Todd walked Cole into the copy room and introduced him to the supervisor in charge. “Teach him the ropes, Allen.”
"It’s Alex, Sir.”
“Whatever. Listen he’s young, but I understand he’s got a pretty good head on his shoulders. Get him started. Cole, it’s up to you now.” At that, Todd turned and left them.
Cole stuck out his hand. “Cole Thornhart.”
The supervisor in the copy room looked at him. He knew who the kid was. He had seen stories come across his desk several times when the kid was younger. If Manning wanted to hire the kid, it was none of his business. He took the kid’s hand. “Alex Waverly. I know who you are. You’re Marty Saybrooke’s kid. I saw the article in The Banner, seems you saved a guard’s life and got pardoned. How’s it feel to be a free man?”
Cole reluctantly answered. “It’s good, I’m just glad to be doing something other than recovering finally. What do you want me to do?”
“First thing you need to do is get familiar with the paper and where every area is located. You’re part of the copy room staff now and that means you run stories from all the reporters wherever they need to go. That means you run all over the building on everyone’s whim. You up to this kid?”
“Mr. Manning seems to think so. What’s next?”
“Next, you’re going to shadow Clyde here until you get familiar with the building.” Alex waved a tall lanky kid over to join them. “Clyde, meet Cole Thornhart. Teach him the workings of this place.”
“Hey, I remember you. You used to be a quarterback at Llanview High. What have you been doing lately?” Clyde asked.
“Nothing much,” Cole really didn’t want to talk about the last couple of years and obviously Clyde didn’t keep up with the news. “So are you going to show me around?”
Clyde shrugged. “Sure, follow me.” He was a little disappointed Cole didn’t want to talk, but it was his first day, and Clyde was sure they would become friends since he made friends rather easily.
Upstairs, Todd walked into his office. Blair was out of the room, probably talking to the printers again. He walked to his desk and sat down, turning on his computer and reading the various articles set to go out in the next edition. While taking the doctor-ordered day of rest. Todd had had a lot of time to think. Besides calling Ray to set up a long-overdue session, he had made up his mind to light a fire under a certain high ranking official. It rankled that Kipling, Perkins, and especially Mitch were still at large. Notating a few changes to the articles, he then set about writing his editorial
.
ARE CITY FUNDS BEING PROPERLY ADMINISTERED?
It has come to this publisher’s attention, that three residents of Stateville Prison might still be in our vicinity. By name, the unaccounted for are Dr. Ivan Kipling, Ms. Alison Perkins, and Mr. Mitch Laurence. Now, I am aware that the Llanview police department has been doing its utmost to find these perpetrators, but their funds are severely limited due to the fact that our esteemed mayor has had her mind and budget on more pressing matters. Far be it from me to point out that maybe she should be thinking less about the upcoming campaign and more about the safety of her constituents.
These three individuals have done a great deal of harm to various citizens of this town and it is my belief that all avenues to track them down should be pursued, post haste. I’m sure all would agree that now is the time for action. It is my sincere hope in the coming days that we will see a resolution to this problem.
Todd Manning
Publisher
It was short and to the point, but time to alert the public to the current state of things. Todd pressed the key on his computer sending the article down to copy.
That business completed, Todd started going through some the mail left from the previous day and found a manila envelope sent to him from Savannah. Recognizing the handwriting as belonging to Amos, he quickly opened it. To his amazement, he found a Certificate Awarding the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting to Thomas Lord for his excellent work on the Human Trafficking Expose. There was also a letter from Amos. Todd leaned back in his chair stunned. Amos had submitted his series to the Prize Committee unbeknownst to him. Todd wondered if Addie had been privy to Amos’s actions. Todd looked at the certificate and ran his fingers across the print. He, Todd Manning was the winner of a Pulitzer.
He remembered how worthless he had thought he was when he had gotten his pardon. He had hit rock bottom. The only thing he had had at that time was a new start. Everything he had been and done before that was spoiled. Only a few people had even cared for him. His best friend was the one who had felt he could turn his life around and make something of himself. Now he realized how right she had been. He had been proud of the artwork that Samuel had painted and accomplished in the last eight years, but this, this was something he himself had done.
She entered the room and noticed Todd at his desk. He was staring at a paper and she was curious about what held his attention. “Hey, what do you have there?”
Todd looked up and smiled. “What this? Nothing much. It's just something Amos sent to me.”
“You were awfully engrossed in something that isn’t much. May I see it?” She walked around the desk, extending her hand.
Todd handed it to her and watched her face.
Blair looked puzzled for a moment when she realized Todd was handing her some type of certificate and then her eyes fell on the word Pulitzer. “Oh my God! This is fantastic. Todd, you won a Pulitzer Prize!” She was so happy for him, there were tears in her eyes as she looked at him. “Nothing much, huh. You idiot.”
He stood up next to her. “It’s just a certificate.”
He sounded so nonchalant, but she knew he was tickled with his feat. “I’m so proud of you. It’s about time someone else recognized how smart my husband is. I’ve known it for a very long time.” She placed the certificate down on his desk and reached to push a lock of hair behind his ear, stroking it and his cheek as she did so.
Todd pulled her close. “You were the one who gave me a reason to pull myself off the ground and make something of myself. I love you, Mrs. Manning.”
She responded by wrapping her hands in his hair, whispering close to his good ear “I love you, Mr. Manning,” and then caressed his lips with hers.
***
John walked into the warden’s office at Statesville.
“Lieutenant McBain, what can we do for you this afternoon?”
