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“What’s that, Doctor?”
“A couple of years back, Cordi was dating a man who was going through a custody battle. She decided to help him by testifying for himin court. Using her degree to suggest expertise. What’s incredible to me is this wasaftershe was caught practicing without a license. Why would she even consider that?”
“Pretty risky,” said Milo.
“Risky and downright foolish,” said Blanding. “And, again, she got caught. Don’t know the details, just what she told me. ‘I got nailed again, Greg.’ ”
“She talked to you about it.”
“She talked to me because she had a problem. Apparently this guy got really upset with her. Felt she’d weakened his chances more than if she hadn’t tried to help. She called my office and asked to meet. We sat right here.” He smiled. “The coffee wasn’t any better.”
I said, “What did she want from you?”
“The usual,” said Blanding, rubbing his thumb and forefinger together.
“Money.”
“She asked for five thousand dollars to ‘smooth things over’ with this guy. It sounded bizarre so I asked if he was threatening her and she laughed it off and said, ‘No, Greg, he’s cool. I just feel I should do it.’ ”
Milo said, “Taking responsibility with your money.”
Blanding smiled sadly. “I guess that sums up parenthood. She told me she considered it a peace offering and I shouldn’t worry, she’d pay me back as soon as royalties came in from her videos—do you know about them?”
“We do, Doctor.”
“Don’t want to be cruel,” said Blanding. “Least of all now, but to me they came across as the exposition of the obvious. But what do I know, apparently sponsors felt they’re valuable. Because a couple of months later, she paid me back in full. I was pleasantly surprised, had already kissed off the money. I told her to keep it but she insisted.”
Milo said, “Do you have a name for this person?”
“No, sir. I didn’t want to know. But now I wish I did.”
“You think he could be involved?”
“No, I don’t think anything,” said Blanding. “I don’t know enough to hypothesize. I just thought I’d put it out there and you could do what you wanted with it.”
“Thanks, Doctor.”
I said, “Asking you for money was a regular thing.”
Greg Blanding’s thick body shifted. Loosely packed heft shimmered a bit. He faced us and the dark circles under his eyes became evident. Maybe all those surgeries. Maybe another type of fatigue.
He said, “It wasn’t frequent, maybe once or twice a year. And with the exception of that one time, always before she created her internet presence. So I guess that was working out for her.”
“Does your wife know you gave Cordi money?”
Head shake. “I handle the finances. The way it worked, she’d ask to have lunch, we’d go somewhere around here, I’d say how much, kid, and she’d smile and apologize and tell me and I’d arrange for some cash a few days later.”
“How much are we talking about in total?”
“I couldn’t really tell you,” said Blanding. “Let me estimate…maybe a couple of thousand a year over…fifteen years? Thirty, give or take. I once joked to her that compared with Aaron’s tuition, it was a bargain. She smiled but it was a sad smile and I knew I’d overstepped. She thought I was saying she was stupid. I didn’t know how to patch that up so I said nothing. It was a while before she asked for money again, but she did.”
I said, “You had a lot more contact with Cordi than your wife knew about.”
“Oh, definitely,” said Greg Blanding. “Does hiding it from Renni make me devious? I suppose, strictly speaking. But I’d like to think I was keeping the peace. Cordi was a girl who’d been saddled with someserious challenges and if I could help her without ruffling any feathers, why not?”
Milo said, “Keeping it copacetic.”
Blanding frowned and stood. “I’m going to tell you something I’ve told no one else. I love my wife and I love my son. IlikedCordi a lot but Ididn’tlove her. So maybe we’re talking about guilt offerings.”
