funk. “Well, sweetheart, that’s why you kept your apartment in New York. At least you’ll be comfortable while you’re working and not stuck in some generic hotel room.”
“Thank you for understanding, Kate. I wish you could be here with me.”
“That would be fun, but there are pressing matters here I have to attend to.” Kate thought about the cryptic phone call she’d gotten from Wendy Ashton of the Associated Press half an hour earlier. She was scheduled to meet her in a parking garage downtown after dark, and she hadn’t a clue why. The reporter had refused to say over the phone and sounded downright panicked when Kate tried to push her on the matter.
She returned her attention to Jay. “Do you want me to send Fred down to keep you company?”
“No, Kate. He’ll be much happier up there with you. I’ll be fine. Call you tonight?”
“Absolutely. I’ll tuck you in and put you to sleep.”
“Don’t forget the warm milk and cookies, Mom.” Jay’s chuckle echoed down the phone line as she hung up.
The Cost of Commitment
“Hello, Wendy.” Kate considered making a joke about reporters having clandestine meetings with sources in dark parking garages when she got a good look at the woman approaching her. She was gaunt, her razor-sharp features made even more pronounced by stress. Her navy slacks and tan blazer were rumpled, and her salt-and-pepper hair was in disarray. While Wendy Ashton wasn’t the sharpest dresser or the neatest person she knew, Kate recognized her disheveled appearance as being out of character.
“Kate. Thanks for meeting me here like this.” The reporter’s eyes darted around the garage.
“What’s going on, Wendy? You look out of sorts.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t usually have assholes threatening to toss me out of the closet.”
“Who?” Kate was instantly alert.
“Your lovely predecessor, that’s who,” she spat out.
“Breathwaite threatened to out you as a lesbian?”
“Yep.” The reporter took a deep breath, apparently satisfied that they were alone. “It was the strangest thing. I get a call at my desk at around 2:30 this afternoon and it’s him. He starts off wanting to know what I think about the job you’re doing at DOCS.”
Kate tried to look surprised for propriety’s sake, but the truth was that Breathwaite blackmailing reporters into writing damaging stories was exactly the scenario she and Peter had surmised. Perhaps now they would get closer to finding out the rest of his game.
The reporter continued, “I thought that was pretty odd, so I pulled out my tape recorder and plugged it into the line. I figured he’s always up to something, and whatever he had up his sleeve this time, I wanted to be prepared.”
“Good thinking.”
Wendy smiled weakly. “Thanks, but there was no way I was ready for this.” She pulled a small microcassette recorder out of her blazer pocket and pressed the “play” button.
“So, ah, here’s the thing.” Breathwaite’s nasal twang filled the air between Kate and Wendy. “What if I told you Kyle wasn’t telling you everything about what happened yesterday with that officer at Coxsackie?”
“I’m listening.”
“What if I told you she regularly leaves out facts, the net result being that you look like a fool, your ass hanging in the breeze.”
“If that were true, why in the world would you tell me? Aren’t you and Kate on the same side of the equation?”
“Perhaps I just want to help you.”
Lynn Ames
The reporter’s taped laughter echoed loudly in the stillness of the dark concrete structure.
“David, you’ve never cared about anyone but yourself. So why don’t you get to the point and tell me what this is really about and stop wasting both of our time.”
“Listen to me, you two-bit dyke,” he hissed, “I can end your career in less than the time it takes you to turn on your tape recorder.”
“What do you want, you slimebag?”
“I want you to write a story that
“Thank you for understanding, Kate. I wish you could be here with me.”
“That would be fun, but there are pressing matters here I have to attend to.” Kate thought about the cryptic phone call she’d gotten from Wendy Ashton of the Associated Press half an hour earlier. She was scheduled to meet her in a parking garage downtown after dark, and she hadn’t a clue why. The reporter had refused to say over the phone and sounded downright panicked when Kate tried to push her on the matter.
She returned her attention to Jay. “Do you want me to send Fred down to keep you company?”
“No, Kate. He’ll be much happier up there with you. I’ll be fine. Call you tonight?”
“Absolutely. I’ll tuck you in and put you to sleep.”
“Don’t forget the warm milk and cookies, Mom.” Jay’s chuckle echoed down the phone line as she hung up.
The Cost of Commitment
“Hello, Wendy.” Kate considered making a joke about reporters having clandestine meetings with sources in dark parking garages when she got a good look at the woman approaching her. She was gaunt, her razor-sharp features made even more pronounced by stress. Her navy slacks and tan blazer were rumpled, and her salt-and-pepper hair was in disarray. While Wendy Ashton wasn’t the sharpest dresser or the neatest person she knew, Kate recognized her disheveled appearance as being out of character.
“Kate. Thanks for meeting me here like this.” The reporter’s eyes darted around the garage.
“What’s going on, Wendy? You look out of sorts.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t usually have assholes threatening to toss me out of the closet.”
“Who?” Kate was instantly alert.
“Your lovely predecessor, that’s who,” she spat out.
“Breathwaite threatened to out you as a lesbian?”
“Yep.” The reporter took a deep breath, apparently satisfied that they were alone. “It was the strangest thing. I get a call at my desk at around 2:30 this afternoon and it’s him. He starts off wanting to know what I think about the job you’re doing at DOCS.”
Kate tried to look surprised for propriety’s sake, but the truth was that Breathwaite blackmailing reporters into writing damaging stories was exactly the scenario she and Peter had surmised. Perhaps now they would get closer to finding out the rest of his game.
The reporter continued, “I thought that was pretty odd, so I pulled out my tape recorder and plugged it into the line. I figured he’s always up to something, and whatever he had up his sleeve this time, I wanted to be prepared.”
“Good thinking.”
Wendy smiled weakly. “Thanks, but there was no way I was ready for this.” She pulled a small microcassette recorder out of her blazer pocket and pressed the “play” button.
“So, ah, here’s the thing.” Breathwaite’s nasal twang filled the air between Kate and Wendy. “What if I told you Kyle wasn’t telling you everything about what happened yesterday with that officer at Coxsackie?”
“I’m listening.”
“What if I told you she regularly leaves out facts, the net result being that you look like a fool, your ass hanging in the breeze.”
“If that were true, why in the world would you tell me? Aren’t you and Kate on the same side of the equation?”
“Perhaps I just want to help you.”
Lynn Ames
The reporter’s taped laughter echoed loudly in the stillness of the dark concrete structure.
“David, you’ve never cared about anyone but yourself. So why don’t you get to the point and tell me what this is really about and stop wasting both of our time.”
“Listen to me, you two-bit dyke,” he hissed, “I can end your career in less than the time it takes you to turn on your tape recorder.”
“What do you want, you slimebag?”
“I want you to write a story that
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