Free Triumph by Janet Dailey Page A

idea what Gordon needed to do with it or to it to make sure the footage wasn’t retained.
    “Hope so.” He took out a phone from the pouch and squinted at it. “Hey—you’re right.” He picked up the call. “Gordon? Where the hell are you, buddy? I was thinking you pawned our best camera and went to Mexico or something.”
    Kelly sipped her coffee. Steve waved to her as he turned to walk down the hall. She got up and closed the door. The video camera and laptop would stay where they were until she spoke to Gordon herself.
    She set the cup aside and opened her laptop, not sure whether to call Deke now or later. She might as well outline the story, even if she never got to do it. Ten minutes of steady typing got done before a soft knock on the door got her attention.
    “Come in.”
    The door swung open and she saw one of the reporters from the morning meeting, another new hire, someone who reminded Kelly a little of herself at the same age. She was tall and slim, with dark blond hair in a shoulder-length bob.
    “Hi. Sorry to interrupt. I’m Coral Reese.”
    “I know. What’s up?”
    Coral took that as an invitation to step inside the office, studying the photos on the walls before she spoke. “I love the pictures. You’ve accomplished so much.”
    “Oh yeah. My brilliant career,” Kelly said wryly. “I hope it’s not over.”
    “Of course it isn’t,” Coral said with genuine indignation. “I just wanted to say that I thought Monroe Capp was totally out of line. Someone should goose his ratings and see how he likes it.”
    The tart comment made Kelly laugh. “You’d better close the door if you’re going to say things like that,” she said.
    “Oh, I’m not staying,” Coral assured her. “I have work to do and so do you.”
    “Thanks for stopping by.”
    “I also wanted to say if you need someone to do research or anything, let me know. I’d be happy to help.”
    “You bet.”
    Coral left and Kelly returned to her outline, feeling a lot more cheerful. It was good to have an ally in the ranks. You never knew when you were going to need one. She took the initiative to call Deke and left a message when he didn’t pick up.
    The smartphone rang in less than a minute. Not him.
    She looked at the screen with the identified number. She didn’t want to take it, but she had to.
    “Kelly Johns here.”
    “Ms. Johns, this is Lieutenant Dwight with the Atlanta Police Department. How are you today?”
    Kelly took a deep breath. “Just fine, thanks. And yourself?”
    “Doing great. I’m sure you’re busy, so I’ll get to the point. We were wondering if you could come in right after lunch. We’d like to ask you a couple of questions about the shooting yesterday.”
    He seemed so sure of himself she forgot to ask how he—or anyone—knew she’d been there.
    “I see. I think I could stop by then. How do I find you?”
    The lieutenant gave directions. Kelly wrote them down and thanked him, then hung up and bent down to check on Gordon’s laptop and the camera with the raw footage. Locked up tight.
    Who had talked? Had anyone seen her at the site besides Deke and her crew? Neither Gordon or Laura had called her.
    Filled with foreboding, she skipped lunch and drove to the police station, waiting on a nearby street until it was time to go in.
    She walked briskly over the pavement, going up the low stairs.
    Through the glass doors at the top, Kelly saw Laura and hesitated.
    The assistant producer was on the other side of the metal detector, chatting with the handsome young officer who manned it. She noticed Kelly outside at the last second and made her way toward her with a guilty look.
    Kelly held the door open to let Laura out and went down the stairs with her so they could talk in privacy.
    “I had to do it,” Laura said in a low voice. “I mean, not that we had anything to confess, besides that we were there by chance. Kelly, I didn’t sleep all night.”
    “Me neither. But I would have