The Man in the Wall by Gerry Donohue

Author:Gerry Donohue [Donohue, Gerry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-03-04T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 27

“Tell me about Chester Taylor,” Kinsale said.

Lewis began right away as if she’d rehearsed several times. “He arrived in D.C. about six years ago. From Atlanta. I’ve heard that he was a land developer down there. He did well but then ran into some financial difficulties and ended up going bankrupt. He came up here for a new start. He was a Realtor and in no time he was the go-to guy for the Smart Set. Soon enough he was part of the Smart Set.”

“What was he like?”

“He was a born salesman. He was big and garrulous with a shock of long white hair and a Southern accent right out of Gone with the Wind. He had a way of talking to you that made you feel you were the most interesting person in the room, even if he wouldn’t let you get a word in edgewise.”

“Was there a woman in his life?”

She shook her head. “He played the field like he was an NBA all-star. I’m not telling you anything out of school when I say that a lot of women have had breakfast in his condo.”

Kinsale took a sip of his coffee. “Married women?”

“Some. Maybe most.”

“Can you name any of them?”

“I know what you’re thinking, but that’s a dead-end.”

Kinsale thought so too, but he asked, “Why is that?”

“The women who slept with Taylor are the same ones who sleep with other available men in their circle.”

“Maybe their husbands don’t see it the same way.”

“They’re doing the same thing.”

“That sounds like a stereotype of the debauchery of the ruling class.”

“They’re like any demographic group.” Lewis leaned back in her chair. “A certain percentage are cheaters, although that percentage might be higher in this group because they’re accustomed to indulging their whims.”

“By that same logic, there will also be a percentage who don’t like being cheated on.”

Lewis dismissed the idea with a quick wave of her hand. “Taylor wouldn’t have taken the chance of sleeping with the wrong woman. He ran with these people because they were his customers. It was all about the money for him.”

Kinsale eyed her. “It sounds like you knew him better than you first let on.”

“Not him specifically, but his type,” she said. “I’ve been watching these people for five years. I can walk into a party and pick out all the different types within five minutes.

Kinsale would still take odds that she’d had breakfast in Taylor’s condo, but he let it go because he didn’t want to know and he didn’t need to know. At least not right now. “When was the last time you spoke to him?”

She thought back. “Three or four weeks ago, at a fundraiser for the Human Rights Organization.”

“Did you ever meet his partner Henry Napier?”

She shook her head.

“He didn’t come to any of these events?”

“He may have.” She finished the last of her coffee.

“Napier was the guy I was talking to back at the house.”

“With Cindy Terrian.”

“You know her?”

Lewis nodded. “She and her husband have worked their way onto the A-list.

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