CHAPTER 17

CAL SAWED THROUGH the piece of flat iron steak he’d ordered from The Waterwheel Restaurant and Pub. He struggled to jam his fork into the piece of overdone steak then glanced at Kelly’s plate.

“It’s hard to go wrong with a chicken salad,” he said before reluctantly putting the meat into his mouth. He chomped on it for several moments, drawing a snicker from Kelly.

“I thought you ordered it medium rare,” she said still smiling.

Cal shook his head. “I did, but what other kind of meat would I expect to get in this town? It’s never what you expect and it’s rarely pleasant.”

“Perhaps that’s a sign you should leave,” said a familiar voice.

Cal turned around to see Tom Corliss.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were trying to get rid of us,” Cal quipped.

Corliss waved him off and sat down in one of the two empty seats at their table. “Definitely not trying to get rid of you, but wanted to let you know that you might not have to stay here much longer.”

“That’s a relief,” Kelly said. “I’m ready to get on to Chicago and get out of this godforsaken place.”

“I would’ve pegged you for a small-town girl,” Corliss said.

She huffed. “Been there, done that. I spent most of my energy trying to escape it. Too many people all up in your business all the time.”

“That’s probably why they don’t appreciate outsiders like us getting involved in their business and they try to run us off,” Corliss said.

“But that’s nearly impossible. Small towns are magnets for corruption,” Cal said.

“And that differs from big cities how?” Corliss said.

“Good point.”

“Look, we could discuss the most corrupt places on earth all night—and it’d be quite a rousing discussion, but I’ve got a few more details to take care of before tomorrow morning.”

“What’s happening then?” Kelly asked.

“Just be at Miller County High around eight-thirty. It’ll be a circus.” Corliss paused. “And thank you, Cal, for dragging me into this. This is a huge win for the bureau, not only catching a murderer but also what else you guys helped me get on Wilfred Lee.”

“Are you going to arrest him tomorrow, too?” Cal asked.

“Not yet, but it won’t be long until our case against him is rock solid. That bastard will be rotting away in a cell for the rest of his life.”

“Glad we could help,” Cal said.

He stood up and patted Cal on the back. “And don’t worry. I’ll give you all the sensational details no one else will get.”

“I appreciate it.”

“It’s the least I can do. You two have a nice rest of your dinner and we’ll talk soon.”

Kelly put down her fork and wiped the corners of her mouth with her napkin. “So, let’s talk about the future.”

“Spaceships and flying cars kind of future or ours?”

“What do you think?”

“Well, I’ve heard that flying cars are definitely—”

“Oh, Cal, stop it. I want to talk about us and what we’re doing next.”

A smile crept across his face. “I’ve got a few ideas.”

“I’m serious, Cal. Do you think we’re doing the right thing in moving to Chicago?”

“What do you mean?”

She cleared her throat and looked away toward the window before returning her gaze to him. “I don’t know. I guess I’m just concerned about moving so far away from family. I’ve been thinking a lot about this, and my mom moved to Georgia to help take care of Maddie. I’m not sure how she’ll take us up and moving again.”

“She’s adventurous. She won’t mind. She’d do anything to be with her granddaughter.”

“Yeah, but I haven’t told you about the latest development.”

Cal set his fork and knife down, pushing his plate to the side. He leaned forward. “Latest development?”

“Yeah, she’s met a guy.”

“There are plenty of guys in Chicago.”

“Well, she really likes this one,” Kelly countered. “He’s the first one who’s treated her like dad used to treat her before he died. I haven’t seen her so happy in quite a while.”

Cal’s phone buzzed. “Hold that thought. We need to talk more about this.” He answered his phone. “This is Cal.”

It was his editor, Jim Gatlin. “Where are you?”

“Can’t get enough of me, can you?”

“Are you still in Kentucky?”

Cal shifted in his chair. “All business tonight, are we?”

“I’m serious, Cal. Are you still in Kentucky on that story?”

“Yep. We’re not due to leave until tomorrow.”

