“You think he was blackmailing them?”

I quelled an impulse to immediately deny it. “Maybe.”

After a long silence, he said, “Suppose you’re wrong. What if your friend wasn’t doing anything more than trying to find a job?”

“Then I’m still talking to Allan’s nearest and dearest pals.” I shrugged. “I’m still trying to pry things out of Allan’s former coworkers. It would take a vast conspiracy or blackmail scheme of his own to keep that many people silent. I don’t think he could manage it, frankly. I suspect they really don’t know why he left. Even his former secretary-who would love to have her revenge on him-couldn’t offer me anything more than word of Lucas’s visit, tales of a night Allan spent shredding papers, and the story of his hastily arranged dinner party. I’m planning to try to talk to her again.”

“Anyone else?”

“The other people who were at the meeting. I may even try to track down Allan’s first wife.”

“If I allow you to keep following this angle, you suppose you could devote more of your time to this story?”

“John, as far as I’m concerned, I worked on this story over the weekend-on my days off.”

“Admit it, Kelly, that was a personal matter that happened to dovetail with this story.”

“Okay, fine. Have it your way.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that. Maybe I’m not the most insolent, insubordinate-what else did you call me, John?”

“That’s as far as I got. And no one else around here comes close to being as much trouble as you are.”

“Thanks. Do I get to find out what you had planned for me this morning?”

“And like I said, follow up with the Lucas Monroe angle, too.”

“I intend to. Now what was going on?”

Finally realizing I didn’t intend to be sidetracked, he said, “A pager.”

“A pager?” I shook my head. “I hate those things.”

“I know, I know.”

“Electronic leashes. You start out thinking it will help people get in touch with you, but nine times out of ten it’s some nuisance message.”

“I know how you feel about them, Kelly.”

“It’s just that once I was talking to this city hall source-took me three days of phone calls to finally get this secretary to meet with me, and four or five hours of hanging out together before she started to drop her guard a little. Just as I think she’s about to confirm a rumor for me, on the verge of coming across with everything I need to know, the damn beeper goes off. Air raid sirens wouldn’t have caused the woman less alarm. She was out of there. And I go looking for a pay phone, finally find one that works, and now I’m madder than hell. I answer the page and it’s-” I stopped cold. Uh-oh.

“It’s me, wondering if you knew where we were supposed to meet O’Connor for drinks after work.”

“Well, that’s not the point. But knowing how I feel about them, John, why make me carry one?”

“It’s nothing personal. Well…at least, not between you and me. Wrigley wants everyone who works news to wear one. Half the others wear them now. Get used to the idea.”

“If it’s not personal, why wasn’t the new policy announced in a meeting?”

“There will be one later today. But I was supposed to deliver yours to you this morning. Wrigley’s request. He’s impatient for your story.”

“You said you changed your mind-does that mean you’ve figured out how to get me out of this?”

“No. But I’ll wait until the meeting to give you yours.”

Comprehension dawned. “I see. Wrigley arranged a show. I’d be singled out, everyone in the newsroom would know it, and they’d assume I caused the change in policy.”

“Something like that.”

“And you were happy to go along with it, John?”

“Don’t try to blame me. You know you’ve made your own contribution to this mess with Wrigley,” he said.

I couldn’t argue with him about that. John was often caught in the middle of my ongoing war with Wrigley. “Well, screw it, then. Go ahead and give me the beeper now.”

“Look, Kelly-”

“Give me the beeper. And if Wrigley wonders why I’m not at the staff meeting, tell him maybe he should try to page me.”

IF THE PEOPLE IN THE NEWSROOMwondered how I had managed to return John to his crabby self, they didn’t ask me to my face. I was too busy to worry about their reactions.

I checked my phone messages. Murray was waiting to see me, and Claire had called. I had been planning to call her anyway, but I wanted to follow up on a couple of other things first.

Through his secretary, I made an appointment to see Roland Hill that afternoon. You would think the woman hadn’t been hanging up in my ear for nearly a week.

Next, I called Ivy Vines.

“I need your help with a couple of things,” I said.

“Sure. What can I do for you?”

“I’m trying to figure something out. You dated one of Andre’s friends before you got involved with Andre, right?”

“Yes. That’s how I met you, remember? I was still dating Jeff when you were with Andre.”

“Jeff, the setup man,” I said. “Whenever Andre wanted to break up with someone, Jeff made sure she walked in on Andre and his new flame.”

“I didn’t know Jeff did that for Andre until much later,” she said meekly. “Sorry.”

“C’mon, Ivy. No need to apologize. Until we all started talking to one another, none of us knew Andre’s M.O.-ancient history by then.”

“I should have guessed what Jeff was up to. I’ve thought about it a lot since then. Anyway, what do you need to know?”

“I’m trying to fill in a blank or two, Ivy. I was with Andre after Helen. Alicia was after me. Were you after Alicia?”

“No, I was a couple of women later.”

“Who was with Andre after Alicia?”

“Hmm. Alicia didn’t last too long, as I recall. I think she was just trying to take him away from you.”

“Yeah, well, it wasn’t the first time she went after one of my boyfriends, but it was the first time she got what she deserved.”

“Nobody deserves Andre. Not even Alicia.”

“True,” I admitted.

“I don’t remember who Andre was with after Alicia. I could try to find out-wait-I know, we could ask Lisa.”

I thought back to my conversations with Lisa. Lisa had sounded so embittered. “I’d rather avoid that if at all possible, Ivy. Lisa has enough reminders of what a jerk he is without having to recite a litany of his old girlfriends.”

“Good point,” she said.

“Actually, I don’t really need a list of people. I’m just trying to find out about one woman,” I said. “Someone named Nadine Preston.”

“Nadine! Oh, God,” she groaned. “I remember her!”

“You do?”

“Yes, because of what happened with Jeff.” She paused, then said, “Nadine really fell hard for old Andre. Wonder why we’ve never thought of her for SOS? She holds a record.”

“I’m confused. A record?”

“Burned by the same fire twice.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Andre never got back together with anyone, even if she was masochistic enough to beg him to take her back-right?”

“Right.”

“Except Nadine. Technically, anyway. A very brief reunion.”

I was astonished. “Are you saying she wentback to him?”

“Yes. Jeff made a big deal out of it. He was really angry with Andre about it. It was ridiculous. I don’t think Nadine and Andre were back together for more than a couple of weeks. Jeff spent more time being upset about it than Nadine and Andre spent being back together.”

“Why should Jeff care if Andre was reunited with an ex, especially if it was only for a few days?”

“I tried to find out, but he never told me. He just said that it could only mean trouble. Nadine ended the friendship between Andre and Jeff.”

“You lost me somewhere in there, Ivy. I would think Jeff’s friendship with Andre ended because Andre luredyou from his side.”

“No, their friendship was already over. It almost ended when Nadine got together with Andre the first time. Jeff told him he was taking a big chance, because Nadine worked for Andre as a graduate assistant.”