Halfway to the Truth (2 page)

The paper slapped onto his desk with a crisp smack causing him to spill a little of the coffee he was getting ready to sip.

“What’s this?” he asked the woman who had thrown the newspaper as she walked by to grab her own cup of brew.

“My sister sent it to me from New Harmony. It’s a copy of their local newspaper. They put it out once a week on Friday. She sends them to me every once in a while when she thinks there is something interesting in it for me to read.”

He picked up the folded paper and looked at the date. “This is from last month. What do you want me to do with it?”

The mature woman finished pouring creamer into her cup and stirred it.

She then made her way back across the room before answering. “You’ve been looking for a replacement investigative reporter. Read the cover story and tell me what you think?”

She took a swig of the coffee and almost spit it out. It went down hot but nasty. “What did you make coffee with?” she managed to get out. “This stuff is bad!” and turned to find a sink.

The man opened the newspaper but, before he started to read, he yelled after her, “If you don’t like it, then get in here early and make it yourself.”

He took another sip from his cup. “This isn’t so bad,” he said, reading the headline titled
Subdivision Deception
.

After reading another twenty minutes he put the paper down and re-engaged the woman who was now sitting at her desk with a cup of tea.

“Powerful piece! Has all the right elements. Do you know what ever happened to the Mayor, Shelley?”

“Yeah. They did a follow up story of how he snuck out of town,” she said, dunking her tea bag for the third time. “No one knows where he went though. My sister called me when it all happened. He’s since been impeached.”

“Do you know this Reese Summers?”

“Not really. I think she’s only been with the paper about a year. Before that piece, she was covering things like scouting events and the new roof on the Dollar General that replaced the one damaged in a storm. But even on those stories, I thought she had a flair for the printed word.”

“Well I’m a pretty good judge of reporting skills and this Reese Summers has all the earmarks of a great reporter. I’m not familiar with New Harmony, where is it located?”

“It’s in Spalding County south of Atlanta. And, that tobacco farm, was just about the last one to go under in that area. Too bad, I say.”

“Why? You’re not a smoker,” he commented looking over the article again.

Raising her tea and smelling the aroma, she answered, “It’s about losing the history of it all. Tobacco was a big deal at one time in the South. Now, it’s almost taboo to talk about it. If you can get that girl here, maybe she can do a nice story on tobacco.”

“I don’t think so, I have something a lot more interesting and current right here that needs to be brought to light. I think she’d be perfect for the story.”

“You have to get her first,” Shelley said, then took a sip of her tea and closed her eyes to savor the flavor.

“Don’t you worry? I haven’t met a small-town reporter yet that balked at a chance to jump to a more prestigious newspaper. And, outside of Atlanta, you don’t get much better than Savannah. Would you make a note for me to get in touch with her next week, please?”

Reese was on her second glass of wine at The Tavern when in walked Chief Daniels who took up a seat next to her.

“Is this how you get your inspiration for a story?” he asked.

She looked at him over the rim of the glass she was drinking from and swallowed. “No, this is how I recover from the articles I just wrote. After my big expose, I’m back to reporting on the latest pet that went missing. I know you like a quiet town Chief but, for a reporter, this place doesn’t have enough action.”

She put her stemware on the table. “I almost didn’t recognize you out of uniform.”

“I
do
take a day off once in a while. I’ll let you buy me a beer; it’s the price you’ll have to pay for me to listen to your story.”

She waved the bartender over and let the Chief order his beer.

“What’s
your
story Chief Daniels,
where do you come from
?” She took another sip of wine waiting for his response.

“I’m originally from Connecticut — a small town similar to this one. At seventeen I left home and went into the military. I was a military policeman in the Marine Corps and retired at thirty-seven years old. That’s too young to be retired, so when I saw the ad for the job as Chief of Police here, well, the rest is history.”

His beer arrived in a frosty mug. He was served something dark that looked like Coca Cola.

“
And you
?” he asked before taking a long drink from the glass.

