“How did he arrive at that conclusion?”
“Bankruptcies,” she said simply. “All these people were winning all this money and then they were declaring bankruptcy.”
Rollins scratched his head. “Well, I’ve read about that from time to time. I always chalked it up to the winners’ not being money savvy. You know, spend everything they get, forget to pay taxes, that kind of stuff, like you said. Pretty soon, you can work your way right through all those winnings. Hell, I’d probably do the same thing, just go nuts.”
“Well, Thomas didn’t think that was all there was to it. But then he discovered something else.” She took another sip of coffee, her face coloring prettily as she recalled Thomas Donovan’s cleverness.
“Which was?” Rollins prodded.
“Which was the fact that twelve lottery winners in a row didn’t declare bankruptcy.”
“So?”
“So Thomas’s research went back many years. In all that time the ratio of winners to bankrupt was completely consistent. Then, right in the middle of this consistency were twelve who didn’t. Not only didn’t they declare bankruptcy but they grew far wealthier.”
Rollins rubbed his chin, unconvinced. “I’m still not seeing a story here.”
“Thomas wasn’t clear in his mind about that yet. But he was getting closer. He called me regularly from the road to let me know how things were going, what he had found out. That’s why I was so worried when I hadn’t heard from him.”
Rollins looked at his notebook. “Right. You mentioned danger in your phone message.”
“Thomas tracked down one of the twelve lottery winners.” Alicia paused and struggled to remember the name. “LuAnn somebody. Tyler, that’s right, LuAnn Tyler. He said she was charged with murdering somebody right before she won the lottery and then she disappeared. He tracked her down, partly through her tax records. He went to visit her.”
“Now, where was this?” Rollins was again scribbling in his notebook.
“Charlottesville. Lovely country, some of the most beautiful estates. Have you ever been?”
“On my salary, I’m not really into estate shopping. What next?”
“He confronted the woman.”
“And?”
“And she cracked. Or almost did. Thomas said you can always tell by the eyes.”
“Uh-huh.” Rollins rolled his own eyes. “So what was Donovan’s angle?”
“Excuse me?”
“His angle. What story was he going to write that you thought put him in danger?”
“Oh, well, the woman was a murderer. She had killed once, she could kill again.”
Rollins smiled lightly. “I see.”
“I don’t think you’re taking this seriously.”
“I take my work very seriously. I just don’t see the connection. Are you suggesting that this LuAnn person killed Roberta Reynolds? Why would she do that? We don’t even know if they knew each other. Are you suggesting that she may have threatened Donovan?”
“I’m not suggesting that LuAnn Tyler threatened or murdered anyone. I mean I have no proof of that.”
“Then what?” Rollins was struggling to maintain his patience.
Alicia looked away. “I . . . I don’t know. I mean I’m not sure.”
Rollins stood up, closing his notebook. “Well, if I need any more information I’ll be in touch.”
Alicia just sat there, her face pale, her eyes shut. Rollins was almost at the door when she spoke. “The lottery was fixed.”
Rollins slowly turned and walked back into the living room. “Fixed?”
“He called two days ago and told me that. Thomas made me promise not to breathe a word to anyone.” She clutched at the hem of her skirt in her anxiety. “That LuAnn Tyler person practically admitted that the lottery was fixed. Thomas sounded, well, he sounded a little frightened. And now, I’m just so worried about him. He was supposed to call again, but never did.”
Rollins parked his bulk on the sofa once more. “What else did he tell you?”
“That he had contacted the other eleven winners, but that only one had called him back.” Her lips trembled. “Roberta Reynolds.”
“So Donovan did meet with her.” His tone was accusatory.
Alicia rubbed a tear from her eye. She didn’t speak but merely shook her head. Finally she said, “He had been working on this story for a long time, but he only recently confided in me. He was scared. I could tell in his voice.” She cleared her throat. “He had at least arranged to meet with Roberta Reynolds. The meeting was to take place yesterday morning. I haven’t heard from him since that time, and he’d promised to call me right after it was over. Oh, God, I know something terrible has happened.”