Guilty Minds

“Oh, please. I was telling you why I hate Claflin and his ilk. You know, Nick, there was a time, not so long ago, when this country was in the hands of great men-men who believed in public service. They got us through the Depression and two world wars and the Cold War. Now look who’s running the show. The likes of… Gideon Parnell! A man who used to be a protester! Sit-ins and such!”

Also a black man, I thought, but I just listened.

“So much for the WASP establishment, right?” she went on. “All gone. Our country is being run by people who don’t really believe in America, do you know what I mean? Christ on a raft, they want to spell it with a k. They want to bring it low so we can all wallow in our sins. I’m about saving this republic of ours. Through tough love, if necessary. But when I see people who fundamentally deplore America’s historical role in the world? When I see people who doubt the decency of the American soul? And now they’re wandering around the corridors of power? Well, that’s the wrong kind of mischief, I say. My attitude is, Get out of the goddamn cockpit, you people-you are not flying this plane.”

I just smiled.

“Can we speak frankly, Nick?” She put a hand on my knee and lowered her voice to a confidential whisper. “People assume if you’re rich you automatically have power.” She gazed directly into my eyes and I could see what a minx she must have been in her prime. She was a very sexual woman. “Well, it sure doesn’t feel that way. Getting your voice out there is harder and harder. I’m sure you remember this from what happened to your father, Nick. The way the press just pilloried Victor Heller.”

“I didn’t have a problem with the press coverage,” I said. “The only one responsible for what happened to Victor is Victor.”

She sighed. “You know, there used to be a saying, ‘Never pick a fight with a man who buys ink by the barrel.’ Now pixels are the thing, not ink. You want real power? You gotta control the flow of information. That’s why I bought Slander Sheet. Stick it to all those hypocrites. And I won’t deny I enjoy making a little mischief. But you ask me if I ‘ordered’ the death of this floozy, like I’m some… some mob boss? Why in heaven’s name would I want to do that? To what end-to cast suspicion on myself?”

“Then who did?”

She was silent for a while. “Damned if I know. Someone who detests Jeremiah Claflin as much as I do-but didn’t mind bringing down Slander Sheet in the process. Nick, how did you find out I’m the owner?”

“Norcross didn’t tell you?”

She shook her head.

Norcross must not have wanted to admit that his law firm’s vaunted security had been breached. He’d just warned her I was coming without telling her how I’d found out who she was.

I said, “I do my homework.”

She laughed.

“Why do you keep it a secret?” I asked.

“Oh, it would be socially a bit awkward for me if people knew I owned Slander Sheet. Anyway, secret pleasures are always the best, don’t you think? And I don’t like having my name in the paper. I don’t do interviews, and I don’t want to have my name dredged up every time Slander Sheet runs a scoop. And now what are you telling me-that I’m under suspicion for this call girl’s death? Nick, you strike me as a direct, honest, no-bullshit fellow. Plus, you’re cute. I like the cut of your jib. If you’re really trying to get to the bottom of all this, I’m willing to help you. Okay? In return, I ask that you keep the ownership of Slander Sheet a secret. Do we have a deal?”

I realized we really had the upper hand. She didn’t want her friends to know she owned such a disreputable rag. I looked at Mandy, and she just looked back.

When we didn’t reply, she went on, “I don’t like being in the dark. I don’t like not knowing. And I don’t like having Slander Sheet turned into a joke.” She turned to look at Mandy. “Now, I know Julian fired you because of this debacle. But I’m going to get Julian on the phone right now and tell him to hire you back.”

“Don’t bother,” Mandy said. “Not interested.”

“You don’t want to clear your name?”

A look of irritation crossed Mandy’s face. “Sure I do. But not for Slander Sheet.”

“Then I’ll pay you. Directly. You find out who did this to you, how this happened, I’ll double your severance package.”

Mandy barely hesitated. “Deal.”

Turning back to me, she put her hand on my knee again. She smiled, a seductive smile. “You, too. What do you charge, anyway?”

60

She likes the cut of your jib,” Mandy said later.

I smiled and said nothing. I cut the wheel hard to the right and turned onto Route 15 South.

“I don’t even know what a jib is, do you?”

“It’s a sailing term.”

“She was actually flirting with you! She thought you were cute!”

“Why is that so outlandish?”

“She’s like a hundred and twenty years old!”

“I have to say, she looks awfully good for a woman of seventy-four.”

“So now you’re into her.”

I said nothing.

“I could have been a potted plant in that room. A statue.”