“I haven’t gone there yet, but the operation was quite well organized. One reason why Harrison got away with it is because he cultivated relationships—illegal relationships—with key staff and professors, getting them on tape either gambling or with college girls, girls that Harrison paid to flirt. No one could take him down without risking exposure.”

“Important people knew about his sideline.”

“He ran it for two years without incident. He trained his replacement, a kid by the name of Andy Tompkins, to take over for him but kept a cut as a ‘consulting fee.’ Andy was successful for a while, but when he blackmailed the wrong teacher he was expelled. It’s through Andy that Ben learned about Harrison. I’m actually fairly impressed with Ben that he tracked down this guy in less than twenty-four hours.”

“So am I,” Sean admitted.

“It’s who you know, and that’s what Harrison played on. He had a sixth sense, Andy said, about who to blackmail and who to stay away from. He was subtle and personable. He rarely had to use the blackmail card—it was unspoken that he knew information, and most staff who gambled didn’t want to get in trouble for it. He moved the games regularly, had a complex system for weeding out potential snitches, and he raked in tens of thousands of dollars a month.”

“Where did these kids get the money?”

“He targeted rich kids who had disposable income, though a few kids who had allowances lost a lot of money—apparently several had to leave school because they couldn’t afford to stay. Some kids gambled only what they could afford to lose.” Max eyed Sean. “You’re a gambler, aren’t you?”

“How could you know that?”

“I’m a good judge of character.” She assessed him. He wouldn’t play anything that he could lose. “You count cards,” she said. “Blackjack.”

“Counting cards is forbidden in casinos.”

But he was smiling. Of course he did it, because Sean was one of those guys who liked to game the system—and a system like gambling, which favored the house, Sean would want to beat.

“If I had engaged in such behavior, it was a long time ago.”

“Let’s go.”

“Where?”

“To Harrison Monroe’s office. He’s in this morning. I’m going to talk to him.”

“Bad idea.”

“Good idea. I’ve been an investigative reporter for more than a decade. Sometimes being stealthy works. But I’ve found that the direct approach is usually the best approach.”

“If we’re right about Harrison Monroe, he has either killed or ordered to be killed six people and threatened others. He ordered an entire family to be executed, I don’t think he’ll have a problem killing a reporter.”

“But he can’t frame someone for my death or disappear my body.”

“Don’t count on that.”