InSight

money.”
    Mrs. Gentry must have seen the surprise on Abby’s face.
    “Oh, yes. Doctors Scanlon and Crock are one and the same. Considering his memorable appearance, he conducted his work behind the scenes. We couldn’t let people make the connection. We hired chemists and biologists from other countries to do the research.”
    “Nothing surprises me anymore. But let me guess. While Synthetec developed a second-generation of Receptormine , the offshoot lab in this building developed the drug that induced psychotic episodes in your son.”
    “That wasn’t the original purpose, but it worked out that way. We hoped to entice Stewart into telling us where he’d hidden the papers, but he wouldn’t budge.”
    Abby reeled. “So you destroyed your own son.”
    She drew a deep breath. “A Hobson’s choice, Abigael. It was either save me and all I’ve worked for, or save me and all I’ve worked for. You see, don’t you?” Pausing, she said, “No, of course not. How could you?”
    “And you distributed the drug through your father’s network?”
    Mrs. Gentry got up, filled her water glass again, and took a long swallow. “Ah, you always were a smart girl, Abigael. Maybe that’s why I never liked you.”
    As if I didn’t know. “Why get involved in a crime of such magnitude when you and your father had achieved everything you always wanted?”
    “Good question. My father gave me everything. I love him without equal to this day. When he started out, he never intended to do anything illegal, but life’s opportunities can be too tempting to ignore. I’ve used the lure myself, many times. It’s amazing how one will compromise everything they’ve ever believed in for money. Then, one thing led to another. A natural progression, you might say.
    “The profit in drugs is enormous. Especially a drug like the one Herbert’s staff formulated. There’s nothing like it in the marketplace, with the best and longest-lasting psychedelic high imaginable. One might think addictive drugs are bigger moneymakers, and maybe they are, but they exclude a large part of the population. Too many people fear them. But thrill junkies keep coming back for more of ours. College students, white collars, even housewives.”
    She stopped and Abby heard her swallow more water. She wished she hadn’t refused the glass before. Her mouth was desert dry.
    “I love money, but I’m not motivated just for its sake. Money equals power, and I do so love power, Abigael. It enables me to control this city, because when you lure people into compromise, you own them. I own this city, and I own most of the people who count. I wouldn’t let Martin Gentry’s self-righteous ways ruin that, no matter how much I loved him.”
    This confession was worse than Abby had imagined. “So you…you killed him.”
    “A tragic accident. His plane crashed shortly after takeoff. Pilot error. No one ever discovered the true cause of the accident. Mr. Collyer is quite clever, aren’t you, my dear?”
    A grunt of affirmation came from Collyer’s position.
    “I miss Martin, truly I do. He was great fun. But I was furious with him. I’ve had spasmodic twinges of guilt, but I eventually got past them.”
    “My god,” Abby said in a long exhalation of breath.
    The woman is insane, justifying murder in the same way one justifies spending too much for a piece of jewelry. Abby had to keep her talking.
    “The accountant had the report,” she said. “Why did your husband give it to Stewart?”
    “I’ve cultivated many friendships here. Made it my business to do so. Even Martin’s personal lawyer is my close friend. Martin questioned whether Sam Davidson could be bought. He couldn’t, but he could be persuaded. After that, he became a loose end, which is why he’s no longer with us. Stewart was the one person Martin trusted. After Martin died, Stewart opened the envelope. He came to the house to ask for an explanation, hoping I’d promise to do the right thing and stop diverting the foundation’s money for illicit purposes. Unfortunately, he overheard a snippet of conversation between Mr. Collyer and me about the plane crash. Upset can’t describe his reaction. We discussed it at length. I denied everything, of course, saying he misinterpreted what he’d heard.” Mrs. Gentry paused. “Then during his rant, he told me about the envelope.”
    Abby listened, overwhelmed with a sadness toward Stewart she wouldn’t have believed possible. Oh, Stewart,