Griffin kept shooting concerned looks at her. He hadn’t asked permission to come with her. He’d simply followed her to the garage, where Randall had parked the Bentley to wait for her. In truth, she wanted someone with her as a witness. Jason had never spotted his parents’ venom, but surely an impartial journalist would see it.
“How long did you say it’s been since you’ve seen your in-laws?” he asked when the silence between them had dragged on a long time.
“I checked my calendar this afternoon. It’s been almost five years. It was at a lawyer’s office, signing away every penny of Jason’s estate.”
“How could they do that?”
“I told you, they couldn’t stand me. Julia called me an emotional cripple.”
“Why, in God’s name?”
“Because…I have severe night blindness. She was sure I made it up because I wanted Jason at my beck and call, driving me here and there in the evenings.”
“Did he allow his parents to abuse you?”
“Jason didn’t know the extent of it. They kept things light in front of him.”
“Why do they hate you so much?” Griffin sounded bewildered. “I understand they thought you shouldn’t inherit from his estate. That’s not an uncommon attitude with wealthy families. They like to keep the money in the hands of blood relatives. But you didn’t fight them for the money, right?”
“No. I didn’t fight for anything, though I probably should have. I wasn’t capable at that time. I’ve never asked for money. There was more involved.”
“What, exactly?”
Raleigh took a deep breath. “Off-the-record, okay?”
“Can’t do it, Raleigh.”
“But you won’t print this unless the Shinns turn out to be the bad guys, right?”
He nodded his agreement. “That’s a fair compromise.”
Griffin waited, and Raleigh made the decision to tell him the whole truth. Maybe he would have some insight she lacked. “They blame me for Jason’s death.”
“What? He died in a car accident, right?”
“Yes. But I was driving. At night. I should never have gotten behind the wheel after dark.”
“Why didn’t Jason drive?”
“He did drive, on the way to the event. We were attending a charity art auction that benefited a crime victim’s fund, and it was important to me. He hated those black-tie events and would never have gone, except that I couldn’t drive myself. He spent the whole evening at the bar.”
“He drank too much?”
“Yes. I mean, he wasn’t falling down drunk, but he’d had a few. I figured between the two of us, I was less impaired. Stupid, stupid. Should have just called a cab, but he didn’t want me to. I knew the way, I thought I could handle it. But I must have taken a wrong turn. That road where we wrecked—it wasn’t on the route.”
“You don’t remember?”
She shook her head. “I don’t remember anything beyond getting into the car. The next thing I recall, I’m in a police car.” Unfortunately, that scene she remembered with crystal clarity—sitting in the back of a squad car with a blanket draped over her shoulders. She’d been wet, shivering, barefoot, her stockings torn, Jason’s blood all over her dress.
“That’s awful. I’m sorry.”
“John and Julia blamed me from the beginning, of course. How could they not? It was a bad judgment call on my part,” she said in a small voice.
“Maybe. But that’s no excuse to treat you like dirt,” Griffin said fiercely. “It was an accident.”
“We wouldn’t have been on the road at all if I hadn’t wanted to go to the stupid auction,” she said wearily. “It was cold and wet, and we should have anticipated the roads might be bad. I should have stopped Jason from drinking—we should have gotten on the road sooner. According to them, my sins were many.”
“Good God, you aren’t buying into that crap, are you? Your husband is the one who chose to get drunk when he knew he was supposed to drive you home.”
“Of course I don’t buy into it,” she said hotly. “I’m just explaining how my in-laws think of it. After Jason’s death I became ‘that woman,’ and they couldn’t get rid of me fast enough. They shut me out from all sorts of decisions, including the details of his funeral, and I was so shell-shocked I just went along with whatever they said. Then they gave me thirty days to vacate the apartment we’d lived in—the lease was in the name of Jason’s trust. So I packed my things and moved out.”
“That’s criminal,” Griffin said fiercely. “You were a grieving young widow, you’d just lost everything, and they kicked you to the curb?”
“It all seemed perfectly reasonable at the time.”
“Well, it’s not reasonable. Why do you give them the time of day? I’d have hung up on the woman when she called today.”
“Julia must be devastated. I can’t turn my back on that. Anyway, they’re Jason’s parents. Whatever their faults, he loved them. I will treat them with respect to honor him.”
Raleigh could tell she hadn’t justified her actions in Griffin’s eyes. His lips were firmed into an angry line.
“Okay, so maybe I agreed to see them tonight because I’m a little curious. Part of me keeps hoping they’ll have had a change of heart, that they’ll realize how harsh they were, and reconsider.”
Raleigh didn’t really believe that would happen. But hope sprang eternal.
“It’ll be a quick visit,” she said, hoping to nudge Griffin out of his disapproving mood. “I’ll find out what John wants, wish him a speedy recovery, and get the hell out of there.”
A muscle jumped in Griffin’s jaw.
“They can’t take anything else from me,” she said in a low voice. “If they could expunge Jason’s memories from my brain, they’d probably do that. But they can’t.”
“Judging from what they’ve already done…I wouldn’t underestimate them.”
No one mentioned her warmth or her humor or her kindness or compassion, which suggested to Griffin that she lacked those attributes.
As Randall pulled their car into the hospital parking lot, Griffin spotted a Channel 6 news van, and his internal antenna flickered to life.
“Wonder what that’s about?” Raleigh asked, sounding not that interested.
Randall got out first and opened Raleigh’s door while Griffin let himself out and marched ahead, curious about the TV van but not wanting to show it.
He reached the edge of the small group of curious onlookers. A male reporter had a microphone stuck in the face of an attractive older woman.
