The Trophy Wife by Diana Diamond

Author:Diana Diamond
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780312974725
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Saturday

ANDREW HOGAN WOKE UP with a start at the sound of his telephone. He looked around, trying to orient himself, and realized that he was at home, in his den, still wearing his shirt and tie. He had dozed off in his recliner chair while staring at some witless late-night movie.

Andrew hadn’t intended to sleep. The Emily Childs kidnapping was coming to a crisis. It was time for that final call offering one last chance to pay a ransom. Nobody walks away from $100 million just because the ransom payment was originally botched, he had assured Walter Childs. And the thug who had been dealing with Walter probably thought his $50,000 was nearly as much as $100 million. He would be even more apt to offer Walter “one more chance” to save his wife. Something should be happening and happening soon.

He keyed the remote to shut off the television and pushed himself out of the chair in the direction of the den telephone. He wasn’t at all surprised when he heard Helen Restivo’s voice. “It’s me! I didn’t wake you, did I?”

“Do you care if you woke me?”

“Not particularly.”

“Then you probably have something important to tell me.” Andrew carried the cordless phone with him into the kitchen. He could smell the fresh-brewed coffee that had been turned on by the timer. He thought he might implode if he didn’t get to it quickly.

“Nothing much, except that we may have found our motive,” Helen teased.

“Was I right? Emily knew she was about to get dumped?”

“As much as it pains me to say it, yes, you were right.”

Andrew chuckled. “And she hired herself a lawyer?”

“Not that I can tell. But she did hire herself a detective. And he delivered a large number of telephotos.”

“No shit?” Hogan couldn’t hide his interest. “The usual of the sinful couple acting out the illustrations in a sex manual.”

“Nothing that titillating. I guess Walter and Angela are too discreet to be seen together near the bedroom. But the private investigator did get establishing photos of Walter going in and out of Angela’s building and then shots of Angela arriving and departing. There’s a strong suggestion that Walter was paying frequent visits to his young protégée.”

Andrew nearly scalded himself gulping down a mouthful of jet black Colombian. “Proves nothing. They might have been consulting on interest rates.”

“The PI also showed Mrs. Childs close-ups of Angela on the street, jogging along the FDR, and a few shot through the window of her health club. Believe me, they aren’t discussing interest rates. One look at Miss Hilliard was all the proof that Mrs. Childs needed.”

Andrew sipped thoughtfully. “You saw the photos? The guy made extra sets?”

“Yes, I saw the photos. The one in the health club makes her look very healthy. But no, it wasn’t an extra set. These were the original prints that he showed to Emily Childs.”

“And she didn’t take them home with her?”

“Curious, isn’t it?” Helen responded, answering a question with a question. “The guy said she just set them back down on his desk, took out her checkbook, and paid in full.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.