Whirlwind

61

West of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, Texas

Jenna and Blake’s SUV was driving westbound on the I-30 over Lake Ray Hubbard when Kate got a call from Dorothea Pick.

“Where are you?” The news editor’s tone barely restrained her anger.

“Heading to Lubbock-following the story there.”

“Mandy said you left the scene with Jenna and Blake Cooper after Chuck gave you instructions to return to the bureau.”

“Yes.”

“You disobeyed your supervisor.”

“I felt it was the right thing to do under the circumstances.”

“I’ll give you the circumstances-you went to a residence while not officially on shift and without authorization from a supervisor.”

“I thought Chuck already clarified procedure about following breaking news when off shift.”

“Kate, your actions clearly demonstrate your insubordination.”

“You’re criticizing me for breaking a story and being a crime victim?”

“You heard me, Kate.”

“I hear you, but I don’t understand you, Dorothea.”

“And you failed to pass on contact information, as I’d specifically requested. You’ve also demonstrated that you cannot take direction.”

“I don’t believe this. Ever since I broke this story you’ve tried to push me off of it. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m doing what any good reporter would do-I’m following the story I broke.”

“I’m sorry, Kate, but as of this moment you are no longer an interning employee with Newslead. You’re terminated and no longer have any association with our organization.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry. Please return to the bureau and turn in your ID.”

“Only Chuck, the bureau chief, can dismiss staff, Dorothea.”

“He’s no longer chief of the Dallas Bureau. I am.”

The line went dead.

Numb with disbelief, Kate stared into the freeway traffic moving across the Metroplex, scarcely mindful of Blake, who’d cranked the volume on radio news stations. Jenna had her phone pressed to her ear and was getting updates from her sister, Holly, who was back in their hotel room watching TV news reports. Holly’s husband, Garrett, had taken Jenna’s daughter, Cassie, to the park.

“We need your help here, Kate!” Blake raised his voice as he keyed coordinates into the SUV’s GPS. “You said Anton, northwest of Lubbock?”

“Right. That’s what the wounded man said…Anton.”

“Where in Anton, Kate? Dyson’s Farm, was it?”

“No, I told the FBI it sounded like Vickson’s.”

Kate’s phone rang again, this time with a Canton, Ohio, number.

“Hang on. I have to take this.”

“Hi, Mom.”

Kate’s heart swelled with the sound of her daughter’s voice.

“Hi, sweetheart. How are you?”

“Good. My teacher told me that you wanted me to call you. I had to go to the office. Why did you need me to call you?”

“Because I miss you so much, honey. I just wanted to let you know that if you hear from your friends, or anyone, about a story in Texas with people getting hurt, that I’m okay.”

“You mean the tornado stuff?”

“No, it’ll be a new story from Dallas. I’m all right, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Don’t worry. I miss you tons, and I’ll be home in a few days.”

“Then can we go to the petting zoo for a pony ride?”

“You bet. So, everything’s good with you?”

“Oh yes, but-” Grace dropped her voice to a whisper “-my friend Ashley likes a boy, Tyler, but that’s a big secret.”

“Okay, I won’t tell. I’ll let you get back to class. I love you.”

“I love you, too. Bye, Mom.”

Kate stared at Grace’s face, blurring on her phone’s screen, and brushed her tears. As the freeway droned under them and the city vanished behind them, Kate tried to come to terms with all the surreal turns her life had taken. Despite all of her problems with Dorothea and Mandy, she’d desperately wanted to be a reporter with Newslead. Reporting was in her blood, and she’d dreamed of one day working in Newslead’s bureau in New York or Washington, of building a new life with Grace. But that dream was gone, and while she was bolstered by the fact she’d see Grace soon, she was pulled down by the reality that bills and unemployment also awaited her in Canton.

Kate forced herself to get a grip on what was real right now.

She shoved all of her concerns aside and focused on helping Jenna and Blake find Caleb.

As the miles and hours passed, Kate used her phone to search for leads and updates, while Jenna and Blake did what they could to keep on top of developments.

But there weren’t any.

All Kate had was a wisp of a location in Anton, this “Vickson’s Farm.” Kate was fairly certain that’s what the dying man had told her. She’d gone over it a thousand times in her mind. But when she called a cab company in Anton their response was odd. They said they’d heard of Vickson’s but didn’t know where it was. The same happened when Kate called a gas station and a corner store. When she tried a county office, she was told the clerk with access to Anton property records would not be back. When she called a post office, utilities office and the library, she got recorded messages with prompts. It was a little strange because Anton was not that big of a town, Kate was confident someone would know of this address.

So far no one did.

Now she searched for it on her phone again, to no avail.

Kate’s challenge was made more difficult because she couldn’t use the resources of the newswire service. She couldn’t go to Tommy Koop for help, and she couldn’t call the FBI agents directly.

As time passed, the backseat where she sat had become overgrown with drive-through food wrappers, her notebooks and the old fanfold map of Texas she’d studied repeatedly every few miles. They were less than fifty miles from Lubbock when Blake slammed his palms on the wheel in anger.

“So, just where in hell are we supposed to go in Anton, Kate?”

She didn’t know.

Again, she scrutinized her map, scouring the counties, the cities, towns, hamlets, villages, every dot until her eyes glazed and memory propelled her back to the gurgling utterances of the man who’d died only hours before.

Kate reached into her pocket for a pen and suddenly remembered something critical that would help.