Dead Insider by Victoria Houston Page B

Isle.”
    “Well, she didn’t make a good impression on other guests,” said Lauren. “Jane and I made it a point to entertain influential people who might donate to the campaign and Kaye … Do you know her? She’s weird—old, scruffy.” Lauren shuddered. “Not the image we’ve been working to project.”
    “How was Jane to work for?” asked Lew. “You said she had a drinking problem. Could she be abusive?”
    “No, heavens, no. We got along great. She approved the strategy I brought her, the staff I hired. We had a great working relationship until …”
    “Until when?” Lew kept her tone even.
    “Oh, we just disagreed over that Kaye Lund person, but Jane got over it. I mean, you can’t work side by side every day and not have a few issues.”
    “True,” said Lew.
    “It might be good for you to know that Kaye Lund is organizing a memorial service for people here in Loon Lake,” said Osborne.
    “Oh, no, she won’t. I’ll take care of that. Things are bad enough without her setting up some rinky-dink affair.” Lauren reached for the cell phone that she had set down beside her on the sofa. She hit several buttons, waited, and when there was no answer gave a sigh of irritation as she set the phone down. “Damn, the old frog never answers.”
    “I would like to suggest that, given the grim circumstances we have at the moment, you consider deferring to Kaye,” said Osborne, finding himself anxious to protect Kaye, who was hardly a match for the sophisticated, harsh-voiced woman sitting across from him. “Whether you like her or not, she and Jane have been like family for years.”
    What he didn’t say was that Kaye’s grief mattered, too. No matter what Lauren Crowell might think, Kaye had a right to bury her “summer sister.”
    The sound of a car honking off in the distance reminded Lew of her conversation with the television crew. “Doc,” she said, turning to Osborne, who was seated to her right, “as I drove in here I was followed by the first of what I expect to be many television crews and other media. I’ve got a call in to the sheriff for help with traffic and all the hoopla that’s sure to happen before this day is over. I’ve no doubt they’ll camp out here and in front of the department. Do you think Mallory would be willing to help me out with a press release, and maybe find some way to keep all those reporters out of our way?”
    “Who is Mallory?” asked Lauren.
    “My daughter, who is visiting from Chicago,” said Osborne. “Erin’s older sister. She works for a marketing firm. Her MBA is in marketing, but her undergrad degree was in journalism from Northwestern. Sure, Chief, I can ask her if she’d help out.”
    “Wait,” said Lauren, leaning forward as she spoke. “With Jane gone, I’m now the spokesperson for the campaign. I should be handling the media. I mean—is there any reason I can’t?”
    “You certainly cannot speak for law enforcement and this investigation,” said Lew.
    “I don’t mean that,” said Lauren, “but I’ll be under a lot of pressure trying to explain how Jane’s death will affect the party, not to mention the campaign. Please, this campaign is a twenty-million-dollar operation—”
    “Excuse me, Lauren,” said Osborne, “there are two separate issues to consider here. One is the investigation; the other is the fallout from the death of a prominent politician in the midst of running for office. The media will be after answers from both camps. Right?”
    “What a nightmare this will be,” said Lew, shaking her head.
    “You haven’t seen anything yet,” said Lauren. “The moment this news hits the Internet, Loon Lake be inundated. Chief Ferris, you better be prepared for reporters from TV, newspapers, radio, the Internet. The roads around Loon Lake will be clogged with press.”
    “Making it difficult to do my job,” said Lew.
    “On the other hand,” said Lauren with a shrug, “the minute something awful happens