“So you plan to put a positive spin on her murder,” Martin said with a smirk.
“Knock it off,” Rosalyn snapped. Her son’s sense of humor had soured recently. His old lady clients might overlook it, but she wouldn’t. “Caroline didn’t die from a ruptured appendix. She cancelled the biggest wedding of the year then got herself murdered wearing the damned dress. Imagine what the media will do with that. We have to control the story.”
She’d set this meeting in the privacy of the bank’s conference room so they could put together a strategy to protect themselves and reassure their clients. She’d seen this kind of PR disaster before, clients taking flight like startled pigeons. Other firms in their situation had spent hundreds of thousands trying to recover from scandal. Some didn’t make it.
“Relax, Mother. Next week’s plane crash will wipe Caroline’s murder out of the public’s mind.”
“Not out of our clients’ minds. Not the people at the club. I’ll be damned if I’ll let them pity me as that poor Rosalyn Lee with a sick husband and a dead daughter.”
Martin thought for a moment. “You gave Raj’s name to the cops. Do you believe he did it?”
“Who else?”
“I don’t know. Was she seeing another man?”
“Not a chance. Your sister was too transparent to hide a lover from me.”
He tapped his nails on the table, thinking. “Instead of controlling the story we’ll change the conversation. If Raj is arrested, it will come out that he was stalking Caroline. We’ll write a fat check to some non-profit do-gooders who oppose violence against women. We’ll insist they create a fund in Caroline’s name. You show up at events and make a few speeches. People will focus on your humanitarian spirit rather than the murder.”
She envisioned having to dress down and engage in sympathetic conversation with battered women at abuse shelters. How morbid. “And if Raj is cleared?”
“The media will soon dredge up Finn’s disappearance. Our family will look like an episode on Law and Order.”
The thought made her shudder. “Let’s stay with the present. I’ve hired a publicist to write Caroline’s obituary and a glowing bio for the media. Kitty Townsend is brilliant at handling events. She’ll take over the funeral arrangements.”
She made notes, annoyed by Martin drumming his fingers on the table. A drop in business at the firm would cut the bank’s income and his paycheck. He was right to be anxious. Caroline’s murder was a threat to his lifestyle—his extravagant wardrobe, his expensive women, his home in Chickasaw Gardens, an apartment in Rome, his Ferrari, a Jaguar XKSS, a Bugatti Veyron, and all those other exotic sports cars. The art in this conference room alone cost more than most people’s houses.
Four years ago, Martin had taken over the position as head of Airlee Bank and replaced his aunt Gracie Ella as senior trust officer. He had made it clear since then that he resented the tedium of overseeing day-to-day operations and creating annual reports for trusts. However, Martin understood the power of wealth and the pedigree of the Lee name. Combined they were formidable. He let it be known that he was making a bigger sacrifice for the family than Caroline and thought it was unfair for her to inherit an equal share of the Lee estate. Rosalyn didn’t believe Martin would hurt his sister over money, but he hadn’t responded when she’d texted last night, behavior that was very unlike him.
She pushed the thought to the back of her mind and noticed he’d been studying himself in the mirror hanging on the wall across from the table. He adjusted his tie, practiced his smile. She had favored Martin over Caroline when they were children, recognizing his narcissism early, which made him the easier child to manipulate.
“We need to discuss how to deal with Detective Able,” he said. “Do you remember him?”
“Jackson Able’s son. He used to work at that seedy diner we’d pass on the drive to Airlee. He was involved in Buck Overton’s case, and he exposed Sid Garrett.”
Judge Buck Overton had been a dear friend of the family who visited Airlee many times to work the dogs with Saunders. Three years ago, he was convicted of beating a child into a coma.
Sid Garrett had been her closest ally on the board of the Memphis Bar Association. He’d thrown himself under a train rather than face murder charges. Fortunately, their relationships with Buck and Sid had not come to light during the reporting of either case.
“Detective Able is a Mississippi redneck in a cheap suit,” Martin continued. “He’s also the best investigator on the homicide squad.”
“Then he’ll arrest Raj soon, and we’ll be done with this nightmare.”
“Maybe. But until then the media will be all over this case and not just because of Caroline. Able and Malone are media darlings. After the Garrett case, the department made Malone the new face of Memphis law enforcement. Her photo was on the side of city buses for months. Both of them are media hogs. I warned Able I’d have the mayor step in if he doesn’t wrap this up quickly and quietly.”
“Threatening the man who can give us what we want was a stupid move,” she said.
“He’s not on our side. If Raj isn’t arrested, they’ll expand the investigation to your law firm and my bank.”
She sat back. “You’re right. He asked for all the client files in Caroline’s office.”
“You didn’t give them to him!”
She gave him a cold look. “Of course not.”
“We don’t want Economic Crime investigators going through our records.”
Outside the windows a fifty-year-old oak stripped of leaves waved its skeletal branches in the wind. She recalled the determination on Able’s face when he’d asked about the files. Caroline’s death was personal for him. She knew the reason. Martin didn’t.
“This could be real trouble if we don’t handle it the right way,” she said.