Page 16 of Vanish From Sight (High Peaks Murder, Mystery and Crime Thrillers #2)

L ena was no stranger to arrogance but Carl McNeal was on a whole other level.

She had encountered her fair share of self-important individuals in her career as a journalist, but there was something about the way he acted that rubbed her the wrong way.

He strutted into the break room like he owned the place, his smug grin and dismissive attitude made her wonder what he thought he had to prove.

The lack of self-awareness was unreal.

“I hear you found that lady’s dogs, or should I say, the cops did.

” Carl chuckled as he poured coffee into a cup then grabbed some cream out of the fridge.

“Win some, lose some, Grayson. Always got to check your tips before you waste your time following them, even those you think are credible. But you knew that, right?”

He slurped coffee.

She rolled her eyes at him, knowing that he was just trying to get a rise out of her, but she refused to let him. “Don’t you have to be somewhere?”

He leaned back against the counter, eyeing her. “It’s in the bag.”

“Hardly. I’m sure the victim’s family would appreciate if you put in a little more effort,” she retorted, trying to remain neutral and calm. Carl laughed, as if her comment was nothing more than a joke.

“Don’t you worry your pretty little head,” he said, his voice dripping with condescension. “I’ve been at this game for a long time. I’m on top of things.”

She smiled. “The cops haven’t told you anything, have they?”

He didn’t want to answer that but she knew it was the truth.

Two advantages she had was that folks knew she’d been married to Noah, and was a local.

Carl on the other hand was an outsider. No one recognized his journalism awards or achievements here.

Maybe that’s why he was trying too hard to impress people.

“There are other ways to get information,” he said.

“And how do you expect to get that?”

“Like I said. I have my ways.”

“Sure you do. Pity you don’t have connections.”

“Didn’t exactly help you, did it?”

She offered back a confused expression.

He sipped at his drink. “Finding the truth relies on more than running with every theory that springs to mind.”

Lena bit her tongue, resisting the urge to give him a reason to complain to Maggie. As Carl strutted around the room, she couldn’t help but wonder how such an arrogant man had become successful as a journalist in the first place.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked.

“Oh, I don’t know, just my observation after reading the article you did about the woman pulled from the lake before they put me on the story.

I should mention, it looks as if someone needs to proofread their work a little better,” he sneered, eliciting a few chuckles from a few of the others in the room.

Lena bristled, feeling a surge of indignation at the way he was belittling her hard work.

“It seems as if Maggie brought me on just at the right time.”

“I’m glad you find that amusing.” She gritted her teeth, wishing the microwave would heat the food faster. It dinged and she removed her lunch. “Perhaps you should focus on your own job,” she added. Lena took a deep breath, trying to remain calm, but she could feel her patience wearing thin.

Carl smirked, clearly enjoying the power dynamic between them. “I’m just yanking your chain, Grayson. If you need help writing those obituaries, just give me a shout.”

Another reporter snorted.

“I don’t need your help with anything,” she snapped, her voice rising. “And if you can’t take this job seriously, maybe you should retire.”

The room fell silent. Jokes aside, it was clear her frustration and anger had crossed the line. Carl looked a little taken aback. Then he just shrugged, as if her comment was nothing more than a childish comeback. “Why do you think I’m here?” he said.

His insinuation that the Adirondack Daily Enterprise wasn’t work was noted by the others who had busted their asses to get a position at the paper. They got up and walked out. “Come on guys, you know I didn’t mean it like that,” he said as his face flushed.

“Hey, it’s okay. They might not understand but I do,” Lena said.

“You do?”

She pulled a face, nodding.

Lena shifted gears, figuring she would play her own games .

“Yeah, I mean, I understood from the day I saw you pull up out front.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“BMW.” She held up her little finger and wiggled it as she walked backward out of the break room. “Got to find a way to compensate, right?”

She gave a cheeky grin as she strolled back to her desk, unable to hide her amusement. She was just about to take a seat and eat lunch when Maggie called to her.

“Lena.”

Her head swiveled.

