Read Fall from Grace for Free Online Page A

pull this off.”
    “Knew you could but I just wanted to check,” he said with a nod. “And quote Whitford on why he invited you into the tent, that’s important.”
    “He’s going to be pissed off about that,” I said.
    “And he’ll probably get in deep shit because of it,” Anderson added.
    “Tough. He’s the one who let a member of the media into the tent so he’ll have to deal with whatever comes of it. Since he’s a homicide detective, I’m assuming he’s a big boy who can handle himself. Actually, I’m pretty sure he was aware that something like this would occur and is ready for whatever happens.
    “And since he wanted a face on this victim, we’re going to do our best to give her a face. Once we learn who this person is, we’re going to find out as much as we can about her and keep writing about it. You think you can handle it, Leo? ’Cause I’m giving it to you. It’s a big job, but at least you won’t be chasing sirens for the next little while.”
    It had been a long time since I had been given a continuing assignment such as this. I knew that I could handle it, but deep down there were always those words of discouragement and worry. I sometimes had the tendency to get obsessed about a story or events and get lost in them, similar to the way I could get lost in gambling, but what could I say to Larry? Sorry, buddy, can’t handle this story, give it to someone else?
    Whittaker had the same view as I did although she knew little about my background. “You sure you want to keep this with Leo? I mean, writing the stuff about today, that’s okay, but the long-term, lengthy investigations we usually hand over to Murray. That’s his job, basically, and he does have seniority over Leo here.”
    Whittaker was talking about Tom Murray, the paper’s resident auteur, or feature writer, who usually did the really long pieces like profiles of murderers, their victims, and other stories that not only took more time to investigate and write but required a bit more creativity than the average newspaper article. It was a strange suggestion coming from Whittaker, because one of the dividing issues about the strike had to do with seniority.
    Many reporters didn’t like it when their colleagues who had been at the paper for a long time got their pick of stories and/or were handed stories that other reporters had dug up. And many of these senior reporters thought that their experience and length of service should have meant something and merited some rewards. It was in fact one of the reasons the union imploded, because in typical union fashion, it favored those with seniority and alienated a lot of young reporters who had originally supported the strike.
    Maurizo thought about the suggestion for a few seconds, and I knew he was weighing the pros and cons of using me to do this. He knew that going with Murray would have been the typical decision and that no one would hold it against him, seeing as Murray was a better writer than me. And since Murray had been one of those who had crossed the picket line, it would be seen as a reward for his loyalty to the company and a continuation of the seniority status quo.
    “That’s a good suggestion, and the way things used to operate,” Larry said firmly, “but I think it’s time the paper rewarded its reporters for their hard work and initiative. Leo’s on the story.”

5
     
    Writing the second story took longer than usual. While the first one was a simple 250-word crime story, the sidebar was different. I could have pounded it out as fast as the main story, but since Larry had personally stepped in, defended me, and given me the opportunity to write it, I felt I had to put a better-than-average effort into it. I opened with a description of the victim, how peaceful she looked lying on the ground in the orange glow of a tent, and then expanded the scene to reveal that she was actually dead and this was a crime scene.
    I described how the Forensics were