She had not simply found a story that would stand out from the fall lineup of exposés commemorating the twenty-year anniversary of 9/11, she had found a mystery. She had traveled across the country for another, perhaps more important, reason. She was using the identification of Victoria Ford’s remains as cover to hide the real purpose of her presence in New York, which was to finish the business of the Montgomery family for good. But somehow, without looking for it, Avery found herself in the middle of the Catskill Mountains with an afternoon wine buzz and staring at a big, fat ratings giant of a mystery.
“I’m a big believer in fate,” Emma said. “Everything happens for a reason. I believe fate brought you to my doorstep. Victoria asked me to clear her name. She didn’t want to be remembered as a killer. Over the years, I haven’t had much success in disproving any part of the case against Victoria. The blood, the urine, or any of the other evidence. But I haven’t had much help either. Maybe that’s about to change? With your help . . . I mean together, maybe you and I will have better luck. The same way that Victoria will always be that young and healthy woman in my mind, she will always be innocent to me, as well. So when you asked if finally identifying my sister’s remains brings me closure . . . perhaps a bit. But the only thing that will bring me peace is finally proving that my baby sister never killed anyone. Will you help me?”
Avery’s agent had asked for details about the content Avery planned to bring to the upcoming season of American Events. Dwight Corey had asked for ammunition before he went back to the negotiating table. She had just stumbled into a munitions factory.
“Will you help me?” Emma asked again.
Avery slowly nodded. “I will.”
PART III
Deception
CHAPTER 21
Manhattan, NY Monday, June 28, 2021
“WHERE?” DWIGHT COREY ASKED.
Avery sat at Jacques, the bar at the Lowell Hotel, and used the straw to stir the ice in her Tito’s and soda. It had been three days since her drunken afternoon with Emma Kind, when two bottles of chardonnay had accompanied some startling revelations about Victoria Ford.
“New York,” Avery said.
“What are you doing in New York?
“Chasing a story.”
“Well, your timing is for shit. Mosley Germaine wants to meet to discuss your contract. He’s left a string of messages for me to call him back.”
“Did they come up from seven-fifty?”
“They’re holding firm, but they want to talk incentives and perks.”
“I’m not talking incentives and perks until the base is set. Did you get my e-mail?”
Avery had sent her agent an e-mail detailing the salaries of newsmagazine hosts for the past twenty years, adjusted for inflation and according to ratings. The spreadsheet included the hosts of Dateline, 20/20, 48 Hours, and 60 Minutes coupled with the Nielsen ratings for each. According to the models Avery compiled, pitting her ratings against the competition, $750,000 per year would be grossly underpaying her.
“Avery,” Dwight said with more than a bit of skepticism in his voice. “Are you in New York taking meetings with other networks?”
“Hell no. I’d never take a meeting without my intimidating-as-hell six-foot-six agent, in his impeccable suit and with his flawlessly manicured nails, standing next to me. I’m starting to question your negotiating skills, but you still scare the hell out of most people. I’m in New York chasing a story, that’s all.”
“We need to talk about Germaine’s offer.”
“Not until he’s serious about what he’s offering. Listen, you told me to find you some content for next season. I’ve found it.”
“Okay,” Dwight said. There was a long pause before he spoke again in a dejected tone. “Give me the thirty-second recap of this story that sent you to New York. Go.”
“The remains of a 9/11 victim were recently identified using new DNA technology at the New York medical examiner’s office. I spoke with the ME, Dr. Livia Cutty, and she’s willing to give me an inside look into the new technique, which she feels is a significant breakthrough to IDing the twenty thousand unidentified 9/11 remains that are still stored in the crime lab.”
“Sounds interesting, and the timing works for this fall. But I’m not sure it’s feature-film interesting.”
“I’m just getting started. I tracked down Emma Kind, the sister of the woman who was just identified. I was looking for a personal side to the story. Something that had a chance to stand out this fall when everyone else will be doing stories about the twenty-year anniversary of 9/11. Then I learned that the identified remains belonged to a woman who happened to be facing indictment for murder. When she died, Victoria Ford was about to go on trial for the murder of her married lover—a wealthy novelist named Cameron Young.”
“Wait a minute,” Dwight said. “Why do I know that name?”
“Because in the nineties he wrote a string of best-selling thrillers. From the research I did over the weekend, he was very popular. His books were number one on all the lists and sold all over the world. Millions of copies. His death was a big story at the time. And then, just as this juicy murder investigation was becoming the focus of the nation, it got overshadowed.”
“By September eleventh.”
“Exactly. Most everyone forgot about Cameron Young and the mistress who killed him, and understandably turned their attention to the new and real threat of terrorism coming to our shores.”
“Okay,” Dwight said, in a slow drawl. “So what’s your angle? The remains of the latest 9/11 victim belonged to a convicted killer? Not sure that’s exactly a feel-good story for the twenty-year anniversary.”
“Forget about the feel-good stuff. Forget about commemorating the twenty-year anniversary of 9/11. That’s just the hook. I plan to look into the murder of Cameron Young. This is a true-crime story that will blow away anything I’ve covered before.”