The doors shut and the elevator dropped Avery in the lobby. Her cell phone buzzed as she exited the building. It was Walt Jenkins calling. He wanted to meet tonight for dinner. They agreed on the time and place before Avery dropped her phone into her purse. Her goal was to rip the case against Victoria Ford to shreds. She had the lead detective’s ear and the weekend to do it. As she walked through New York City, she realized that she had started so many leads on the Victoria Ford story that she almost forgot the actual reason she was back in the city that held so many terrible memories.

It was nice to forget. For just a moment, she was free.

CHAPTER 30 - Manhattan, NY Friday, July 2, 2021

CHAPTER 30

Manhattan, NY Friday, July 2, 2021

DINNER WAS AT KEENS. IN TRADITIONAL MANHATTAN FASHION THE city had emptied earlier in the afternoon as residents flocked off the island for the long Fourth of July weekend in the country or at the beach. Consequently, the popular steakhouse was eerily empty when Walt walked in. He spotted Avery at a table tucked into the corner.

“Sorry I’m late,” Walt said as he sat down across from her.

“I was just about to call you to ask if I’d mixed up the time,” Avery said.

Walt shook his head. “No, my fault. I managed to get my hands on the Cameron Young file and got tied up reading through the case. Lost track of time.”

Avery had a glass of white wine in front of her. Walt ordered a rum from the waiter as he scanned the menu.

“Have you eaten here before?” he asked.

“Of course. I might be a SoCal girl today, but I grew up in New York,” Avery said.

“Where?” Walt asked, forgetting for a moment that he was late for dinner because he had lost track of time reading the inch-thick dossier he’d been given on Avery Mason, aka Claire Montgomery. He wondered how she kept her two lives straight—the one she was leading as one of the most popular journalists on television, and her past life as the daughter of the Thief of Manhattan.

“Oh,” Avery said. “Uptown. Upper East Side.”

She’d been raised in a penthouse on Billionaire’s Row, Walt knew. He’d seen the pictures of the building and stock photos of the penthouse that were splashed all over the Internet and linked to Garth Montgomery. He’d also seen the photos of her father being hauled out of the famous building in pajamas and handcuffs. The waiter delivered Walt’s rum and asked for their dinner orders, providing an easy segue off the topic of Avery’s past. They both ordered steaks—filets, medium, with horseradish crust.

“So, what did you find?” Avery asked. “When you looked back through the Cameron Young file.”