Wendy Madigan, NNN.
The National News Network? If this story originated from the National News Network, why hadn’t it actually been in the national news?
Maybe this Wendy Madigan would know.
I did a quick database search. Turned out she had been a NNN correspondent until about two years ago, when she retired.
Her image was easy to find, and I recognized her. She had been a staple on the news, and I was surprised I hadn’t remembered the name. She was an attractive older woman with short light-brown hair and blue eyes.
Since she was no longer with the National News Network, I had to find her on my own. I found a few e-mail addresses and phone numbers but decided against e-mail. I wanted to talk to her.
The first number I tried had been disconnected.
The second number, however, rang until someone answered. A Denver area code too. What luck.
“Hello?”
“Hi, I’m trying to reach Wendy Madigan.”
“May I ask who’s calling?”
“Sure. My name is Jade Roberts. I’m a city attorney in Snow Creek, Colorado.”
The woman cleared her throat. “May I ask what this is regarding?”
“I’d rather keep that between Ms. Madigan and myself, if you don’t mind.”
“All right.” A short pause. “Wendy, phone.”
“Thanks, Mom.” Then, “Hello?”
“Ms. Madigan?”
“Yes.”
“This is Jade Roberts from the city attorney’s office in Snow Creek, Colorado.”
“Snow Creek? Where did you get this number?”
“It’s one of your numbers of record.”
“This is my mother’s landline.”
“I don’t know what to tell you. At some point, it became a number of record for you.”
“Look, Ms. Roberts, I’m sure there’s nothing I can help you with. You know I’m no longer with the news.”
“Yes, I know. But I’m doing some investigation on the Steel family. There’s precious little information out there about them, but your name did pop up on an article about Talon Steel.”
Silence on the other end of the phone.
“Ms. Madigan?”
“Yes, I’m here. I guess I should’ve expected this phone call eventually.”
My heart thumped. What had she meant by that? “So you know why I’m calling, then?”
“Why don’t you tell me why you’re calling.”