He grunted and brushed away the disgust he held for cops. They would regret not listening to him. He would show them exactly how irresponsible they’d been by not taking him at his word.
During the flight, he ended up sitting between two men who had earbuds in before they even sat down. Far be it from themto actually be human and to listen to his worries. He needed someone to talk to. He deserved someone to talk to. People were way too selfish these days.
His pout lasted until the plane landed, and he could escape the insufferable jerks. Once in the rental car, he drove an hour to the small town where Ansley had grown up to become the bitch she was.
The overall theme of the town was drab and brown, with leaves piled in gutters, and people walking with their heads down. He bet before Ansley pushed that guy off the water tower that this town felt lively.
He stepped from the car just as the first fat drop of rain fell. Great, just what he needed. Even the weather was conspiring against him.
Pete rushed into the diner, trying to stay dry. Once inside, he paused to gasp at the state of his shirt. How had that much rain fallen in such a short time?
“Welcome in. Take whatever seat you want. We ain’t picky here.”
He wiped rain out of his eyes, anger building. Lashing out at the woman behind the counter seemed like a possibility, but then he saw his first interview subject. It wouldn’t serve him well to yell in front of the woman he wanted to wring information from.
On his way over, he smiled, though based on the look she gave him, maybe it came off more as a grimace.
“Hello. Are you Courtney?”
“Yes. You’re Pete Nellis, that reporter who contacted me.”
“Yes.” He’d gambled that none of these yokels would do any research to search for his bylines. He had none, at least none in any real publications. Soon things would be different.
He would expose Ansley for the lying, murderous bitch she was, and then one of those papers that had rejected him wouldpay him double what he’d asked for his last article. Soon, he would be rolling in money.
“The rain caught me by surprise.”
Courtney gazed listlessly out the big shop window, her lips down in a frown. “That’s going to ruin my afternoon.”
Pete sat, pulling out a recording device and clicking it to record. “Listen, so in the email you said you had information about Ansley.”
The woman nodded. “I want breakfast first.”
“Sure. Order what you like.” He would sneak out before the bill came, at least that was his plan.
Courtney ordered eggs, sausage, and biscuits with sausage gravy. He'd been a little surprised that she'd ordered so much, considering he'd only ordered eggs and bacon. When that damn bitch of a waitress whipped out the payment device and charged him right then, he wanted to tell her to go to hell.
He kept the anger inside, though it swirled like a whirlpool in his guts. He needed the information this woman would give him. He hadn't planned on eating much, but he sure as heck would finish everything on the plate since he'd already paid.
"So why don't you start at the beginning?"
“You’re going to record everything.”
He nodded. "It's just for my ears. No one else will hear it." The lie rolled easily off his tongue. He would play this for the masses if it proved that Ansley was the bitch he knew her to be.
Courtney started speaking, dragging Ansley through the mud. Based on the acrimony in her words, he thought for sure she would tell him that she’d seen Ansley push that poor guy to his death. But she didn’t.
Flummoxed didn’t even come close to how he felt at the end of her story. He glanced at her plate, seeing she’d practically licked her plate clean. She was done eating but hadn’t given him what he wanted. How could she have done this to him?
He was about to tell her off when a police officer stumbled in, his wide smile making him look more like a caricature than a real officer.
The man didn't stop at the table, but Courtney called out to him and gave him a little wave as he passed by. Of course, she was happy. She'd gotten a free meal for nothing. She hadn't told him that Ansley had pushed that jerk, or anything else of importance. Her stories sounded like bad teen drama, not anything he could actually report on. Sure, Ansley was a selfish bitch, but that was easy to see.
Would this entire trip be a waste? The other three people had to have something more than this idiot had given him. There was no way he would have come out here for nothing more than teenage gossip about some girl they all hated. It angered him that she had no proof that Ansley had killed her boyfriend.
Pete left the diner during a break in the rain. He headed out to meet the one guy who’d promised to talk to him.
When he pulled up at the man's property, he almost stayed in the car. Dogs, goats, donkeys, and other farm animals roamed around the area with only a small wire fence separating the farm animals from him. Of course, the dogs didn't give a shit about the fence and came to the car to bark.
