Lake News by Barbara Delinsky Read Free Book Online Page B

equipped to talk with the press.“You’ll have to call the archdiocese. They’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
    â€œAre you having an affair with the Cardinal?”
    â€œA what?” When he repeated his question, she cried, “Good God, no.” It was a prank call, but not a blind one, since she did know the Cardinal. Cautious, curious, she said, “This number is unlisted. How did you get it?” Terry Sullivan was the only reporter she knew, and yes, he had her number. She didn’t want to think he was passing it around.
    â€œWere you having an affair with Cardinal Rossetti in Albany?” the reporter asked just as her call waiting beeped. She was unsettled enough by his question to switch right to the second call.
    â€œYes?”
    â€œLily Blake?”
    â€œWho is this?”
    â€œPaul Rizzo, Cityside.” Cityside was a renegade daily that had come from nowhere to rival Boston’s mainstream press. “I’m looking for a comment on the Post story.”
    Her heart was pumping faster. “What story?”
    â€œThe one saying that you and the Cardinal are sexually involved.”
    She hung up. On both calls. After waiting a minute for the dial tone to return, she lifted the receiver and dropped it in the bedding. She didn’t believe there was any story in the Post —how could there be one, with no substance?—but after two calls, she had to see for herself. Slipping on a coat over her nightshirt, she took the elevator to the first floor and had barely started for the outer lobby where thedaily papers were left when she saw someone waiting. He had a tape recorder hanging from his shoulder and a microphone in his hand. At the sight of her, he came to life.
    She slipped back into the elevator seconds before the door closed, and quickly pressed her floor. For good measure, to hide her destination, she pressed every floor above her own on the panel. As soon as she was in her apartment again, she linked her laptop to the phone line and accessed the Post on-line.
    She didn’t have to go past the home page. It was right there in big, bold letters—the lead story.
CARDINAL LINKED TO CABARET SINGER
    Beside it was a picture, apparently taken the night before, of the two of them, arm to arm, hip to hip on the piano bench, smiling at each other, in vivid, crystal-clear color.
    Horrified, Lily began to read.
    Less than a week ago, Archbishop Francis P. Rossetti was elevated to Cardinal amid an outpouring of praise for his humanitarian achievements and religious devotion. With the celebration barely over, the Post has learned that Cardinal Rossetti has led a double life. In an exclusive story, the Headline Team reveals a long-term relationship between the Cardinal and Lily Blake, 34, a cabaret singer at the posh Essex Club on Commonwealth Avenue.
    Bewildered, she clicked on to the rest of the story.
    Blake and the Cardinal met eight years ago at a party in New York City. They were introduced by then Mayor William Dean, who had first spotted Blake on the Broadway stage. As soon as the mayor and his wife separated, Blake became a regular guest at Gracie Mansion. It was there that she met the Cardinal.
    Lily was incredulous. She read now with a kind of morbid fascination.
    Two years later, when the mayor was elected governor of New York and moved to Albany, Blake went with him. Between twice-weekly visits to the Governor’s Mansion, she sang at a nightclub not far from the State House. In addition, the governor set her up entertaining at private parties.
    â€œNo, he didn’t,” she cried. “Those bookings came from my work at the club!”
    Francis Rossetti, then Bishop of Albany, often attended those parties. He began inviting Blake to play at similar events at the Bishop’s residence. Within months, she became a frequent visitor. One employee of the diocese, who asked to remain anonymous, said it was obvious that Rossetti and