tasker said with a sigh. “It won’t be as much fun, but I do like scooping the Times. Now spill it.”

“First, why did the Times fire you?” Alex asked, remembering the reporter’s history.

Tasker looked genuinely surprised.

“They didn’t like a story I had,” he said.

“And they fired you?”

“I wouldn’t let it go,” he admitted. “Still won’t.”

“What story is worth that?”

“A personal one,” Tasker said, attempting to change the subject.

“No, you don’t get off that easy,” Alex said. “What’s so important that you give up a job at the Times to go to work for a rag like The Midnight Sun?”

Tasker looked like he was going to object again, but changed his mind.

“You’re involved in the ghost killer case, right?” he asked.

“I’ve been asked to consult about a few things,” Alex said, choosing his words carefully.

“Well you’ve got that case all wrong,” Tasker said. “Everybody, you, the cops, the papers.”

“And I suppose you know who’s doing the killing and how?” Alex didn’t bother to hide the sarcasm in his voice.

“No,” Tasker admitted. “But I know who’s behind it, the reason that the ghost is killing. The ghost is after Nancy Banes.”

Alex almost laughed, but the look on Tasker’s face silenced him. He still needed the young reporter’s cooperation on the museum heist story.

“So you’re the one who has it out for the Mayor’s wife,” he said. “What’d she do to you, have a cop give you a parking ticket?”

The look Tasker gave Alex told him that the young reporter had something bigger and much more personal against Nancy Banes. Without a word, Tasker reached into his jacket and came out with a folded piece of paper.

“This is a letter from Nancy Sinclair, now Nancy Banes, to a man named Duane King,” he said, unfolding the papers so Alex could see official looking letterhead. “I have two more, but this is the one where she tells Mr. King that his land isn’t worth the price of the taxes owed on it. She lied to him so that she could steal his land. That’s why the ghost is killing people who used to work in the Suffolk County Assessor’s office at the time she did.”

“Where did you get that letter?” Alex asked. According to Leslie, Randall Walker hadn’t found any correspondence in his records.

“My mother sent it to me a few days after Duane King died in a fire,” Tasker said. “That’s when I got the job with the Times and moved up here.”

Alex felt gooseflesh rise on his arms as everything clicked into place.

“Tasker is your mother’s name,” he said. “Isn’t it?”

“So?”

“So you’re Duane King’s grandson,” Alex said. “King’s son got a girl pregnant and skipped town. That girl was your mother.”

Tasker raised his eyebrows at that, but nodded after a moment.

“It’s not as bad as all that,” he said. “My dad came back for a few years when I was a kid before he took off for good. That’s when I decided to go by Tasker.”

Alex could fill in the rest of the story without any trouble. Billy’s dad gave the letter to his mom as proof that they were heirs to some great fortune that had been stolen from them. and then he went off to reclaim it and never came back. Tasker’s mom had probably told Billy that fairy tale while he was growing up, how his dad would someday come back, how they’d all be happy and rich. Now little Billy was trying to get some justice for his mother.

“You’re wrong,” Alex said. “About the Mayor’s wife, I mean. She didn’t have anything to do with cheating Duane King out of his land.”

“Her signature is on this letter,” Tasker said, waving it in Alex’s face.

“Of course it is,” Alex said, trying to keep his voice soft and friendly. Contempt at this point wouldn’t serve anyone. “Nancy Sinclair was Seth Kowalski’s secretary. He was the assessor, and the man behind defrauding Duane King. All Nancy did was handle his correspondence.”

“How do you know that?” Tasker asked. “You’d have to get access to the records from the assessor’s office and the old bastard who runs that place doesn’t let anyone see those.”

“Unless you’ve got great legs,” Alex said with a grin. He then explained about Kowalski and the others in North Shore Development and how they had stolen King’s land and used it to build their fortunes.

As Alex talked, Tasker’s face went from disbelieving to shocked and finally to confusion.

“Then who’s the ghost?” he asked.

“I have no idea,” Alex lied. “But if I find out, I’ll let you know.” Alex held up his bandaged hand. “Now, if you don’t mind, I need to go to the hospital; do you have a car?”

Tasker nodded.

“You can tell me that exclusive story on the way,” he said.

Alex turned to Leroy who was saying, “I love you” to his wife over and over on the phone.

“Time to go,” he said. “Leslie will bring her to meet you over at the hospital.”

* * *