MARY CLARK - Every Breath You Take

“But there must have been checks that she signed, something to prove she consented to the expenditures.”

“She did it all electronically. Virginia was older than me, but better online than I am. She could donate a hundred thousand dollars to a charity with a few keystrokes.”

Or alternatively, Laurie thought, you knew her passwords and figured she was so wealthy and generous, she would never miss the money.

“She wired about half of that money directly to my partner for my initial buy-in,” Ivan explained, “and then the other half went to pay for equipment, improvements on the space—the costs of starting up a business. But it wasn’t gone. It was in a business that she believed in, which would have been part of our income after we were married.”

Ryan had been quiet up until this point, but Laurie could tell from the way he was leaning forward in his seat that he was eager to interject. “It’s just like I said, Laurie. Ivan was stereotyped from the very beginning, but he didn’t actually have a financial motive to hurt Virginia. First of all, there wasn’t a shred of evidence to prove that the money Virginia put into PUNCH was stolen. Even if Ivan had stolen money from her—”

“Which I didn’t—”

Ryan held up a palm to cut Ivan off. “Of course not. But assume for the sake of argument that he had, it would have been Virginia’s word against his if she had accused him of taking the money without her permission. They were in a close, romantic relationship. They weren’t officially engaged yet, but had clearly discussed marriage in the future, as evidenced by the purchase of a ring from Harry Winston. She had obviously spent other amounts of money on him voluntarily, including the Porsche. I’m telling you as a former prosecutor, no lawyer could have proven a case of theft against Ivan beyond a reasonable doubt. In a worst case scenario, they would have reached some kind of settlement where he repaid her from the business, as if she were an investor.”

Laurie could see the logic of Ryan’s argument. If anything, the only consequence of Virginia’s murder would be to ensure that Ivan never got to marry into her money. Her death had also called attention to her finances, virtually ensuring that Ivan would be the leading suspect. She had to hand it to these two. In a short meeting, they had managed to spin her perception of Ivan on its head. From this new perspective, she could see Ivan’s argument that he had nothing to gain and everything to lose from murdering Virginia.

Ivan must have recognized that she was beginning to get pulled into his side of the story. “I swear to you, Laurie, I didn’t do it. I loved Ginny. That’s what I called her. She told me that when she was young that was her nickname, but her husband wanted her to be called Virginia after he started to become well known. We would have been married within months if she had lived, and we would have been happy.”

Ryan added, “Laurie, I know you hate it when I step on your toes around here, but I’m telling you: this case will be a hit for Under Suspicion . It’s perfect. And we’d be helping a good man.”

Normally by the time she asked the most important question, she had already mastered every publicly available fact about the case. But, at the risk of jumping in too soon, she asked it now, because she had to know. “If you didn’t kill Mrs. Wakeling, who did?”

When Ivan immediately looked to Ryan instead of answering the question, she believed her first instincts had been right. When the pause grew longer in silence, she began to stand from her chair. “Okay, I think I can mull things over from here—”

“No, wait,” Ivan exclaimed. “It’s not that I don’t have my theories. Trust me, I do, and facts to back them up. But I’ve got a training session in fifteen minutes with an A-list movie star, and I never expected you to hear the full side of my story. I’m not sure I want to start naming names unless you really think you might use Virginia’s case. I’ve managed to go on with my life, even though I know a lot of people think I’m a murderer. If I stir all of this up again, I want it to be for a good reason.”

She didn’t know what to think of Ivan’s logic. On the one hand, it seemed like an innocent person would drop everything for a chance to clear his name. On the other hand, she could picture Ryan cajoling Ivan into coming up to the studio, in which case Ivan might be having second thoughts about saying too much.

“Fair enough,” she said. “Let’s each take a day to mull it over. We can meet again tomorrow if we both think it’s worthwhile.”

Ivan nodded his agreement. “Thank you so much, Laurie, for your time and for keeping an open mind,” he said. “It means so much to me.” This time, when he shook her hand, the grip was tight enough to burn.

5

Grace and Jerry nearly spilled through her door the second Ryan escorted Ivan out of her office.

“So that’s why Ryan was skulking about all morning?” Jerry asked. “Ivan Gray? My guess is it’s not because he thinks you need boxing training.”

“I’m surprised you recognized him at first sight,” Laurie said. “I don’t think I would have.”

“I was really hooked on the Wakeling case and I read every word about it,” Jerry said.

“Then fill me in,” Laurie told him.

“After she was found, the media began highlighting Ivan’s role in her life—first as her trainer at an elite health club hidden near the Plaza Hotel, then as her surprising boyfriend. He was even her date the night she died. But as time passed, the news coverage faded. Ivan managed to keep his name and face out of the papers.”

“You really did follow this case, Jerry.”

“Think about it, Laurie. Virginia Wakeling is the only person who ever died at a black-tie gala at the Met.”

“Let’s go back to Ivan,” Laurie said. She found herself making a mental note that viewers might be interested in hearing from him about how he had navigated his privacy in the ensuing years.

“The minute I saw Ryan hustling Ivan Gray into your office, I just knew that Ryan would be pitching him as our next case,” Jerry said.

Grace jumped in. “Ryan likes things that just fall right into his lap. And lately, all he talks about is his boxing gym. When I think about it, Ivan Gray might be good for the show. He’s a totally different kind of suspect, and that could be really interesting.”

“Laurie, what’s your take on him?” Jerry asked. “What did you think?”

She shrugged. “It was a short meeting, but my gut says it’s not right for us. It’s a very recent case. I assume the police are still investigating. And maybe I’m being unfair based on the age differences and the amounts of money at stake, but Ivan struck me as dishonest. You know me—I won’t label someone a killer without hard evidence, but I can see why Virginia’s family was suspect about his intentions.”

“So you think he’s a gold digger,” Grace concluded.

“You said it, not me.”

“The setting would be amazing,” Jerry said. “I mean—the Met!”

Recognizing that a longer discussion was about to ensue, Grace announced that she was going back to her desk, but Laurie should call her if she needed anything. Once she was gone, Jerry immediately continued his point.

“Laurie, we couldn’t ask for a more glamorous, iconic setting. The annual costume exhibit is one of the most famous parties in the world. And the night when Virginia was killed, the theme was ‘Fashion of First Ladies,’ featuring the clothing of American first ladies throughout history. I hate to be cynical, but even if we just rehashed what we know from news reports, the film footage alone would be catnip for viewers.”