“Look, ladies, I’m sorry, but I can’t help you. We pulled the story. Because there is no story. I can’t help you. How about a two-year subscription?”

Nikki laughed. “Nope! How did you find out you were scammed? You must have thought you had a story last week when you put that model’s name on the front page. Tell us what changed, and maybe we’ll let you off the hook. I said maybe,” Nikki said, menace ringing in her voice.

Goodwin sighed. These two were trouble, he could smell it. Common sense told him to up the free subscription to five years and get them out of the office as quickly as possible, but one look at the tall, mouthy one, and he knew that wasn’t going to work.

“Look, two days ago, right after the picture ran, two men from the government showed up here and told me to pull it. That’s the beginning and the end of it. That’s all I can tell you. How about a five-year subscription?”

Kathryn laughed in his face. She looked at Nikki, who nodded. At the same moment, both women reached into their handbags and pulled out their gold shields. They leaned halfway across the desk to make sure Goodwin could read the fine print on the infamous shields. “Talk!”

Goodwin turned pasty white. He licked at his lips and struggled to say something. “What do you people want from me? I told those two men everything I know.”

“What two men? Be specific. Did they have ID?” Nikki demanded.

“Lady, men like the two who came here do not need to show ID. They are their own ID. Their looks, and their demeanor, said it all. They talked into their goddamn sleeves. Who does that? Secret Service, that’s who. They looked like twins. Brush-cut hair, aviator glasses, Hugo Boss suits, polished shoes, and a bulge under their jackets. They were packing heat. They simply and politely asked for the file and for the name of the tipster. I gave it to them after they told me they could shut this paper down in the blink of an eye. Let me tell you something, dark glasses or not, I knew they meant it; I didn’t have to see their eyes.

“Why are you here? Don’t you people talk to each other? What else can I tell you?”

“Did you give them Miss Petrie’s name?” Kathryn asked.

“Yes, but I called her the minute they left. She’s given me some good stuff over the past few years. I figured I owed her that much. I told her to split,” Goodwin said defiantly. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“You paid her sixty-six thousand dollars for the picture and whatever she told you, right?”

“Since you already know all that, why are you asking me again? The answer is yes. The check cleared the moment we confirmed the info was legit. She was . . . is to get another sixty-six thousand dollars if we managed to get the after-surgery picture. She said she was almost positive she could get her hands on it. No, I do not have it, no, she did not get it. At least as far as I know, she did not get it. That’s all I can tell you.”