“No. I never asked and she never offered. I had known for some time that her marriage was rocky, and there was a mention about meeting someone else. I never got into the details with her. When the news broke and the media aimed their sights on her, I told her I would always be her friend and that I knew she would never do what she was accused of. I knew it in my heart. I still know it today.”
“How about leading up to 9/11? Did you talk with her then?”
Natalie shook her head. “Not for the couple of weeks before. Then, it was a crazy time for me. I was an ER doctor in the city and on 9/11, and for most of that week, it was all hands on deck. It’s still just a big blur to me. I didn’t find out about Victoria for a couple of days. I was working around the clock and when I finally had a chance to catch my breath, I took inventory of everyone I knew in the city. When I couldn’t get in touch with Victoria, I finally reached out to Emma and she told me the news.”
“How did you hear about Victoria’s remains being identified?”
“In the paper. I called Emma right away, and she filled me in on the details.”
Avery checked her notes—a page of scribbled bullet points.
“Would it be too much to ask you to write a chronology of your relationship with Victoria? From meeting in college and beyond?”
“I could do that, sure.”
“Great. I’ll be in New York for at least another week, but maybe longer depending on what I need. Can I get in touch with you in a few days?”
“Of course. I’ll give you my cell. And I’ll start working on my history with Victoria right away. It’ll be a good exercise for me to remember all the great times we had together.”
Avery stood up. “Thanks so much, Natalie. I want to do this correctly. I know there will be some difficult parts to Victoria’s story, but I want to show America who this woman was before she was accused of murder. The information you provide will go a long way to making that happen.”
They said their good-byes and Avery stepped into the elevator.
“Let me know how you like the rest of Baggage,” Natalie said before the doors closed.
“I’ll be up all night finishing it.”
The doors shut and the elevator dropped Avery in the lobby. Her cell phone buzzed as she exited the building. It was Walt Jenkins calling. He wanted to meet tonight for dinner. They agreed on the time and place before Avery dropped her phone into her purse. Her goal was to rip the case against Victoria Ford to shreds. She had the lead detective’s ear and the weekend to do it. As she walked through New York City, she realized that she had started so many leads on the Victoria Ford story that she almost forgot the actual reason she was back in the city that held so many terrible memories.
It was nice to forget. For just a moment, she was free.
CHAPTER 30
Manhattan, NY Friday, July 2, 2021
DINNER WAS AT KEENS. IN TRADITIONAL MANHATTAN FASHION THE city had emptied earlier in the afternoon as residents flocked off the island for the long Fourth of July weekend in the country or at the beach. Consequently, the popular steakhouse was eerily empty when Walt walked in. He spotted Avery at a table tucked into the corner.
“Sorry I’m late,” Walt said as he sat down across from her.
“I was just about to call you to ask if I’d mixed up the time,” Avery said.
Walt shook his head. “No, my fault. I managed to get my hands on the Cameron Young file and got tied up reading through the case. Lost track of time.”
Avery had a glass of white wine in front of her. Walt ordered a rum from the waiter as he scanned the menu.
“Have you eaten here before?” he asked.
“Of course. I might be a SoCal girl today, but I grew up in New York,” Avery said.
“Where?” Walt asked, forgetting for a moment that he was late for dinner because he had lost track of time reading the inch-thick dossier he’d been given on Avery Mason, aka Claire Montgomery. He wondered how she kept her two lives straight—the one she was leading as one of the most popular journalists on television, and her past life as the daughter of the Thief of Manhattan.
“Oh,” Avery said. “Uptown. Upper East Side.”
She’d been raised in a penthouse on Billionaire’s Row, Walt knew. He’d seen the pictures of the building and stock photos of the penthouse that were splashed all over the Internet and linked to Garth Montgomery. He’d also seen the photos of her father being hauled out of the famous building in pajamas and handcuffs. The waiter delivered Walt’s rum and asked for their dinner orders, providing an easy segue off the topic of Avery’s past. They both ordered steaks—filets, medium, with horseradish crust.
“So, what did you find?” Avery asked. “When you looked back through the Cameron Young file.”
“I was able to get the case file and I’ve spent the last couple of days reviewing it. It’s been quite a stroll down memory lane. I have to tell you, as I go back through the case and remember it more clearly, the evidence was overwhelming. Just being straight with you.”
“That’s all I’m asking for, Walt. I came to New York to learn more about the story of the medical examiner’s office discovering the remains of a 9/11 victim at the monumental moment of the twentieth anniversary. But I found something else entirely when I spoke with Victoria Ford’s sister. Emma Kind, as we discussed the other night, believes her sister is innocent. But it’s more than unconditional love and a sisterly bond that hardens her resolve. Victoria Ford called her sister on the morning of 9/11 and left a series of messages on her answering machine. Emma played them for me. The messages are harrowing, and were placed soon after the first plane struck the North Tower and trapped Victoria inside.”
Walt shook his head. “I can only imagine. Each year I relive some part of that day. Everyone does. But to have a loved one so closely tied to the tragedy, and to have a recording from that morning . . .”
“It’s more than that, though. On the recording Victoria tells her sister that she’s innocent and asks her to find a way to clear her name. Victoria swore that the evidence against her was tainted and couldn’t be accurate. She understood she would die that day, and her last words—at least the last ones recorded—were of Victoria Ford begging her sister to make her legacy something other than an accused murderess.”
“Her sister has all this on a recording?”
“Yes. Two messages. They’re heartbreaking. They’re also convincing as hell. So despite the evidence so clearly pointing to Victoria Ford’s guilt, she died clinging to her innocence. I at least owe it to Emma to review the case against her sister.”
Walt’s mind reached back across twenty years to when he was a young, inexperienced detective handpicked to run a high-profile homicide investigation. Things had bothered him back then about that promotion, and he was realizing that they still bothered him today.
“I’m not out to prove Victoria’s innocence to the world,” Avery said. “This many years later, I’m not sure that would be possible even if it were true. I have no plans to paint you or the BCI in a poor light. You conducted your investigation and everything you found pointed to Victoria Ford. Those are the facts. I’m simply asking to review all the evidence and hear about the investigation from start to finish. It will play a crucial role in the exposé I’m planning.”