She responded by squaring her shoulders and walking over to Perry, stood in front of him and said. “Send someone else, according to certain people,” she looked daggers at Ralph; “my partner’s reputation is on the line.”
The older man shook his head and muttered “Hell of a way to run a newspaper. Since when do the reporters tell their editors what to do? Come in then and close the door behind you.”
Ten minutes later a depressed trio sat in Perry’s office. “That’s the long and the short of it. According to the papers Kell presented me with, TresAx claims two of the three people you interviewed were not employees, but long-term contractors with extremely limited access to company records. Anything they told you about the accounting department tax dealing is either false information or incomplete, so the statements they signed off on are worthless. The third was fired recently for white collar crimes and is being prosecuted by DA Mayson Drake, so her word is seriously suspected.”
“So Clark doesn’t have to give up his sources because someone found out their names and gave them to Preston and The Star?”
Perry shook his head sadly, “The contractors were terminated yesterday, refused to talk to Constance and have ‘lawyered up’".
“What about Guerin and Senator Braxton? All the evidence I have points to him and his underhanded dealing with the IRS.” Clark asked; his face had gone pale with disbelief as he watched a promising career as a journalist slither into a murky abyss.
“He emphatically denies the charges and is willing to undergo a lie detector test.” Perry said in disgust.
A horrible feeling of déjà vu swept over Lois as Perry continued talking to Clark. Three years ago when she accused Claude of stealing her story, Constance Hunter had arrived in the nick of time to save her career.
OH NO!!!!
Perry shook his head and said, “Can’t leave a fox near the henhouse.”
“More like a weasel.” Lois muttered darkly.
Turning to the young woman, Perry spoke slowly, “Now Lois, let’s work our way through the facts, this is too important for us to make a mistake. The Colonel told Elvis that after he heard Blue Suede Shoes for the first time. It sounded terrible. Made him go back into the studio and re-record it.” Looking at Janney again he said, “Ken is this conclusive? I mean this couldn’t be the work of someone using Ralph’s login?”
“It’s unlikely anyone would want to have their name linked with his. He’s one of the worst staffers my team has to deal with. This evidence is pretty clear, but be my guest and gather more facts so that HR, the lawyers - and the – police will be satisfied.”
Lois breathed a sigh of relief, “At least now we’re on the right track. Thanks a lot Ken! We’ll get that additional proof.”
Ken smiled, stood and walked towards the door. “If anyone needs my help, have Jack get in contact with me.”
<snicker> Somebody is in T-R-O-U-B-L-E!!!
Lois could only nod, still surprised by what was happening. “Where are we going?”
“For a quick tour around the city, but Miss Lane, we will be moving at super speed in the beginning. For your safety please allow me to cover your face.”
“This is going to be different from anything I’ve ever done before.” She said in a shaky voice as the warm red fabric covered her face. As he secured the cape, the faint scent of fresh air and wood coiled around her nostrils. Suddenly her feet were lifted off the floor and the sound of a stiff rushing breeze reached her ears. For the briefest of instances the smell of dank earth was so strong it made her wheeze, than the cape was removed and she was treated to the sight of Hob’s Bay from a very different night time vantage point. Above twinkled a few stars and below the bay stretched beneath them.
Lois had always heard of the descriptive words: Majestic Sweep applied to Hollywood epics such at Alieanor of Aquitaine or Lawrence of Arabia and had always considered them simply high swung adjectives.
Until now.
The strong arms which held her were capable of stopping a runaway train, yet tender enough to hold her. There was something familiar about the way his arms fit around her waist, yet how could that be? Over a month ago he did not exist in her life. Questions could come later, however at this place in time she wanted to savor. Nothing compared to flying at night with a clumsy machine to protect her. An experience like this was not meant to be shared …
Awwww....
