Read Online Diagnosis Murder 4 - The Waking Nightmare by Lee Goldberg - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Lee Goldberg
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thing between him and death was his ability to master himself and the world around him."
Mark saw her face redden, her cheek muscles tighten. Her tears came now, not with sadness, but with anger.
"To murder him while he was doing something inherently death-defying ridiculed him, the man that he was, and the magazine he published," she said. "It was an act of utter contempt and pure hatred."
"Do you know anyone who hated him enough to go to such lengths?"
"You don't have to look any further than the people who were on the plane with him," she said, wiping the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand.
"I wasn't planning to," Mark said. "But my decision was based on opportunity, not the motive. You'll have to help me there."
"Greed," she said. "Win should never have gone public and let those sharks into our lives."
"Then why did he?"
"Win was ambitious," she said. "As if you couldn't tell by the name he picked for himself."
It was the first time she revealed any resentment towards her husband. Mark made mental note of it.
"At least he was up front about it," Mark said. "How did Brant Publications come about?"
She explained that it was a family business, started by Brant's grandfather. They published small, regional newspapers in farming communities all over California. After Winston's father died, he sold off the newspapers and launched Thrill Seeker with the proceeds. The magazine caught on and became not just a publication, but a lifestyle. Brant wanted to capitalize on that with spin-off publications and branded items, like clothing, athletic equipment, even cologne. He needed capital and took the company public to get it, which brought Clifton Hemphill, Dean Perrow, and Virgil Nyby into the fold.
"They're strictly businessmen, they have no passion for anything but making money. They didn't care about Thrill Seeker or the lifestyle it stood for," she said. "I told him going public was a mistake, that he would end up losing control of the company to them. But Win couldn't imagine losing anything to anyone. His answer to everything was 'They don't call me Win for nothing.'"
"Were you right?"
"I wish I wasn't," she said. "The three of them formed a voting block on the board against him. They thwarted all of his projects and pushed forward their agenda. Let me show you what that was."
She got up and walked through a side door into the next room. Mark followed stiffly, his back sore from the antique chair. If Winston Brant wanted a real physical challenge, Mark thought, he should have tried sitting on some of his living room furniture.
Stepping into the library was like walking into an entirely different house. It was full of dark wood and supple leather, the bookshelves overflowing with hardcovers and paperbacks. The room had a warm, lived-in look, far from the formality of the living room. The leather chairs were creased from use, the shelves cluttered with mementos, the coffee tables covered with well-thumbed magazines.
Sara picked up one of the magazines and held it up for Mark to see. It was an issue of Thrill Seeker, the cover featuring a rugged-looking, incredibly fit man free-climbing up the face of a jagged peak over a deep canyon.
"This is what the magazine used to look like before the company went public," she said, then picked up another from the table and held the two issues up side by side. "This is what it looks like now."
The magazine was retitled Maximum Thrill Seeker , the word "Maximum" written in a font that looked like it had been seared into the old masthead with a blowtorch. The cover of the new issue featured a young woman in a low-cut, skintight jumpsuit hang gliding into the lens, her massive, surgically enhanced breasts rocketing towards the reader like blazing cannonballs.
"They felt covers like this would appeal to a wider audience and increase circulation," she said. "To the groin. Win was mortified."
"Wasn't there anything your husband could do to stop it?"
"Besides walk
Mark saw her face redden, her cheek muscles tighten. Her tears came now, not with sadness, but with anger.
"To murder him while he was doing something inherently death-defying ridiculed him, the man that he was, and the magazine he published," she said. "It was an act of utter contempt and pure hatred."
"Do you know anyone who hated him enough to go to such lengths?"
"You don't have to look any further than the people who were on the plane with him," she said, wiping the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand.
"I wasn't planning to," Mark said. "But my decision was based on opportunity, not the motive. You'll have to help me there."
"Greed," she said. "Win should never have gone public and let those sharks into our lives."
"Then why did he?"
"Win was ambitious," she said. "As if you couldn't tell by the name he picked for himself."
It was the first time she revealed any resentment towards her husband. Mark made mental note of it.
"At least he was up front about it," Mark said. "How did Brant Publications come about?"
She explained that it was a family business, started by Brant's grandfather. They published small, regional newspapers in farming communities all over California. After Winston's father died, he sold off the newspapers and launched Thrill Seeker with the proceeds. The magazine caught on and became not just a publication, but a lifestyle. Brant wanted to capitalize on that with spin-off publications and branded items, like clothing, athletic equipment, even cologne. He needed capital and took the company public to get it, which brought Clifton Hemphill, Dean Perrow, and Virgil Nyby into the fold.
"They're strictly businessmen, they have no passion for anything but making money. They didn't care about Thrill Seeker or the lifestyle it stood for," she said. "I told him going public was a mistake, that he would end up losing control of the company to them. But Win couldn't imagine losing anything to anyone. His answer to everything was 'They don't call me Win for nothing.'"
"Were you right?"
"I wish I wasn't," she said. "The three of them formed a voting block on the board against him. They thwarted all of his projects and pushed forward their agenda. Let me show you what that was."
She got up and walked through a side door into the next room. Mark followed stiffly, his back sore from the antique chair. If Winston Brant wanted a real physical challenge, Mark thought, he should have tried sitting on some of his living room furniture.
Stepping into the library was like walking into an entirely different house. It was full of dark wood and supple leather, the bookshelves overflowing with hardcovers and paperbacks. The room had a warm, lived-in look, far from the formality of the living room. The leather chairs were creased from use, the shelves cluttered with mementos, the coffee tables covered with well-thumbed magazines.
Sara picked up one of the magazines and held it up for Mark to see. It was an issue of Thrill Seeker, the cover featuring a rugged-looking, incredibly fit man free-climbing up the face of a jagged peak over a deep canyon.
"This is what the magazine used to look like before the company went public," she said, then picked up another from the table and held the two issues up side by side. "This is what it looks like now."
The magazine was retitled Maximum Thrill Seeker , the word "Maximum" written in a font that looked like it had been seared into the old masthead with a blowtorch. The cover of the new issue featured a young woman in a low-cut, skintight jumpsuit hang gliding into the lens, her massive, surgically enhanced breasts rocketing towards the reader like blazing cannonballs.
"They felt covers like this would appeal to a wider audience and increase circulation," she said. "To the groin. Win was mortified."
"Wasn't there anything your husband could do to stop it?"
"Besides walk
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