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.But George wasn’t so sure.If it had just been the message on the tarp, he might have agreed.But murdering two people who once sat on Ryan’s board cast this situation into a darkness that made him uncomfortable.When he finished his jog, he called his daughter.Leana picked up on the third ring.“This is Leana.”“How are you this morning?”“Have you seen the papers?”“Yes.”“Television?”“Yes.”“The Internet?”“Not yet.”“It’s all the same and I’d be lying to you if I said I wasn’t overwhelmed.”“You have every reason to be.I assume you know that Holt and Stout were once on Ryan’s board?”“I do know that.I also know that in the bathroom where Holt had her face shot off, a note was found that had their names on it as well as eight others.According to Fondaras, it’s unlikely that the other eight are connected to Ryan.A movie star was on the list.So was an author.They say it might have been left there on purpose to throw off the police, because it was a random list of people.”“Louis Ryan was a random kind of guy.”“He’s also been dead for three years.”“In theory.”“What does that mean?”“Probably nothing.Don’t worry about it.The police will look into those eight remaining names, they’ll interview the other people today and if there are connections, they’ll make them.Are you going to be able to find out? Because if you can’t, I can.”“I can find out.”“Let me know when you do.” He checked his watch.“Look,” he said.“What are you doing at noon today? I know you’re busy, but I was hoping to see you last night and would like to see you today.I really need to discuss something with you soon, because what I have to tell you is only fair to you.We can have lunch.Something light.”“What’s only fair about it?”“It’s best that we talk in person.Does noon work?”“I can do that.”“I’ll send a car for you so you can bypass the media and just step into the backseat.”“I’d appreciate that.”“See you at noon.”* * *Just before noon, Leana stepped out of her building, smiled and waved at the media awaiting her exit, and ignored their questions and the many photographs they took of her as she slipped into her father’s waiting car.She thought she’d be alone.She was surprised to find that she wasn’t.Another person was in the car, sitting opposite her.It was Pepper Redman and she was dressed in a way that Leana wasn’t dressed.It was, after all, a Sunday, and she wanted to look casual when she left her building because she knew the press would be there and she wanted to be herself.Pepper was wearing a white Chanel suit that complemented her shoulder-length red hair and sported a glowing face that looked as if it held the secrets to the world.“Penelope,” Leana said.“I wasn’t expecting you.”“Your father didn’t tell you?”“He didn’t say a word about you.”“That’s odd, especially considering how closely we’ve been working together over the past several months.Still, it’s good to see you again, Leana.It’s been a long time.”“I hardly recognized you.”“I re-imagined myself.”“You what?”“I saw myself the way I always wanted to see myself, and I made it happen.”“Naturally?”“Of course, naturally.You think I went under the knife at my age?”“In this town, people go under the knife when they turn nine.”“Not me.”“Good for you.You look great.”“I lost weight, I worked out, I graduated with honors from Wharton, and I’m ready for my next step.I also changed my name to the one my friends gave me at Wharton.I go by Pepper now.Pepper Redman.Isn’t that fab?”“It’s certainly spicy.When Dad told me, I thought he said Pippa.”“Pippa?”“As in Pippa Middleton.”“You thought I was Pippa Middleton?”“We had a bad connection.But Pepper works, if that’s what you want to call yourself.It does complement your hair.”“I haven’t heard that before.I’m sorry about Celina.”“We all are, Pepper.Thank you.I didn’t see you at the funeral.”She waved her hand.“Crazy schedule.I’m also sorry about your mother.The family was shocked when we heard the news.I had no idea that she was capable of such a thing.” She stopped.“I’m sorry.I don’t have a filter.Wharton beats it out of you.They want harsh, harsh, harsh.Kill, kill, kill.Crush, crush, crush.Destroy, destroy, destroy.It’s hard for me to turn it off [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]