Missing Persons by Clare O'Donohue Read Free Book Online Page B

unfinished.”
    I heard a cough. I jumped up and spun around. The director was at the door to the room.
    “I’m so sorry to disturb you, Mrs. Conway, but we’re closing. Are you finished mourning for the evening?”
    I smiled a little. “I guess so.”

Twelve
    T he funeral went smoothly. Neal gave him a lovely eulogy that managed to avoid any mention of the last four months. My sister and parents sat beside me at the service offering their support, without the usual advice on how to handle the in-laws. Frank’s parents introduced me as their son’s widow to their friends. And as promised, Vera didn’t show up. All in all, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.
    As I was leaving the graveyard after the burial, I noticed a message on my phone. It might have been a little impolite to listen to it while standing among headstones, but I knew who it was, and if I didn’t get back to him, I’d get calls all day.
    “Kate, it’s Mike. We’ve got an interview with the ex–assistant state’s attorney for Thursday, but we’re running into a problem with the ex-boyfriend. He thinks we’re going to make him look like a suspect, which I assured him we won’t. He’s turned me down. I think if you called him, you could work your charm. We need him. He’s going to be our suspect. I know it’s your ex’s funeral today, so I don’t want to disturb you. Just send me a text to let me know you’ ll call the guy this afternoon. I’ll e-mail you his number. And, you know, sorry about your loss.”
    I texted him two words, “will call,” and headed for home.
     
     
    I had barely changed out of my widow clothes and into a pair of old sweats when I dialed Jason’s number.
    “Is this Jason Ryder?”
    “Yeah, who’s this?”
    “My name is Kate Conway. I’m working on a show called Missing Persons , and we’re doing an episode on Theresa Moretti.”
    Doing something work related made me feel normal, which really it shouldn’t have. There’s nothing normal about talking some poor guy into looking like a killer for the sake of a television show.
    “I talked to someone from your show,” Jason said. “I told him I wasn’t interested.”
    “He told me. I guess I just wanted to explain . . .”
    “I know what these shows are like.”
    “We’re trying to help the police find Theresa.”
    “No, you’re not.”
    He wasn’t stupid. I went another way. “Look, the whole way these shows are set up is that we present the facts of the case and the opinions of the participants, and that sometimes leads the audience toward a possible solution.”
    “Meaning you make someone like me look guilty even when we’re not.”
    “It sometimes happens that way. If, for example, Theresa’s mother or her friends have bad things to say about someone from Theresa’s life, then obviously we’re going to want to include those comments.”
    “But if they’re lies, then I’ll sue you.”
    “We’re pretty smart about protecting ourselves from charges of slander, Jason. We will not say bad things about you in voice-over, but we may include sound bites of other people saying bad things. As long as we don’t have evidence that these people are lying, and we’ve done our best to get your side of the story, the show is in the clear.”
    “But they’ll make stuff up. You don’t know those people.”
    “And I don’t know you. But I want to be fair and warn you how these things work. I don’t want you to have any regrets later.” My voice was firm and ominous. I wanted to scare him, but I also wanted him to think I was on his side. “The people watching the show are going to wonder why you didn’t want to talk. They’re going to think you have something to hide. If Theresa’s family does have something to say about you, and you don’t defend yourself, well, the audience will draw their own conclusions.”
    “But you’ll let me tell what happened, so people won’t think I hurt Theresa.”
    “That’s what I