by Laurèn Lee
The attractive blond approached Penny. He glanced around. Once he felt comfortable knowing no one else on staff noticed them in the corner of the dull production room, he grazed his hand across Penny’s ass. She smirked but made no effort to push him away.
“Meet at our spot after layout tonight?” he whispered into Penny’s ear, sending chills down her muscular forearms.
She looked down to Jayson’s left hand at the golden ring on his finger. “Will you have the time or do you have to be home?”
Jayson cleared his throat. “She knows I work late on Sundays.”
Penny sighed. “I suppose we could meet up if, you know, production goes smoothly,” she said airily.
Jayson peered over his shoulder, and still, their fellow reporters were busy twittering about. He leaned in so he could smell the lilac scent of Penny’s hair and whispered into her ear, “I have a new trick I want to try on you tonight.”
“Is that so?”
Jayson nodded and licked his lips.
“Well, then I guess you better hope production goes well so you can show me, huh?” Penny said.
Jayson patted her ass one more time and left her side to go fill his empty coffee cup. Penny stared after him and wondered how much longer their trysts would continue. It’d already been a couple of years since they’d started sneaking around, but Jayson’s first child was on the way. She couldn’t imagine he’d have much time for her after that.
She didn’t quite mind, though. Penny, solely committed to her work, rarely cared to find the time for anything else. She lived and breathed journalism, and any other pleasure that wormed its way into her life was just an added bonus, but no disappointment when it slithered away, as they almost always did in time.
While Penny loved the Crimson Chronicle and her well-earned seniority, she longed for bigger and better things. A bigger city, a bigger paper, a bigger chance at nationwide recognition. Her heart ached for stories about political corruption and hard-hitting pieces involving anything but what she was writing now. Crimson Falls carried a high crime rate which only increased exponentially in October. Most of the stories were the typical, run-of-the-mill articles about murders and robberies. She wanted something more than that. And yet, Crimson Falls and the Crimson Chronicle were home.
After high school, Penelope enrolled in classes at the nearest community college in Riverside. She studied journalism, both print and broadcast, but print captured her heart with ease. She loved the rush of reporting on a story and writing the article before a tight deadline. It was like a race, and she’d always come in first. While studying outside of Crimson Falls, she experienced a taste for life beyond her home. It awakened a curious monster within her. She wanted more. More news. More stories. More life.
However, her mom, a single mother, was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in October several years ago, around the time Penelope received her Associate’s Degree in Journalism from Riverside Community College. The news hit them hard, and Penny faced a painful reality: she couldn’t leave her mother all alone to fend for herself. And so, she gave up her dreams of relocating to a bigger city in pursuit of her dreams to stay in Crimson Falls, work for the Chronicle and take care of her mother. She even lived in her childhood home with her mother. She knew living in an apartment in town would be too far. Penny barely made enough to cover her bills, her mother’s care, and the part-time nurse who visited the home while Penny was at work.
She’d blown through her savings after her mom’s diagnosis, and she often lived paycheck to paycheck. Her mother loved her for it, though. As much as she didn’t want the help, she knew she needed the help.
Penny checked her phone in search of any messages from her mother’s nurse, Sophie, and once she confirmed no new texts or calls had come through, she put her phone away. Penny sat at the computer in the layout room. The Chronicle could only afford one Mac computer for layout. Therefore, only one person could work on the structuring of the weekly edition at a time. Typically, the staff rotated the job every Sunday, but Penny realized she’d probably be gifted the task full-time now as she was the best at it. Those InDesign classes at college were now a gift and a curse.
Being in charge of layout usually meant you were the last one out of the office on Sunday night, as you were the only one who could work on it and it had to be done to perfection. Otherwise, you’d be Jayson and leave off paid advertisements.
Penny glanced over to Jayson while he leaned against the wall with his coffee in hand and a boyish smile on his face. He scrolled through his emails on his phone with a careless nature. He looked up to see Penny watching him, and he winked at her.
Penny groaned, rolled her eyes, and returned her gaze to the computer. She tried to maintain an air of nonchalance around him, especially considering they were colleagues, too, but something about him caused her loins to purr when he looked at her. There was nothing particularly special about him: sure, he was handsome, but he wasn’t an all-star reporter or even a decent reporter. He was newest to the staff and somehow scraped by, but Penny was drawn to him nonetheless. They’d dated in high school on and off, but it had never stayed serious.
She scrolled through the pages in the Adobe program and made a mental note of the sections needing to be filled.
“Jasper? Do you have your piece on the school play coming up at the elementary school?” Penny called to her fellow reporter, slightly older than her.
Jasper, bald and brown-eyed, turned from his laptop. “Yeah, just finishing up. I’ll put it in the Google Drive in a few, okay?”
Penny nodded and tried not to glance back at Jayson who was now chatting up a freelance photographer. A twinge of jealousy caught in her throat, and she turned away. He was married, and even though she despised commitments, something about him kept her going back for more. Penny couldn’t begin to count the number of times she promised herself the last time would be the real last time. But she kept going back to him. Even after seeing Jayson with his wife time and time again, she couldn’t squelch the need to feel his naked body against hers, anytime, anywhere.
