Molly waited while everyone gathered around the layout table. They had a lot to get done before Thursday’s edition ran. With any luck, they’d be printing the tribute to Magnolia along with the truth about who killed her. Alan came out of his office, joining her, Gavin, Jill, Hannah, and Elizabeth.
His salt and pepper hair was in need of a trim and looked like he’d been running his hands through it, which he did when he was stressed. There was a lot going on and Alan took reporting the news seriously. It was part of why he’d hired her at The Bulletin. He’d wanted to return to accurate, factual stories that mattered to the readers. They’d gotten away from that in recent years but they were on their way back. And then some.
Alan nodded, meeting her curious gaze. “She was not impressed but she’ll be here this afternoon.”
“Who will?” Elizabeth asked, looking up from her notebook.
“A source,” Molly said, not ready to fill the others in.
“I can’t wait any longer to hear about Corky. Everyone’s here, please tell us,” Jill said.
They knew that she, Calli, and Sam had gone out to the farm and found him yesterday. They’d been there for hours and Molly had texted Jill updates.
“Is he okay? Did he go to the shelter?” Alan asked.
Molly sat on one of the stools like the others. Gavin raised his hand, his dark eyes apologetic. “Sorry, but who is Corky?”
Hannah filled him in, doing an excellent job summing it up briefly and including valuable facts about the homeless situation.
Molly beamed. “Hannah, you are going to make such a good reporter.”
Alan chuckled. “I second that. Well done, sweetheart. Excellent summary,” Alan said to his niece.
Hannah blushed under the praise. She was such a sweet and talented girl. They’d miss her when she went off to college in September.
“Calli found him curled up in the corner?” Jill prompted.
Molly nodded. “He was sort of hiding and cowering. He kept saying no one comes in there during the day. He wouldn’t take the food from Calli at first but she kept telling him he wasn’t in trouble. I think he was on his way to believing her when we approached. It might have been too much all at once.”
“John is a large and imposing man,” Elizabeth said. “Sweet as anything, but I’d be nervous in his presence if I didn’t know him and I was squatting in his barn.”
“What’d Corky do?” Alan took a seat on a stool across from Molly.
Her stomach cramped at the memory of seeing the fear in Corky’s eyes at being caught by the farmer. “He looked so sad and scared. John took off his hat and introduced himself. His voice was so soft. He was like a gentle giant. Corky kept apologizing, looking around like he wanted to escape. A few of the kittens came over and started nuzzling him and it distracted him. None of us really had a plan but John asked him if he’d been taking care of the kittens.”
“Aww. That’s why he told you the kittens love him,” Jill said.
Molly nodded, glancing at the time on her phone. They needed to get going on the layout, but everyone needed to hear the story. They were going to print it in the paper. Happy endings didn’t happen nearly enough in real life.
“Yup. Corky kept going back and forth saying that they loved him, he was sorry, and he likes the kittens. They started sniffing around the bag and Calli opened it. The more cats that came around, the more he relaxed. Honestly, none of us knew John was going to offer him a job and a place to live. I don’t even know if John knew.”
“You’re kidding,” Elizabeth said with a dreamy sigh. Her blondish gray hair was done up in a pretty bun and she leaned forward, resting her chin on both hands.
“Nope. He asked Corky if he could keep looking after the cats and told him that if he did, he could stay in the barn. Corky, of course, said no, he’d leave, he was sorry for being there. John said no one would take care of the cats if he left. Then he told Corky he’d been meaning to clean up the barn so the cats could move around and he sure could use some help.”
“He made him feel needed,” Gavin said.
Molly nodded, unable to swallow down the emotion she still felt. She sniffled. “He did. Corky said he could help. John asked if he wanted to sleep in the stable hand’s house. They don’t use it anymore because none of their workers live on site. It’s run down because it hasn’t been used, but functional. Has a bathroom and shower. A kitchen. Corky said he wanted to stay with the cats. John told him he could stay with the cats and help with the barn. In return, he’d make sure he had three meals a day and he could clean up in the other house any time he wanted.”
“Oh my goodness,” Hannah said, wiping a few tears. “That’s so awesome. That makes me so happy. Do you think he’ll stay?”
Molly shrugged. “I hope so. Calli and Dean are going to provide meals, too. It’s a small step but a big one.”
“Agreed. That’s one hell of a happy ending to print,” Alan said.
“It is. It’ll add something special to this week’s paper for sure.” Molly stood up and went to the white board where she’d listed this week’s stories and items for the paper.
“Okay. Onto other things. We can work together on Corky’s story, but Elizabeth—I was thinking you’d take the lead?”
“I’d love to,” Elizabeth said.
“Molly?” Hannah asked, stealing a glance at her uncle before meeting Molly’s gaze.
“What’s up?”
“I, uh, well, with Corky having a happy ending, maybe it’d be a great sideline to mention that so has Naomi. The people of our community are stepping up in small ways, but they matter. It’s only two people, but by opening their hearts and their minds, the community has helped them go from homeless to contributing citizens. Could I interview Naomi? I’m doing an art class at Sarah’s tonight anyway.”
Molly took a deep breath and when she let it out, her body shuddered. “Hannah, when you are an award-winning journalist known worldwide for not only your insight but your heart, will you please come back and visit?”
They all laughed and Alan got up, going around the table to give Hannah a hug. “She’d better.”
They moved through the rest of the stories, discussing the layout and the regular editorials. The pictures of the finalists for the Spring Flower Barrel Challenge, who had been chosen online, would run this week. It would be quite the eclectic mix.
“Everyone good on what needs to be done?” Molly asked, putting the cap on her whiteboard marker.
“You got it, boss,” Jill said, pushing her stool back. Hannah and Gavin went to their own workstations and Elizabeth headed toward the kitchen.
Jill walked over to Molly, eyeing her suspiciously. “What are you up to?”
Molly grinned. “I have someone coming in to see me. Well, Alan, really.”
Jill looked back and forth between Molly and Alan.
“What’s going on?” Jill asked, her voice low enough not to be overheard by the others.
Alan shook his head. When Molly had asked him to do her this favor, she’d had to give him the basic details.
“What do you think she’s doing? She’s investigating a murder.”
Jill rubbed her hands together. “Who is coming in?”
“Vivien Sweet. I told her that her credit card was declined and she needed to come in and make the payment to run the ad,” Alan said, wincing.
“Crass, I know. I’m sorry,” Molly said to him. “But it’s necessary. I promise. She’s lying about something and I’m going to find out, once and for all, what it is.”