Normally by the time she asked the most important question, she had already mastered every publicly available fact about the case. But, at the risk of jumping in too soon, she asked it now, because she had to know. “If you didn’t kill Mrs. Wakeling, who did?”
When Ivan immediately looked to Ryan instead of answering the question, she believed her first instincts had been right. When the pause grew longer in silence, she began to stand from her chair. “Okay, I think I can mull things over from here—”
“No, wait,” Ivan exclaimed. “It’s not that I don’t have my theories. Trust me, I do, and facts to back them up. But I’ve got a training session in fifteen minutes with an A-list movie star, and I never expected you to hear the full side of my story. I’m not sure I want to start naming names unless you really think you might use Virginia’s case. I’ve managed to go on with my life, even though I know a lot of people think I’m a murderer. If I stir all of this up again, I want it to be for a good reason.”
She didn’t know what to think of Ivan’s logic. On the one hand, it seemed like an innocent person would drop everything for a chance to clear his name. On the other hand, she could picture Ryan cajoling Ivan into coming up to the studio, in which case Ivan might be having second thoughts about saying too much.
“Fair enough,” she said. “Let’s each take a day to mull it over. We can meet again tomorrow if we both think it’s worthwhile.”
Ivan nodded his agreement. “Thank you so much, Laurie, for your time and for keeping an open mind,” he said. “It means so much to me.” This time, when he shook her hand, the grip was tight enough to burn.
5
Grace and Jerry nearly spilled through her door the second Ryan escorted Ivan out of her office.
“So that’s why Ryan was skulking about all morning?” Jerry asked. “Ivan Gray? My guess is it’s not because he thinks you need boxing training.”
“I’m surprised you recognized him at first sight,” Laurie said. “I don’t think I would have.”
“I was really hooked on the Wakeling case and I read every word about it,” Jerry said.
“Then fill me in,” Laurie told him.
“After she was found, the media began highlighting Ivan’s role in her life—first as her trainer at an elite health club hidden near the Plaza Hotel, then as her surprising boyfriend. He was even her date the night she died. But as time passed, the news coverage faded. Ivan managed to keep his name and face out of the papers.”
“You really did follow this case, Jerry.”
“Think about it, Laurie. Virginia Wakeling is the only person who ever died at a black-tie gala at the Met.”
“Let’s go back to Ivan,” Laurie said. She found herself making a mental note that viewers might be interested in hearing from him about how he had navigated his privacy in the ensuing years.
“The minute I saw Ryan hustling Ivan Gray into your office, I just knew that Ryan would be pitching him as our next case,” Jerry said.
Grace jumped in. “Ryan likes things that just fall right into his lap. And lately, all he talks about is his boxing gym. When I think about it, Ivan Gray might be good for the show. He’s a totally different kind of suspect, and that could be really interesting.”
“Laurie, what’s your take on him?” Jerry asked. “What did you think?”
She shrugged. “It was a short meeting, but my gut says it’s not right for us. It’s a very recent case. I assume the police are still investigating. And maybe I’m being unfair based on the age differences and the amounts of money at stake, but Ivan struck me as dishonest. You know me—I won’t label someone a killer without hard evidence, but I can see why Virginia’s family was suspect about his intentions.”
“So you think he’s a gold digger,” Grace concluded.
“You said it, not me.”
“The setting would be amazing,” Jerry said. “I mean—the Met!”
Recognizing that a longer discussion was about to ensue, Grace announced that she was going back to her desk, but Laurie should call her if she needed anything. Once she was gone, Jerry immediately continued his point.
“Laurie, we couldn’t ask for a more glamorous, iconic setting. The annual costume exhibit is one of the most famous parties in the world. And the night when Virginia was killed, the theme was ‘Fashion of First Ladies,’ featuring the clothing of American first ladies throughout history. I hate to be cynical, but even if we just rehashed what we know from news reports, the film footage alone would be catnip for viewers.”
“Trust me, Jerry, I know. But we can’t even be sure the museum will let us film there—”
“Then let me find out. I can make some calls.”
Laurie rarely cut Jerry off, but she found herself holding up a palm now. She knew that the Met Gala was the museum’s biggest fundraising event of the year. She knew it drew top celebrities and the city’s most generous donors. She knew that people held viewing parties at home to weigh in on the red carpet’s fashion hits and misses. And as a member of the museum’s board of trustees, Virginia would have been front and center on the red carpet. Laurie didn’t need Jerry to tell her all the reasons the case would make for great television.
“Laurie,” Jerry said persuasively, “I’m not telling you how to run your show, but normally you’d at least want to do some research before making a decision. Look, I know we just got off the high of clearing an innocent person with our last episode. But that’s not always going to be the case. Sometimes the ones under suspicion are the ones who actually did it. If Ivan’s guilty, then if anything our show could help prove that.”
“Sure, in theory. But Ryan’s obviously biased. He’s got his little bromance going with his new favorite trainer. Maybe if we still had Alex,” Laurie countered.
“Well, that ship has sailed.”
Laurie felt the immediate sting of those words, but didn’t blame Jerry. He only meant that Alex was gone from the show. He had no way of knowing that he might be gone entirely from her life.
“Ryan has worked out better than we thought,” Jerry said. The ratings for their last episode were just as strong as the most recent show featuring Alex in the role of narrator.
“Granted that’s true,” she conceded, “but Ryan’s not objective. I fought him tooth and nail on the last special because he was so sure he was right—and he wasn’t. I can already see the same thing happening again with Ivan, but this time would be worse. Ryan would be the trusted contact person with the central suspect.”
Jerry nodded, showing that he got her point. It would be one more step toward turning over control of her show to someone else.
“So, okay then. No Virginia Wakeling investigation. We’ll find something else.”
He was about to leave her office when she stopped him. “See if you can find out if filming at the Met is even a possibility.”
He looked surprised by the request, as if he’d thought the subject had been put to rest.
“I’m the one preaching about keeping an open mind, right?” Laurie asked. “Might as well start now.”
6