…?”
McCreary shook her head again, embarrassed, and said, “We have a baby sister, Irene. She lives in Springfield. Springfield, Missouri. But I’m sure she never knew anything about Tommy’s whereabouts. She didn’t want to know. Like our father did before he passed away, she despises Tommy for what he did, she doesn’t want anything more to do with him.”
“Maybe she felt that way before. But it’s been five years. People’s minds change.”
“Not Irene’s. That girl’s as bitter now as she ever was.”
“You don’t think Tommy ever tried to contact her anyway?”
“No. Irene would have told me if he had.”
“What about old friends? Somebody Tommy worked with at the paper, perhaps?”
“Those people weren’t Tommy’s friends, Mr. Gunner. When he needed their support, they all turned their backs on him. None of them could be trusted to keep his new life a secret, and he knew it.”
“Still, he must have been tempted. After five years …”
McCreary shook her head, said, “Tommy was very comfortable with his life in St. Louis. He wasn’t at first, of course, but in time he learned to be. He wouldn’t have jeopardized it all just to get in touch with some old friend at the newspaper.”
“Just the same, I don’t suppose you’d know if any of the people we’re talking about ended up here in Los Angeles, would you?”
“I wouldn’t have any idea about that, no. I never knew any of those people myself. But why—” She cut herself off, answering her own question before she could even voice it. “Oh. You’re thinking maybe that’s what brought Tommy out here from D.C.”
Gunner shrugged. “It’s a thought.” He thought McCreary might want to expand on the idea, but she showed no interest. He decided to let it go. “And Tommy’s wife? Does she know who he really is?”
“Oh, yes, of course. After they’d been married a couple of years, he told Lydia everything. They were about to have their first child, and he wanted to be sure she wouldn’t run out on him if she found out on her own.”
“So how’d she react?”
“About the way you might expect. Tommy said she was horrified. But fortunately, she loved him, and she was pregnant with his baby, and she believed him when he told her that he wasn’t the same person he used to be, that more than his name had changed since he’d moved to St. Louis. And that was really true, Mr. Gunner. Tommy was a changed man. It might have taken him too long to see it, but he finally understood how wrong his actions had been in Chicago, and how many innocent people he’d hurt with his lies.”
Good for him , Gunner wanted to say, but didn’t. Instead, he shifted gears, asked McCreary if the initials DOB meant anything to her.
“DOB? No.” She shook her head again. “Why do you ask?”
“Apparently, Jack Frerotte received five thousand dollars from somebody with those initials about the time your brother disappeared. Two grand before, and three right after. There may be no connection, but I’m inclined to believe there is.”
“DOB?” She stopped to think, eyes focused straight ahead on nothing in particular, then shook her head one more time. “I’m sorry, no. I can’t think of anyone with initials like that.”
“What about an acronym? For an organization, or a group of some kind?”
Again, McCreary considered the question in silence for a moment, then shook her head. “No,” she said. “You think this DOB paid Frerotte to murder my brother, is that it?”
“It’s beginning to look that way, yeah,” Gunner said.
“Why? For what reason?”
“I won’t know that until I know who or what this DOB is. Or until Frerotte recovers enough from his injuries to talk to either me or the police, if he’s so inclined.”
“But you think it had something to do with Tommy’s problems in Chicago, you said.”
“That seems like a safe bet, doesn’t it? Unless there was more to your brother’s role as Elroy Covington
McCreary shook her head again, embarrassed, and said, “We have a baby sister, Irene. She lives in Springfield. Springfield, Missouri. But I’m sure she never knew anything about Tommy’s whereabouts. She didn’t want to know. Like our father did before he passed away, she despises Tommy for what he did, she doesn’t want anything more to do with him.”
“Maybe she felt that way before. But it’s been five years. People’s minds change.”
“Not Irene’s. That girl’s as bitter now as she ever was.”
“You don’t think Tommy ever tried to contact her anyway?”
“No. Irene would have told me if he had.”
“What about old friends? Somebody Tommy worked with at the paper, perhaps?”
“Those people weren’t Tommy’s friends, Mr. Gunner. When he needed their support, they all turned their backs on him. None of them could be trusted to keep his new life a secret, and he knew it.”
“Still, he must have been tempted. After five years …”
McCreary shook her head, said, “Tommy was very comfortable with his life in St. Louis. He wasn’t at first, of course, but in time he learned to be. He wouldn’t have jeopardized it all just to get in touch with some old friend at the newspaper.”
“Just the same, I don’t suppose you’d know if any of the people we’re talking about ended up here in Los Angeles, would you?”
“I wouldn’t have any idea about that, no. I never knew any of those people myself. But why—” She cut herself off, answering her own question before she could even voice it. “Oh. You’re thinking maybe that’s what brought Tommy out here from D.C.”
Gunner shrugged. “It’s a thought.” He thought McCreary might want to expand on the idea, but she showed no interest. He decided to let it go. “And Tommy’s wife? Does she know who he really is?”
“Oh, yes, of course. After they’d been married a couple of years, he told Lydia everything. They were about to have their first child, and he wanted to be sure she wouldn’t run out on him if she found out on her own.”
“So how’d she react?”
“About the way you might expect. Tommy said she was horrified. But fortunately, she loved him, and she was pregnant with his baby, and she believed him when he told her that he wasn’t the same person he used to be, that more than his name had changed since he’d moved to St. Louis. And that was really true, Mr. Gunner. Tommy was a changed man. It might have taken him too long to see it, but he finally understood how wrong his actions had been in Chicago, and how many innocent people he’d hurt with his lies.”
Good for him , Gunner wanted to say, but didn’t. Instead, he shifted gears, asked McCreary if the initials DOB meant anything to her.
“DOB? No.” She shook her head again. “Why do you ask?”
“Apparently, Jack Frerotte received five thousand dollars from somebody with those initials about the time your brother disappeared. Two grand before, and three right after. There may be no connection, but I’m inclined to believe there is.”
“DOB?” She stopped to think, eyes focused straight ahead on nothing in particular, then shook her head one more time. “I’m sorry, no. I can’t think of anyone with initials like that.”
“What about an acronym? For an organization, or a group of some kind?”
Again, McCreary considered the question in silence for a moment, then shook her head. “No,” she said. “You think this DOB paid Frerotte to murder my brother, is that it?”
“It’s beginning to look that way, yeah,” Gunner said.
“Why? For what reason?”
“I won’t know that until I know who or what this DOB is. Or until Frerotte recovers enough from his injuries to talk to either me or the police, if he’s so inclined.”
“But you think it had something to do with Tommy’s problems in Chicago, you said.”
“That seems like a safe bet, doesn’t it? Unless there was more to your brother’s role as Elroy Covington
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