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Tommy

The cops showed me the video footage of the guy, and my heart dropped into my stomach. “Do you recognize him?”

they asked.

I nodded. The man coming out of the house was facing my car’s camera, his face clear as day. “Elliott Godfrey,”

I said and sighed. “He used to work with me.”

The cops took down his personal information, but I’d seen what the son of a bitch had in his hand. My fucking laptop. That’s what he’d been looking for.

Elliott had known if I had something, I’d have it on a laptop. My employer had my granny’s address too, since this was where they’d mailed my last paychecks.

I basically told that to the police who wrote it all down. Would they be able to do anything about it? I mean the value of the freaking laptop was less than a couple hundred bucks. Hell, I bought it over ten years ago and only kept it for word processing.

He hadn’t stolen anything of any major value… except the fucking book.

Was it all password protected? Yeah, of course, but that would keep Elliott out for a few minutes at most. Then he’d have access to everything I wrote about Amos and me.

I called Josiah as soon as I left the police station. “Hey, I need to meet with you, do you have time now?”

He hesitated and I sighed. “I’m sorry Josiah, but this is something that could kill your brother’s career forever. If you want to help save it, you need to see me sooner rather than later.”

“Um, okay, well then come to the office. I’ll make it work.”

“Thanks,”

I said and hung up.

I had really screwed up writing that stupid tell-all.

I knew better.

Or at least I should’ve known better.

Now it was in the hands of one of the most unscrupulous journalists I knew.

And even though I was sure Elliot knew where I lived from searching my records at the office, my former editor wouldn’t touch this with a ten-foot pole, given the evidence that Elliott had stolen it, but Elliott would have no problem finding someone else who’d pay good money for my story.

Our only chance was to do a cease and desist against Elliott and my former employer, and hope against hope he hadn’t already sold it.