Hard Aground (Lewis Cole Book 11) by Brendan DuBois

Author:Brendan DuBois [DuBois, Brendan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Severn River Publishing
Published: 2024-04-09T00:00:00+00:00

14

Felix gave me a ring later and asked me if I wanted dinner, and I said of course; he said he was bringing company, and before I could ask him what the hell was going on, he hung up.

I next checked in with Paula Quinn. “Poor Rollie, he’s still sick,” she said.

“Poor guy indeed,” I said. “Meaning you’re still the editor?”

“For the foreseeable future, which means I’m off tonight and tomorrow night.”

“Off like in vacation?”

“Like hell,” Paula said. “In a spirit of generosity, a couple of months ago our corporate owners paid for Rollie to attend a two-day conference in Boston, something called the New New Journalism or some idiocy. Poor Rollie, I think it would have been wasted on him, but at least he would have a chance to eat and sleep somewhere nice on the Chronicle ’s dime. But with him sick, the owners will be damned if this investment goes to waste. So off I go.”

“Pick me up a nice T-shirt, will you? Extra-large?”

“Sure, I’ll get matching ones, and later this summer we can have a wet T-shirt contest on your deck. How does that sound?”

“Best invite all day—hell, all week.”

She laughed and her voice lowered a bit. “How are you doing?”

“As well as could be expected, and then some.”

“Any report back yet?”

“If I get the energy and verve up, I might make a call today. If not, I’ll take a nap.”

“You all right emptying out your drains?”

“I’ve got a technique down pretty well, although if I run into a jam, Felix is coming over with dinner tonight.”

Paula sighed. “Yeah, if there’s one guy who knows his way around blood, it’s him. You be careful, all right?”

“I promise I won’t leave the house, and I’ll make sure all the dishes are washed,” I said. “Hey, quick question. You ever hear of a newspaper called Wentworth County Dispatch?”

“Wow, you’re really going back in time now,” she said. “Sure. It was a small daily, covered Wentworth County, way back when there were rotary-dial phones and all us lady journalists wore poodle skirts and wrote for the Women’s Pages. Probably sputtered out in the late sixties, early seventies. What are you looking for?”

“Oh, I’m not sure,” I said. “Earlier today I spent a fascinating hour or so talking to a former reporter for the paper. Gwen Aubrey. Ever hear of her?”

“Nope.”

“Any idea where there might be some back issues to look at?”

Paula said, “Best bet would be here, I guess, in our bound back-issues section, since the Chronicle bought it out about a month before it closed. Or the Tyler library, or the one up in Porter. Curious about something?”

“Always,” I said, and after a bit more chit and chat, we parted ways.

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