“I’d like your permission to view the body of Carlo Hesser.”
“Ah, I see. May I ask the urgency? From the account of the guard assigned to Hesser, it was pretty clear it was an accident.”
“I’m not denying there appears to be a certainty that Hesser is dead. I’ve heard that all your personnel was accounted for. Still, Laurence escaped during the blackout by making it appear he was dead. You say Hesser’s guard gave a full accounting of the event. Is it possible to talk to him?”
“I sent him home. It was rather traumatic and Harry is one of our older guards. My assistant can get you his address, but for now, you may proceed to the morgue. A call just came in from your DA requesting our doctor perform the autopsy now. I believe that might already be getting underway.”
John left the office and with the help of a guard was directed to the morgue. He entered and steeled his stomach as he walked forward to the body on the table between him and the doctor. “That’s him, Hesser?’
“Well, I guess that’s what we’re about to find out. McBain is it? The warden just called, telling me you were on your way.”
“Yeah, I’m McBain.”
“Perhaps you’d like to tell me why you don’t think this is Hesser?”
“Just call it a hunch, Doctor. I know the man and what he was capable of. I need proof this is him.”
“Then, let’s begin.”
The doctor uncovered the remains and John was grateful he hadn’t eaten lunch.
The face had been dissolved completely away leaving the skull intact. The doctor studied the skull first. “Hmm, this is curious. There seems to be an indentation here."John looked, “What would that signify?”
“Possibly that he struck his head. I don’t see any other signs though.”
“Doctor, I thought he slipped and fell in. What would account for the blow?”
“Near as I can tell, it probably happened before he fell in. Maybe he hit his head on something and the dizziness caused him to slip and fall. For right now, it’s all conjecture until I can examine him further.”
“Okay, so he had a blow to the head. Received either by accident or intentionally. Let’s assume someone struck him intentionally and dumped the body to make it appear he fell in. There has to be a way to prove this is or isn’t Hesser without waiting for the dental records.”
The doctor looked at the victim’s hands and once again remarked. “It’s obvious fingerprints are out of the question. If we were to go by your assumption, then whoever did this wanted to make sure the identity would remain in question for a while. The coroner from Llanview will be here in about an hour. We’ll do a more detailed autopsy when he arrives until he does, I’m not sure I can help you. “
John thought for a moment. There had to be something about Hesser that might make identifying him easier. Then he recalled Hesser’s injuries. “Doctor, Hesser’s throat was nearly crushed can you tell by looking at this guy, if anything like that happened to him?’
“Unfortunately the lye did a number on all the tissue and cartilage around the larynx. I’m sorry but this is just going to take some time.”
“What about his legs, they aren’t damaged? Can you x-ray them?’
“I can, but what will that tell us? I’m aware he arrived here with broken legs. Ahh, I see where you’re coming from. If this is Hesser, the x-ray of his legs should show signs of fractures. Very well if you’ll give me a few minutes.” The doctor went in search of the portable x-ray machine while John stood over the body on the table.
John looked down at the body. “Pal, if I’m right, we’ll find out soon if you’re Hesser or not. I can’t believe I'm saying this, but I hope it’s you, Hesser.”
Several minutes later they had the x-rays. The Doctor took them to the viewing window and turned on the light. He looked at John. “These aren’t Carlo Hesser’s legs. There are no signs of fractures or pins in his legs. In fact, although he’s had surgery, the two artificial knees are the only thing this man had in common with Hesser. You were right. Now we have to discover who the poor man was?”
John nodded, he had had a gut feeling and it had proven true. Hesser had made his escape and John was pretty sure how. “My guess is you’ll find he’s the guard that was watching Hesser.” John thanked the Doctor and left, headed back to Llanview with one more fact weighing heavy on his mind. Now he had to tell Todd Manning and Cole, that Hesser was free again.
***
By lunchtime, Cole and Clyde were discussing the various writers and their idiosyncrasies. Cole felt relaxed for the first time in a great while and had loosened up as the morning had progressed, especially given the fact that Clyde was a real card. He had such a turn of phrase as he described the people around the office, that soon Cole had a tough time keeping from laughing. Cole hadn’t realized just how many floors The Sun took up in the Manning building, and he was ready for lunch when Clyde suggested the break. Cole felt like they had been walking a marathon. He looked at Clyde. “You do this all day long, every day?”
“Yep, and you’ll get used to it. Actually, since you’re here, we’ll be sharing the duties so it won’t be as bad as today. In a few days, you’ll probably be given part of my list of reporters and you’ll be on your own. It’s a lot of walking but it’s never boring. If you keep your eyes and ears open you can really get the scoop on a lot of juicy stories ahead of time. It’s always exciting when we’re trying to get one up on The Banner, and the new publisher is real edgy. The writers have perked up since he took over. I know some of the stories about you and Starr Manning and her old man. Let me tell you, this Todd Manning is nothing like the other one.”
Cole didn’t say anything. That was one fact he had already figured out for himself. They proceeded down to the ground level and Clyde suggested a restaurant close by, so they decided just to walk there.
Across the street, a man stood leaning casually against a lamp post. His eyes were watching the various people coming and going from the entrance to the Manning building. They narrowed when Cole and Clyde left the building. “So Mr. Thornhart, are you now working for the enemy? That’s very interesting.” He smiled to himself and kept watching. Noting a patrol car headed down the street, he turned and walked over to a window display until the car had gone by then he returned to once again people watch.
You keep me in suspense.
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