Hard News

When I get out Lee calls me and flies me into town to talk to him. The rest is history…"

Maisel didn't look good. He was pale and sweating. Beneath his salt-and-pepper beard, you could see his lips pressed together. She wondered what bothered him the most: That he'd nearly been caught violating journalistic ethics or that he'd had several people killed to cover it up.

Rune said, "What about Randy?"

"Boggs?" Jack snorted. "That loser? We set him up. He didn't know anything about the hit. He couldn't kill anybody if he was about to get whacked himself. He lost his job in Maine and called me looking for work on a fishing boat in Florida. I had him meet me in New York. I made up some shit about a credit card deal. Lee and I were going to make it look like he hit Hopper then I'd waste him and leave the gun. There would've been a few loose ends but basically there's a perp and there's a vie so the cops'd be happy. But the son of a bitch ran right into a cop car. Well, he doesn't know we'd pla

Jack continued. "Everything was going along fine but then I read in the paper about you pla

The wave passed over her like a fever. So Randy was i

Maisel looked at Jack, who was shaking his head no in a humorous, exasperated way. "Can't, Lee. You can't trust her."

Maisel said, "Rune, Rune…"

Her teeth were pressed together, and she felt anger, hot and searing. Oh, what she wanted to say to him… But the words were logjammed in her mind and even if she found the strength and the calm to sort them out she knew he wouldn't comprehend them.

Jack stirred. She understood. This was his show now. He'd seen Lee weakening and knew it was time for the pro to take over, before more mistakes were made.

Maisel said, "Jack, I don't think-"

Jack held up his hand, a patient school teacher. "It's okay, Lee. I'll take care of it."

Rune said, "No, please, I promise I won't say a word." Her eyes were on Maisel's. He opened his mouth to speak, then looked away, and sat down in his chair.

Jack's stood up. Pulled a gun out of his pocket.

"These're soundproofed rooms, right?"

Maisel, looking away from Rune, nodded.

The killer looked around and saw a large roll of dusty seamless – a ten foot wide paper used for backdrops. He dragged Rune toward it and shoved her down. Presumably to absorb the blood.

Then he looked down at the gun and pulled the slide back, aimed it at her head matter-of-factly. He hesitated. "Do you ever see pictures?" he asked. "Pictures in your head?"

Rune, crying, said, "What do you mean?"

Jack shook his head. "Never mind." He started to pull the trigger.

"Don't move!" a man's voice called.

Bradford Simpson walked into the room, pointing a pistol at Jack Nestor. "Drop it!" he screamed.

Jack glanced over his shoulder in disgust and when he saw the hysteria in the young man's eyes, tossed the gun on a nearby table. "Who the fuck're you?"

"Bradford!" Rune said, ru

Brad's attention was wholly on Maisel now; he had no interest in Jack, who watched the young man with some amusement.

"You son of a bitch," the young man cried. "You killed him! It was you!"

Maisel glanced at the pistol, which was feet from his chest. He said nothing.

"What're you doing here?" Rune asked.

"I'm going to kill him." Bradford said.

"Why?"

"Because Lance Hopper was my father."

33

"Father?" Maisel asked, frowning.

"My mother," Bradford said, gazing at the reporter with angry eyes, "was one of the secretaries who worked at a station where my dad was a newsman twenty-two years ago. I was one of Lance Hopper's illegitimate kids the tabloids were so happy to start rumors about. Only in my case it wasn't a rumor. Four years ago my mother told me who my real father was. I came to see him.

"At first he thought I wanted money or something. But then he realized I just wanted to meet him, get to know him. We spent some time together. I liked him. He was a good man at heart. He had his vices and weaknesses-" Bradford laughed. "I guess I was the product of one of those vices. But he was somebody I started to admire. I decided to become a journalist and switched majors. He was going to get me a job here at the Network but I said no, I wanted to do it on my own. I applied for the internship and got accepted and that gave us an excuse to spend time together. We had different last names so no one ever knew who I was. But then he was killed… It just about destroyed me. I assumed the story about what happened was true and let it go at that. But a few weeks ago I was doing mailroom duty, going through all the unsolicited mail, and I found Boggs' s letter. I read it a dozen times. I got to thinking that maybe there was more to my father's death than what came out in court."

"You're the one who put the letter on my desk," Rune said.

Bradford smiled. "You're a crusader, Rune. Nobody else here'd give a damn about finding the real killer. But I had a feeling you would."

"You were using me too!"

"Let's just say I was looking over your shoulder. The more you found, the more I got to thinking that it must've been Piper or Dan Semple who'd killed him. Lee, you crossed my mind too – that Beirut situation always seemed fishy to me." He nodded toward Rune. "When she told me you were going to meet down here – a deserted studio – I figured you might be the one so I hid up there." He glanced at the empty control booth.

"Look, kid," Jack said impatiently. "Why don't you just let us walk out of here. And we'll forget everything. You go your way and we'll go ours."

But Bradford ignored him. He nodded at the control booth and said to Maisel, "I got everything you said on tape, Lee."

Maisel closed his eyes. He slumped in the chair.

Jack sighed and shook his head. "Think you're on your own here, Lee. Nice doing business with you." The killer grabbed Rune by the hair and pulled her to her feet.

"No!" she cried.

Bradford pointed his pistol toward Jack but the fat man paid no attention. He walked to the table where his own gun lay and picked it up.

"Don't!" Bradford said.

"Yeah, right," Jack muttered.

"Shoot him!" Rune shouted to Bradford. "Now!"

But the young man froze. His eyes wide, his mouth open in fear as Jack lifted the gun and fired at him as casually as if he were tossing coins in a wishing well. Rune couldn't tell whether Bradford was hit or not. He fell or dove to the floor. Maisel slid from his chair and rolled to cover under the table.

Tugging Rune after him, Jack said, "Let's go, honey. May need some insurance, in case the kid called the police."

"No! Goddammit!" she raged, trying to pry his hand off her hair. But he simply got a better grip and dragged her more quickly behind him.

"Shut up," he whispered.

Maybe Bradfordhad called the police. Maybe Sam Healy and a hundred other cops were outside right now, their guns pointed at the door. Jack'd see that and give up.

He pulled her in front of him and kicked open the door that led to the parking lot.

Please, she thought, let there be a thousand knights waiting here to slay the dragon…