“So am I.”
“I’ll call you tomorrow night.”
Ashley sighed. “Okay. Say hi to Trisha for me.”
Her dad didn’t say anything for a moment. “I will. Take care.”
She left her phone on the porch and took a deep breath.
“How do you feel?” Matthew asked.
“As if I’m about to leap off the biggest cliff I’ve ever seen.”
“It could be worse.”
“I don’t see how.”
“You might still be in New York.”
As much as she didn’t want to agree with Matthew, he was right. If she’d been in New York, she would have been terrified. She just hoped Bonnie and Harry were safe.
***
Early the next day, Ashley drove into Tess and Logan’s front yard. She had a list of things to do, and this was the first.
Visiting Logan at the local news office was out of the question, so he’d invited her to his home.
While she was completing her internship at the Chronicle, Logan had been her main go-to person. She was in awe of what he had achieved during his career. He was an ex-war correspondent, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and a really nice person. If she was going to ask anyone for advice, he was the best person she knew.
The front door opened and Logan appeared on the porch. “Good morning. I thought I heard someone come up the driveway.”
Ashley smiled. She hadn’t seen him in three years, but it felt as though it was only a few months since she’d said goodbye. He still had the same boyish grin, the same dark brown eyes that missed nothing.
“Thanks for seeing me so early in the morning.”
He opened his arms and gave her a hug. “You’ve gone soft while you’ve been away. It’s eight o’clock. I’ve already been for a run and had breakfast with Tess at her café.”
“That’s because she makes the best pancakes in Montana.”
“It was one of the reasons I married her. Come inside and show me what you’ve written.”
Ashley picked up her backpack and followed Logan. “I brought copies of Congressman Welsh’s bank accounts and some other reports. I don’t know how Jason did it, but I’m sure we have enough evidence to run the story.”
“Fletcher Security knows what they’re doing.” Logan pulled out a chair from the dining table. “Sit here. I’ll get my glasses from the living room.”
While Logan was gone, she pulled the documents out of their folders.
“Looks like you’re setting up an emergency command center.”
She handed him the first set of papers. “Some days it feels like it. This is my article. I thought it would be easier if you had a paper copy to read. The other papers are copies of the evidence we’ve collected. Jason has the original documents.”
Logan sat at the table and started reading. Every now and then he’d look at her, clarify a point she’d made, then go back to the article. It was nerve-wracking knowing that one of the best investigative journalists in the country was critiquing her work.
When he’d finished, he left the sheets of paper on the table and peered at the data she’d accumulated.
Ashley handed him a copy of the accountability report The Reaching High Foundation had submitted to the Department of Health and Human Services.
“Looks legitimate enough.”
