The Wicked Wife (Murder in Marin Book 2) by Martin Brown Read Free Book Online

husband’s interest.  
    The IJ ’s blurb written by its society editor, Sally White, was short and sweet: “Belvedere billionaire William Adams has been seen in the company of Marin County native and international superstar model, Willow Wisp. Rumors are flying among San Francisco’s smart set that the two of them are an item with William and Willow sightings in many of the city’s top spots. When I know more, you’ll know more!”  
    Now that Willow was on Sylvia’s radar, Rob’s competitive nature kicked in. “Wow! I’m glad you got invited. So, what’s the problem?”  
    “The paper comes out on Friday, but the gathering is on Saturday! Obviously, I can’t report on something that hasn’t happened! I’m worried that Sally White will cover it in the IJ ’s Sunday edition.”
    Keeping a weekly newspaper relevant frequently required inventing quick solutions. Rob was adept at juggling deadline problems he faced with every one of his editions. The most daunting of which came last year with the murder of a minor Sausalito celebrity, Warren Bradley, forever memorialized in the local culture as “the Gossiping Gourmet.” Warren, who had also been one of Rob’s corps of volunteer community reporters, was discovered slain hours after Sausalito Standard had gone to press. Rotten timing such as that was an inescapable reality in the weekly new business. Rob knew, however, that the paper’s greatest strength was to go much deeper than what was presented by daily newspapers and up to the minute radio and television coverage. As Rob repeatedly told Holly, “the dailies get to report the who, how, where and when, our job is cover the why.”
    Rob only needed to think for a moment before replying to Sylvia’s question. “Do a short background piece on Willow—superstar model, glamorous life and career, etcetera—and mention the anticipation surrounding the upcoming party. Then get a few quotes from some of your socially connected gal pals about the upcoming event, and tease the reader promising complete coverage of the party in your column of next week.”
    “Wonderful, Rob! Will do!”
    “And one other thing Sylvia: avoid being at all critical of these two or their party—at least for now.”
    “I wouldn’t dream of it Rob!”
    “Good, because if those two get married and it’s the social event of the year on the Peninsula, you want to be on their invitation list. Your real value is to be on the inside covering this for all of us who won’t get an invitation.” He paused, then added, “Even better, ingratiate yourself to Willow. Being new to town, she’ll appreciate your friendship, and you’ll appreciate the chance to be first in line for the stories those two will likely generate in the months and years to come. If that happens, Sally at the IJ will be reading you for your leads.”
    “As always, Rob, you’ve been so helpful.”
    “That’s what I’m here for,” he said, and then clicked off.
    Later, when Holly brought Rob the page proofs for the Sausalito edition, she teased, “I didn’t know you were into the celebrity scene!”
    “You mean, that billionaire Adams and his girlfriend, Willow Tree?”
    “God, you’re such a Neanderthal! It’s not Tree. It’s Wisp .”
    Rob shrugged. “Willow Whatever.”
    Holly sighed wistfully. “I think it would be fun going to that party. It never hurts to rub elbows with the rich and the beautiful.”
    “Call Sylvia and see if you can tag along. Maybe Adams will dump Willow Wisp and start chasing after you.”
    She snorted. “He wouldn’t have to chase very hard, I’ve always had a soft spot for anyone on the Forbes list of the world’s wealthiest people.”
    “That’s my Holly—one eye on romance, one eye on the bottom line.”
    “A billion dollars can buy a whole lot of happiness.”
    Rob nodded. “After I got off the phone with Sylvia, I looked up Adams online. According to Forbes he’s got about twenty-four billion. Hell, with that