Jayson married an out-of-towner, which was rare for anyone in Crimson Falls. Mostly, people left the town, almost never came to town.
Around five o’clock, Peter emerged from his office with his chestnut pea coat around his arm. “I’m heading out, everyone. Have some plans tonight. Let me know if there’s any problem with layout.”
“See you tomorrow, old man,” Penny called out.
Peter chuckled and made his exit. No one else dared speak to their boss like that, but Peter had a soft spot for Penny. Always had and always would. She could get away with more than anyone else on staff combined. Often, the others teased her for being a “brownnoser” or a “suck-up.”
“Better a suck-up than a ghost,” she’d retort. As a result of being Peter’s favorite, it wasn’t a surprise she got the better story pitches at the paper.
“I’ve gotta run an errand,” Jayson said. “But, I’ll be back to turn in my story, okay?” He smiled at Penny.
She sighed. Jayson was always the last one to turn in his articles for the week, but Penny didn’t mind. It only meant they’d have the office to themselves on layout nights. She was able to work on the other sections of the paper while he finished up his piece.
A few of the staff members loitered, but others left the office as soon as they submitted their final articles to Penny. Then, Penny had the place to herself. She turned on her Pandora app and chose the Smooth Electronic station. Once in the zone and focused, she opened the InDesign file and started to format this week’s issue. About an hour or so passed before Jayson returned to the office.
His smile from earlier vanished as he pulled up a chair next to Penny.
“Hey,” Penny said, typing away.
“Hi,” Jayson replied shortly.
Penny turned to face him and noticed his left eye twitched, and his entire face was pale as a ghost.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Jayson said and shook his head. A faint smile returned to his lips.
“It’s just you and me now, kid,” he said, returning to his playful demeanor while Penny placed Jasper’s story into the space below the fold on the computer.
“Lovely,” she said sarcastically, despite her heart skipping a beat.
Jayson stood behind Penny and placed his hands on her shoulders, gently digging his thumbs into her muscles and massaging her. A moan escaped Penny’s lips, and her eyes rolled back. Jayson bent down and kissed the nape of her neck and nibbled on her ear.
“Please don’t stop,” Penny begged in a whisper.
“What else do you want, angel?”
Angel. It was what he called her in private. She secretly loved the nickname but never told him so.
“I want a lot of things, but I also have to get this layout done before the printer’s deadline,” Penny replied, out of breath.
Jayson spun her chair around and placed his palms on the arms of it, so he hovered over her. “Always such a hard worker. There’s something else I need you to work on, though.” His smile reeked of scandal and ill intentions.
Penny closed her eyes and waited for Jayson to lean in and press his lips against hers, but they didn’t come. She opened her eyes again to see Jayson curiously staring at her.
“What?” she asked, taken aback.
“I love you,” he said in all seriousness.
Penny’s heart skipped a beat, and her jaw dropped. “You what?”
Jayson, still with his hands on the arms of the chair, repeated himself. “I love you, Penny.”
A rush of confusion, exhilaration, and annoyance zoomed into her head all at once. “Take that back. You can’t say that.”
“Why not?” he asked and stood straight, letting go of his grip on her chair.
“Hmmm. Let’s see, for one thing; you’re married?” Penny tutted. “And, secondly, you are about to become a father!”
Oh, God. The kid, Penny thought. I’m a home wrecker.
“Jennifer will understand. She will want me to be happy.”
Penny burst into acidic laughter. “Your wife will not be happy if you leave her and your unborn child for another woman. Plus, Jayson, we’ve talked about this! I don’t want to date you.”
“You just want to fuck me?” he asked poisonously.
“Well, yeah.” Penny shrugged. “I just don’t do relationships, and I don’t want to be the reason your family is destroyed.”
Jayson walked about and paced across the office floor. He ran his fingers through his sandy ringlets. “You aren’t the reason, or wouldn’t be, the reason my family breaks apart. I’m not in love with her anymore and she’s not in love with me.”
Penny stood abruptly from her chair and stalked to Jayson’s desk. She whipped open a drawer, pulled out a hidden bottle of whiskey, unscrewed the top, and swigged.
“And how do you know that, exactly?”
Just then, Penny’s phone rang from her back pocket, and she reached to answer it. Jayson shot her a look of daggers as she put the phone to her ear.
“Hello?” Penny asked with annoyance in her voice. “Seriously? Are you sure? Okay, I’ll be there.”
Penny returned the cell phone to her back pocket and reached for her leather jacket on the back of her chair.
“What is it?” Jayson asked, now less confrontational. “Is it your mom?”
“No,” Penny sneered. “A little girl was kidnapped. Jasper just called to tell me.”
“Kidnapped? Who?” Jayson asked desperately.
“The Goldens’ girl, Harper,” she replied.
Penny stalked out of the office with her keys in hand.
“Wait, where are you going?” Jayson called after her.
“To report on a real story. Be a doll and finish the layout for me?” Penny said.
Jayson stood there, his mouth agape, as Penny left the Chronicle and left him in charge of putting the rest of the issue together for print.
