Hard news - Jeffery Deaver [57]
“You saw him pull the trigger?”
“Well, I saw this flash and the gun was right up against the poor man’s body.”
“Could you see what kind of gun it was?”
“No, it was too dark.”
“And you couldn’t hear what they were saying.”
“No.” Her head turned, eyes gazing into the courtyard. “You can see …”
Beautiful shot! Rune zoomed past her and focused on the cobblestones.
“… it’s pretty far away.”
Rune dug into her purse and pulled out a piece of paper. She looked at it then said, “The police report said you weren’t interviewed until the day after the shooting. Is that right?”
“Uh-huh. The next night, two men showed up. Detectives. But they didn’t look like Kojak or anything, though. I was kind of disappointed.”
“You didn’t contact them right away?”
“No. Like I told you, I was pretty shaken by the whole thing. I was scared. What if it was a drug killing? You know what you see on the news. Practically every day, mothers and children are being murdered because they’re witnesses. But the next morning I saw a news report on Wake Up With the News that said they’d arrested this drifter. Not a hit man or 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