BooksBarbecue
Back The Newcomer Save as PDF
Chapters (71)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. Dedication
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. 35
  39. 36
  40. 37
  41. 38
  42. 39
  43. 40
  44. 41
  45. 42
  46. 43
  47. 44
  48. 45
  49. 46
  50. 47
  51. 48
  52. 49
  53. 50
  54. 51
  55. 52
  56. 53
  57. 54
  58. 55
  59. 56
  60. 57
  61. 58
  62. 59
  63. 60
  64. 61
  65. 62
  66. 63
  67. Epilogue
  68. Acknowledgments
  69. Also by Mary Kay Andrews
  70. About the Author
  71. Newsletter Sign-up

“It was pretty good,” the agent admitted. “The photo of Letty and Maya was a nice touch. I need to touch base with the AUSA I’ve been working with. I’ll send her both the recordings and fill her in on where we’re at.” She glanced at her phone again.

“I’m going back to my place. I’ll grab a bite, then circle back to you. Hopefully no later than three. In the meantime, DeCurtis, maybe you can start thinking of places to ‘dispose of’ Letty’s body.”

When she was gone, Letty collapsed back into the sofa cushions. “How is this even real?” she asked. “When does it end? When do Maya and I get to have a normal life?”

Joe sat on the sofa beside her. “Soon. But I won’t lie, Letty. The hard stuff’s still ahead of you. Hopefully, you’ll be cleared of Tanya’s murder, and the NYPD will prove Wingfield did kill your sister. But if the feds make a case against Wingfield, you’ll be their star witness. It could be a long, dragged-out process.”

“And in the meantime, I just know Evan’s going to fight me to try and get custody of Maya. Especially now that he knows he stands to lose control of all that real estate he deeded over to Tanya.”

She slumped down even farther into the cushions. “I should have dumped that pot of hot coffee in his lap the first time he sat down at table two.”

38

Friday Afternoon/Early Evening

VIKKI HILL WALKED SLOWLY OVER to Letty’s unit, finishing off the last of her lunch, which had consisted of a prepackaged cellophane sandwich from the convenience store down the block and a bag of Cheetos. She pushed through the partially open door and found Joe DeCurtis, slumped over in an armchair near the front window, obviously dozing.

“Where’s Letty?”

Joe yawned. “She went back over to the office, to get some work done. Said she couldn’t stand sitting around here all afternoon, waiting on us to decide how her life’s gonna turn out. Can’t say I blame her.”

Obviously frustrated, Agent Hill ran a hand through her hair. “Okay, well, I don’t have good news. I played the recordings of Wingfield to Cheryl Shapiro, she’s the assistant US attorney I’ve been working with, and unfortunately, she says we need more.”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Joe said. “We’ve got him on tape, saying he wants Letty disappeared, and doesn’t want her body showing up a month from now. That should be more than enough for an arrest, and an indictment.”

“It might be enough for a district attorney in a state court,” Vikki pointed out. “But I work for the federal government. Our standards are different. An arrest isn’t enough. An indictment isn’t enough. We need solid, incontrovertible evidence for a conviction.”

“Which means what?” he asked.