Chapter Eight
Wes unloosened his tie as he sank down into his desk chair. This morning the top news story continued to be about the missing American Voices contestant, Melanie Stowe. He couldn’t help but think back to yesterday afternoon with Angel Roberts. He meant what he’d told her. Wes wanted to help her and felt horrible about asking her to leave. Pops’s confusion was not only upsetting, but disturbing. Despite his affected mind, Pops was still determined to bring the person responsible for Elisa Roberts’s disappearance to justice. But who?
He sensed a real story right under his nose. The last story Wes followed was the trial of Hillary Green. The woman was sentenced to life for the murder of defense lawyers Pamela Coleman and Mitch Harris and Detective Frank Johnson. Twenty years had passed, so it was doubtful Elisa hadn’t fallen victim to foul play. Where were her remains?
Growing up without her mother and not knowing what happened had to have been tough for Angel. His dad had died in a car accident when he was still a toddler. While Wes didn’t remember his father, he visited the grave site with his mom each year.
Wes tapped his keyboard to wake up the sleeping monitor. He clicked on a folder he’d created a few months ago. Inside the folder were photos and a few video clips from the station’s archives. He studied the last photo taken of Elisa Roberts. Angel had inherited her mother’s sculptured cheekbones and big brown eyes—the kind of eyes that made his heart flip-flop. Angel had a fairer skin tone, but she could have been her mother’s identical twin.
He decided to see what else he could find on Angel. Wes did a quick search on Facebook. Everybody, including his own mother, had a Facebook page. Sure enough, several Angel Robertses appeared in the search results. After a quick scroll, he found her avatar. She didn’t post on her wall much. Every few days she shared an inspirational post and videos. Most of the recent videos posted on her wall were from weddings. He noticed her Facebook profile gave him a link to her Web site.
He clicked the link and watched the Web site load. Angel Media. He remembered her mentioning she was working on a documentary. It appeared there were even more wedding videos in her portfolio. He put on his headphones and clicked on a video. He loved the camera angles Angel used as she focused on the bride and then the groom. She was good, capturing the romance and joy of the couple’s special day. He wondered if he would have that moment. As he approached thirty, the bachelor status had grown pretty lame.
A tap on his shoulder interrupted his musings about possible nuptials. He pulled off the headphones and spun around. He groaned inside as Serena stood with her hand on her hip, looking way too seductive for the work environment.
“Are we looking to march down the aisle soon? I certainly hope not. I would be really disappointed.”
“Hey, Serena. I was just checking out something for a friend.” He closed the Web site. The last thing he needed was Serena snooping in his business. He was entirely clear what her motivation was for being so friendly lately. “What can I do for you?”
“That’s a dangerous question, Wes. There are a lot of things you can do for me.”
Wes sputtered, “Work related, Serena.”
Serena laughed. “Wes Cade, you are so fun to mess with.” She flipped her hair over her back and smiled down at him. “I was going to head down to Melanie Stowe’s high school to talk to some of her former teachers, but I have had a change of plans.”
“Yeah? How’s the story coming?” As the senior reporter, Serena took on the big stories and was known to dig deep and sometimes too far. He could never figure out why someone with her incredible looks didn’t go for the anchor role. She’d been at the station for at least five years, two years more than him. The two anchors at the station had both been here for ten years. Maybe Serena was just waiting. Whenever he had a chance to fill in in the anchor role, he could see himself being there one day. If it wasn’t for his mom and Pops, he’d consider moving to another market.
Wes tuned back into Serena’s update. “Melanie’s ex-boyfriend is of interest. He sounds like he is the jealous type and was not too crazy about her being on a national talent show. You know the deal. An abusive boyfriend. Girlfriend goes missing. In this case, the girlfriend was a Charlotte native who had her fifteen minutes of fame on a national talent contest. Sounds like a real winner to me, but I will leave it to you to find out the dirt.”
“Me?” Wes responded. “What’s going on?”
Serena licked her lips. “I have another story to pursue.”
Wes raised his eyebrow. “Really? A bigger story than Melanie Stowe?”
Serena leaned forward. She was close enough for Wes to smell her expensive perfume. He slid his chair back. Serena looked him in the eyes. “This missing person case is right up your alley. If you can get the real truth, this will boost your career beyond what you can imagine.” She stood upright and then asked, “By the way, how’s your grandfather doing?”
Wes swallowed before answering. He was still grasping the fact that Serena had just dropped her assignment in his lap. “Uh, not too good.”
“That’s a shame. It sure would be nice to know his take on the case.”
He frowned. “There are others folks in the missing persons unit we can talk to, Serena.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Is there a reason in particular why you are interested in my grandfather?”
“I’m just curious about an old case. That’s all. Look, I will catch you later, kiddo.” Before walking away, she pointed a manicured red-tipped finger at him. “Get the truth.”
Wes watched as Serena sauntered out of the newsroom. What is she up to?
He walked across the newsroom and knocked on the news producer’s door. Alan James called out, “Come in.”
“Hey, Alan. What’s going on?”
Alan put down his cup of coffee and looked up from his laptop. “I should ask that of you. I take it Serena has shared her news.”
“I’m shocked. She must have a pretty big assignment to let this opportunity go.”
“Something she’s been working on for a while.”
Wes threw up his hands. “Any clues?”
“The only thing I can tell you is she will be leaving for New York tonight.”
“New York?”
“Yep. You, in the meantime, need to pursue any leads about Melanie. She’s a Charlotte native. We need to be at the head of this story.”
Wes shook his head. “I’m well aware. Serena dropped a hint about the boyfriend.”
“I think we should pursue him hard. Right now, he’s been dodging interviews. We need an exclusive with him. Can you pull it off?”
“Hey, I’m on it.”
“All right. I’m counting on you, Wes.”
“Yes, sir.” Wes walked out of his producer’s office. He wasn’t sure how he would pull it off. While the way Serena went after a story was a bit manipulative, Wes chose to use his good guy charms. When he sat back down at his desk, he opened the Internet browser to surf to the Facebook Web site. Social media had become an excellent source of information for him. Being the web-savvy guy he was, he had been the first one in the newsroom to open accounts at all the popular social networks. He liked talking to fans and getting information. Sometimes the information didn’t pan out, but he had verified several leads in the past and had brought the story back to Alan later.
Right now he wasn’t so much looking for any leads. He would after he connected with someone who was on his mind all night. He wasn’t sure if Angel was interested in hearing from him again, but he pulled up her Facebook profile and made a friend request. Wes wanted another face-to-face with her. Their first meeting was pretty awkward.
He still couldn’t believe he’d hung out with her when they were children. At nine years of age, he was pretty sure he still didn’t like girls. Yet he had to admit there was a familiarity with her yesterday. It had more to do with the fact that she looked like her missing mother.
He clicked open a folder to access a video clip. There was one person that was questioned extensively about Elisa’s disappearance. Wes pressed PLAY and then paused the video to study the face of Angelino Mancini as he was escorted into the police department for questioning. This was twenty years before, but Angelino could have been cast as a Jersey Shore cast member. He had a bronze tan, and his muscles rippled through the polo shirt he was wearing. Angelino and Elisa, with her deep chocolate complexion, were definitely the most striking couple Wes had ever seen. Wes jotted down some questions. How did this interracial couple meet? Did their cultural differences drive them apart?
Wes could see which parent gave Angel her strong jaw structure. When she left yesterday, he noticed how her face was set as she tried to contain her emotions. Had she ever talked to the former street-tough boxer, who some thought was responsible for Elisa’s disappearance? What kind of relationship did Angel have with her Italian American father?