As soon as Cindy dialed his number, Greg picked up immediately.
“Who is it?” he said hurriedly.
“Greg, this is Cindy,” she started, in an upbeat tone. She wanted to start out on the right foot. She’d met him in passing, a couple of times, and remembered him as a lively, positive guy.
“Cindy, who?” he sounded rushed.
“Cindy Blaine,” she answered, disconcerted.
“Oh,” he slowed down a second. “Well, congratulations on your marriage. How’s Clint?”
Cindy felt a deep chill. “You haven’t heard?”
“Heard what? I’m not working at the company anymore.”
Cindy couldn’t bring herself to say a thing.
“You didn’t hear that I was let go?” Greg went on, even more hurriedly. “It happened while you guys were on your honeymoon. They told everyone I decided to leave. Well, it isn’t true . Frankly, I was surprised that Clint didn’t call when he got back to find out how I was . How come you’re calling and he’s not?” he seemed anxious to hang up.
Cindy didn’t want to tell him over the phone. “I’d like to speak to you in person,” she said. “Can we get together for lunch?”
“I’m not up to it,” he said, scraping his throat. “Tell me what you have to now. I’m a busy man.”
This was not the Greg that Cindy had known, the guy who used to be understanding.
“I can’t talk about it over the phone,” Cindy said.
That got him mad. “Listen, I’ve had enough talking about the company. I’m done with it. Over. There’s nothing more I need to hear.”
“Yes, there is,” said Cindy softly.
“Listen, honey, I’m hanging up.”
“Don’t hang up,” Cindy burst out, terrified of losing him. He was an important link to Clint. “Please, Greg, don’t.”
“What the hell is wrong?” he said bitterly. “Can’t you respect my feelings? Just say what you have to over the phone.”
“Clint is dead,” Cindy announced bluntly.
Greg gasped.
“He was killed on our honeymoon.”
“Oh my God.”
“I need your help.”
“Oh no, oh no,” he couldn’t speak.
“Please meet me in person. I need to talk to you.”
Cindy thought she heard a sob. He was still for a few moments and then spoke in a raspy voice.
“You’ve got to be careful,” he said fitfully. “We can’t just meet anywhere.”
“I’ll meet you wherever you want.”
“Go all the way over to the East River,” he said in a hushed tone. “There’s a Promenade near the river. It’s pretty empty during the week. We can sit on a bench, around the bend.”
The terror Greg felt poured through Cindy, making her heart clench.
“Okay,” she said. She’d find out exactly where the Promenade was.
“I’ll be there tomorrow at one o’clock,” Greg continued furtively, “there’s an entrance on 84th Street. Go East as far as you can. Then walk down to the river, and you’ll be on the Promenade. Don’t make a big deal of saying hello. Act as though everything’s natural.”
“Got it,” said Cindy.
And then before she could say another word, she heard a dial tone.
Chapter 14
The next day was hot and humid. Cindy drove to the City with the car windows down, letting the warm, moist, sultry air wash over her. She parked on a side street, and walked a few blocks East to the Promenade. It was a lovely residential neighborhood, with brownstones on the side streets and tall, elegant apartment buildings on the main avenues. As she got further East she came to a neighborhood park which bordered the Promenade. There were trees, a playground, a basketball court. Then, beyond that, the walkway along the East River.
Cindy was almost afraid to walk down to the river. She had no idea what state Greg was in or what else she was going to find out.
A few ice cream vendors lined up along the entrance to the park, smiling at Cindy and asked if she wanted some. Cindy wished she could buy an ice cream for both her and Greg, but thought better of it. This meeting was peculiar. She didn’t know how he would react.
She walked down the pathway slowly. When she got to the river, there he was, standing exactly where he said he would be .
Greg was a slim guy in his thirties, just a little taller than Cindy. He wore khaki pants, a blue tee shirt and a baseball cap, pulled low, with dark sunglasses. He saw her immediately, nodded and looked down.
Cindy came over stood next to him.
“Let’s just walk,” he said under his breath.
They started walking. As he’d said, the Promenade was mostly empty. A few people sat on benches at the river’s edge, watching boats pass by. In the park that bordered the Promenade, some sunbathers were stretched out, lying on the grass. Thick, white summer clouds filled the sky.
Greg turned and looked over his shoulder a few times as they walked.
“We’re going North,” he told Cindy. “Right around that bend is a bench I love. It’s under a big tree, protected from view.”
“Great,” Cindy said.
They came to the bend, turned a slight corner and there was a huge, sheltering tree. Under it was an empty bench.
“We’ll sit here,” Greg said instantly . “There’s always a breeze.”
Cindy and Greg sat down on the bench and he finally breathed a little more easily.
“They have tentacles everywhere,” Greg said. “You have to be careful.”
“Who has tentacles?” Cindy asked.
Greg turned and opened his huge brown eyes wide . “The company.”
“I see,” Cindy said.
“What do you see?” Greg was quick on the uptake. He was quick about everything, and right to the point.
“Not much,” said Cindy.
“You’re in danger.”
It was as if a cold wind blew over Cindy. She’d felt there was danger, but to hear it said like that aloud made it more real, almost as if she could smell it. Otherwise, lulled by the beautiful trees, sky and late spring afternoon, the whole world seemed in harmony.
“Clint was never careful enough,” Greg went on. “I told him that over and over.”
Cindy couldn’t let his fear overtake her.
“Clint loved to talk. He talked too much. He got so excited when he found something out, he’d tell everyone. I’d say, Clint, shut up. He called me paranoid. Oh God, I can’t believe he’s gone. He was a wonderful person.”
Cindy wanted to put her hand on his quivering arm to comfort him, but he was too overwrought. He and Clint had worked together for three years. This had to be a huge shock.
“How’d he die?” he finally asked.
“The Coroner called it accidental drowning.”
“Bullshit,” Greg blurted out. “Did you see the Coroner’s report yourself?”
“No. I wasn’t in shape to see anything then.”
“Check the Coroner’s report yourself,” Greg said.
She would. That was a good idea.
“Why did they fire you, Greg?”
“I’ll tell you what I can. I’m only here because of Clint. I have an agreement with the company not to say anything to anyone. That’s not unusual in a termination agreement. In exchange they gave me some funds.”
“I’m not just anyone.”
“I’m not stupid. I realize that. And I have a moral obligation to keep you from harm. Clint’s death was definitely not an accident.”
Cindy was beginning to feel cold and edgy.
“Clint went much too far. He got a lot of warnings to stop poking around in the research he was doing. “
“Research on the Tearwall Project?”
“He wasn’t supposed to tell you about it.”
“He didn’t. I found out.”
“He always had to go to the limit with everything. But the company had millions and millions of dollars committed to the drill. The more we explored, the worse it looked. You get the drift of what I’m saying? He was digging up information nobody wanted. “