All Dressed in White

31

The next morning Laurie had no sooner reached her desk than her phone rang. She suspected it would be Brett. I swear whenever he calls, even the ring sounds angry, she thought.

Keeping her fingers crossed, she picked up the phone. It was Brett. Typical of him, there was no exchange of greetings.

“Laurie, I’m very upset,” he bellowed.

It was obviously the beginning of a wonderful day.

“Can you please tell me why some local-yokel reporter in Palm Beach, Florida, is calling me for a comment on our plan to shoot the Runaway Bride segment at the Grand Victoria? That was supposed to be kept under wraps.”

“Brett, we tried to keep it quiet. We had to be in touch with the hotel manager, the director of security, and other personnel. Obviously, somebody spoke to the reporter.”

“Who cares who blabbed? The point is that your supposedly cold case is hot again. Laurie, don’t worry about expenses.”

That’s a first coming from him, Laurie thought.

“Get your team down there yesterday. I don’t want 60 Minutes to do a piece on the Runaway Bride and beat us to the punch.”

The click of the receiver hitting the cradle signaled that the conversation was over.