The John Edwards tale began, like so many National Enquirer investigations, with a phone call. When the tip line rang in the paper’s Santa Monica office, reporters often raced to answer it. Rick Egusquiza grabbed it late one afternoon in fall 2007, knowing full well that nine out of 10 calls were worthless, just wackos promising the story of the decade. Egusquiza, 44, had been a Venice Beach bartender, his only writing experience reviewing porn movies for Adult Video News. But he quickly learned the Enquirer culture; his first scoop was that Angelina Jolie had gotten a Billy Bob tattoo on her arm.

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