Never Tell (May Moore Suspense Thriller 2)

She was having fun stringing her along. She was annoyed that she hadn’t been brought into the loop on the case and was determined to take a piece of it.

And it was because of that that she was withholding information.

“Well, I can’t let you into the case,” May said at last. “There’s no reason to do that. We have to manage it ourselves up until there is a real reason for FBI involvement, if that happens at all. But I’m surprised by you. I thought you might have some information that could help catch a killer.”

“That’s all I can say,” Kerry reiterated. “I’m sure you’ll be able to figure it out, with a little effort. It was a very large payment. Might even have been around the five-hundred-thousand-dollar mark.”

May’s heart sped up.

“You think it was bribe money?” she asked.

Kerry sighed. “In my experience, and given that it was paid to a journalist, it’s far more likely to be blackmail.”

May frowned. “Blackmail for what?”

“I don’t know,” Kerry said.

May waited, but there was no more information forthcoming.

“Well, the FBI can’t be involved in the case,” May said.

Kerry laughed. “That’s so silly, May. You’re being an idiot, and very shortsighted, not to let me get involved. Anyway, I’ve given you the hint you needed. Now you can take it further, or not.”

May stared at the phone in dismay. She could imagine her sister’s grin widening at her silence.

Anger and frustration coursed through her. She’d been used.

Her sister had made a big deal of giving them information and then withheld it, knowing that they had no choice but to let her have her way.

Worst of all, she had the car keys already, so May couldn’t renege on the deal about the pickup. Not that she would want to do such a thing. She just wanted Kerry to keep her side of the bargain!

Feeling helpless and unsure what to do, she slumped forward, putting her head in her hands. She tried to concentrate on the information she had. The FBI had been monitoring Madeline’s bank accounts. They were tracking big payments out of her account, and frequent international travel. No doubt there were other reasons but Kerry wasn’t saying those. May guessed that if Reed Leisure was also involved in strip clubs, there might be some money laundering going on, but that was just a guess.

And recently a huge payment, most likely blackmail, had been made to a local journo.

Finally, May’s mind started to turn. There was only one journalist she knew of who had intimate knowledge of the Reeds’ affairs and who had published articles on it.

That journalist was Emily Oxman.

“Is it Emily?” May asked innocently.

The outraged gasp and shocked silence she received in response told her she’d hit a bull’s-eye.

“Thanks, sis. We’ll get going on that then,” May said. “Appreciate the information. So kind of you. Enjoy the pickup.”

She ended the call, feeling a rush of relief. Finally they’d come to a breakthrough. They were on the right track.

Owen stood up with a big grin on his face.

“May, that was brilliant. Brilliant! So Emily Oxman was blackmailing Madeline? How are we going to research this further, and find out why?”

“We’re going to need to go and confront her about this. Let’s look up her address, and while we’re at it, see if there are any other details on her that might be important,” May said.