Chapter Nineteen
Working in journalism means there is no such thing as holidays, snow days, or really personal time. When news happens, you go. That doesn’t just apply to reporters and producers. It means everyone right down to the engineers that keep everything running. And Charlotte.
Weeks had gone by with daily calls placed to the fire chief and arson investigator, asking them for updates on their case. All met with silence. Charlotte was starting to give up on ever making progress on the story, just like she had given up on Trey who she hadn’t talked to in three weeks. It was her last week on the evening shift, her replacement totally trained and ready to go.
Honestly, she was bored as hell at night now, because he did all the work, and she just sat there in case something major happened and he needed help. The new promotion called to her. She had so many ideas to revolutionize the way the newsroom and their assignments ran, she couldn’t wait to get started. Even if the idea of standing in front of everyone and doling out marching orders did still make her stomach feel as if she’d had three-day old sushi.
Just as her alarm blared telling it was time to get up, the ring tone indicating her boss cut off the alarm.
“Hello.”
Michelle’s no-nonsense voice filled her still half-asleep head, snapping her a little more to attention. “Charlotte, the mayor and fire marshal have called a press conference. We’re pretty sure it is going to be able about the arson investigation. It is at city all in an hour, can you meet Bekah there?”
Already jumping from bed, Charlotte grabbed the first work worthy clothes she saw and headed for the bathroom. “Sure I can, but why? Wouldn’t it be better if I were in the newsroom managing assignments?”
“Annabel and I have that covered for now. I want you at the press conference because you have the most knowledge on the investigation. I would send Mira, but she has our top story tonight, and I can’t redirect her this late in the day.” In the background the usual buzzing of the newsroom increased in volume, signaling Michelle had left her office. “Just make sure Bekah is asking all the right questions, seeing all the angles. Then as soon as her and her photog are set, head back to the station.”
After exchanging a few more details, they both hung up, and Charlotte hopped into the shower to take the world’s fastest shower. With no time to dry and style her hair, she threw it into a high ponytail and called it a day. No time to think about her outfit, she simply threw the dress on, slipped into her wedge heels that Bekah and Mira had insisted she buy on one of their increasingly frequent girls outings, and flew out the door.
She arrived at city hall just in time, slightly out of breath from having to park three blocks away and run to make it in time. Bekah sat in the third row, right in the middle of the pool of journalists, though she had saved a seat next to her for Charlotte.
Cheeks red with a mixture of her run to make it on time, and embarrassment at having to climb over a row of reporters she watched everyday on other stations, Charlotte eased into her chair next to Bekah. “Hey, sorry I couldn’t get here sooner.”
“No worries. I only just got here too.”
“How’d you get such good seats?”
“One of the mayor’s press assistants has been hitting on me for a year. I promised to give her a shot if she saved us two prime seats.” Bekah says all this like it is no big deal, just another of her admirers doing her a favor. It really did never cease to amaze Charlotte how the woman wore her confidence and sexuality out there for everyone to see. “By the way, you look amazing. That dress and those shoes are killer. As I knew they would be.”
“Yeah, they almost killed me on the five-block jog to get here. But thanks. I should have worn pants. I feel like everyone is looking at my bare legs and judging me.”
“Nonsense. No one is looking at your legs.” Bekah tipped her head toward one side of the room. “Well no one but that hunky fireman over there against the wall.
With a glance to the spot Bekah had indicated, Charlotte’s face lost all feeling, her fingers and toes tingling with shock. Trey. It was the first time she’d seen him since the ghosting of the century took place. She hated that he still brought on a reaction not only between her thighs, but also deep in her chest. A pinch that hurt more than she wanted to admit.
Trey looked as amazing as always, but something in his eyes was off. A sadness that she’d only seen glimpses of during their short time dating. She beat down the intense desire to cross the room and comfort him. He didn’t deserve her comfort.
Weeks of second guessing every move she had made with the muscled fireman had left her resolved to never get involved with a man again. Weasley and her newfound friendships were all she needed. Bekah had even convinced her to order a sex toy from the Lelo website. It cost more than she paid on groceries in one week, but Bekah insisted it was a staple every girl needed in her bedroom. Charlotte hadn’t even brought herself to take it out of the box yet.
“That’s Trey.”
Bekah squealed, then leaned over to grasp Charlotte’s hand. “Oh my God, that is the guy you lost your virginity to? Holy hell, you go girl! He is a double scoop of yum, and obviously regretting not calling you. Dude is trying to incinerate your panties with his eyes.”
Charlotte scoffed, the notion that he regretted anything other then bedding a pathetic twenty-something virgin too absurd to warrant a response.
Thankfully, she didn’t need to say anything else, because the mayor and arson investigator took the stage at that moment to get the press conference underway. Much of what they had to say everyone in the room already knew. A map was projected onto a screen laying out all the fires they suspected to be the work of the arsonist. Eighteen fires altogether ranging from small trashcan fires to the row homes and the cat house fire. There were no suspects yet, but they gave a loose profile of the typical arsonist; a male in his twenties, from a chaotic family environment, intelligent, but uneducated, and most likely unemployed. Well that narrowed things down.
They suspected the arsonist lived in zone seven, but the arson sites were too spread out to determine a more specific radius than that. They also showed surveillance photos of a dark colored 2010 Honda Civic, but no plates were displayed.
Charlotte worked to keep her eyes on the podium, not the man still staring at her from the side of the room. Trey didn’t divert his attention during the entire half hour presentation. Unfortunately, Charlotte’s eyes wandered to him more times than she found acceptable. Not once did he smile, even when she gave him a curt nod and smile in acknowledgement.
Finally, the press conference came to the part where the reporters could ask questions. Hands flew up all around them and the mayor picked reporters one by one. The third question went to Bekah, who asked what they made of the long period of silence since the last fire.
“It isn’t unusual to have a cooling off period between fires with a serial arsonist like this.” The fire marshal leaned into the microphone at the podium, taking the answer for the mayor. “The cat house fire, as we are calling it, may not have been the biggest fire in damage, but there were injuries involved, which means higher stakes. We expect the arsonist waiting for things to calm down again before striking again.”
More hands went up around them, and more questions answered, most of them completely unnecessary. In the corner of her eye, Charlotte saw a shift in light. Her eyes swung that direction to see Trey stand to his full height, stepping away from the wall. His eyes still stubbornly stuck on her, only now they locked onto her outstretched hand. When had she raised her hand to ask a question?
She had several. What was the accelerant used? Could they track the purchase of the accelerant? Did they have a theory on the motivation of the arsonist? Were outside investigators going to be brought in to help?
