Shunning Sarah by Julie Kramer Read Free Book Online Page A

existed as to what type of material caused the fatal injury, the cops were keeping quiet. That was routine. They liked to withhold those specifics to weed out false confessions.
    Despite Bryce’s insistence that stories outside our viewing area added no value to a newscast, I’d noticed—as I was sure he must have—that the overnight ratings showed that Channel 3’s homicide lead held the audience of a popular crime drama with no drop-off.
    But when I laid the depiction of the dead woman’s face on the table, he picked up the drawing and stared into her eyes as if suddenly fascinated to meet her. “So this is our victim?”
    “As described to a forensic artist by Josh, yes,” I explained. “The cops need leads for the investigation, and right now the media is their best hope in identifying the victim. No doubt, the newspapers and other stations will air the picture.”
    That was a no-brainer. Free news content. Then I stopped talking. I left the advocating of specific coverage for someone else at the table to suggest. But no one was brave enough to speak about what had proven to be a risky story to embrace. Everyone waited for Bryce.
    To my surprise, he proposed running the picture on all newscasts and displaying it prominently on our website. “Then if someone recognizes this woman we can take credit. Each version should remind viewers that we want to follow up on our exclusive last night.”
    Everyone else at the morning meeting nodded in agreement. I was beginning to think my new boss was sounding a lot like Noreen and that news directors must share some chromosome glitch that makes them immediately weigh audience payoff when making even relatively simple decisions.
    Then Bryce commanded, “Make it so.” Thus ruining Star Trek for me forever.
    The station had yet to designate a main anchor to replace Sophie after she was gunned down. Each week, someone on staff would rotate in the anchor chair for a live on-air audition. Sort of like a reality show. But that was no guarantee Channel 3 wouldn’t ultimately hire from outside.
    These days, I just typed “anchor” on top of my scripts since I never knew who was going to be reading the news. The medical reporter had her turn this week.
    ((ANCHOR BOX))
    POLICE HAVE RELEASED A
    FORENSIC SKETCH OF A MURDER
    VICTIM WHOSE BODY WAS
    DISCOVERED IN A SINKHOLE IN
    SOUTHEASTERN MINNESOTA.
    ((TWOSHOT ANCHOR))
    RILEY SPARTZ NOW JOINS US WITH
    A FOLLOW TO HER EXCLUSIVE LAST
    NIGHT ABOUT THIS MOST UNUSUAL
    HOMICIDE.
    ((RILEY CU))
    DO YOU KNOW THIS WOMAN?
    IF SO, THE POLICE WANT
    TO HEAR FROM YOU.
    I tagged off the story with the law enforcement phone number. Then, all we and the cops could do was wait. Someone, besides the killer, had to know the victim. Some murders—like those involving robbery or rape—hold little mystery concerning motive. In this case, someone took time to stash her body, rather than simply leaving her where she died or dumping her by the side of the road. Sure, some killers hide the evidence. Others don’t want to risk being caught transporting it. This felt like one of those cases where understanding the victim’s life might help make better sense of her death.
    Later, I checked in with the sheriff. Still no answers. While my parents were confident the killer was an outsider, he told me citizens of Harmony were dismissing the victim as an outsider, too. I’d seen that type of denial in other slayings because people in small towns feel safer if the prey was not one of them.
    That night, I dreamed I wasn’t alone. The eyes of the woman in the drawing seemed to hover over my bed. Jane Doe didn’t blink. She just waited, like she needed company and had no one else. An uncomfortable image, but not quite a nightmare. I wondered if Josh also saw her in his dreams.
    When I woke, I woke tired. Even with concealer under my eyes, and airbrush makeup across my face, I hoped not to have to broadcast a live shot.

CHAPTER 16
    A ll news employees were summoned