Page 34 of Deranged
I threw myself into one of the solid arm chairs in front of the desk and cupped my head in my hands. The blind fury had yet to abet, but something else had started to wash along the shore of my being: resignation. What the hell could I do? I’m sure the call that told me congratulations, you’ve been moved had already spun out of control. No way I could try to backpedal it and keep my job here. So Kory’s mother got what she wanted anyway. Now, they just needed to find another dumb dupe to take my place as Kory’s keeper.
I stood up and rounded the desk to find my computer. I needed to get things started. And regardless of how I felt about Kory taking matters into her own hands, I needed to help her. To the best of my ability. Even if it meant the cost of my career.
Do no harm.
I took that oath seriously and leaving Kory to the mercies of her mother would kill her.
I opened my laptop and then navigated to the email. There was one man I knew who always won in a fight. I didn’t matter if the enemy was a big fish or a small one. But was I ready to pay the cost? Donny, that old fraternity brother, would certainly exact a high price.
Facing Demeter’s price or Donny’s, it was no question whose punishment would be worse. I was already ruined the moment I put my hands on Kory’s skin. My career, my reputation, was already gone. Demeter couldn’t do anything worse than I’d already done to myself.
And if I took some a piece of her with me when I went down, it would be worth it.
But Donny was something else entirely, and I wasn’t ready to face that storm front yet. I typed an email to one of my other fraternity brothers. One I knew who worked at a national news source. It wasn’t exactly the level Donny was on, but it should at least make for a good story and a high profile one at that.
I sat back in the chair and closed my laptop. He’d call me if he could help. The text hit my phone seconds later.
MO: MEET ME AT EUREKA COFFEE SHOP
I closed the text, grabbed my jacket, and left. Every time I stepped out the door with Kory still in that building, it carved a chunk from my soul. But I had to leave to finish it, and when I returned, hopefully, I’d have some good news to share with her.
The sound of my footsteps echoed around me as I walked, the sun had set and bugs chirped in the wooded area beyond the parking lot. I climbed into my car, skin humming, adrenaline was a funny thing that way.
I made it to Eureka in record time, parked in the empty lot beside the old brick downtown building, and went inside. One customer sat in the back typing away, earbuds in, oblivious to the world. A lone barista stood behind the counter and met my eye as I approached.
I shoved a five dollar bill across the counter. “Coffee, black, please.”
She smiled and pumped out a small cup of coffee from a large carafe near the register.
I took it and gave a hollow smile back. “Thanks.”
She returned to the other counter and her closing routine as I took a seat near the window. A few people were out walking through the small city center, and I watched them before I caught sight of my old fraternity brother Mo shuffling up the sidewalk and into the cafe.
His short hair had a bit more gray than it did since the last time I saw him, but his hurried and harried manner remained the same. He took the seat across from me in a flurry of leather and canvas.
I held my cup toward the counter. “Do you want a coffee?”
He shook his head as he stripped his arms out of his maroon jacket. “No. I’m good. What I want to know is what kind of story you have for me. Your email was vague and cryptic.”
I put my cup down on the worn smooth wood of the table. “It’s kind of a long story, and I’m still trying to wrap my head around things. Also, I don’t have a lot by way of proof.”
He fished a notepad from one of his numerous pockets and froze while flipping it open. “You have a story, that’s strange, but good for me, and you have no proof.”
“Do journalists need proof?”
He shrugged. “It depends. Is this on par with some sort of celebrity gossip or something like Watergate?”
I weighted my answer in my head. Considering this course of action behind the safety of my desk and my computer felt safer. This…dragging him into whatever the hell was happening…confessing my sins…and Kory’s, made me feel more vulnerable. Because once everything came out, there was no world in which my name and deeds didn’t come out too.
I cupped my hands around the rapidly cooling cup and met Mo’s light brown eyes. “I’m going to say Watergate.”
He leaned forward, pressing the table toward me, a determined wrinkle formed between his brow. “Okay, then start at the beginning.”
I took a deep breath and forced it out. “I do want to say if you can keep my name out of it and Kory’s name I’d appreciate it. But I understand if that’s not possible.”
He scribbled on his pad. “Who’s Kory?”
“Kory Sito. Daughter to the presidential candidate Sito. “
