he had to say to gain her affection … and access to her bank account. See, Ashley was a little different. She was moderately attractive, but in her twenties, she had had a type of breast cancer that required the removal of both breasts. Even though she had reconstructive surgery, the scars were deep … psychologically very deep. Chris seemed to think she had poor self-esteem when it came to her body. This made her, in her sister’s view, an easy target and a very vulnerable woman.
“I thought Chris was overstating the case,” said Gina, “but I agreed to look into it. That’s how I came to know this about Ashley. I could see right away why Chris was worried. Here was a bright, successful woman who was always attracted to inappropriate men. I mean, we all are to a certain degree. But Ashley seemed doomed to be attracted to flashy, sleazy guys. The list of men she dated before she met Winston was … well, one creepola after another. Who knows … maybe their father was like that.
“I got the assignment approved, then I called an old friend who’s a sportswriter for the Houston Chronicle to do some background. He recognized Winston’s name and had me talk to their lead investigative reporter. He sent up a batch of court documents, and I had Mike Winston cold: no Harvard MBA, no experience working anywhere close to New York City, the real estate fortune was a complete fabrication. Then I ran a database search on his license plates and discovered he had a felony conviction for penny stock fraud. He got off because his father was a well-connected lawyer, but he was forced to leave town.
“So I made an appointment to interview Ashley about her star performer—supposedly—and I delivered the news. I even had a detective fly up from Houston to document everything. Chris was afraid she wouldn’t believe us.
“Ashley was shocked when I told her. Not only had she just made him executive vice president, but she was planning to marry the jerk.” Gina’s voice took on a darker tone. “And she’d put him in charge of all her financials.”
“How big a company is this?”
“Was . She sold out six months ago. Good sized, over a hundred employees. She sold it for ten million dollars.”
“So she’s worth a lot of money?”
“My friend is a woman of substantial means. I would estimate her estate at several million dollars or more, probably a lot more. Her house alone is worth over a million.”
“I see.” Osborne pondered that information.
“You need to find Michael Winston,” said Gina. “My bet is that’s why she was up there. He has to be in the area somewhere.”
“We’ve got a pretty big region up here,” said Osborne. “He certainly isn’t in Loon Lake, because I would know it if he was. But he could easily be in a neighboring town like Presque Isle or Manitowish Waters. I don’t understand. What would be her reason for finding him if what you say is true?”
“That I don’t know. I’ll poke around down here and see what I can find, though. At least I know where to start.”
“How did her sister die?”
“Car accident.”
“Suspicious circumstances?”
“In my opinion, yes. But no one shares my opinion.”
“Can you give me a description of this Winston?”
“He’s kind of nondescript really. Not the type to stand out in a crowd. Medium height, dark hair, very clean-shaven … a good Republican face. Nice-looking in a bland, baby-face way. Pleasant smile … but plastered on, if you ask me.
“The one distinctive feature I remember about the guy is that when he lies, which he did throughout my interview with him, he has a nervous tic … constantly clearing his throat. You know, Doc, I can check the morgue here at the paper for a photo for you folks. We ran a head shot with the story, and I know Michael attended a lot of charity events when he worked for Ashley. I’m sure we’ll have some good photos.”
“That will be a huge help,” said Osborne. “Thank you very