Hard News

anything. So when the detectives came to me I didn’t hesitate to tell them what I saw.”
    “It also says that the police asked you if you’d seen anything and you said, ‘I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you sooner but I
did
see it. I mean, I saw the shooting.’ And the detective asked, ‘Did you see the man who did it?’ And you answered, ‘Sure I did. It was Randy Boggs.’ Was that pretty much what you said?”
    “Nope, not pretty much at all. That’s
exactly
what I said.”
    Rune just smiled and resisted an urge to say,
No further questions
.
    SHE SUDDENLY FELT A SHADOW OVER HER AND DIDN’T like the vibrations one bit. Rune looked sideways to see what angel of death was hovering over her in the newsroom and found she was staring into Piper Sutton’s eyes.
    “Hi,” Rune said.
    Sutton didn’t answer.
    Rune’s eyes skipped around the room, wondering why exactly the woman was frowning so intensely.
    Rune said, “Guess what I’ve got.” She touched the tape. “I talked to the witness and—”
    The flash of anger was like a fast shutter on a camera. And so fierce and brutal that Rune gasped. Then Piper Sutton regained control though her eyes were still cold. “You’ve got a little bit to learn about life.” She seemed to swallow something at the end of the sentence, probably:
young lady
.
    Rune began, “What did I—?”
    Then it hit her—oh, shit. The London assignment.
    “Nobody’s forcing you to work for a network like ours.” Now, the temper was once again on the move—the patented Sutton temper. It was rolling downhill, an avalanche, and Rune was about to get buried. “You have your choice. But if you’re going to work here, goddammit, you’ve got to behave like an adult, or—”
    “I was going to tell you about the London job. I’m sorry.”
    “—you can go pick up paychecks at some fucking restaurant!” The voice dropped threateningly. “I take you out to dinner, where you and that urchin of yours embarrass the hell out of me and I make you a proposition that no one your age has
ever
been offered before!” Now the screeching began. Rune blinked and sat back, her eyes wide. “And do you even give me the courtesy of an answer?”
    Heads perked up. Throughout the studio, no one dared look—and no one didn’t listen.
    “I’m sorry.”
    But Sutton cranked up a few more decibels. “Do you even show me the respect you’d show a cabdriver? Did you say, ‘Thank you, but I’ve decided not to accept your offer’? Did you say, ‘Piper, could you please give me a few days to think about it some more?’ No, you goddamn well didn’t. What you did was say … zip. That’s what you said. And then you went on your merry way.”
    “I’m sorry.” Rune heard herself whining and didn’t like it. She cleared her throat. “I got caught up in the story. I was going to tell you—”
    Sutton waved her hand. “I hate apologies. It’s a sign of weakness.”
    Rune wanted to cry but sat hard on the tears.
    Sutton was speaking to the ceiling.
“Everything
about this story has been wrong. I knew it was a mistake. Stupid of me. Stupid, stupid.”
    Rune swallowed. She touched the file. “Just let me explain, please. What happened was I talked to the witness.”
    Sutton smiled coldly and shook her head, exaggerating her lack of comprehension. “What witness?”
    “The one who convicted Randy.”
    “Oh, sure, that explains your behavior.” Sutton’s sarcasm was thick.
    “No. I can prove that she didn’t see Randy Boggs.”
    “How?”
    “She’s a real, like, newshound.”
    “A newshound? What the fuck is that?”
    “She watches all the news programs every day. She didn’t give any description of Boggs until
after
she’d seen him arrested on TV. When the—”
    Sutton’s hands raised like a martyr’s. “What exactly are you getting at?”
    “Listen. When the police showed up to interview her she said, ‘I saw who did it and it was Randy Boggs.’”
    Silence. Pin-resounding silence. Sutton gave a short bark of a laugh. “That’s your proof?”
    “You can’t see into the courtyard clearly from her place—it’s too dark. Miss Breckman saw Randy on the
news
. She saw him arrested.
That’s
where she got the description—from TV. Otherwise, how would she know his name? She didn’t describe him first. She said, right off, ‘It was Randy Boggs.’”
    Media circus
…
    Sutton considered this with a splinter of interest. But then she laughed. “Keep at it, honey.