“Raised a foster child in South Carolina. Never knew what happened to my parents but I understand I’m a southern girl all the way. When I was old enough, I worked odd jobs to pay for my college. I picked journalism because I felt a need to write. I guess I thought writing about everyone else’s life would give me some hope for my own life. To some degree it’s worked, but I’m still missing something. Hey, that’s enough about me. Do you have a woman in your life?”

He took another long sip. “Haven’t met that one special person yet. Almost came close a few times in the military, but it either didn’t feel right with me or she got cold feet. It’ll happen though.”

“Marines, huh? I can see why you’re a by-the-book kind of guy. The military really made an impression on you didn’t it?” she said with interest.

“Uh-huh. You learn to follow orders and rules, especially in the Corps. You may not like your leader or another member of your team but, you soon learn it is a team and your life may depend on that person you don’t like.” He finished his beer.

Reese offered to buy him another one but he declined saying that although he was off duty he was still on-call.

“I don’t think I ever thanked you for giving me that information from the Mayor.”

“No you didn’t, but you’re doing it now.” He raised his glass to show his appreciation for the free glass of beer. “I expect, with the talent you appear to have as a reporter, you’ll be going places Miss Summers. I wish you luck. If I can ever do anything for you, let me know. By the way, I have some news of my own to share with you.”

“What’s that Chief?”

“Your friend, the Mayor, is in jail in Omaha.”

“
Really
? What happened?”

“He got stopped for driving while intoxicated and during the stop the officer found an unregistered gun in his possession. The gun apparently was traced back to a shooting that happened in Texas a few years ago. He denies he owned the gun at that time, but he’ll be on ice a while until they can figure things out.”

After another sip from her glass she asked, “How’d you find all this out?”

“I have access to a lot of things most people don’t Miss Summers. You have your sources and I have mine. Let’s leave it at that.”

“Please call me Reese,” she invited. “You’ve earned the right.”

“Okay, but I like the way you say ‘Chief Daniels’. I feel it makes me more important than you.”

She raised her wine glass saying, “Deal!”

“So what’s next for you Reese?” he asked.

Before she could answer, she heard Charlie’s voice from behind.

“I thought that was your car out there Miss Summers. I have an envelope for you. Looks important, so I thought I’d just bring it to you directly.”

“Charlie, you’re not stalking me are you?” she said, batting her eyes at the mailman.

“No ma’am! At least not with the Chief of Police sitting right there next to you.”

She took the envelope from his hand.

“I couldn’t help but notice the return address is from the
Savannah Daily
,” he said.

Opening the envelope, she looked at both men with some bewilderment in her eyes and took out a letter. It took her only thirty seconds to read it. Her eyes lit up and she tucked it safely back into the envelope.

“Is it private, or something you can share?” asked Chief Daniels.

The excitement in her voice was noticeable. “Both! It’s a job offer at the
Savannah Daily
. The editor wants me to come to Savannah and do an interview.”

“When?” asked Charlie as if he knew he was about to lose a friend.

“There’s a number to call him and set up an appointment. Gentlemen I need to be going. Chief thank you for the company and you both have a nice day.”

She grabbed her purse and headed out the door knowing full well that Charlie was going to spread the word all over town and now she was regretting she said anything to them.

Reese went home to make the call, feeling it would be inappropriate to make the call from her office at
New Harmony Press
. Her fingers shook a little as she dialed the number on her cell phone. Her voice cracked from having a dry throat as she practiced what she would say to the editor while the other end rang.

“Calm down girl. Calm down,” she said to herself to ease her nervousness. She walked into her kitchen and filled a small glass with water and drank it just as the she heard a voice answer her call.

“
Savannah Daily
, may I help you?” asked a woman’s voice.

“
U-h-h-h
my name is Reese Summers. May I speak to Mr. Williams?” she asked with some hesitation and then took another drink of water.