“Dang it, Cal. I told you to get outta there because nothing good was going to come of this story—for you, anyway.”

“What do you mean?”

“You haven’t seen the wire yet, have you?”

“What’s going on?”

“I’ve got bad news.”

“Just tell me what it is and stop beating around the bush, Gatlin.”

Gatlin paused. “Look, I don’t know how to say this, but I just got a call from the publisher. He’s making your suspension permanent.”

“Permanent?”

“Yeah, Cal, there’s no easy way to say this, but the paper is letting you go.”

“Seriously? That’s ridiculous. Just because of what I was doing here? I was just following a lead and—”

“Actually, it has nothing to do with your time in Millersville.”

“Then why?”

“TMZ Sports wrote a story about your history of plagiarism. It listed links and highlighted large sections of some of your stories that were lifted from other articles on the Internet.”

Cal let out a long breath and stood up. “You know I’ve never done anything like that. That’s bogus.” He looked at Kelly, who wore a look of concern on her face. She mouthed “What is it?” to him. He waved her off and sat back down. “Just give me some time and I’m sure I can prove they’re all fabricated. It’s obvious that I’ve made a few enemies around here.”

“Enemies capable of framing you?”

“Absolutely. This Wilfred Lee guy has tons of money and has been trying to get rid of me the moment I stepped foot in his little town.”

“Well, he may have succeeded for good.” He paused for a moment. “I want to believe you, Cal, but I have to be honest when I say it doesn’t look good.”

“Get somebody in our IT department to look into it. I’m sure they can prove those claims are bogus.”

“Calm down, Cal. We’ll do our best due diligence, but I’m inclined to agree with the publisher.”

“But you know me,” he protested. “I’m totally being set up and you know it.”

“I’ll have someone look into it, but it’d have to be pretty strong evidence to overturn the publisher’s decision. You know what he’s like. He hates to admit when he’s wrong.”

“He’ll have no choice or else—”

“Or else what?”

“I’ll sue him and the paper for wrongful termination.”

“That will make for a fun work environment.”

“Not to get my job back but to make him pay. This is America. Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty?”

“Blame it on Twitter.”

“This is ridiculous and you know it.”

“I wish there was something more I could do for you, Cal, but I thought I at least owed you the courtesy of telling you myself. Good luck.”

Cal slammed his phone down on the table then motioned for the waiter and asked for the check.

Kelly reached across the table and grabbed Cal’s hands. “What are they doing to you, honey?”

“Firing me.”

“What? Why? What did you do?”

“My job—and somebody with a lot of money in this town went to great lengths to set me up.”

“This can’t be happening,” she said, her eyes beginning to blur. “Not now.”

Cal signed the receipt and stood up. “Let’s go. We’ve got a lot to talk about.”

She followed him out of the restaurant and into the parking lot. As they climbed into their car, Cal’s phone buzzed again.

“This is Cal.”

“Cal, this is Brian Buckman from the Tribune. I was just calling to let you know that we’re canceling your interview tomorrow.”

“What? Why?”

“I think you probably know why. Our management decided that despite all the great award-winning writing you’ve done, you’re not the kind of journalist the Tribune wants.”

“Are you kidding me? Those accusations are lies.”

“They aren’t just accusations. We investigated them ourselves. Looks pretty legit. Best of luck to you.”

Cal tossed his phone on the dashboard before burying his head in his hands. “Ahhhh! This is so frustrating. How come nobody realizes somebody—somebody named Wilfred Lee—is setting me up?”

Kelly put her hand on his back and started to cry. “This is all my fault. I just wanted to help out my cousin and talked you into it. We’d never be in this situation if I hadn’t been so foolish and thought we could get justice.”

Cal pulled back and stared at her. “You listen to me—this is not your fault. Wilfred Lee did this, not you.” He stopped and gazed into her eyes, which were now flowing uncontrollably with tears. “And we’re not leaving until we get justice—I don’t care what anybody thinks about me as a journalist. Get your camera. We’re going to take Lee down.”