Sleight of Hand

CHAPTER Nineteen

When Santoro returned from the crime scene he found a copy of the Lee County Journal on his desk with the headline circled in red. The story had been written by Art Suchak, the Journal reporter who covered crime. Santoro read it carefully before carrying the newspaper to Robb’s desk.

“Read this,” he said as he handed the paper to his partner.

The headline asked: DID MISSING PROSECUTOR AND BILLIONAIRE HAVE KILLER PRENUP? The story revolved around a rumor that Carrie and Horace Blair had entered into a prenuptial agreement. According to the rumor, the agreement terminated during the week in which the prosecutor had disappeared, and the terms would have forced Horace Blair to pay his wife $20 million—$2 million per year—if she stayed faithful to him during the first ten years of their marriage.

Robb looked up from the paper. “That is definitely a motive for murder.”

“You think her husband killed her?” Santoro asked. “We don’t even know if she’s dead.”

“Blair’s reaction when I told him I was looking into his wife’s disappearance was odd.”

“How so?”

“At first, he didn’t seem to care. He said he didn’t even know if she was in the house or the last time she’d been home. Later, he acted concerned. It was like it suddenly dawned on him that it would look bad if he wasn’t.”

Santoro didn’t say anything for a moment. Then he pulled out his phone.

“Suchak,” the reporter answered when Santoro was put through.

“Hey, Art. It’s Frank Santoro.”

“To what do I owe this call?”

“Your excellent story in the morning paper. It was really brilliant. For years, I’ve been telling everyone that it’s a shame you haven’t won a Pulitzer.”

Suchak laughed. “If you want something from me, Frank, feed me doughnuts, not bullshit.”

“I was hoping you’d tell me how you learned about the Blair prenup.”

“Alleged prenup. I don’t know if they have one. If you’d learned to read, you’d know that its existence is only a rumor.”

“Can you tell me how you heard about the rumor?” Frank asked.

“Quid pro quo, Frank. You show me yours and I’ll show you mine.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Is Carrie Blair alive or dead and is Horace Blair a suspect?” the reporter asked.

“The missus is missing. That’s all we know. I’m not speculating on the state of her health or why she’s missing. As of now, we don’t have a crime. If we don’t have a crime, we don’t have suspects.”

“Should I write that, as usual, Lee County detective Frank Santoro hasn’t a clue as to what’s going on?”

“Only if you want me to arrest you.”

“Seriously, Frank, can you give me anything?”

“Not at this time, but I’ll promise you a heads-up if we do get a break. That is, if you tell me why you think the Blairs have a secret prenup.”

“Some guy phoned in the tip. And, no, he didn’t give me a name. Also, he was trying to disguise his voice. So I called a source at Rankin, Lusk, the law firm that handles Blair’s affairs. My source says that there was scuttlebutt when Blair married Carrie that she’d been forced to agree to a prenup.”

Santoro asked Suchak a few more questions. Then he looked at Robb, who had been listening in. Robb shook her head.

“Thanks, Art. I appreciate the help,” Santoro said.

“Just don’t forget me when you get your break.”

“You’ll be the first to know when we’ve got something solid.”

Santoro frowned as soon as he ended the call.

“Should we question Blair about the prenup?” Robb asked.

“Not yet. Let’s wait until we have something more substantial than a rumor.”