“Miss Summers, I’m so glad you called.  My sister thinks you’re adorable and she likes the articles you write for
New Harmony Press
. Oh, I’m sorry, my name is Shelley. I work with Doug,
er,
Mr. Williams and he was expecting your call, but he had to leave unexpectedly. He left a note here somewhere in case you called while he was out. Just a second please ...”

Reese could hear the rustling of papers and pictured Shelley sitting at a cluttered desk that looked very much like the top of her own. She was feeling more at ease not having to be put on the spot by any questions the editor would be asking her at this point.

“
Ah
, here it is Miss Summers. He wants to know,
ah
, if you would be available to meet with him next Wednesday,
ah
, at noon. I’m sorry honey, the man can type a clean page of text in thirty seconds but his handwriting is like hieroglyphics.”

Reese laughed at her description and then cleared her throat. “Who’s your sister?”

“Oh, you know her as Wanda. Wanda Simpson.”

“Yes, dear Wanda. She’s a sweet lady. Keeps me quite busy with the agendas of the ladies auxiliary. Come to think of it, you sound just like her.”

“That bad huh? Just kidding, we’re cut from the same cloth, so I guess it’s only natural.

Reese chuckled again. “Please tell Mr. Williams that I’ll meet him at the office promptly at noon.”

“Oh no, that won’t do,” Shelley declared.

Reese started to get a little worried that she had said something wrong to offend the woman on the other end. That it may have been a test or something.

“There’s more to his note,” said Shelley. “He wrote that when you get to Savannah,
ah
, to cross over the Talmadge Memorial Bridge,
ah
, and take the first road to the right. After about a mile,
ah
, you’ll see his car parked along a half-circular parking area. Damn that’s hard to read! Sorry Reese, let me tell you using my own words as I know that area. It has a good view of the ships moving between the shipyards and going to or coming from the ocean. You won’t have any problem dear. Just be on-time! Mr. Williams hates it when one of his reporters misses a deadline.”

“Thank you Shelley, I can’t wait to meet you. You sound like you’re a lot of fun.”

“I used to be fun, but all that is behind me now. You take care and we’ll see you next week.” The call ended when Shelley hung up at her end.

Reese wasn’t able to keep her arrival back to work a secret, especially in a four-person office. She put her things among the piles of papers on her desk and thought of Shelley.

“Long lunch or are you working on a story?” the editor inquired without looking up at her.

Feeling guilty about the reason for her absence, she responded, “Neither. I had to run by home.” She was almost afraid to ask, but had to know where she stood, “Has Charlie been here yet?” The blood rushed to her face in anticipation of her embarrassment about letting Charlie and the Chief know she had a job offer before talking to her boss.

“Not yet. Expecting something?” His attention never wavered from the piece he was editing until Reese moved next to his desk.

“Actually,” she started, not being sure what to say, “I already received something and I need to talk to you about it.”

“Pull up a chair,” he ordered, “and we’ll talk. I just need a minute to finish this article for tomorrow’s edition.”

Reese went back to her desk and rolled her chair next to his. She looked around to see if any of her actions had caught the attention of the two other employees in the room. She was relieved to see they were busy trying to make their own deadlines with little time for distractions.

She sat, crossing her legs and nervously waited.

The editor made his last edits on the paper and then leaned back looking at Reese for the first time since she entered. “What’s on your mind young lady?”

It must have been the way he looked at her, because she felt he already knew what she was going to say even without Charlie’s announcement of it. In that second, she decided there was no reason to sugar coat it and just get it out.

“I have a job offer to go work for the
Savannah Daily
. It’s quite an opportunity for me and, well, I wanted you to hear it from me. I have an interview next Wednesday with the editor. But don’t worry about my absence that day, I have a couple stories I’ve been sitting on you can use in place of what I would be assigned for next weeks’ edition.”

The editor leaned forward in his chair and reached out his hand. “Congratulations Reese. I knew it would come to this eventually. This isn’t a newspaper that a bright, young person like yourself would stay at for very long. And, it wouldn’t be in me to keep you from pursuing your dream. I’m genuinely happy for you and you’ll get an education working for Doug Williams.”

