The Runaway Reporter (A Police Procedural Mystery Series of Crime and Suspense, Hyder Ali #3) by Thomas Fincham

going in your pajamas, are you?” she said.
    “Why not?” he said, looking at his shorts and T-shirt.  “It’s hot out there.”
    She gave him the look again.
    “You know, you are suffocating me with your unreasonable demands.”
    “You are suffocating me with your body odor.”
    He sniffed his armpit and said, “Give me five minutes to shower.”
     
    EIGHTEEN
     
    When Hyder reached the Daily Times , he found Felix sitting at Hyder’s desk.
    Felix quickly got up.  “Sorry, I couldn’t find a place to sit, so I thought I’d use your desk until you came.”
    Hyder smiled. “Don’t worry about it.” Hyder replied.  Hyder removed his laptop from his backpack and placed it next to Felix’s.  “There’s enough room for both of us to work,” he added.
    Felix relaxed.   “I did some digging and I’ve got the name and address of the landlord.”
    “Really?”
    “I hope you don’t mind.” Felix looked apologetic.
    “Of course not.”
    Felix pointed at his laptop screen.
    Hyder read it and said, “Great work.  Let’s go and talk to him.”
    “I just did,” Felix replied.
    “You spoke to the landlord?”
    “At first I wasn’t sure if he’d talk to me, but after I told him I knew people who wouldn’t mind renting a place where three people were murdered, he sang like a bird.”
    “And?”
    “Irma Ronston, Rudy Ross Jr., and Bernard Haddon,” he said.
    “Good work,” Hyder said.  “But we’ll need background information on them for our article.”
    “ Our ?” Felix said.
    “Sure, you’re now part of the team.”
    “Wow, thanks.” Felix smiled. “You don’t know how much this means to me.”
    “Do a search and see if you can find any photos of them,” Hyder said.  “The more we know about them, the more we can move away from showing them as just victims, instead of young people who had their futures taken from them. To do that, we need to know where they were born. Do they have any siblings? What were their hobbies or interests?  What did they want to do after graduating? All this will help portray what really happened at Riverfield Street, which was a tragedy in every sense of the word.”
    Felix quickly jotted down Hyder’s every word.
    “The article will focus on who they were and what the loss was—not only for their families, but for society as a whole.  Later, we’ll focus on who was behind this horrible crime.”
    Felix nodded.  “This is great stuff.”
    “It’s a start,” Hyder said, turning to his laptop.
    “There was something else the landlord mentioned.”
    “What?”
    “He said one of the victims is the son of a police officer.”
    “Really?” Hyder’s brow furrowed.
    “Yep.”
    “Did he tell you who?”
    “I tried getting it out of him, but then he clammed up.”
    Hyder leaned back in his chair.  “Do you think that’s why the force isn’t releasing the names?”
    Felix thought about it.  “Could be.”
    “You leave that to me,” Hyder said.  “I know where to confirm this.”
     
    NINETEEN
     
    Hyder’s focus moved to the article tacked on his cubicle wall.
    He had spent an entire month debating what to do about it.  Curiosity was getting the better of him.  If he wanted to find out more, it was now or never.
    Hyder told Felix where he was going and left the Daily Times .
    The bus ride was only fifteen minutes, but it felt longer.
    Hyder wasn’t sure if it was a good idea, but he had to satisfy his journalistic instincts.
    When the driver dropped him off, Hyder stood motionless in front of a high-rise building.  Unlike the one the Daily Times occupied, this building was modern, sleek, and entirely made of glass.
    It was truly a sight to see.
    When tourists came to Franklin, they made sure to come and take a photo in front of it. The building could rival any structure built in Dubai or Saudi Arabia. The glass was tinted gold. When the sun beat down on it, it literally glowed.
    Hyder was tempted to take out his cell phone and snap