Richard had grown up in Perkins, rivals to Stewart in football, basketball and other sports. Gabrielle and Sharon had seen Richard around a lot, considering he was Perkins’s star basketball player. And they’d made sure he had seen them. So Richard knew the woman Sharon had been. And he seemed to love everything about her.
When Sharon remained silent, Gabrielle continued. “It’s not like you haven’t confided in Richard about what Tony did. He’ll support you.”
“He knows about my past, but he’s also very traditional. He doesn’t blame me, but he’s never been interested in the sordid details.” Sharon shivered as she spoke.
Gabrielle considered herself a decent judge of character, and Richard seemed like one of the good guys. “I’m sure he just doesn’t want to put you through the pain of reliving it,” Gabrielle assured her friend.
“Or maybe the thought of it just disgusts him.” Sharon ran her hands up and down her arms. “So far we’ve been lucky that nobody’s dug up that old dirt on me. But if these photos get out, his political dreams will be ruined and I’ll be to blame.”
“Honey…”
Sharon’s eyes filled with tears. “As much as it goes against what I believe in, I’ll just have to pay whoever it is to keep this quiet.”
“No!” Gabrielle slammed her hand against the steering wheel. “You can’t give in to blackmail.”
“Unless you have a solution that doesn’t involve this photo and God knows how many more becoming public, I have no choice.” Sharon smoothed out the paper with the note. “It says here that I should go to the Wave, a nightclub in Stewart, tomorrow night at eight. I’m to bring the money with me.”
“How much does he want?”
“Five thousand dollars.” She swallowed hard. “If it’s Tony, he’s raised his price.”
Gabrielle narrowed her gaze. “That doesn’t seem like all that much money these days, even with inflation,” she said, trying for levity.
It worked. Sharon smiled. “I know, but that’s his MO. Last time Tony only asked for a thousand. He’d planned on stringing it out, asking for more each time. I’m sure he’s got the same plan now. He’ll keep me on edge by making me wonder if and when those photos will show up in the next day’s paper.” Her face had grown pale at the notion.
Something wasn’t sitting right in Gabrielle’s mind, but she couldn’t put her finger on what was bothering her. “When did Tony get out of prison?”
Sharon shrugged. “I don’t know that he did, but it has to be him, right? Nobody else would have the pictures but him.”
“I don’t know.” She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. “It seems odd that your old pictures would resurface around the same time I’m not so politely being asked to leave town,” Gabrielle mused.
“You think the two things are related?” Sharon shifted in her seat, curling her knee beneath her so she faced Gabrielle.
“Yes. No. I don’t know. It’s just weird to have two separate threats against each of us going on at the same time.” She paused. “What if Tony sold the pictures to someone?”
“Anything’s possible.”
“This stinks. Even if you pay, you can never be certain that you have all the pictures. This could drag on forever.” Gabrielle turned and stared out the window, trying to come up with some way to help her friend.
They needed to track down Tony, but Gabrielle didn’t think her friend was up for that conversation just yet. Maybe after the shock wore off. In the meantime, she’d do some digging herself. Research was what she was good at, after all.
“Do you have the money?” Gabrielle asked.
“For this payment and maybe one more. I obviously can’t afford to keep this up indefinitely. I just wish I hadn’t been so stupid.”
“Hey!” Gabrielle whipped around in her seat. “Do not blame yourself. You were drugged. It’s not like you were a willing participant,” she reminded Sharon.
With that, Gabrielle realized what had been bothering her. “You were a victim. Surely nobody will hold that against you or Richard. I say you call his bluff. Refuse to pay and ride out the scandal. Richard loves you. He’ll stand by you and so will I.” Gabrielle reached out and squeezed her friend’s hand. “It’s the least I can do for the woman who went toe to toe with Hank Corwin for me.”
Sharon glanced out the window. “I think you’re forgetting who Richard’s opponent is. Mary Perkins won’t hesitate to use this as ammunition to hurt Richard and convince people to vote for her.”
Mary Perkins and that damned curse she wielded like a magic wand with the power to bend people to her will. Gabrielle decided the incumbent mayor would be high on her list of people to interview, if for no other reason than to dig into the psyche of someone willing to use other people’s weaknesses against them.
“At least tell Richard what’s going on so he won’t be caught off guard if this leaks,” Gabrielle suggested.
“No.” Sharon swung back around. “Not yet. I need to go to the Wave tomorrow night and see what and whom I’m dealing with first.” Sharon’s voice shook at the idea, but with her decision made, she drew her shoulders up straighter.
“Merde. You are stubborn.” Like Gabrielle herself, once Sharon set her mind on a course of action, like pressing charges against Tony years ago, nothing would deter her. At least some of her spunk remained, despite the fear.