Jacqueline Diamond - The Baby Scheme

When she stepped into his office, J.J. rose out of courtesy. Noticing that she loomed over him, she quickly found a chair.

“I’m here about the story in this morning’s paper,” she said. “The one concerning Mayor LeMott.”

“Ned tells me you were working on something similar.” J.J. eased into his seat. “He says Payne warned him you might have a complaint.”

“It wasn’t similar. This is my story,” Alli told him. “Word for word.”

“But you hadn’t filed it yet.”

“I’d written it, but I was holding off so I could double-check a couple of points,” she explained. “And there’s a side-bar I didn’t have time to complete. Mr. Morosco, Payne’s planted spyware in my laptop. He stole every bit of that piece from me.”

The editor’s forehead wrinkled. He’d been putting in such long hours that he’d begun to lose his tan and had gained a few pounds, she noted.

“The two of you have never gotten along, have you? He’d only been here a month when you accused him of stealing your notebook.”

“It disappeared from my desk right after he passed by, and the next day he turned in a story based on my research!”

“A guard found your notebook outside that afternoon, right next to where you usually park,” the M.E. replied.

“I didn’t drop it. I’m not that careless.” Alli hated being put on the defensive. “Look, you can talk to any of the people I quoted in today’s story and they’ll confirm who did the reporting.”

“Except that most of your sources spoke anonymously,” he pointed out.

“I was going to identify them to Ned when I handed in the piece!” That was standard procedure. “Also, since when does this paper assign two people to the same story?”

She’d heard of a few big papers that ran their operations in such a cutthroat manner, but the Outlook couldn’t afford such a waste of staff time. Besides, that kind of competition did horrible things to morale.

“He says Payne asked if he could pursue the same subject. He decided to let the kid show what he could do, and he beat you to the punch.”

How could she win when the assistant managing editor was stabbing her in the back? If she were in J.J.’s seat, she probably wouldn’t believe her accusation, either.

“Give Payne his own assignment, something he can’t steal from anyone else,” she said. “He’ll blow it.”

“As it happens, he’s going to have plenty of chances.” J.J. fiddled with some papers. “I’m sure you’re aware that I’ve streamlined two other sections. In the meantime, the publisher and Ned and I have been tossing around ideas for the news operation. I’m about to put those proposals into effect.”

Why was he telling her this? Allie wondered uneasily. And why was he avoiding her gaze?

“The publisher believes we’ve got too much duplication and dead wood,” he went on. “Some of the older staff members will be asked to take early retirement, but I’ll have to cut deeper. After careful consideration, I’m afraid we have to let you go.”

“What?” Alli stared at him in disbelief.

Until six months ago, she’d been one of the Outlook’s stars, a feat she’d accomplished through hard work, drive and an instinct for news. Despite her abilities, she knew as well as anyone how few jobs opened up in the newspaper business. Being laid off might mean banishment from the career she loved.

“I was going to wait a few more days, but this seems as good a time as any,” J.J. said. “It’s best if you clean out your desk and leave immediately. Naturally, you’ll be eligible for unemployment, and we’ll give you two weeks’ severance pay.”

“You can’t—” She stopped. Of course he could lay her off if he wanted to. But it was so unreasonable! “Was this your idea, the publisher’s or Ned’s?”

Ignoring the question, he began to talk about issuing her last paycheck. Alli didn’t ask again because she was too busy trying to absorb the awful news that she’d just been fired.

A minute later, when she emerged into the newsroom, a hush fell over the place. Even through the glass, people must have realized what was happening. Payne buried his face inside that day’s paper.

Alli ignored him. Obnoxious as he was, he’d never have gotten away with this thievery if his uncle hadn’t condoned it.

She walked over to Ned Jacobson. Swiveling in his computer chair, he peered at her from beneath a shock of graying hair.

Keeping her pitch low, Alli said, “I always respected you. You had high standards and you taught me a lot. I don’t understand why you don’t apply those standards to your own family.”

She strode away with her head high. There was a lot more she wanted to add, but hurling insults would reflect worse on her than on him.

After reaching her desk, Alli couldn’t think what to do. She’d never been fired. She had no idea where to start.

The newsroom secretary scurried over with an empty box. “I guess you’ll be needing this,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

Alli nodded in response and bit her lower lip. Thirty was too old to cry, and besides, she prided herself on her toughness.

From the drawers, she scrounged a few personal items and discarded an assortment of candy wrappers, sandwich boxes and plastic spoons. A clipping fluttered to the floor. When she picked it up, the dark, brooding eyes of Detective Kevin Vickers seemed to fix on her.

The article, which dated back three years, announced that he’d left the police department to start his own agency. She couldn’t remember why she’d saved it, except that he was probably the hunkiest guy who’d ever booted her out of his office.

She and Kevin had butted heads frequently when he worked for the PD. Unlike larger police departments, Serene Beach’s didn’t restrict reporters to dealing with a public-information officer, unless that reporter proved unreliable.

Most cops had cooperated once they got to know Alli, but not Detective Uptight. He’d refused to answer all but the most obvious questions about his cases, and she hated taking no for an answer.

She’d been relieved when he left. Well, not entirely. The picture captured his intense gaze and thick brown hair, reminding her how much aesthetic pleasure she’d taken in their encounters. She’d imagined they might run into each other again after he went out on his own, but so far that hadn’t happened.

And, obviously, it wasn’t going to. If she did land a new reporting job, it would have to be somewhere else. Maybe another state.

Without thinking, Alli tossed the clipping into the box, then added some documents she’d dug up about the mayor. Not that she had any use for them, but she wasn’t going to leave them for Payne’s follow-up.

He had to sink or swim on his own now. She wondered when he would realize that and what he’d do about it. Probably steal from somebody else.

Larry Corman, a young photographer Alli hung around with, approached with a glum expression on his round face. “I can’t believe what I heard. They laid you off?”

She nodded.

“It stinks.”

“You’re not kidding.” The rasp in her voice embarrassed her. Alli had always been the strong one in the family, bucking up her mom after her father left them and whenever they hit rough financial waters. “I’ll survive.”

“Everybody knows Payne’s a lousy reporter,” he muttered. “This is going to hurt the whole paper.”

Hearing him say so made Alli feel better. “Guess what he did? He bugged my laptop.”

Larry pushed his round glasses higher on his nose. “Take it to the High Tech Emporium, their main store near the mall. There’s a guy named Brett who can clean it up.”

How ironic, Alli thought. The emporium chain belonged to Klaus LeMott, the man whose shady dealings and political ambitions she’d been investigating. “I’m not sure I’d trust anyone there.”