“If you haven’t enjoyed it thus far, I’m pretty sure you won’t like the rest of it.”

“Mark that as evidence, and protect the shit out of it. Document a clear chain of custody.”

“You got it, boss.”

Walt hurried back to his office to find out everything he could about the woman named Victoria Ford.

CHAPTER 20 - Catskill Mountains, NY Friday, June 25, 2021

CHAPTER 20

Catskill Mountains, NY Friday, June 25, 2021

THE BOTTLE OF CHARDONNAY WAS EMPTY BY THE TIME EMMA FINISHED telling Avery about the murder investigation her sister had been involved in at the time of her death. Avery had driven to the Catskills to interview Emma Kind about the recent identification of Victoria Ford’s remains and to determine if there was enough there on which to base an American Events feature. The idea that she had stumbled onto the story of a grisly murder had her mind churning with ideas about the special she could put together with the details of this case.

Avery’s head swam with a comfortable wine buzz, but she didn’t protest when Emma emerged from the house with a second bottle. Avery wanted to know everything about Emma’s long dead sister and the crime she was accused of. Another bottle of wine seemed like the perfect conduit to keep Emma talking. Besides, Avery was fascinated with the ancient artifact Emma had carried from the house along with the second bottle of wine. She recognized it as a telephone answering machine straight from the nineties, and now it sat in the middle of the patio table. Emma had excused herself in the middle of the story about Victoria to rummage through the house. It had been quite a production for Emma to salvage the answering machine from the storage room. It was an even greater one to resuscitate it. A relic from the past, the machine required both batteries and an electrical outlet to bring it to life. All the time, Avery sipped chardonnay and tried to control the suspense of what waited on the machine. Now, an extension cord ran from the kitchen outlet, through the patio doors, and to the table where the machine sat. Triple A batteries ignited the indicator light on the surface. The machine was, indeed, alive and well.