CHAPTER THREE
Sunday, October 6, 2019
Penny dove into her used Ford Focus. The engine sputtered a few times before starting up. She heaved a sigh of relief and knew it wouldn’t be long until she’d need to buy a new car. Or, rather, a newer used car.
Seeing as everyone was mostly aware of everything else in town, Penny knew where the Goldens lived. They’d bought one of the more beautiful houses in town after their law practice picked up. Penny estimated she’d be at their home in less than five minutes.
She thought back to leaving Jayson at the office with the responsibility of finishing the layout, and she smirked. She’d caught a break and a chance to report on a hot story before any of the other reporters could sink their teeth into it. Maybe, just maybe, her byline would be recognized state-wide, and she’d get a chance for some real exposure. Maybe another paper would offer her a job, one that paid more than just the minimum wage. She’d be able to move out of the God-forsaken Crimson Falls and take her mama with her. Penny salivated at the thought of recognition and a raise.
As predicted, Penny arrived at the Goldens’ in less than a handful of minutes. She frowned, having to park several houses down, as the police and other residents blocked the driveway in front of their residence. Nosey neighbors craned their necks and attempted to see inside the house while two officers stood outside, keeping the miniature mob at bay.
Penny pulled out the crumbled lanyard from her purse and tossed it around her neck. The badge read, Crimson Chronicle Staff, juxtaposed to a small and grainy picture of Penny taken years ago. In the photo, she appeared bright-eyed and friendly, donning a gorgeous smile filled with anticipation. Over the years, her smile waned, and the sparkle in her eyes diminished. A lackluster career had that effect on people.
Penny stepped out of her vehicle, rusted around the doors, and locked it behind her. She pushed past Crimson Falls residents bundled up with coats and scarves, eager to fight the cold for the bit of gossip lingering in the air.
“Excuse me,” Penny huffed, and she squeezed through. “Move, please!”
Several people sneered at her presence and refused to move. It was then that Penny gave up on niceties and plowed through the crowd until she came face-to-face with the officers posted in front of the garage.
She recognized them both, as she did with all those in the law enforcement department. Which wasn’t a difficult task: there were less than five of them in the whole town.
Penny batted her lashes and smiled brightly. “Hi, Officer Truman. I was hoping to get a statement from Chief Chapman about the missing girl.”
The officer grumbled and crossed his arms. “He’s inside with the parents now.”
“Oh, no problem at all! I can wait,” Penny offered, grinning.
The second officer rolled his eyes. “It might be a while.”
“No worries. I have all the time in the world,” Penny said.
Officer Truman looked her up and down, and his gaze faltered on Penny’s cleavage which she had purposely left exposed in the hope of increasing her chances to speak with Darrell Chapman, head of the department.
Penny was a strong and independent woman who never let a man control her, but she didn’t mind using her assets to try to control them. She’d learned the hard way over the years: politeness doesn’t get you a story, but fierce tenacity will. No matter what the cost.
The officer peeled his eyes away long enough to extract his walkie-talkie from his belt. “Hey, uh, Chief? Penelope Waterman is out here waiting to speak with you.”
Penny bowed in gratitude to the officers. Behind her, the neighbors pushed each other, eagerly hoping to hear more of what was going on inside the house. Children clung to their parents while the adults twittered about.
“She probably just ran off,” one woman with rollers in her hair suggested.
“Did they search the parks yet? I bet she’s there!” another cried.
Penny shook her head. Idiots, she thought.
“I’m going to be here a while longer,” Chapman’s gruff voice responded on the walkie-talkie.
Before the officer could reply, Penny seized the walkie-talkie and responded herself. “Hi, Chief. It’s Penny. If I could just come in for a few moments, I’ll be on my way and out of your hair.”
Truman narrowed his eyes and forcefully grabbed the device back from her. Penny crossed her fingers inside her coat pocket and waited for the chief to respond. Her heart thumped inside her chest at the idea of a hot story just close enough for her to touch.
A rumbled groan echoed through the walkie-talkie. “Fine, let her in.”
Penny stopped herself from smiling too broadly as Truman escorted her inside the house. The neighbors cried and chanted in disgust from the edge of the driveway. Before entering the house, Penny looked back and winked.
Inside the Goldens’ home, a small crystal chandelier hung in the foyer and the glow of a warm house emanated throughout. Cinnamon and apples permeated the air as several candles flickered from the living room and dining room. However, despite the comforts inside, it also felt empty and devoid of happiness.
Mrs. Golden sat at the kitchen table with her head in her hands and her body convulsing with wretched sobs. Mr. Golden sat beside her and rubbed his wife’s back, his face equally as swollen and distraught.
Chapman, in his early fifties with short gray hair and a hefty mustache, approached Penny with a stern look upon his face. “You have five minutes, and that’s all. Got it, Waterman?”
“Of course, sir. I just need a few quotes and background information for my story.”
Chapman grunted and led her to the kitchen. Penny quickly slipped off her knee-high pleather boots and tiptoed after the chief. She pulled out her phone and pressed ‘record’ immediately, so as to not miss a beat.