Whirlwind

55

Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, Texas

Kate’s morning began with two punches to the gut.

They came by way of emails. She’d read the first one on her phone after showering. It had been sent from headquarters.

To All Staff:

We’ve faced trying times in our coverage of the storms that tore through four states and caused overwhelming death and devastation. As events unfolded, each of you, some who’ve suffered personally, went the extra mile to capture what was tragic, what was heroic and what was inspirational. Your work was without parallel.

Testament to your achievement came in the President’s heartfelt reference to the missing baby; Caleb Cooper, a story we broke that was followed with a moving postmemorial interview with his mother by Dallas Bureau intern Mandy Lee. It’s confirmation of a collective job well done. These are truly defining moments for all of us and Newslead has risen to the challenge under extraordinary circumstances while bearing our standard of excellence.

With admiration and gratitude,

Lucien Westmore CEO, Newslead, New York

This reads as if Mandy broke the story.

Kate barely had time to absorb the email when it was followed by one sent directly to her from Dorothea Pick.

Kate:

Thank you for helping Mandy with her story yesterday-

Her story? What the hell? Struggling not to scream Kate resumed reading.

As you know the internships will end soon and Chuck and I will make our decision on the successful candidate. Given that the Caleb Cooper story is unresolved, please provide me all contact information for your sources for our staff to follow. Thank you for your hard work, Kate.

DP

The emails left Kate dumbfounded.

She stood alone in her hotel room staring at her phone, not knowing what to do or think when a chime announced the arrival of a new message. This one was from Chuck Laneer, who’d been copied on the previous two.

Hi Kate:

My apologies for being away so much during the internship. We had a lot going on with the storm and with Newslead. Please don’t read too much into Lucien and Dorothea’s emails. I want to assure you, as I’ve assured Roy and Mandy, no decision has been made yet on the position. My advice to everyone is to keep doing your best until the end.

I hope to be in the bureau as the process wraps up.

Cheers,

Chuck

Don’t read anything into it? Was he serious? This was the kiss of death to her chance at the full-time job. It didn’t surprise her. From the start Dorothea had thwarted her work on the story, first by dismissing it, then putting Mandy on it, before eventually taking it away from her. Dorothea had made it clear from the get-go that she didn’t like Chuck’s decision to give her a shot at competing in the internship.

The thing was, Kate liked working for Newslead. She liked Chuck, whenever he was around. Tommy was sweet, and for the most part she liked all the other people. It was a top-flight newswire service, and she’d wanted to be part of it. For a moment she’d thought that maybe down the road, she’d try landing a posting in the Washington, D.C., or New York City bureaus.

You can toss a rose on the casket of that dream.

Kate swallowed her disappointment, and as she got dressed she tried to look at the upside. Soon she’d be home in Ohio holding Grace in her arms. Yes, bills were mounting and job prospects were grim, but she could regroup and consider her future.

Her phone rang.

She didn’t feel like talking to anyone and considered ignoring it until she changed her mind and answered on the third ring.

“Kate, its Tommy at the bureau.”

“Hey, what’s up?”

“That old woman called back just now. The one you talked to yesterday, who says she knows where the baby is.”

Kate rolled her eyes. “Really?”

“Yeah, she wants to talk to you. Want me to connect her to you?”

Say no, Kate thought. That old girl was likely off her meds again and talking to the Lord.

At least she means well. Kate sighed. “All right.”

The line clicked.

“Hi, this is Kate Page.”

“Hello, this is Hazel Hill. I spoke to you yesterday. I want to know when you’re coming to my neighbor’s house to get the missing baby the President was talking about.”

“Ma’am, how are you feeling today?”

“I’m fine, the Lord is fine. But I’m telling you there’s something going on next door. Please come out.”

“Ma’am, I’m not sure I can make it today, I-”

“You have to come. Did you lose my address? It’s 164 Briscoe Street, Fate, Texas. Go to the white house next to it with the carport and the pickup truck. They’re still there. Something’s going on with the baby and the riffraff and the wig-woman.”

Wig-woman?

Kate halted her dismissal of Hazel.

“Excuse me, what ‘wig-woman’?”

“The woman I was telling you about yesterday. Didn’t I tell you she was wearing a long blond-haired wig?”

“No, I’m sorry, but you didn’t say it was a wig.”

“My Lord, I must’ve forgotten-you know, I’m so forgetful I-”

“Ma’am, you’re sure this woman was wearing a wig?”

“Oh yes, I saw her take it off in their backyard.”

“What’s her hair like under the wig?”

“Short and dark like in the drawings on TV and in the newspapers.”

Kate made a note, repeating the words to Hazel.

“Short and dark?”

“Short and dark, I’d swear on my grandmother’s Bible.”

“And they arrived with a baby?”

“Yes, with groceries, luggage and a baby. They’re the kidnappers the FBI is looking for. I swear to Heaven and all the saints, something’s not right. The couple has been in the backyard talking on their phone a lot. I just know in my heart it has to be them. The Lord has guided me to help. Please come out here and knock on their door and see for yourself.”

Kate made new notes then bit her bottom lip. Admittedly she hadn’t given much weight to Hazel’s earlier call. But the wig aspect changed everything. If you were a female fugitive, would you not alter your appearance?

In a corner of Kate’s mind, an unconscious voice cautioned her to heed Hazel Hill. It spoke of newsroom legends about how great stories were lost because a tipster sounded strange, or a little bit off.

Kate had two hours before she was supposed to report to the bureau.

What harm would it do to check it out?

“Ma’am, could you give me that address again?”