Why is Lloyd Grove puttting this in his column? Perhaps to pre-emptively discredit Ms. Polier in case she doesn't stay bought.
Take a look at that picture of Kerry kissing his wife. She is definitely not happy.
The timing of Lloyd's 'Alex' blurb is a little bit off. We saw this last week. Lloyd's a smart guy, and I'm sure he saw it, too. It seems logical to assume one of two things. Either, as you suggest, it's a shot across the bow to any journalist pursuing the story, OR, it's a where-there's-smoke-there's-fire: KEEP LOOKING!
I don't think the story's dead.
Looks more like a grimace than a smile.