He sat down opposite Jordan. “Sorry for the shitty table. I figured you weren’t coming in tonight and had to let someone have your spot. Didn’t you have that interview today?”
“I did. But the interviewer pissed me off before we were supposed to start. So I left. Besides, I’m done with the GenPhage shit. I’ve got nothing more to add.”
“Tom’s not going to be happy. Did he call yet?”
“He tried. I let his call go to voice mail.”
“Not a good move for job security.”
“Maybe not. Hopefully, it will make him think twice before he asks me to do an interview again.”
“I get that you’re done with the story. But it was big news. And you along with the story. Get used to it. Unless you don’t want the big stories.”
“Part of me thinks I should stick to boring little stories that don’t generate a lot of attention. Being in the spotlight sucks.”
Travis sat back and crossed his arms. “You don’t mean that. I remember how excited you were about that story. You were on fire and kept pushing ahead, no matter what those GenPhage guys did to try to stop you. You were in your element, even if it didn’t feel like it.”
This triggered a strong memory of Emma. What Jordan thought could have become a good friendship was really a setup. “It wasn’t just GenPhage ‘guys.’ The GenPhage girls, at least one of them, did a pretty good job as well.”
“Yeah, but you came out on top.”
Jordan smiled around the edge of her glass. “I suppose I did.”
Jordan and Travis sat in a momentary bubble of silence, Jordan eating her salad and Travis taking advantage of the break from slinging drinks. “Shouldn’t you be at the bar helping your staff keep up?”
“Yeah, I should. But I want to run something by you.”
“You really don’t have to,” Jordan said. “I don’t want to have to make any decisions or give any opinions.”
“Just hear what I’ve got. I promised someone.”
“I already don’t like whatever it is. Can’t it wait until I finish my week off?”
“Not really. There’s a situation you should take a look at. You know, maybe for a story.”
Jordan stopped eating and set her fork down on her plate. “Let me rephrase my earlier comment. Can’t it wait until never?”
“Come on. At least hear me out and then decide. You’ve published little since the GenPhage story. You need to keep the momentum going.”
“Says you. I’m quite happy letting the momentum come to a complete standstill for a while.”
Travis put his forearms on the table and leaned in. “Jordan, it’s been long enough. GenPhage was last November. It’s practically July. Don’t you think it’s time to move on to the next big story?”
“Damn, Travis, if this is so important to you, do it yourself or find someone else. I’m not interested.”
“How can you say that without even knowing what I have to tell you?”
Jordan threw herself back against her chair and crossed her arms. “If I give you two minutes, will you leave me alone?”
“Deal.”
“Spill it.”
“No need to be so hostile. I’m just looking out for you.”
Jordan uncrossed her arms and resumed eating. “OK, sorry. Tell me.”
Travis smiled, probably because he knew it was a rare event for Jordan to apologize. Even sarcastically. “A guy I know from college called me this morning. His younger sister, Kasey, works at a marina in western Massachusetts. A place called Copper Lake. Apparently, one of the water-sports instructors at the marina came upon a whole mess of dead fish washed up on the shore. The local police were informed, and according to my friend’s sister, they did nothing.”
“That’s it? Some dead fish the local cops didn’t want to deal with is supposed to be some big story? Sounds like a lot of nothing to me.”
“Well, the guy who found the dead fish said he’s never seen anything like this before. He grew up on the lake and knows it inside and out. He said there had to be something wrong for so many fish to die at once.”
Jordan stopped eating and leaned back. “Sorry, Travis. I just don’t see much here. It’s probably just some random event that caused this. Hell, maybe some rednecks went fishing with dynamite.”
“Don’t you think it’s worth a quick visit? You could go up there, talk to my friend’s sister and the guy who found the fish. Just poke around a bit and then head back. Just a day.”
“Shit, Travis, I’m at the start of my first whole week off in more than a year. I’ve been looking forward to the break for months. I won’t piss it away chasing some dead fish. Thanks but no thanks.”
“All right. I know you’re looking forward to some downtime.” Travis pulled out his phone and typed something. “Just in case you’re interested, or would consider changing your mind, I texted you some stuff. Pictures of the dead fish, the address of the marina, and Kasey’s mobile number. Just in case.”
“It doesn’t hurt to dream, but I’m not going.” Before dismissing Travis, something came to Jordan’s mind. “Travis, why did your friend call you, anyway? Were you just catching up, or was it about the dead fish?”
“It was mostly about the fish. A while back, I had told him about the GenPhage story and how you nailed them. I guess he remembered and figured that if he told me about the dead fish, I could get you to investigate. You’re kind of famous.”
Jordan groaned. “That’s just great. Now, if you’re not too busy wasting my time, could you get me another drink?”
“No problem. At least one of us will do our job.”
2
The first work-free day of Jordan’s week off officially began with a downpour. Not a big deal, except that she had left one of her bedroom windows open, allowing the wind to blow rain across her dresser. She realized this just after the sun began to rise, and she forced herself to get out of bed and close the window. Hoping to grab a bit more sleep, Jordan crawled back under her blankets. But it was too late. The thirty seconds it took to deal with the open window was enough to wake her up.
Fuck. This isn’t how I wanted to start my vacation.
Jordan rolled onto her back and looked at the ceiling. Her apartment didn’t have central air conditioning. The landlord compensated with a ceiling fan and a cheap air-conditioning unit in her other bedroom window. The combination didn’t help much when summer humidity blanketed the Northeast. She rarely looked at her ceiling, but doing so now, she saw a network of cobwebs crisscrossing the blades of the fan.
I should probably clean that sometime.
Jordan threw off the covers and got out of bed. The sun was up, but the thick clouds made it almost as dark as night. She wandered into the kitchen in search of coffee. Fortunately, she still had a pot left from the previous day. Or maybe the day before. She poured a cup, microwaved it, and added some milk. Her apartment needed some attention. Laundry. Dishes. The usual. But not yet. It was too damn early.
Looking out the kitchen window, her mind drifted back to her conversation with Travis. It still annoyed her that he’d had the nerve to insert himself into her career. Yes, he had helped to bring down GenPhage. But that didn’t make him her career manager. She would tackle another big story when she was good and ready. For now, she wanted to enjoy being out of the spotlight.