Free Lying Eyes by Toni Noel Page B

now. Too bad you have to move, you have such an interesting display laid out in here."
    "Which can all be neatly arranged in the new venue."
    Carlo tugged her sleeve. "Allison, you can't just—"
    "Sure I can. Watch."
    She stepped to the doors, opened one wide, and spoke to the waiting crowd.
    "We're moving to a larger room, and I need some of you to help."
    The crowd quieted.
    "When I was in third grade the city opened a new branch library adjacent to the old one. Both buildings were near my school. Single file, the principal marched us to the old library where each student gathered an armload of books. Keeping our places in line, we marched next door to the new library where staff waited to help us shelve the books."
    She cleared her throat. "With your help, we're going to move the displays inside this room to our new venue, the Terrace Room. I need about twenty of you to follow me and select one of the items on display. Carefully carry your selection to the new venue and place it on the tables the Event Staff is setting up there."
    Allison blocked the door once she had admitted enough volunteers. "The rest of you please hurry to the Terrace Room and take a seat so we won't lose any more time than it takes for everyone to relocate."
    Allison's volunteers each grabbed an item on display and hurried after her, laughing and talking among themselves.
    The Terrace Room, while twice as big, was set up like the Garden Room and soon everyone was seated. She smiled at Carlo and Susan in the front row and nodded at him as if to say I-told-you-so.
    Every available seat was filled, and about a dozen had joined Marsha along the rear wall. Carlo's grim expression made her wary. She'd have to remember he didn't function well when things didn't go according to his carefully thought-out plan.
    Only five minutes past the expected start time Allison signaled the room host to begin, and squirmed in her seat as the hostess read the last of her introduction.
    "...Mornings, she's a familiar face on San Diego television screens, but Allison Marble is also a multi-published novel writer and investigative reporter. We're lucky to have such a distinguished celebrity present for this workshop on 'The Correct Way to Report Crimes.' Welcome, Allison."
    Smiling, she stood and acknowledged a round of applause as she approached the podium.
    "I'd like to thank all of you for your patience and for helping relocate this workshop to this spacious room."
    She rubbed her hands together. "Now, let's talk about the business of reporting criminal activity in print and for television audiences."
    She clicked on the first image in her PowerPoint Presentation. "This is a scene in a typical newspaper newsroom. Most of the time it is bedlam. Not all novice reporters make it. Only the most assertive ones last, the ones who learn to be aggressive. To knock on closed doors. To open unlocked ones and stick their head inside despite objections, and to not take 'No' for an answer. Persistence pays off. I see some heads shaking. Yes, the pressure to be assertive makes meek, shy reporters cringe. Meek writers, too."
    Seeing Carlo's thoughtful expression, she wondered what was going on in his analytical mind.
    "Here's a warning you all should heed," she said later, ending her lecture. "Don't characterize your heroine as a reporter and have her act like Miss Milky-Toast. Give her backbone. Make her gutsy. Let her step on toes to get a story. The Mayor may even try to have her fired."
    She paused for the scattered laughter to subside. "Never fear. Her editor will love her. Your readers will, too, and if you come to tomorrow's workshop I'll show you how a gutsy reporter can win an alpha hero's heart."
    She smiled at the crowd. "Now, as you can see, with help from a willing group of authors to whom I'll be eternally grateful, there are some graphic images of crimes I covered for the station and several scrapbooks containing highlights of my career on display around the room. Please