“You know him?” she quizzed.

“Not really, but he has a good reputation in the business. And, he called me the other day asking about your qualifications. He wanted to make sure that the cover story you wrote last month wasn’t just an aberration. I assured him that’s the way you consistently write and that you’re not afraid to get into the weeds.”

Reese was grateful for the relief of her anxiety about telling the editor that she had a job interview. But, she was even more thankful for the vote of confidence he gave to her potential next boss.

“I just don’t know what to say” she said, “except thank you. This doesn’t come without some guilt on my part. I feel I’m leaving you in a … Listen to me,” she declared, “I’m talking like I already have that job. I’m sorry, that’s pretty self-centered of me to even suggest it.”

“It’s alright Reese. I understand completely what you are trying to say. But I believe you’re a shoe-in unless you say something stupid during the interview. Remember to keep that tongue of yours in check and, when you get the job, remember to always remain objective on a story. Don’t get personally involved with it and you’ll be a great reporter. Now get the hell out of here and go find a few more articles to write. You’re still on
my
payroll and you’ve wasted enough of my time.” He grabbed the next story candidate from his in-box and began to mark it up with his red pen.

As Reese was leaving the office, Charlie was arriving and had the grin of the Cheshire cat on his face.

“Sorry to rain on your parade Charlie, but he already knows. Hey, anything going on at the post office that’s newsworthy?”

Looking as if the carpet had been pulled from underneath him, he shook his head no and quietly laid the mail in the basket by the front door and followed her outside. As he watched her walk to her car, he was thinking that this may very well be the last time he saw that beautiful sway of hers and sighed.

Chief Daniels’ phone rang at the same time Reese entered his office. He signaled for her to have a seat as he picked up the receiver. A minute later, he said, “Thank you for the information,” and returned the phone to its cradle.

“That something new on our Mayor?” she solicited.

“Nope. It was a call from the county Sheriff’s office to be on the lookout for a blue VW van. The plates on it are registered in Washington D.C. and the driver is suspected of selling drugs in the area.”

“Oh my God, I think I saw that vehicle on my way here,” she exclaimed instinctively grabbing her purse and briefcase. “Let’s go! This will make a nice departing story for me,” and jumped up from her chair.

The Chief grabbed his signature hat and was on her heels. “Where we going?” he probed as he struggled to stay up with her.

“Dollar General!” she excitedly disclaimed. “That’s where I saw the van. On the side parking lot.”

She was first to reach her vehicle but didn’t hear his words of warning not to speed before she got inside. She took off like she just robbed the bank.

“Damn,” he said, climbing into the squad car, his hat catching on the interior roof and falling onto the seat beside him. He gunned the throttle and, with lights flashing, soon passed her by so she wouldn’t be the first to arrive on the scene.

When the Chief arrived at Dollar General, he immediately blocked the van from being able to leave. He could see there was a man sitting in the cab as if waiting.

Re-taking his hat from the seat, he got out just as Reese’s car pulled into the lot. He emphatically motioned for her to stay put as he walked to the driver’s window, while holding his hand on the butt of his sidearm.

Within a few minutes he was cuffing the suspect, now standing next to the driver’s open door and reading him his rights.

Reese felt it was safe to exit her vehicle and ran over to the pair of men with pen and paper in hand. She watched as Chief Daniels emptied the pockets of the suspect throwing two bags of marijuana and a large pocket knife onto the driver’s seat. She also saw what appeared to be other drug paraphernalia on the passenger side floorboard.

After putting the suspect into the back of his squad car he turned his attention toward Reese.

“What the hell did you think you were doing?” he yelled. “You could have hurt someone or been hurt yourself. News or no news that’s no way for you to act. I’m taking him in now, but you and I aren’t done having this talk.”

He got back into his squad car and gave her a look that seared into her brain.

Even though her adrenaline was still pumping, she knew that she crossed the line with the Chief.