The Nobody Girls (Kendra Dillon Cold Case Thriller Book 3), Rebecca Rane [best book club books of all time txt] 📗

Giving a complete picture within that constraint was a hard job. And Connor was good at it. Kendra had struggled with it her entire time in television news. These days, her intros lasted one minute.

She said hello to the people who she’d worked with and was about to make her way out when Noah Bradley popped his head out of his glass-walled office.

“Dillon! Good to see you, got a minute?”

Noah Bradley was the news director who had hired her. And fired her.

Now he wants me to pop in for a minute?

Kendra was done walking down memory lane. She had work to do. Her podcast was in the middle of a season. Kendra and Shoop had countless facts to check and interviews to request.

Kendra hadn’t ended her television career on good terms. Not by a long shot. She was a success-oriented, ambitious person. This place represented a huge failure on her resume. Being fired wasn’t on her career vision board. Still, she took a deep breath. Bradley couldn’t fire her again, she reasoned.

She walked into Noah’s office, and he indicated she should have a seat.

“How are you, Noah?”

“You know how it is. The question is, how are you? I mean, I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t noticed The Cold Trail. You’re breaking ground with each season.”

“Thank you. Long-form investigations are a good fit for me, turns out.”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Are you under contract at WPLE?”

Kendra didn’t want to answer. It wasn’t Noah Bradley’s business. The fact was, she wasn’t under contract. Art could can her or cut her at any time.

“No, no contract.”

“So, what if I was to propose you move here, back to Your News 19, your home.”

“Uh, Noah, it’s not my home. And you don’t do podcasts.”

“Just let me float this idea: You, your own staff here, a podcast format, and a long-form half-hour show to go with it? All around your work as a cold case investigator.”

“Uh, I’m happy at WPLE.”

“Sure, sure, but you’re not getting rich.”

“No, but no one here gets rich either, except the main anchor. Remember, I used to work here? I do know the drill.”

“Look, just think about it. I know we ended on rough terms. I want to fix that. I want to bring you back to the viewers that love you.”

Kendra blinked her eyes as though that would clear her ears.

“I’m in the middle of a season. This investigation is really all I can manage right now.”

“I understand,” Noah said. “When it’s done, let’s get a drink. The network is coming in next month, and I know they’d love to meet you.”

Kendra stood up. They shook hands.

“It’s a flattering offer, thanks.”

“Just don’t screw your career by staying in public television. You’re on the cusp of something huge, and I can help you get there.”

Kendra nodded and hustled out of Your News 19.

She had no idea what to make of the offer from Noah Bradley.

She’d think about that later when things calmed down. For now, the focus was on Margo, Susan, and Krissy.

Chapter 26

Kendra did several more interviews. And with each outlet, she made her plea again for more information on the victims. From her podcast to bigger podcasts, amplified on the local news, then statewide, and eventually, even CNN interviewed Kendra.

Each time she asked for help in finding out more about the women.

The murders were solved, the bad guy had been arrested, and now he was grabbing headlines. But that wasn’t enough for Kendra and Shoop. As far as they were concerned, they had failed.

Eventually, Kendra’s media blitz produced a lead. One they’d been hoping for, in the form of a phone tip.

Krissy’s mother was alive. And was in an assisted living facility in Atlanta. She didn’t listen to podcasts and barely watched television. But a caregiver did, and she knew that Prudence Truth Jackson had a picture on her nightstand, an old one, of a girl who never visited.

A girl who couldn’t visit. So the caregiver spoke up and called the podcast.

After several calls with the facility director, an interview was arranged, and Kendra took a flight from Port Lawrence to Atlanta.

She booked a car and arrived at the Golden Hours Elder Care facility by noon, two days after they’d received the tip.

The public relations team escorted Kendra to Prudence’s room. As they walked down the hallway, a young woman who worked at the facility approached Kendra.

“I’m the one who called. I am a big fan of your podcast. When I heard this story, it rang all the bells about Miss Prudence.”

“I appreciate that you reached out.”

“Miss Prudence is old. Her hearing isn’t great, but I asked about the picture, and well, you’ll see.”

“Miss Dillon, we should proceed. We don’t want to disrupt the residents too much if we can help it,” the communications director, Dustin Shriver, said, putting an arm out to let Kendra know to move along.

“Oh, yes, excuse me,” the young woman said. “I just had to meet Kendra Dillon.”

“Again, thank you,” Kendra told her.

Shriver knocked on Prudence’s door. “Miss Prudence, the lady from the podcast is here.”

“What?”

“The PODCAST LADY!” Dustin Shriver’s voice rang in Kendra’s ears.

Kendra decided to take the lead and sidestepped Shriver.

“Hello, Miss Prudence, I’m Kendra Dillon.” Kendra was loud but not shouting, and she put out her hand. She looked the woman in the eye.

“Oh, yes, please have a seat. If we were at my house, I’d have baked you something.”

“I would have accepted, thank you. I’m going to record our conversation for my show. It’s like a radio show.”

“Yes, I remember. Keely, my aide, told me. I even listened to one. You have a nice voice, and you don’t talk too fast. That’s very good.”

“I appreciate that.” Kendra put the digital recording device on the side table and then leaned in to put the microphone on Miss Prudence. She wore a purple dress and looked almost like she was decked out for Easter. “You look lovely in purple.”

“Thank you, I wanted to look nice