Free Triumph by Janet Dailey Page B

appreciated a heads-up.”
    “You’re right. I’m sorry. I should have called you.”
    Kelly stopped on the sidewalk. “What do they want to know?”
    “Exactly what you’d expect. What we saw, when we saw it. We’re not under suspicion or anything. Don’t be ridiculous.”
    Kelly blew out a breath. “I just wasn’t expecting this. What about Gordon?”
    “Lieutenant Dwight said he would call him.”
    “So they’re interviewing us one by one.”
    “It’s totally routine, Kelly. Get a grip. We should have done it right away.”
    Kelly couldn’t argue. She changed the subject. “I went to the morning meeting. The assignment editors summed up what came over the scanners. Monroe says we’re not covering the shooting. Mysterious requests from on high. He wouldn’t name names.”
    “Oh. Anyone ask where we were yesterday?”
    “Nope. I even went to a club opening with Monroe last night. He didn’t suspect a thing.”
    “Good. Any breaking news?” Laura asked hopefully. “Something that would get everyone’s attention?”
    “Nothing yet.”
    “What happened at the morning meeting?”
    “The usual. By the way, Monroe killed the corruption feature.”
    “Why?”
    “He didn’t say. He doesn’t have to.”
    “Do you think—” Laura began.
    “I’m trying not to think too much about any of this.” Kelly studied Laura for a moment. “You going home?”
    Laura nodded. “I’ll be in tomorrow.”
    “I’ll call you soon.” Kelly went back up the stairs, entering the building, getting more attention than she wanted. That couldn’t be helped. Her full name and the station’s call letters were right there on the sign-in sheet.
    Lieutenant Dwight was businesslike and pleasant. As Laura had predicted, the interview was routine. But something in his tone made Kelly realize that he was controlling the conversation—and letting her talk.
    Kelly would have loved to ask him several questions of her own.
    Who were the victims? Any leads on the missing woman in the second car? How involved is Deke Bannon in the investigation, and what agency does he work for?
    He didn’t volunteer information of any kind, except for filling her in on the name of the building: Tridelta.
    “I didn’t even know it had a name. I thought it was abandoned.”
    “The site has been shut down. But legally speaking, it’s not abandoned. However, it’s changed ownership five times in less than two years.”
    She mentally added the information to her notes for The Story That Would Never Get On The Air.
    “I didn’t know that. We were just using it for a backdrop.”
    Dwight asked a few more questions and she kept her replies simple. They had just happened to choose that location. Everything had happened too fast to remember much. Yes, she was working on a feature report about corruption in the construction industry, but it didn’t have anything to do with that building.
    “Laura said you and she were working on the feature for several weeks. You came up with the idea, and she signed on as assistant producer, segment producer? Something like that.”
    “They mean about the same thing.”
    “When is it going to be broadcast?”
    “I don’t know.” She didn’t have to tell him her boss had her on a short leash. “The news director decides things like that. I’m just an anchor.”
    “Just?” The lieutenant smiled faintly. “I got requests from three of my guys to get an autograph from you.”
    “I don’t mind.”
    “It’s not allowed.” He made a few more notes. “I think we’ve covered everything. Thank you, Ms. Johns.”
    “You can call me Kelly.”
    “All right. Kelly it is.” The lieutenant sized her up. “I understand you used to be an investigative reporter before you came to Atlanta.”
    She brightened. “I was, yes. The harder the case, the more I liked it.”
    He thought about that for a moment. “One last question. Were you or anyone at WBRX planning to report the shooting before the news