her articles,â he said, âbut the FBI assigned a liaison, who worked with her to get her facts straight.â
âDo you think her murder has to do with one of her books?â
âMore likely, whatever sheâs researching now.â
âYou mean the Cinderella Strangler case.â
âMaybe. She might have been working on more than one. Iâll find out. What specifically did she ask you?â
âShe thought the whole case was âsexyââher word, not mine. Teenage prostitutes being suffocated at underground raves, all connecting back to an online chat room. She wanted to drag the Barnetts through the dirt again, and theyâre just reclaiming their life.â
âBarnett?â
âA wealthy family in New York. They were the subject of the killerâs obsession, and Weber said it made a good story. It wasnât a story; these were peopleâs lives. Four girls died horrible deaths because of that psychopath. I wasnât about to help Weber with any of it.â
âI hear a but.â
âNo buts, I would never have spoken to her.â
Tony looked at her pointedly. âBut?â
âShe asked me too many questions. I feltâshe was digging around, trying to find out why I had been in New York, what my history was. And while much of my file is sealed, thereâs enough thatâs public.â She bit her lip.
âYou were afraid sheâd end up writing about you.â
Lucy took a deep breath and nodded. She had faced her past and survived, but exposing what had happened seven years ago to the public, in the media, would destroy the life sheâd built.
âThere are laws to protect you from that kind of disclosure.â
âI told her to go to Hell and hung up.â
Tony almost smiled, then grew serious. âSuzanne asked if I could come up to New York for a day or two, since Iâm familiar with Weberâs work. While Iâm there, Iâll dig around her files, see what I find. I donât think she had anything on your past, because Suzanne would have told you. But Iâll make sure.â
âI appreciate that.â
Tony opened his bottom drawer, rummaged through some folders, and pulled one out. âRead this. Itâs the McMahon case, the one Weber wrote about in her first book. Itâll give you all the background and information you need. Itâs my personal file, so itâs not complete, but it includes my notes.â
âThose are probably enlightening.â
âI should have been more careful about what I wrote down. Notes can become part of the official record.â
She took the file.
Tony leaned back and looked over her head, contemplative. âI always wondered what happened to the boy, Peter McMahon. Rachelâs brother.â
âYou donât know?â
âThe case was fifteen years ago. Heâs twenty-four now, a grown man. I know he went to live with his grandmother in Florida shortly after the murder. He was a brave kid, telling me what his parents were really doing at the party. Turned the case wide open.â
âMaybe I can track him down for you.â
âIf itâs not too much trouble. Find out where heâs living, what heâs doing with his life. Make sure heâs okay.â
âDo you think he could be responsible for Rosemary Weberâs murder?â
âNo,â Tony said, too quickly. He backtracked a bit. âI doubt it. The book about his sister came out ten years ago. Why now?â
âBecause he was fourteen when the book came out and couldnât do anything about it?â
âThere had to be another reason,â Tony said. âBut maybe if you find him, weâll have the answers.â
Lucy wondered why Tony didnât use FBI resources to track down Peter McMahon, but before she could ask he said, âYou should read Weberâs books. Start with the book about the McMahon investigation and