Dead Wrong (A Cal Murphy Thriller Book 7) Jack Patterson (good beach reads .txt) 📖

“Don’t worry about him,” Kelly said. “Just publish the facts. You’ll eventually get the scoop, the one that everyone will be talking about.”

“I’m glad someone has faith in me.”

“Always, honey. Now hurry home so we can get everything together. You know how I like to be prepared. I’ve been looking forward to this trip for a while.”

Cal hung up. If he was honest, he’d been looking forward to it for a while as well. With a young daughter, he and Kelly didn’t have as many chances to globetrot as they used to. But with his mother-in-law in town to take care of his daughter, he wanted to make the most of their trip. A game in southern California before one in Portland. They wouldn’t stay with the team for the entire trip, but they’d be embedded long enough to get a pulse on how the team was doing in light of Kelvin Jameson’s death, even if the initial assignment was to capture what the Wizards were like on a West Coast trip.

Cal glanced up at the traffic light. The red circle glared at him as he pondered if foul play really was behind Kelvin Jameson’s sudden death.

He scrolled through his Twitter account while he waited. There were the usual suspects, telling him how awful of a writer he was or that his reporting was “flawed” or that he was a homer for the Wizards. Then there was one that caught his eye from a Twitter handle he hadn’t seen before—from @HUmanBean47:

The answer is right in front of you.

Maybe it meant nothing. Maybe it was some guy just jacking with him. Or maybe there was something else to it. Regardless, the message piqued Cal’s interest.

CHAPTER 10

SCOTT PERRY STOOD UP to greet Tonya Jameson as she walked into his office on Wednesday morning. She had scheduled a meeting to ensure that everything in the estate was squared away. After having presided at several similar meetings with the loved ones of an athlete he represented—though none who were still playing sports, only endorsing products—he braced for the worst. He glanced down at his desk calendar and slid a piece of paper over the entry marked “9 a.m.—meeting with Hurricane Tonya.”

He hugged her and motioned for her to take a seat in one of the chairs situated across from his desk. He returned to his seat and sat down.

“Let me begin by telling you how sorry I am about Kelvin’s passing,” Perry said. He took a deep breath. “After working with him for as long as I did, he almost felt like family.”

“Yeah, well, I was married to him and he barely felt like family,” she paused a beat. “Certainly didn’t feel like a husband.”

Perry’s eyes widened at Tonya’s acerbic tone. “I didn’t realize things were that bad at home.”

“Home? You mean that place he’s supposed to sleep at night when he’s not playing basketball? That kind of home?”

Perry said nothing.

She stood up and continued her rant. “He had a vastly different definition of home than I did. When I got married, I thought it would be like it was before when we were dating—lots of passion and partying. Instead, I got stuck with poopy diapers and a philandering dope for a husband.”

“That’s news to me.”

She began to pace around the office. “News? You must not read the news, Mr. Perry. Our marriage had been on the rocks for a while. Haven’t you stood in line at a grocery store any time in the past, say, nine months? News of our troubled marriage has been everywhere.”

Perry shifted in his seat. “And this doesn’t trouble you in light of the possible investigation into his death as a murder?”

“Well, I’d love to shake the hand of the man who did this to him. He rid me of my lowlife husband and I got all his money.”

He took a deep breath. “Ah, his money. The reason you’re here today.”

“Damn straight. The least that poor bastard could do from the grave is compensate me handsomely for putting up with him.”

“Yeah, about that handsomely part—”

“What are you tryin’ to say, Mr. Perry? That he’s broke? I know that’s a lie. My momma told me to never trust a slick talkin’ lawyer.”

“Look, I understand you’re upset, but let’s cool it with the innuendos and accusations. I was always up front with your husband,” Perry said. He knew it was a lie, but he needed to do something to stem the storm brewing that was Hurricane Tonya.

“That must be why he wanted to get rid of you—because you were soooo honest and up front with him,” she snapped.

Perry furrowed his brow. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about. We had a great relationship, at least from a business perspective.”

She chuckled. “Well, he didn’t tell me much, but he did tell me that you were a snake.”

“Now you’re just trying to rattle my cage.” He gestured to the seat across from him. “Please take a seat and settle down.”

She stopped pacing. “I prefer to stand.”

He sighed. “Very well then. Let’s discuss these financial matters. I’ve got another meeting after this one and I hate to keep my clients waiting.”

He pushed a piece of paper toward the edge of the desk. She grabbed it and glanced at it.

“What does all this mean?” she asked.

“It delineates all of his current player and endorsement contracts and amount remaining to be paid.”

“Why is there a ‘zero’ under the column listing his contract with the Wizards?”

Perry leaned forward and clasped his hands. “That’s the tough one. NBA contracts are guaranteed with few exceptions. One of those exceptions is death or injury related to substance abuse and illicit drugs.”

“You know I’m not getting a dime of his life insurance policy because he overdosed. And now you’re also saying that I’m getting nothin’?”

“I’m afraid so.”

She slammed her fist on Perry’s table and stood up before starting to pace again.

He could feel the winds picking up