Ghost Gifts by Spinella Laura

Author:Spinella, Laura [Spinella, Laura]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2016-03-01T07:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Aubrey wasn’t sure if Levi’s reaction was about shutting her down or an innate ability to compartmentalize. After a silent ride back to the newsroom, he disappeared into his office with Gwen. Aubrey openly eavesdropped. Their discussion focused on Gwen’s Violet Byrd feature. Apparently, the woman had been willing to talk about her son, though Gwen was concerned about the toll any feature would take on his elderly mother. In turn, Levi was steady and pragmatic, helping Gwen fine-tune the angle she’d chosen for the piece. Listening, you’d never guess that Levi’s last conversation was about an offer to broker a visit with his dead brother. Aubrey walked toward her cubicle, running into Malcolm along the way. “There you are, Aubrey. I got a call from my source at the DA’s office. Delacort’s conviction has been overturned. They’re not saying when exactly, but he’ll likely be a free man by dinnertime.”

“Seriously? Levi said he thought it would go that way, but I really didn’t think . . . Have they issued an arrest warrant for Dustin Byrd?”

“There’s hubbub, but no official word,” he said with a spark Aubrey liked to see. “Legal says a judge wouldn’t cut Delacort loose without compelling evidence against Byrd. You know, I’ve been acquainted with Byrd for twenty years. Something about him always rubbed me the wrong way.”

“So you never believed Delacort was guilty?”

“I wouldn’t go that far. But, twenty years removed, and I’d say my reaction to Delacort’s conviction was like the rest of Surrey—glad a killer was off our streets. Glad it wasn’t one of us.”

Aubrey looked long down the corridor. “Does Levi know about Delacort’s exoneration?”

“No, I was on my way to tell him. Unless, of course, you want to. It is your story.”

“Uh, that’s okay. I’ll let you deliver the news.”

“Because?” Malcolm said.

“We had a bit of a blow up earlier. I don’t think Levi is interested in sharing breathing space with me at the moment.”

“I had the impression you were getting along better than expected.”

“We are . . . we were,” she said, fidgeting. Details would be difficult to convey.

“Is there something I should know? If he’s being overbearing or difficult . . . I won’t have Levi bully you. I don’t care if he is Carl Toppan’s . . . make that Carl Bernstein’s personal protégé.”

“It’s not that,” she said. “Things got off track. Levi and I, we ended up in a . . . situation I never anticipated.”

“Then I will speak with him—”

“No, don’t, Malcolm.” Aubrey lightly touched his arm. “It was my fault,” she said, realizing it was. “I . . . Things were said that were way outside Levi’s comfort zone. I have no complaints about the way he’s doing his job.”

“That much is good to hear, if not a tad unexpected.”

“Believe me. A lot of things about Levi are unexpected.”

It was hard to detect a furrow in the wrinkles of Malcolm’s brow, but that’s what she saw. “Would, uh . . . I don’t mean to pry, but would this conversation .

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