Read Online Frames Per Second by Bill Eidson - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Bill Eidson
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understand you had a lot of glass taken out of your hide this morning, but we’d appreciate a chance to ask you some questions so we can figure out what happened.”
Ben nodded to the chairs, but both men remained standing.
“We just want to be sure—you’re that guy we saw in the news, the Johansen thing, right?” Calabro asked.
“That’s right.”
“Tell us what happened this morning,” Brace said.
Ben told them about the message Peter had given to Lisa, and then outlined everything from the moment he walked out of the building.
“We talked with the secretary.” Calabro flipped through the pages of his notebook. “She told us he said to tell you to ‘get your ass out front,’ is that correct?”
Ben nodded.
“Apparently he also said something to the effect of, ‘I’ve got something hot for him.’ She said he sounded excited, but in control. Like a story was breaking.” Calabro looked up directly at Ben. “What do you think that might be?”
“I don’t know.” Ben told them how he just driven in from Maine that morning.
Brace said, “Did you see the actual explosion? Any sense of where it went off in the van?”
Ben shook his head. “I was walking right toward him and then I glanced down. He yelled something and then, bam. I was on the ground.”
“What did he yell?”
“Something like, ‘told you it’d be safe.’ I think he was talking about my camera. I’d loaned him a camera.”
“As well as the van,” Brace said.
“That’s right.”
“Tell me about what you think he was working on,” Calabro asked.
Ben paused. The habit of keeping sources and story ideas in confidence was deeply ingrained.
“If it’s a help, your editor already outlined the projects.” Brace glanced at his notebook. “Some of them include these women in jail who killed their husbands, Senator Cheever supposedly caught with his zipper down, and Jimbo McGuire. We’ll look into all of them, but naturally, we find that he was following around a local gangland boy particularly interesting.”
“Those are the ones I knew about,” Ben admitted. “But I really don’t know much more than that. We talked about these ideas over a few beers about a week ago, and he asked me to help just before I took off on vacation. I told him I couldn’t and that’s when I loaned him the camera and van.”
“Uh-huh. You find that significant?” Calabro asked.
“Like was it meant for me?” Ben shrugged. “I can’t help but think about it, seeing as it was my van. But I haven’t really been working on anything for the past two weeks, ever since I got back from this Johansen thing.”
“What about that?”
Yeah, what about that, Ben thought.
“Sure, that’s possible,” he said. “Blowing up things is the sort of thing that Johansen’s people do. And God knows I’ve made some enemies with that crowd.”
“Hell, never mind the crowd,” Brace said. “Johansen himself is still alive in jail. These are strings he could pull.”
Calabro said, “Or it just could be some sympathizer coming out of the woodwork.”
Brace nodded. “Now about the van, is it yours or registered to the magazine?”
“The magazine,” Ben said. “Officially, it’s a company vehicle, but I’m the only one who uses it.”
Brace nodded. “That’s a break. Because no one else in the media has tipped to this being your van yet. It’s news enough that you were near an explosion so soon after the thing with Johansen, but if it looks like the bomb was set for you, you’ll get swamped. More important, it could excite the random nuts to try for another shot. You think you can keep this quiet, including your own magazine?”
“Sure,” Ben said. “And I’ll talk to Kurt. I expect I can get him to agree.”
Brace pulled a plastic bag from his pocket. Inside was a ripped piece of gray cloth backing a piece of leather. “Recognize this?”
Ben nodded. “That’s the insignia on my camera bag, the one I loaned to
Ben nodded to the chairs, but both men remained standing.
“We just want to be sure—you’re that guy we saw in the news, the Johansen thing, right?” Calabro asked.
“That’s right.”
“Tell us what happened this morning,” Brace said.
Ben told them about the message Peter had given to Lisa, and then outlined everything from the moment he walked out of the building.
“We talked with the secretary.” Calabro flipped through the pages of his notebook. “She told us he said to tell you to ‘get your ass out front,’ is that correct?”
Ben nodded.
“Apparently he also said something to the effect of, ‘I’ve got something hot for him.’ She said he sounded excited, but in control. Like a story was breaking.” Calabro looked up directly at Ben. “What do you think that might be?”
“I don’t know.” Ben told them how he just driven in from Maine that morning.
Brace said, “Did you see the actual explosion? Any sense of where it went off in the van?”
Ben shook his head. “I was walking right toward him and then I glanced down. He yelled something and then, bam. I was on the ground.”
“What did he yell?”
“Something like, ‘told you it’d be safe.’ I think he was talking about my camera. I’d loaned him a camera.”
“As well as the van,” Brace said.
“That’s right.”
“Tell me about what you think he was working on,” Calabro asked.
Ben paused. The habit of keeping sources and story ideas in confidence was deeply ingrained.
“If it’s a help, your editor already outlined the projects.” Brace glanced at his notebook. “Some of them include these women in jail who killed their husbands, Senator Cheever supposedly caught with his zipper down, and Jimbo McGuire. We’ll look into all of them, but naturally, we find that he was following around a local gangland boy particularly interesting.”
“Those are the ones I knew about,” Ben admitted. “But I really don’t know much more than that. We talked about these ideas over a few beers about a week ago, and he asked me to help just before I took off on vacation. I told him I couldn’t and that’s when I loaned him the camera and van.”
“Uh-huh. You find that significant?” Calabro asked.
“Like was it meant for me?” Ben shrugged. “I can’t help but think about it, seeing as it was my van. But I haven’t really been working on anything for the past two weeks, ever since I got back from this Johansen thing.”
“What about that?”
Yeah, what about that, Ben thought.
“Sure, that’s possible,” he said. “Blowing up things is the sort of thing that Johansen’s people do. And God knows I’ve made some enemies with that crowd.”
“Hell, never mind the crowd,” Brace said. “Johansen himself is still alive in jail. These are strings he could pull.”
Calabro said, “Or it just could be some sympathizer coming out of the woodwork.”
Brace nodded. “Now about the van, is it yours or registered to the magazine?”
“The magazine,” Ben said. “Officially, it’s a company vehicle, but I’m the only one who uses it.”
Brace nodded. “That’s a break. Because no one else in the media has tipped to this being your van yet. It’s news enough that you were near an explosion so soon after the thing with Johansen, but if it looks like the bomb was set for you, you’ll get swamped. More important, it could excite the random nuts to try for another shot. You think you can keep this quiet, including your own magazine?”
“Sure,” Ben said. “And I’ll talk to Kurt. I expect I can get him to agree.”
Brace pulled a plastic bag from his pocket. Inside was a ripped piece of gray cloth backing a piece of leather. “Recognize this?”
Ben nodded. “That’s the insignia on my camera bag, the one I loaned to
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