“My office.”

Lena’s eyes darted to Carl who was still in the break room.

His eyes widened and he put a hand over his mouth as if to indicate she was in trouble.

She scowled then swallowed and wiped away some food that had landed on her black skirt.

She cursed under her breath, snatching a napkin off a co-worker’s desk to work out the mess on her way over.

“Yes?” she asked.

“Close the door.”

She could tell by the edge in Maggie’s voice that she was in a foul mood.

It was unusual for her. She was for the most part a pillar of strength both in the office and in the community.

Her no-nonsense attitude and fierce dedication for truth had seen her rise in the ranks from a reporter to co-owning the newspaper.

Maggie had seen the changes, felt the challenges, and encountered most of the pitfalls common to reporting news.

She had been editor for over thirty years, and everyone in the town knew her by name.

Regardless of her age, she was a formidable figure, with short-cropped hair that was a shocking white and piercing forest green eyes that seemed to penetrate.

Although she liked to convey a tough exterior, Maggie had a kind heart and deep love for those around her.

But cross her, and hell had no fury like hers.

She’d been through a lot. Five years ago, her husband, Jason Coleman, the mayor of High Peaks, had been killed in a car crash up in the mountains.

The case had yet to be solved. It remained open with signs pointing to Jason being deliberately driven off the road.

The loss of her husband had hit Maggie hard, and she’d thrown herself into her work to distract herself from the pain.

Perhaps that’s why she was so adamant about solving cases, leaving no stone unturned and ensuring that whatever crossed her desk was given due diligence.

Nervously Lena tried to recall if she had said or done anything that might have given Maggie cause for concern.

“If it’s about Carl…”

“It’s not.”

Maggie motioned for her to take a seat, and Lena’s palms started to sweat. She began speaking before Lena had even settled. “I want you to keep working on the dog theft story.”

Lena frowned slightly. “But I told you. That was resolved. The police found him.”

Maggie’s expression darkened. “That was one of many. Take a look.” She turned her monitor and showed Lena a slew of emails she’d filtered that went back several years, incidents of missing dogs.

Lena scanned them and realized she was right — there were too many reports for it to be a coincidence.

She wondered what had changed to cause a spike in thefts.

“We’ve been getting these emails for a while, Lena.

I just haven’t had the manpower, time or resources to dedicate to it, but with Carl here and the public demanding answers, I think this is just as important as a missing woman. ”

Lena leaned back in her seat, regarding her. “Is everything okay, Maggie?” she asked tentatively, sensing she was more frustrated than she had ever seen her before.

Maggie sighed. “No, not really. We’re dealing with a lawsuit from a former employee we fired a few years back for harassment. It was a little before I took you on. In fact, you ended up filling his spot.”

“No wonder you were keen to hire me.”

“Anyway, I guess he’s not done dragging this newspaper’s name through the mud. He’s seeking compensation, and it’s turning into a nightmare. I’m sorry. I’m not usually like this but...”

Lena felt a pang of sympathy for her. She had always been a tough but fair boss and it was clear the lawsuit was taking its toll on her.

“Well if you fired him, you must have had good grounds.”

“It’s not about winning, Lena. He knows that.

This is punishment. The cost of paying for lawyers to fight in court is going to be a drain on the company.

Between me and you,” she said, glancing over her shoulder and bringing up two fingers within a few inches of each other, “the paper is this close to closing.”

“But the website. The lead generation.”

“All of it I’ve appreciated,” Maggie said.

“But it’s not enough. The world is changing too fast. The way people consume media is different.

The older generation of people who would buy a copy are either dead or dying off.

The rest are going elsewhere. And advertisers, who for many years paid to keep the lights on, are going with them.

They can get better advertising results elsewhere.

Weekday circulation has fallen by 17 percent and Sunday readership by 14 percent.

If the trend continues, they say a third of newspapers will be gone by 2025.

Newspapers are closing at roughly two a week.

We just don’t have the numbers we once did. ”

Lena nodded .

