Free Triumph by Janet Dailey

without blood and gore. There are no visuals,” Monroe added.
    Little did he know Kelly could provide them, along with an eyewitness report. Keeping her mouth shut wasn’t easy.
    “I bet the mayor’s office put in their two cents,” another reporter said. “They always complain about bad publicity.”
    “Atlanta’s like any other big city,” the news director replied. “Things like that happen here and everywhere else. Apparently there’s nothing special about this incident.”
    Kelly knew in her bones that wasn’t true. She’d known it from the moment the second car had pulled in and the men got out. What Monroe was telling everyone didn’t make sense. A cover-up was being put into place.
    After last night, she had to face the fact that someone who didn’t wish her well must have seen her at the site—or escaping. The mutilation of her press pass hadn’t been random malice. The two men that had followed her last night were a follow-up attempt to intimidate her.
    “That about wraps it up. You all have your marching orders. Get going.” Monroe’s gaze swept over everyone in turn and stopped on her. “Kelly, I almost forgot. That corruption feature you’ve been developing—I think we should kill it for now.”
    The room fell silent. She pressed her lips together. He didn’t have to tell her that in public. The reporters at the conference table looked awkwardly away.
    “It’s a worthwhile subject, but too serious. Bottom line, we need to goose the ratings.”
    “Okay,” she said tightly. “I can set it aside.”
    “Please do. Stick with anchoring. That’s why we pay you.”
    “Right.” She didn’t look at him.
    “Any questions, people? Ask Vince,” he concluded.
    The managing editor took over again. “Okay, everyone clear on their assignments? Don’t forget—the whiteboard is out there for a reason. Make sure we know where you are and what you’re doing if you leave the station. Call in changes right away.”
    Was that a veiled reference to the way she’d played hooky with Gordon and Laura? No way of knowing. The meeting came to a close with a hubbub of scraped chairs and chitchat.
    Kelly gathered up her laptop and other things, grateful that Fred was discussing something with the managing editor. She needed to be alone. She wanted to talk to Deke.

    As it happened, he’d called her. The screen of the smartphone she’d left on her desk blinked with his number.
    Kelly procrastinated, fiddling with the coffeemaker in her office. She sat down with the filled cup, trying to think of what to say.
    She’d essentially told Deke Bannon that she was beginning an investigation whether he liked it or not, with or without him.
    The adrenaline coursing through her system during their after-hours meeting had gotten the better of her.
    She liked the feeling. Always had.
    Now that Monroe Capp had spiked a story he knew she’d worked hard to develop and effectively closed the door on a potentially much more interesting one, she felt a second surge. Something was going on. She couldn’t go it alone. She would need Deke.
    The tech director poked his head in. “Have you seen Gordon?” he asked. “He signed out equipment the day before yesterday and he hasn’t returned it. Usually he’s in by now. I can’t reach him.”
    “I haven’t heard from him, Steve.” A feeling of foreboding made her set aside the coffee. She hadn’t thought to call the cameraman this morning. Or Laura.
    “You and him and Laura have been teaming up on that corruption feature, right?”
    “Yes. Which Monroe just killed.”
    “Sorry to hear that,” he said without much conviction, preoccupied by his own problem. “Laura just called in sick—she didn’t know where Gordon was either. Although it wouldn’t be the first time he ‘forgot’ to return stuff.”
    A small pouch on his belt began to buzz.
    “Maybe that’s him,” Kelly said. She hated lying to Steve when the gear was right under her desk. But she had no