I grabbed all the materials I’d prepared before lunch once I returned to the office. Here went nothing. It was an incredible story. I didn’t have itallyet, but I would.
Taking one more breath, I knocked on Edgar’s door. “Come in.”
“Hey, Edgar.”
He looked over the top of his glasses. “You need something?”
“Remember the broken filing cabinet?”
Leaning back, he tossed his glasses on the desk and chuckled. “Yeah, what about it?”
“It actually wasn’t broken. After you left, I took everything out of the drawer, and it was a file that had gotten jammed. I looked through it, and it’s an incredible story. I’ve been working on it for the last few weeks.” I sat and placed the folder down in front of him.
“You want to run it?”
“I do. It’s pretty much written, only missing a few details and pictures. Once I have those, yes. It’s a huge story.”
His eyebrows rose, but he nodded and retrieved his glasses. As soon as he opened the folder, his shoulders wilted. “This is about the conservation project?”
“Yeah. They?—”
“I already know about this story, Trinity. I told Tracy to drop it.”
It felt like my reboot button had been pressed for how blank my mind went. “What?”
“You’re not incorrect. It would be a big story. But this isn’t the kind of reporting we do, and we’re not large enough for the story to draw the attention we would need. You know how it is. If there’s something to find, one of the heavy hitters will have already been sniffing around it. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw an exposé in the next couple of months.”
The immediate denial stung. I felt heat building behind my eyes, but I wouldnotcry. “I know it’s not what we normally print. That doesn’t mean it’s not important. You ran that animal trainer piece. We could make a name?—”
“I’m sorry,” Edgar said. Then he sighed. “I really am. This is exactly the kind of thing that’s up your alley, and I get that. But we’re a feel-good magazine. We don’t publish stories about companies poisoning wildlife. The answer is no.”
He stared at me, and I couldn’t meet his eyes. I grabbed the folder and left before he could say anything else. Grief and sadness gave way to anger. I understood where he was coming from—I just didn’t agree with it. When it was something this big and this important, who gave a shit if it didn’t match our usual vibe?
And deeper.One of the heavy hitters. I could be one of those reporters, and this could be the story that made it happen. If Edgar didn’t want to be a part of it, fine. He didn’t want to publish it. That didn’t mean I would stop working on it. I only needed a couple more things to finish the exposé, and the sooner the better.
It was time to take a field trip.
Trinity
I’ll be home late today.
Logan
I like it when you call it home.
Theo
Everything okay?
Trinity
Yeah, just have to go on a field trip.
Aiden
Where are you?
I didn’t answer. He wouldn’t be happy about where I was going. But I didn’t tell him I wouldn’t do this. I said I would be careful. And I would be.
