“She’s Garth Montgomery’s daughter, and she’s done a magnificent job of hiding in plain sight. None of the millions of people who tune in to her show know her real identity. But we do, and we’ve been watching her for some time now. We believe she knows where her father’s hiding, and we think she’s been aiding and abetting him.”

Walt slowly nodded. “I’m still not making the connection to the Cameron Young case.”

“There’s been a development in the case. Remember the name of the woman who killed him?”

“Victoria Ford,” he said. “What’s the development?”

“About a month ago, the medical examiner’s office in New York made a positive ID on remains found at Ground Zero. They belonged to Victoria Ford, and that’s where you come in, my friend.”

Walt leaned closer to his old boss. “I’m listening.”

“Avery Mason is snooping around New York, hoping to put together a story about a 9/11 victim identified twenty years after the towers came down. It won’t be long before she learns about Victoria Ford’s history and the crime she was accused of. If you’ve seen her television show, you know she won’t stop at Victoria Ford’s story. She’ll want to know all about Cameron Young’s murder. It’s not a stretch to suspect that Ms. Mason will become very interested in that old investigation. It’s her forte. And Cameron Young’s story involves a young detective named Walt Jenkins.”

Jim Oliver smiled and took a sip of rum, making Walt wait a moment before he continued.

“Avery Mason is going to want to speak with that detective and find out everything he remembers about the case. We need you to get on a plane and head back to New York to get yourself reacquainted with the Cameron Young case.”

Walt, still leaning across the table, slowly raised his eyebrows. “And then do . . . what?”

“Wait for Avery Mason to reach out to you. When she does, we need you to help her with the case. She’ll want to retell the Cameron Young story. It was full of sex and betrayal, which is television gold. Work with her. Give her whatever she needs. And in the process, we hope you can uncover any details about where her father is hiding.”

“How am I supposed to do that?”

“Get close to her. She’s in New York for a reason other than the Victoria Ford story. We think she’s about to help her father somehow, or at the very least make contact with him. If you’re close to her, even if you’re just around her, you might learn something that will help us.”

Walt sat back and shook his head. “Does this little sting you have planned come from the higher-ups? It sounds sanctimonious and desperate.”