The Ying on Triad by Kent Conwell Read Free Book Online Page B

bedrooms, separate lives. He had no problem with my finding
other-" she shrugged, completely indifferent to my reactions, "you know, companions"
    I nodded.
    She continued. "I'd had other ... ah ... friends before.
They never bothered him. To be honest, none of this
would have happened if Albert hadn't taken a swing at
Bobby that night at the Double Eagle"
    "You think it was because he was governor-elect and
afraid of the publicity?"
    She raised an eyebrow. "If he wanted to stop our affair,
he could have. He knew Bobby and I were seeing each
other. We'd been together for almost a year-throughout
the entire campaign-although we kept it quiet" She
shook her head and chuckled ruefully. "And we did keep
it quiet. You know the straight-to-the-jugular mindset of
the media today. They would have ripped Albert apart"
    "Maybe he was thinking ahead to the years he would be
in office when he jumped Bobby"
    She laughed, not quite a sneer, but close to it. "You
don't know much about politics, do you, Mr. Boudreaux?"
    "No, Ma'am, I don't."
    "With very few exceptions, once you're in office,
you're there to stay. Criticism, scandal, shame-they all roll off your back. Look at our state and national politics."
She took another deep drag on her cigarette and shook her
head.

    "So why did your husband go after Bobby in the bar?"
    She shrugged. "Albert was drunk. No other reason"
    "Is that why he had Bobby fired? The fight?"
    Her eyes twinkled. "Albert had a tremendous ego. He
could never forget the whipping Bobby gave him" She
shook her head. "Nobody, but nobody got the best of
Albert Hastings. He got even one way or another."
    "Let me ask you this, Mrs. Hastings. Who benefitted
from your husband's death? In other words, if it wasn't a
murder of passion, who stood to gain the most?"
    She studied me. "Do you believe Bobby is innocent?"
    I pondered her question. "That isn't for me to say, but
the truth is, there are a few unanswered questions bothering me, questions that make me wonder if he did murder
yourhusband"
    Lorene Hastings arched an eyebrow. "I see. So, in
answer to your question, I benefited because of insurance,
prestige, and that sort of thing. Sam Bradford benefited
because he took over the governor's job which led to his
election as a U.S. Senator, and Don Landreth, Albert's
campaign manager, went on to become President Bonner's
campaign manager in the last two national elections"
    "Landreth?" I frowned. "I haven't heard of him. He
didn't testify at the trial"
    She shrugged. "He was Albert's campaign manager for
years, but to answer your question, I didn't kill Albert.
Don had no motive because he had no way of knowing
Charlie Bonner would pick him to run his presidential
campaign" She paused, took a deep drag off her cigarette
and blew the smoke out sharply. "So that leaves Sam
Bradford"

    "Any ideas why Bradford would do something like
that?"
    She shook her head. "Politicians are scum, Mr.
Boudreaux. To attain their goals, they'll stoop to whatever
level necessary-lies, theft, even murder. Campaign managers aren't much better." Her brows knitting in a frown,
she added, "But something more was going on. I don't
know what but two days after Albert's death, his office
was ransacked. Someone wanted something Albert had"
    "What does Bradford want out of all of this?"
    She looked at me as if she were staring at the world's
biggest idiot. "Why, to be president, of course."-
    Of course. I should have known. How stupid of me. I
rose and extended my hand. "Thanks for your time, Mrs.
Hastings"
    "Have I helped Bobby?"
    "Well, you've given me something to chew on," I said,
trying gracefully to skirt her question.
    "I hope so," she said sadly. "I still love him."
    Back in my truck, I committed the interview to my note
cards. As I jotted down the information, I remembered a
remark Bobby Packard had made. I shuffled back through
my cards until I found it. "He wasn't worth the price I'd
have to pay