Read Online 6 Death Takes The Blue Ribbon by Teresa Watson - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Teresa Watson
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point.”
“Ha!” Jake said triumphantly.
“We do need to run the story, Lizzie. It’s big news, although things like this seem to be happening more now that you’ve come home. It’s our job to let the people of this town know what’s going on around them.”
“Thank you for proving my point, Dale,” Jake said.
“However, Lizzie is also right,” he continued. “Gladys may be a royal pain in the behind, but she is still a well-respected member of this community. Nothing has been proven yet, and they could be just doing routine questioning. If that’s the case, then printing a story saying she’s been hauled down to the sheriff’s office is going to make her and us look bad if nothing comes of it. Get the basic facts down, mention the lawyer, but say that he is there merely to look out for the interests of Gladys, and to make sure that the police are doing their jobs.”
“Not much of a story,” Jake mumbled.
“No, but you’re getting to tell it,” Dale snapped. “Now, go sit at Bruce’s desk, write it up, get it to the printer and put it on the website.”
I could tell Jake was mad by the way he stomped out of the room. Dale steered me toward the chairs in front of his desk, and we sat down. “Now, why don’t you tell me everything?”
For the next few minutes, I did all the talking. Dale reached over and grabbed the legal pad Jake had earlier, and took a few notes. “And Gladys was quite sure about the rhubarb?”
“Oh yes, she said Harold hated the stuff. I’ve never tried it myself, and after this, I don’t think I’m going to any time soon.”
“Dorothy made a rhubarb pie once. I’m not sure if it was her cooking or just the taste of the rhubarb itself, but it was awful.” It was the first time since his wife’s death almost a year ago that I had heard him mention her. “I say we sit on this for now. It sounds like this could be an important piece of the case, and it gives T.J. an advantage if the killer doesn’t know about it just yet.”
“So you think she’s innocent, too?”
He nodded. “I’ve known Gladys my whole life. I remember when we were kids, she would chase Harold all over the playground, trying to get him to play with her. Boys that age…well, we still think girls are icky. But he came around eventually.” He shook his head and laughed. “If there were two people who were more in love than Gladys and Harold, I’d love to meet them.”
“What about Jake?”
“What about him?”
“Are you going to talk to him?”
“About what?”
“Seriously, Dale?”
“Alright, alright, I’ll talk to him. But he’s not always wrong, Lizzie, and I think you know that.”
“As much as I hate to admit it, yes, I know. But he doesn’t know the people here; he’s an outsider. He wrote a piece last month about a minor fender bender in front of the café, and made it sound like a major collision with injuries. And then there was the article on a major supermarket wanting to build here in town. ‘Big businesses are going to come in, and squeeze out all the small business owners’, when the owner of the supermarket wanted to work with the small business owners to make sure their businesses didn’t suffer because of their plans. Thanks to that article, the owner backed out, and now they’re going to build it in Red Oak.”
“I see what you mean. But, in his defense, he has helped us build up the advertising.”
“He’s great at kissing up to people. He knows how to get them to open their wallets, but he doesn’t know how to interact or relate to them. I’ve heard people in town call him a carpetbagger, and I’m not sure that they’re wrong.”
Dale got up and paced the floor for a minute. “You two have done a marvelous job with the paper, Lizzie. Circulation is up, advertising is up, and we’re starting to show a profit. I have a feeling you’re going to ask me to ask Jake to leave now that things are better.”
“I was thinking about
“Ha!” Jake said triumphantly.
“We do need to run the story, Lizzie. It’s big news, although things like this seem to be happening more now that you’ve come home. It’s our job to let the people of this town know what’s going on around them.”
“Thank you for proving my point, Dale,” Jake said.
“However, Lizzie is also right,” he continued. “Gladys may be a royal pain in the behind, but she is still a well-respected member of this community. Nothing has been proven yet, and they could be just doing routine questioning. If that’s the case, then printing a story saying she’s been hauled down to the sheriff’s office is going to make her and us look bad if nothing comes of it. Get the basic facts down, mention the lawyer, but say that he is there merely to look out for the interests of Gladys, and to make sure that the police are doing their jobs.”
“Not much of a story,” Jake mumbled.
“No, but you’re getting to tell it,” Dale snapped. “Now, go sit at Bruce’s desk, write it up, get it to the printer and put it on the website.”
I could tell Jake was mad by the way he stomped out of the room. Dale steered me toward the chairs in front of his desk, and we sat down. “Now, why don’t you tell me everything?”
For the next few minutes, I did all the talking. Dale reached over and grabbed the legal pad Jake had earlier, and took a few notes. “And Gladys was quite sure about the rhubarb?”
“Oh yes, she said Harold hated the stuff. I’ve never tried it myself, and after this, I don’t think I’m going to any time soon.”
“Dorothy made a rhubarb pie once. I’m not sure if it was her cooking or just the taste of the rhubarb itself, but it was awful.” It was the first time since his wife’s death almost a year ago that I had heard him mention her. “I say we sit on this for now. It sounds like this could be an important piece of the case, and it gives T.J. an advantage if the killer doesn’t know about it just yet.”
“So you think she’s innocent, too?”
He nodded. “I’ve known Gladys my whole life. I remember when we were kids, she would chase Harold all over the playground, trying to get him to play with her. Boys that age…well, we still think girls are icky. But he came around eventually.” He shook his head and laughed. “If there were two people who were more in love than Gladys and Harold, I’d love to meet them.”
“What about Jake?”
“What about him?”
“Are you going to talk to him?”
“About what?”
“Seriously, Dale?”
“Alright, alright, I’ll talk to him. But he’s not always wrong, Lizzie, and I think you know that.”
“As much as I hate to admit it, yes, I know. But he doesn’t know the people here; he’s an outsider. He wrote a piece last month about a minor fender bender in front of the café, and made it sound like a major collision with injuries. And then there was the article on a major supermarket wanting to build here in town. ‘Big businesses are going to come in, and squeeze out all the small business owners’, when the owner of the supermarket wanted to work with the small business owners to make sure their businesses didn’t suffer because of their plans. Thanks to that article, the owner backed out, and now they’re going to build it in Red Oak.”
“I see what you mean. But, in his defense, he has helped us build up the advertising.”
“He’s great at kissing up to people. He knows how to get them to open their wallets, but he doesn’t know how to interact or relate to them. I’ve heard people in town call him a carpetbagger, and I’m not sure that they’re wrong.”
Dale got up and paced the floor for a minute. “You two have done a marvelous job with the paper, Lizzie. Circulation is up, advertising is up, and we’re starting to show a profit. I have a feeling you’re going to ask me to ask Jake to leave now that things are better.”
“I was thinking about
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