Read The Cost of Commitment - KJ2 for Free Online Page A

mind and spirit as well as the body. I think we here in the ‘civilized’ world could learn a lot from our Native American brothers and sisters.”
    “I thought they were pretty secretive about their customs, though, aren’t they?”
    “Yeah, to an extent, but I’ve seen you in action, love; I have no doubt you could get them to share some of their ways with you for a story.
    Heck, you could talk a mother hen off her nest.”
    “Thanks for the vote of confidence, sweetheart. I’ll give it some thought. Besides, it’s beautiful country out there.”
    “That it is, love, that it is.”

    Kate pored over the faxes that had been arriving in a steady stream from the superintendent’s office at Auburn for the past hour. So far, the coverage of the murder had been relatively evenhanded. The young buck at the Citizen had wisely withheld the name of the victim pending notification of next of kin, Wendy from the Associated Press had refrained from any wild speculation linking the murder to other recent incidents at the prison, and the transcripts of the television coverage seemed rather benign.
    “Yeah, I think she’s down meeting with the commissioner. No, so far she seems to have it under control. No, I tried to keep her from seeing that, but she got a hold of it by herself. David, I’m doing my best here...”
    Curious about the whispered conversation her assistant was having about her, Kate set the papers aside and focused her acute hearing outside her door. It was abundantly clear that Marisa didn’t know she was in her office.
    “Christ, David, I don’t want to be too obvious here. She’s bound to figure it out...Hey, it’s not my fault she’s sharp. You’re the one who told me this would be easy and you’d be back here soo—” Her voice trailed off as Kate strode purposely past her desk. “Oh God, I’ve got to go.” She didn’t wait for an answer before hanging up.
    Unsure what to do, her face burning red with embarrassment at having been caught, Marisa chased her boss down the corridor.
    “Are you quite finished with your report to Mr. Breathwaite?”
    “I—”
    “Because if you are, I believe there is plenty of real work sitting on your desk waiting for your attention.”
    “Kate—”
    “No.” Kate rounded on her assistant. “I don’t want to talk about this right now, nor do I think you would want me to. I suggest you go back to Lynn Ames

    the office and think about how important your job is to you and just who it is you work for.”
    Without another word, Kate resumed her course, leaving her deflated assistant behind. In truth, she wasn’t sure where she was going, nor was she sure what she wanted to do about what she had just heard.
    She sorted through her dealings with Marisa over the past three months. At first she had wondered why her predecessor hadn’t simply taken his assistant with him when he left; after all, that was standard procedure. Although she could have hired someone of her own choosing, Kate had decided to give Marisa a chance, reasoning that it would be wise to retain someone familiar with the workings of the office. Now she faced the ugly possibility that her assistant had stayed behind only to monitor and undermine her. In any event, keeping Marisa seemed an untenable option at this point.
    Having made up her mind, Kate directed her steps to the executive deputy commissioner’s office. He was the one charged with handling staff matters, and she knew that she would need his blessing to have the woman reassigned.
    Through his closed door, she could hear him screaming at some poor soul on the other end of the phone. “What? You idiot! All right, don’t worry, I’ll take care of it...Never mind. I’ll fix your little mess... this time.”
    Kate knocked when she heard him slam the phone back into its cradle.
    “Come.”
    She poked her head around the door. “Bad time?”
    Bill Redfield smiled. “Never for you, Kate. What can I do for you?”
    “I hate to bother