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Roberts laughed. “Good, then we know nothing’s wrong with him.”
“How do you like Newark?”
“It’s Jersey and I’m a Jersey girl. Hey, is it true that Harry Langhorne was found dead down your way? You are in Virginia now, right?”
“Yes. He was using the name Dan Pottinger. Someone murdered him.”
“Well, I won’t be crying. I didn’t know the man, but from everything I’ve read about him he was a real creep, working with the mob and all.”
“I also read Samantha Kember’s story on him.”
“She died too young. Rest in peace, Sam. Yeah, I had just started at my first paper when she wrote that story. I actually went back and read it when I heard about Langhorne’s being dead.”
“So was he a pedophile?”
“Nothing was ever proven in court because the guy vanished, but it sure as hell sounded like he was, unless all those girls were lying, which I don’t believe.”
Something had occurred to Gibson earlier and she wanted to run it by Roberts. “I learned from a third party that Langhorne was fingerprinted and a background check run so he could volunteer at, I suppose, a school. I wondered why a mob accountant would do that. But I guess now it makes sense.”
Roberts said, “Seems he wanted to get very close to the source of his sick fantasies.”
Gibson shivered at this thought. “Can you tell me more than was in the story?”
“Like what?”
“Langhorne had kids, a daughter and a son.”
“Wait, and you think, what, he was abusing them, too?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking.”
“You think his wife would have allowed that?”
“From what I heard she never stood up to Langhorne. And she apparently didn’t stop him from molesting the other kids.”
“Right, if she knew about it. What was her name again?”
“Geraldine.”
“Hmmm, you sure that’s right?”
“Yeah, that was her name.”
“Oh, right. That’s the name shewent by.”
“Hold on, did she have another name? And how would you know?”
“In addition to reading her story again, I dug into Sam’s files for the story. TheStar-Ledgernever throws anything away.”
“Why did you do that?”
“I thought with Langhorne’s being found murdered there might be a follow-up story in there somewhere. I’m right now pitching it to my editor, in fact.”
“Okay, makes sense.”
“Sam was meticulous in her work and really taught me a lot.”
“I’m sure, but what did you find?” said Gibson impatiently.
