Tio_Narratore
Studies
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2008
- Posts
- 79,137
“It’s good to have you aboard, Steve; you’re one of the best in the business.”
“That’s right, Mr. Montgomery, and that’s why I almost quit when I was told to leave the National and come to your local station.”
Steve Janson was, indeed, one of the best news cameramen in the country, and he was sent down to the minors for a specific task. He was to turn this local reporter into national material. She wasn’t bad at her job, and she wasn’t bad on the eyes, either. Curvy, for those who like curves, and her curves were all in the right places. She presented well with an appropriately animated face and a great speaking voice. And she was a good reporter, a good mind for analysis and for following leads. Yes, it was clear that management would want her at the top; she could only add to their ratings.
But she did have some rough edges, and maybe they were more than edges. She came from money and was snobby. Pushy, too, though a good reporter needs that. But her push bordered on the obnoxious: she pushed because she thought everybody owed her what ever she wanted. That didn’t sit well with pretty much anyone, from nosy neighbors to the police chief. Steve’s job was to use his experience to soften those edges, even eliminate them, and teach her to get what she wanted in other ways.
“And I only agreed to come when the boss hired her cameraman back. Back to replace me at the National. Carlos is a good man, does a good job. You shouldn’t have let him quit over this bitchy star of yours.”
“Let’s leave all that behind, Steve, and pay attention to what we need to do now. There’s three big stories brewing here. She’s gonna take at least one of them on. They’re all high-profile and dangerous. She’ll - we’ll - need you to make sure she gets the job done safely. And, if she learns, sure she’ll be on her way to the National. We’re counting on you.”
“Yeah, okay. So what are these stories?”
“They’re all highly sensationalistic. They’ll require a good deal of finesse. The first is a death that many find suspicious. An attractive young woman was found dead at a billionaire’s party two weekends ago. The coroner ruled alcohol poisoning as the cause of death. According to the witnesses, she was drunk and obnoxious at the party. She wouldn’t leave, so the bodyguards locked her up in a room. She insisted on having booze, so they left her a bottle. At the end of the party, they went to get her, expecting her to be asleep. She was dead. It’s an issue, too, because she was a niece of a state senator.”
Montgomery continued.
“The second case, well, that’s a real bad one, and is still under police investigation. A bunch of society girls took one of their group out for a private nineteenth birthday party. They rented a cottage outside the city and arranged everything themselves. They still hadn’t returned the next day, and their parents had the police check things out. It was clear there had been a party, but the girls - seven of them - were nowhere to be found. The police had the glasses tested, and all of them had traces of GHB. That was three weeks ago.”
He paused before outlining the last case.
“The third, that was a closed case for five years. A respected lawyer reported his wife missing after she didn’t return from a family visit. The investigators heard from the woman’s family that she had talked about leaving her husband. The police decided she had run away from him and didn’t want to be followed. That was it until last week. A group of teens out for a desert hike found a skeleton. The forensic anthropologist determined it was consistent with the missing woman. He also determined that she’d been subjected to a brutal beating. She also had signs of healed fractures. The husband is suspect, but he’s now the county DA, and things are moving very slowly. We’re told it could be months before the coroner’s office can confirm the skeleton’s identity. As I said, people are suspicious.”
“Three tough cases to investigate,” Steve observed. “I’ll see what I can do with her and with the cases.”
“Thanks,” replied the manager, “let’s go introduce you to the prima donna.”
“That’s right, Mr. Montgomery, and that’s why I almost quit when I was told to leave the National and come to your local station.”
Steve Janson was, indeed, one of the best news cameramen in the country, and he was sent down to the minors for a specific task. He was to turn this local reporter into national material. She wasn’t bad at her job, and she wasn’t bad on the eyes, either. Curvy, for those who like curves, and her curves were all in the right places. She presented well with an appropriately animated face and a great speaking voice. And she was a good reporter, a good mind for analysis and for following leads. Yes, it was clear that management would want her at the top; she could only add to their ratings.
But she did have some rough edges, and maybe they were more than edges. She came from money and was snobby. Pushy, too, though a good reporter needs that. But her push bordered on the obnoxious: she pushed because she thought everybody owed her what ever she wanted. That didn’t sit well with pretty much anyone, from nosy neighbors to the police chief. Steve’s job was to use his experience to soften those edges, even eliminate them, and teach her to get what she wanted in other ways.
“And I only agreed to come when the boss hired her cameraman back. Back to replace me at the National. Carlos is a good man, does a good job. You shouldn’t have let him quit over this bitchy star of yours.”
“Let’s leave all that behind, Steve, and pay attention to what we need to do now. There’s three big stories brewing here. She’s gonna take at least one of them on. They’re all high-profile and dangerous. She’ll - we’ll - need you to make sure she gets the job done safely. And, if she learns, sure she’ll be on her way to the National. We’re counting on you.”
“Yeah, okay. So what are these stories?”
“They’re all highly sensationalistic. They’ll require a good deal of finesse. The first is a death that many find suspicious. An attractive young woman was found dead at a billionaire’s party two weekends ago. The coroner ruled alcohol poisoning as the cause of death. According to the witnesses, she was drunk and obnoxious at the party. She wouldn’t leave, so the bodyguards locked her up in a room. She insisted on having booze, so they left her a bottle. At the end of the party, they went to get her, expecting her to be asleep. She was dead. It’s an issue, too, because she was a niece of a state senator.”
Montgomery continued.
“The second case, well, that’s a real bad one, and is still under police investigation. A bunch of society girls took one of their group out for a private nineteenth birthday party. They rented a cottage outside the city and arranged everything themselves. They still hadn’t returned the next day, and their parents had the police check things out. It was clear there had been a party, but the girls - seven of them - were nowhere to be found. The police had the glasses tested, and all of them had traces of GHB. That was three weeks ago.”
He paused before outlining the last case.
“The third, that was a closed case for five years. A respected lawyer reported his wife missing after she didn’t return from a family visit. The investigators heard from the woman’s family that she had talked about leaving her husband. The police decided she had run away from him and didn’t want to be followed. That was it until last week. A group of teens out for a desert hike found a skeleton. The forensic anthropologist determined it was consistent with the missing woman. He also determined that she’d been subjected to a brutal beating. She also had signs of healed fractures. The husband is suspect, but he’s now the county DA, and things are moving very slowly. We’re told it could be months before the coroner’s office can confirm the skeleton’s identity. As I said, people are suspicious.”
“Three tough cases to investigate,” Steve observed. “I’ll see what I can do with her and with the cases.”
“Thanks,” replied the manager, “let’s go introduce you to the prima donna.”
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