Fe. I’ve run into a little snag.”
“Snag? What snag?”
She told him about the chief’s dislike for nosy reporters and was surprised to hear the editor’s booming laugh assault her eardrum.
“He gave you that old comedy routine, huh? The man is incorrigible. He should probably read up on first amendment jurisprudence.”
“So he has to give me access?”
“Nope. Police can and will restrict access if they think you’re liable to interfere with an ongoing investigation.”
She slumped. “So what do I do?”
“Do what I do—talk to the holy trinity.”
“You mean…pray?”
“Well, if you’re so inclined, by all means. I usually talk to Mabel, Marjorie and Bettina.”
Felicity’s eyes swiveled to Alice. “The neighborhood watch committee.”
“Exactly. Mabel Stokely works at City Hall. You’ll find her extremely well-informed on all things political. Your aunt Bettina knows everything about everybody, and Marjorie…well, I guess you can figure that one out by yourself.”
“Genius,” Felicity muttered. Virgil’s mother was of the old-fashioned belief that there should be no secrets between mother and son, and urged Virgil to tell her all about what went on at the station. A smile creased her lips. “The chief tells Virgil. Virgil tells his mother. And—”
“Marjorie tells you.”
“Gotcha.”
“You’re catching on fast, kid. Now go on winged feet, pump your sources for information, and write like the wind. I need this story on my desk ASAP.”
“You’ll have it.”
“Oh, and don’t forget to mention the magic words.”
“Which are?”
“Any variation of the old adage ‘Sources close to the investigation have revealed…’. Just drop that in there somewhere and you’re golden.”
The moment she ended the call, she turned to Alice. “When is the next meeting of the neighborhood watch committee?”
“Um, Wednesday evening. Why?”
“How would you like to be a part of this story?”
Alice’s eyes lit up. “Lay it on me, partner.”
She explained about Stephen Fossick’s holy trinity and Alice instantly caught her drift. “You mean like Deep Throat, Woodward & Bernstein’s secret source in the Watergate affair?”
“Better. We’ve got three of them.”
“Three throats are better than one,” Alice agreed. Then her smile disappeared. “I don’t know if they’re up for it, though. I mean, this is murder, not jaywalking or littering or dog pooping.”
“We can ask. I’m sure they want to catch the guy responsible for Alistair’s murder as much as we do.”
A resolute look had stolen over Alice’s face. “You’re right. This murderer must be caught. I’ll call an emergency meeting of the HBNWC right away.”
“‘Before you do, let’s examine the facts.”
“There are facts, Nancy Drew?”
“You betcha, Veronica Mars.”
Alice wrinkled her nose and furrowed her brow. It was her ‘serious face’. “Hit me.”
Felicity winced. In light of recent events, Alice’s words seemed ill-chosen. But then she hunkered down, and started to present her case.
Chapter 16
A s they convened around the coffee table, Alice and Felicity started to work out a plan of campaign. Though Alice would have to sacrifice some of the precious time she’d allotted to her snag-Reece-Hudson campaign, it was worth it. The safety of the community went before her love life.
Besides, since it had been her dream to become a cop all her life, and this seemed about as close as she would ever get, she was willing to put everything else on hold just to get this project up and running.
“So what have we got?”
“Well, we know that Alistair was shot once at close range, that the murderer drove up in a car but that no tire marks were found, so the killer must have parked a little ways away from where Alistair was found.”
Alice wrote all this down on the whiteboard the two women usually reserved for jotting down messages to each other and the odd bits and pieces of their
“Snag? What snag?”
She told him about the chief’s dislike for nosy reporters and was surprised to hear the editor’s booming laugh assault her eardrum.
“He gave you that old comedy routine, huh? The man is incorrigible. He should probably read up on first amendment jurisprudence.”
“So he has to give me access?”
“Nope. Police can and will restrict access if they think you’re liable to interfere with an ongoing investigation.”
She slumped. “So what do I do?”
“Do what I do—talk to the holy trinity.”
“You mean…pray?”
“Well, if you’re so inclined, by all means. I usually talk to Mabel, Marjorie and Bettina.”
Felicity’s eyes swiveled to Alice. “The neighborhood watch committee.”
“Exactly. Mabel Stokely works at City Hall. You’ll find her extremely well-informed on all things political. Your aunt Bettina knows everything about everybody, and Marjorie…well, I guess you can figure that one out by yourself.”
“Genius,” Felicity muttered. Virgil’s mother was of the old-fashioned belief that there should be no secrets between mother and son, and urged Virgil to tell her all about what went on at the station. A smile creased her lips. “The chief tells Virgil. Virgil tells his mother. And—”
“Marjorie tells you.”
“Gotcha.”
“You’re catching on fast, kid. Now go on winged feet, pump your sources for information, and write like the wind. I need this story on my desk ASAP.”
“You’ll have it.”
“Oh, and don’t forget to mention the magic words.”
“Which are?”
“Any variation of the old adage ‘Sources close to the investigation have revealed…’. Just drop that in there somewhere and you’re golden.”
The moment she ended the call, she turned to Alice. “When is the next meeting of the neighborhood watch committee?”
“Um, Wednesday evening. Why?”
“How would you like to be a part of this story?”
Alice’s eyes lit up. “Lay it on me, partner.”
She explained about Stephen Fossick’s holy trinity and Alice instantly caught her drift. “You mean like Deep Throat, Woodward & Bernstein’s secret source in the Watergate affair?”
“Better. We’ve got three of them.”
“Three throats are better than one,” Alice agreed. Then her smile disappeared. “I don’t know if they’re up for it, though. I mean, this is murder, not jaywalking or littering or dog pooping.”
“We can ask. I’m sure they want to catch the guy responsible for Alistair’s murder as much as we do.”
A resolute look had stolen over Alice’s face. “You’re right. This murderer must be caught. I’ll call an emergency meeting of the HBNWC right away.”
“‘Before you do, let’s examine the facts.”
“There are facts, Nancy Drew?”
“You betcha, Veronica Mars.”
Alice wrinkled her nose and furrowed her brow. It was her ‘serious face’. “Hit me.”
Felicity winced. In light of recent events, Alice’s words seemed ill-chosen. But then she hunkered down, and started to present her case.
Chapter 16
A s they convened around the coffee table, Alice and Felicity started to work out a plan of campaign. Though Alice would have to sacrifice some of the precious time she’d allotted to her snag-Reece-Hudson campaign, it was worth it. The safety of the community went before her love life.
Besides, since it had been her dream to become a cop all her life, and this seemed about as close as she would ever get, she was willing to put everything else on hold just to get this project up and running.
“So what have we got?”
“Well, we know that Alistair was shot once at close range, that the murderer drove up in a car but that no tire marks were found, so the killer must have parked a little ways away from where Alistair was found.”
Alice wrote all this down on the whiteboard the two women usually reserved for jotting down messages to each other and the odd bits and pieces of their
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