Attractive
meaning well put together—perfect clothes, salon-fresh hair, long, polished nails. But she looked too “well preserved” in Griffin’s book, a hard woman with a too-thin, rigid body, stiff hair and a fake, toothy smile.
The reporter, Griffin realized with a start, was Paul Stratton. And the woman…oh, hell, Griffin recognized her from pictures he’d seen.
Randall and Raleigh caught up with him. “Are you coming with us or—” Raleigh cut herself off. “Oh, my God. That’s
her.
”
“I know.”
“His condition is stable,” Julia Shinn was saying to the TV camera, with just the right catch in her voice. “I have every belief he’ll come through the surgery with flying colors. John is a fighter. And he’ll fight the charges against him. He’s innocent, and we intend to prove it.”
Griffin gauged Raleigh’s response; she looked as surprised as he was.
“We should get out of this open area.” Randall stood behind them, holding the small flower arrangement Raleigh had insisted she had to buy on the way to the hospital. He was always unfailingly polite with his requests, but the authority in his voice made everyone—even Griffin—want to do exactly as he asked.
“Let’s go,” Raleigh said to Griffin. “Before Julia—”
“Raleigh, there you are!” Julia practically shrieked. She ran over and threw her arms around Raleigh. “I’m so glad you’re here.” She released Raleigh and faced the camera, which had quickly swiveled to follow the action. “This is my daughter-in-law, Raleigh.”
Raleigh, probably accustomed to TV cameras, quickly schooled the shock from her face.
“Raleigh Shinn, from Project Justice,” Paul said for his viewers’ benefit. “Do you have any comment regarding the fraud charges against your father-in-law?”
“No comment. I’m not here in any professional capacity.” She deftly turned and allowed Randall to usher her away from the cameras.
“I’ll catch up in a minute,” Griffin murmured to her as she brushed past him.
“Thanks, Mrs. Shinn, for the interview,” Paul said in his kindest, most compassionate voice.
“I’m happy to talk more once my husband’s health has improved,” Julia said. “We have nothing to hide.” She followed the same path Raleigh and Randall had taken.
That was when Paul glanced over and caught sight of Griffin. He wandered over, wearing a frown, as his crew began packing up their equipment. “I might have known I’d find you here. Looking for crumbs?”
“In all honesty, Paul, I’m not here as a reporter. I’m visiting a sick friend.” His words sounded phony even to Griffin. “What the hell is going on?”
Paul shrugged theatrically. “It’ll be on the ten-o’clock news.”
“C’mon, Paul, just tell me. It’s not my kind of story.”
Paul seemed to consider, then finally dropped his guard. “You’ll hear about it soon enough. John Shinn is facing federal charges—embezzlement, fraud, tax evasion. Got caught bilking his own law partners for millions. Rumor has it he’s some kind of gambling addict.”
Griffin wondered how the Shinns’ sudden financial woes might play into the threats against Raleigh. If the Shinns suddenly found themselves short on funds, it might make sense that they would try some ploy to bleed more out of Raleigh. As if they hadn’t taken enough from her.
But what was their ultimate plan? Would they get the life insurance benefits if Raleigh was in jail? If they had money woes, they wouldn’t deposit twenty grand in Raleigh’s account…unless they were sure of getting it back after it had done its job, making it appear Raleigh had taken a bribe.
He burned every time he thought about anyone trying to hurt her.
Funny, only a few days ago he’d wanted to nail Raleigh Shinn to the wall. Now, he was protecting her, and not strictly for the sake of his story. She’d gotten under his skin, and he’d better be careful or he would lose all objectivity.
“Thanks, Paul.”
“You owe me one.”
“You’re going to recommend me for the Channel 6 anchor job, remember?”
Paul flashed a grin. “That’s right.”
When hell froze over.
Griffin caught up with Raleigh and Randall in the hospital lobby, where Julia was talking animatedly to them.
“I’m holding up as well as could be expected,” she said melodramatically.
Raleigh made quick introductions to Griffin and Randall, describing them as “friends.”
Julia eyed them both with a speculative gleam in her, then nodded. “Pleased to meet you,” she said curtly, then returned her attention to Raleigh. “Well, I’m sure you want to see John.” She hustled them toward the elevator. “Seeing you will cheer him up. You’ve always been such a favorite of his.”
She spoke too loudly for a hospital setting—in case other reporters were lurking around, Griffin was willing to bet.
The elevator doors opened onto the fifth floor, which housed the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. As soon as they all got off, Julia leveled her gaze at the two men. “This is a private family moment,” she said. “I’m sure you understand.”
Randall nodded deferentially. “Of course.”
Though Griffin dearly wanted to listen to the conversation that went on between Raleigh and her father-in-law, the hospital staff probably wouldn’t allow him in, since he wasn’t family. So he didn’t push.
Raleigh gave him a nod. “I shouldn’t be long.”
“Take your time.” He watched as Julia led Raleigh around the nurses’ station toward one of the ICU cubicles, which were all made of glass so the nurses could monitor the patients visually as well as through the various machines they were hooked up to.
As soon as the women were out of earshot, Griffin met Randall’s gaze.
“That was interesting,” Randall said.
Griffin could see all three Shinns through the glass. It appeared Julia was doing most of the talking. Raleigh’s back was to Griffin, but her body language said it all. She was angry.
Griffin felt himself bristling like a porcupine. Every cell in his body urged him to barge into the cubicle and rescue her.
But common sense prevailed. First, the nurses would stop him from getting anywhere near their patient. Second, Raleigh was not a woman who typically needed rescuing. She might be angry, but she could take care of herself. She was no longer that scared young widow, paralyzed with grief.
Stick it to ’em, Raleigh.
He hoped she wouldn’t take any crap from them just because they were in a bad situation at the moment.