Free A Murderous Game by Patricia Paris

meeting with legal.
Make sure they understand they are not in danger of losing their jobs or
of any other repercussion. We'll decide if we need to take any other action
once we know more."
    After hanging up with Brett, Gage
took a minute to rope in his temper. "The way this day's going, I've got a
feeling I'll be real glad when it ends."
    Matt drummed his fingers against
the file on the table in front of him. "Maybe you'd rather wait until
tomorrow to hear about this guy from the press conference."
    Gage pinched the bridge of his
nose. "Are we looking at a mild annoyance or a ticking bomb?"
    "At least a
loaded gun. Unfortunately I don't have enough information yet to know
for sure. With Riv One demanding so much time, I
assigned the investigation to one of our newer agents. I called Tuesday to find
out where the report was and discovered she hadn't even begun the
investigation. I'm sorry."
    Gage leaned back and crossed his
arms. He didn't suffer excuses well, and with the exception of Matt and a very
few others he wouldn't even be willing to listen to an explanation.
    "It's my fault. She's got a
lot on her plate, and I should have been clearer about priorities. She tried to
put together a quick sketch yesterday and faxed it to me last night, but I
probably won't get an in-depth report until the end of next week."
    Gage hitched his head toward the manila
folder. "Tell me what you've got."
    Matt flipped open the file and took
out the top page. "Richard Everett Carpenter Jr., son of Richard Everett
Carpenter, U.S. Senator."
    Gage closed his eyes and shook his
head. "Goddamn great."
    "It gets worse. He's a
developer, not a reporter. Apparently he thought he was a shoo-in for a certain megamillion riverfront contract."
    Ten minutes later Gage clasped his
hands behind his head and leaned back. "So the guy gets pissed when he
loses the bid and figures if he can discredit GFI the city might renege on
their contract, and he gets another shot."
    "That's what it looks
like," Matt agreed. "He's well connected through his old man. I did
manage to make a couple of contacts this morning, and the general consensus is
he's a pretty vindictive bastard, although no one wanted me to quote
them."
    Gage rubbed his jaw, an itching
suspicion taking root. "Vindictive and influential
enough to pressure someone at the Attorney General's office to initiate a probe
against GFI for fraud?"
    "Son of a—" Matt crossed
his arms. "If so, he's playing a dangerous game."
    "Yes, he is." Gage
narrowed his eyes. "And if he wants to play dirty then we need to know
where he's vulnerable. Aside from the good senator, did you find out if he has
any other family? Wife? Kids?"
    "I'm not sure about kids, but
we'll know that and any other matter of public record when we get the report
next week. I do know he's married. Karen faxed me a couple of pictures she
found on the Internet, and there's one of Carpenter and his wife." Matt
sifted through the file until he found what he was looking for. "Here it
is. They were cohosting some big charity event last
year. The picture's not the best, but even so they make a pretty striking
couple." He handed Gage the newspaper clipping. "The wife's name is
Abigail."
    ~~~
     
    Abby felt energized. She loved
spring. She loved walking through town when the cherry blossoms carpeted the
sidewalks. She loved being able to grab something from one of the street
vendors, find a sunny park bench, and enjoy her lunch outside. She reveled in
these first warm days of the season after a long, dreary Philadelphia winter.
    Popping into a flower shop on the
way back to the office, she bought a big bunch of bright yellow daffodils.
    "Are those for me?"
Madeline asked when Abby got off the elevator.
    Abby separated the large bunch and
gave Madeline half. "I'll share my flowers if you'll lend me one of your
vases."
    Madeline got two clear glass
containers from the bottom of her credenza. "Help yourself." The
phone rang and she set her flowers down to answer