A Matter of the Heart. Patricia Davids

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СКАЧАТЬ you’re running a fever, young man. Let me talk to your father.”

      Rob couldn’t help but smile at Emily’s unsympathetic tone. He and his three brothers had been subjected to the same stern speech plenty of times while they were growing up. How did mothers everywhere know when their kids were faking it? However they did it, it would be a useful trait for a reporter to learn.

      Rob’s cell phone began to ring. A surge of anticipation shot through him when he recognized the distinctive tone he had set for his boss and friend, Derrick Mitchell, the senior editor of Liberty and Justice .

       Maybe I’m getting reassigned at last. Please, Lord, let it be the Middle East post that’s open.

      Rob walked a few steps away from the desk and answered on the third ring.

      “Rob, where are you on the Willis story?” Derrick’s voice crackled with impatience.

      “Hello to you, too, Derrick. I’m still in Austin trying to get an interview with the boy’s surgeon, but she’s not talking.”

      An orderly pushing a gurney came down the hall. Stepping aside to let the bed transporting an elderly man pass by, Rob frowned at the silence on the other end of his connection. Maybe Derrick was worried about Rob making the deadline.

      Quickly, Rob said, “I don’t think she’s that important to the piece. I know you said I had until the end of October to get the story in, but I can have the rest of it on your desk in two weeks. A week if you need to rush it. Then I’ll be free to take the Middle East assignment that’s open. It’s my old stomping grounds. With the people I know in the area, I’ll be a real asset to the paper there.”

      Stateside reporting was okay, but nothing was as thrilling as reporting from inside a war zone. He missed it—a lot.

      “I’m sorry, Rob. I know how much you want that post, but I’m sending Dick Carter.”

      Pressing a hand to his forehead in disbelief, Rob said, “You’re joking, right? Carter’s a greenhorn.”

      “He’s got a nose for a story and he’s done some great work for us. You’ll want to check out his piece on the baggage handlers at Memdelholm Airfield.”

      “Memdelholm was my piece.”

      “Your piece about their special handling of packages to deployed servicemen was good—touching even. Carter’s piece about their drug-smuggling ring using phony names and addresses of Americans overseas is dynamite. It’s on today’s front page.”

      “What? That’s crazy. I know men in charge there. Drake Manns and Benny Chase are both buddies of mine. They wouldn’t be involved in something illegal.”

      “I’m afraid your friends are involved up to their necks. They were both arrested a few hours ago. My sources say they’ve pled guilty and are each trying to cut a deal.”

      Thankful that there was a solid wall behind him, Rob leaned back and covered his eyes with his hand. “I can’t believe it. I served with Drake and Benny for three years. Benny saved my life. They’re great guys. They have so much respect for the men still serving.”

      “Didn’t you have an inkling that things weren’t right?”

      “They were reluctant to talk about their work, but I thought it was humility. Drake said they didn’t want me singing their praises. I trusted them.”

      Rob couldn’t believe how much it hurt knowing someone he had served with had deceived him. How could he have been so easily mislead? That a raw newcomer like Carter had uncovered the story stung even more. “Oh, man. I really blew it, didn’t I?”

      “You’re a good reporter, Dale. People open up to you. You could charm the U.S. Mint out of its gold and my grandmother out of her secret mincemeat pie recipe, but your trouble is that you prefer to see the good in people. You didn’t dig deep enough.”

      “Overseas it was so black and white. We were the good guys, they were the bad guys.”

      “That’s your army mentality speaking. You aren’t a soldier anymore. Your obligation is to report all sides of a story, even when it casts some of our servicemen or women in a poor light. The truth needs to be told, even when it hurts. That’s what journalism is.”

      Looking down, Rob shoved his free hand into his front jean pocket. “Am I fired?”

      “I’ve given Carter a monthlong trial assignment in our Middle East bureau. If he does well, I may make it permanent. I haven’t decided yet.”

      “Then there’s a chance I can go back?”

      “All I’m going to say is dig deeper, Rob. Make every story important. Use your instincts. Don’t make me regret giving you this job.”

      Derrick hung up, and after a second Rob closed his own phone. He stuffed it in his front pocket but didn’t move from his place outside the surgical waiting room.

      How could he have missed that his buddies at Memdelholm were involved in something shady? The fact that he had been so easily deceived was hard to swallow.

       Derrick’s right. I wasn’t looking hard enough. I thought it was a simple piece and I blew it.

      When he had been among the soldiers and marines on the front lines, the best stories had all but fallen into his lap. Over there, his gut instincts were never wrong. He knew that world inside and out.

      He needed to be back there, but that wasn’t going to happen now. Not until he proved to Derrick Mitchell that he had what it took to get to the bottom of any story.

       Lord, I failed to make the most of Your gift. It won’t happen again. You sent me here for a reason. I don’t know what that reason is, but I’m going to keep looking until I find it.

      He glanced toward the surgery doors. His gut told him that Dr. Nora Blake was more than a woman who didn’t grant interviews. He had no idea what a woman like her might be hiding, but he was going to find out. He intended to dig deep.

       Chapter Two

       “Y ou can’t be serious!”

      In stunned disbelief, Nora sat in the black leather chair in front of Willard Branson, the CEO and chief administrator of Mercy Medical Center, and stared openmouthed at her boss. In the chair beside hers, Rob Dale sat with a smile on his face that wasn’t quite a self-satisfied smirk, but it was close.

      She had hoped that their confrontation outside of surgery the day before yesterday would have convinced the reporter to leave her alone. Apparently, it hadn’t.

      His audacity provoked a slow burn of irritation, but it didn’t prevent her from noticing how attractive he looked in charcoal slacks, a sage dress shirt that accentuated his lean, athletic body and a tasteful silk tie that made her wonder if a wife or girlfriend had picked it out for him.

      “I’m perfectly serious, Dr. Blake,” Willard replied, drawing her attention back to him. “You are free to donate as much time and energy as you wish to Children of the Day, and I applaud your dedication to the organization, but the hospital must weigh the pros and cons of each case. We have already donated many hours of СКАЧАТЬ