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“Have you convinced Barbara Colbert that she was hallucinating last night?” Cal demanded.
Peter Black knew the situation was desperate and that it would do no good to lie to Cal. “I had to give her another sedative. She’s not going to be easily convinced.”
For a long minute Calvin Whitehall did not respond. Then he said quietly, “I trust you realize what you’ve brought on all of us.”
Black did not answer.
“As if Mrs. Colbert is not a big enough problem, I just heard from West Redding. Having endlessly reviewed the tape, the doctor is demanding that his project be disclosed to the media.”
“Doesn’t he know what that will mean?” Black asked, dumbfounded.
“He doesn’t care. He’s nuts. I insisted he wait until Monday, so we can agree on a proper presentation. I will have taken care of him by then. In the meantime, I suggest you make Mrs. Colbert your responsibility.”
Cal hung up the phone with a bang, leaving no doubt in Peter Black’s mind that he expected to be obeyed.
68
Lucy Bonaventure took an early morning plane from Buffalo to New York ’s La Guardia Airport and by ten o’clock was entering A
Lucy knew that the police had searched the apartment after A
She had arranged for the manager of the condo units to handle the sale of the apartment. All Lucy had to do was to clear it out. She would like to get that done in one day, but realistically she knew it would be at least an overnight job. It was painful for her even to be there, to see A
All the clothing, as well as the furniture, would be picked up by charities. At least, Lucy reasoned, some needy people would be helped. It was small comfort, but it was something.
Fran Simmons, the reporter, was due to arrive at 11:30. While she waited for her, Lucy began clearing out A
She wept over the photographs she found in a bottom drawer, showing A
Fran rang the doorbell promptly at 11:30, and Lucy Bonaventure invited her in. For a moment the two women took each other’s measure. Fran saw a buxom woman in her mid-forties, with swollen eyes, even features, and skin that seemed blotched from weeping.
Lucy saw a slender woman in her early thirties with collar-length, light brown hair and blue-gray eyes. As she explained to her daughter the next day, “It wasn’t that she was all dressed up-she had on a dark brown pants suit with a brown and yellow and white scarf at her neck, and simple gold earrings-but she looked so New York. She had a nice way about her, and when she told me how sorry she was about A
Fran knew it would be wise to get straight to the point. “Mrs. Bonaventure, I began to investigate Dr. Lasch’s murder because Molly Lasch, whom I knew from school, asked me to do a show on the case for the True Crime program I work with. She wants to uncover the truth about these murders as much as you do. She has spent five and a half years in prison for a crime she doesn’t remember and, I have come to believe, she did not commit. There are far too many unanswered questions about Dr. Lasch’s death. No one ever really investigated it at the time, and I’m trying to do it now.”
“Yes, well, her lawyer tried to make it look as if A
“Her lawyer did what any good lawyer would do. He pointed out that A
“If that trial hadn’t been stopped, he was going to cross-examine A
“Yes, he is. And a good one. Mrs. Bonaventure, Molly did not kill Dr. Lasch. She did not kill A
“Why did Molly Lasch track down A
“Molly had believed she had a happy marriage. Obviously she did not, or A
“Yes, she was,” Lucy Bonaventure said sadly. “She was punishing herself when she gave it up.”
But what I need to know is why she gave it up, Fran thought. “Mrs. Bonaventure, you said that something had happened in the hospital-something that was terribly upsetting to A
Lucy Bonaventure sat silently for a moment, obviously struggling with her desire to protect A
“I know it was not long before Dr.Lasch was murdered,” she said, speaking slowly, “and it was over a weekend. Something went wrong with a young woman patient. Dr. Lasch and his partner, Dr. Black, were involved. A
Lucy held up the coffeepot and gave Fran a questioning look. Fran shook her head, and Lucy poured more coffee into her own cup. She replaced the pot on the burner and sat staring into her coffee cup a few moments before speaking again. Fran knew she was trying to choose her words carefully.