Maggie blew out her cheeks. “That includes reporters. At one time that room out there would have been crammed full. Folks typing away, answering calls, the buzz was electric. That’s why I got involved.

It was exciting.” She looked down at the report.

“That’s why I’m trying to change things up.

Bring out a story that few others are paying attention to, in the hope it might hit a nerve with readers and make them see that the Adirondack Daily Enterprise isn’t just another newspaper but it’s the heartbeat of this region.

That it cares for the people beyond providing weather, sports scores, obituaries, and local news that few give a damn about. ”

Lena took a deep breath and let it out. “I’m sorry to hear that. If there is anything I can do to help…”

Maggie looked back at the monitor and smiled gratefully. “There is. Dig into this dog theft story and generate some leads. It would be a huge help. We need something big, something positive to balance out the negativity in this region.”

“All right. I’ll see what I can do.”

She got up and headed back to her desk.

Lena began sorting through her notes, tidbits of information she’d gleaned from research online about dog thefts, when her phone rang. She scooped it up and saw it was Aiden on the caller ID.

“Hey sweetheart. How’s the battle going?” he asked.

“Busy,” she replied. “How did it go this morning?”

Aiden had taken Ethan to his weekend self-defense class paid for by Noah.

“Brutal. Not exactly turn the other cheek but hey, he seemed to enjoy himself. Look, I was thinking I would cook dinner tonight. Figured I would show you what you are in store for long term,” he said. He was trying, maybe a little too hard, to impress her.

“Ugh. ”

“You’re working?”

“Something’s come up. I…”

Lena heard him sigh. “We’ll do it another time. That’s not a problem. We only have the rest of our lives,” he said.

“Right,” she answered. If she was honest, she’d been having second thoughts about getting married. It wasn’t him per se, or even the return of Noah to the region, she just wasn’t sure she was ready to give that kind of commitment. Something about that marriage paper changed things.

Aiden was quick to change the topic. “Oh. I should mention something. On the way back we stopped at that ice cream parlor Ethan likes. Well, he saw a flyer on the wall for golden retriever pups for sale from some breeder in the area.”

“He wants one, doesn’t he?”

It wasn’t a mystery. Since his time with Axel, Ethan had been biting at the bit to get his own dog.

He’d brought it up several times in conversation but adding another member to the family only brought with it more responsibility and cost, and she knew Ethan didn’t understand that, and after what she’d just heard from Maggie, she wasn’t sure if she was going to be employed in the next few months.

“Can we, Mom?” she heard him shout in the background.

“Put him on.”

“Be my guest,” Aiden said, handing the phone over.

“Hey,” Ethan said excitedly. “I saw a flyer today for dogs. They’re really cheap. Can we get one?”

“You remember what I told you.”

“I’ll look after it.”

“Famous last words,” she said.

“I will.”

“We’ll see, Ethan,” Lena replied. “These dogs, how much are they?” Ethan reeled off a number.

It wasn’t cheap but compared to some of the prices she’d seen for purebred dogs from reputable breeders, it was enticing.

Then again, most of the reputable breeders didn’t need to advertise in ice cream stores as they were usually registered with their breed associations and received enough buyers that way. “Do you have the number?”

“Yeah, I ripped one off.”

She took out a pen and scribbled it down.

“Ethan. Go easy on Aiden. Okay? No more talk about getting a pup. Let me look into it.”

“All right.”

“Where’s your sister?”

“On the phone.”

“All right. I’ll see you this evening.”

After hanging up, Lena looked at the number. Something about the situation made her uneasy. She picked up the phone again and dialed it. Some woman with a harsh throaty voice answered.

Lena introduced herself and asked if they were a registered breeder.

“Yes.”

“Can you give me any more information, references, or can I come and see the mother and father?”

“We don’t do that.”’

“Why not?”

“Look, are you interested in the dog or wasting our time?”

“I just wanted to see where the dogs are being kept and the parents.”

“Like I said, we do things differently. If you are interested in seeing a dog, we can meet you and show you one or two.” Lena thought for a moment and then agreed to meet them.