She didn't realize she was crying until a hot tear splashed on her bare knee. Jim hadn't even made it to forty-two. He died with a million dreams and plans. Someday she would die too. And what did she have to show for her life? A bubble of pain expanded in her chest, making it hard to breathe. She wished she could crawl back to her apartment, take another Somulex, and pull the covers up over her head.
Aaron was the last to speak. "Jim Fate was a patriot, a man who stood up to special interests, a man who wasn't afraid to speak truth to power." His voice grew strangled as he struggled not to cry. "Someone has tried to silence your voice, Jim, but you live on in our hearts. Rest in peace, gentle warrior."
Chapter 31
Keller Auditorium
As the funeral ended, Allison rested her hand on her belly, wishing she was far enough along that she could feel the baby kicking. Dr. Dubruski had told her that it would be at least another month before that would happen. She wanted the reminder that life went on, that there were miracles to balance atrocities.
"Before we meet with Glover tomorrow, I think we should press Victoria harder," Nicole said in a low voice when Allison met her in the lobby. "Move from informational to confrontational."
"Now?" Victoria's emotion had seemed honest. Then again, Allison's emotions were right up against the surface. She needed to be more dispassionate.
"Now's the best time. This service brought Jim back to life for everyone who attended--including her. They're holding a smaller gathering for Jim at KNWS. Let's talk to her there."
A half hour later, the three of them were sequestered in a small conference room. "Look, we know this is a bad day for you, Victoria," Allison said.
Her eyes were swollen. "You can say that again. I just buried my friend."
"Your friend?" Nicole said, putting a sarcastic spin on it. "Why do you keep lying to us?"
Victoria's head flew back as if she had been slapped. "What are you talking about?"
Allison let some of her tiredness show. "Look, you don't have to pretend with us. This is just us, talking. And who's more likely to snap--someone who sees Jim every day, someone who has to put up with all the things he does, or a listener who can simply turn the dial any time he gets fed up?"
Victoria scrubbed her face with the palms of her hands, smearing her mascara. "No, no, I can't believe what you're saying."
Nicole said, "Let's look at the facts, Victoria. Jim may have liked to stretch them, but everyone tell us you're a stickler for the truth." She held up one finger. "Fact number one: you are the one who gave Jim the package that killed him." When Victoria started to object, Nicole said sternly, "Let me finish?' She held up two fingers. "Fact number two: you two argued all the time." Three fingers. "Fact number three: we've heard from several people that for the last couple of weeks you weren't even speaking to each other when you were off air."
Victoria opened her mouth again, but Allison spoke first, not looking directly at her. She kept her voice flat, as if she were simply stating facts that they had already agreed upon. "Jim was condescending. He hogged the mike and talked over you when you managed to get a word in edgewise. And when you did talk back, he simply cut your mike so you couldn't talk at all. He never wanted you to be part of the show. What happened could even have been some kind of temporary insanity, brought about by his constant badgering."
"No. What are you saying? No." Victoria shook her head, her eyes wide.
"You sent him anonymous threats," Nicole said. "You were trying to get him to quit so you could take over the show. But when that didn't work, you decided you needed to get him off the air permanently. So you rigged up a way to kill him, put it directly into his hands, and then made sure you left the room before he pulled the string."
"That's crazy. That package was in my box. If I hadn't looked at the label, I might have opened it myself."
"Look, if you tell us what really happened, we'll make it easy on you," Allison said soothingly. "Everyone will understand why you snapped. Jim wouldn't stop harassing you. The evidence of how he treated you is all on tape. Any reasonable person would understand."
"Are you on any kind of painkiller?" Nicole asked. "Got a relative who is?"
"Stop it right now! Stop it! You two are crazy. I did not kill Jim." Victoria put her hands flat on the table. "It is true that Jim and I didn't always see eye to eye. But I didn't kill him."
"What did you disagree about?" Allison asked, watching Victoria closely. She had seen killers cry at their victims' funerals. But in truth, they only felt sorry for themselves.
"When I started here, I believed in the ethics of broadcast journalism. And Jim just laughed at me. Editorial, ads--it's all blurred together now. There's no difference. Jim was always shilling for the people who gave him Botox shots. It was embarrassing. And how about the contests he was constantly running? Do you really think they always give the concert tickets to the ninth caller? Or does Chris pick the one who sounds the most excited, or the one who fits the demographic that the station wants?"