Page 52 of The System

“She did. When she was sixteen, she got in trouble for burning someone in her foster house with cigarettes. She didn’t do any real time, but there’s still a record.”

“She did what?”

“Yeah, I know,” Kenna said. “I also know that Carina has this already because I texted Dylan to mention what I found, and she said she knew.”

“You went to Dylan with this first?”

“As a journalist, I’m unbiased. I report the truth,” Kenna said. “But I wanted to know how our investigator found it, and she said she couldn’t tell me, which concerned me, so I checked with Dylan to see if her former colleague had a history of doing anything shady, and Dylan said no and that she’d found the same information on her own, so it would be okay to use in the story. Okay, but not exactly ethical, considering it was supposed to be expunged.”

“If there is a story,” Kieran reminded her.

Kenna smirked and said, “Yes. But, remember, I already have Marin agreeing to do this. I can do it without you and just say, ‘We tried to talk to Marin’s twin sister and get an interview, but she declined to comment,’ at the end of the episode. The story loses some of its punch, but not all of it, and this is a local thing that no one has picked up on yet. It’s on the AP, but no networks are here yet.”

“Maybe that should tell you that no one is interested in hearing about it and that you should move on.”

“Nah. There’s just a lot of crime in this country. A lot of network shows send locals to cover the first part of the story, and then, if it turns into something bigger, their big shows report on it later. Anyway, there’s also this major embezzlement case in DC right now, and they just caught that serial killer in Kansas. He’s been terrorizing the trucker highways for twenty years, killed over thirty women that we know of, and they finally found him when he got a flat tire on the side of the road, and a woman ran out of the truck. Someone saw her running and called it in. So, that’s a big story.”

“Either way, is that all you have?” Kieran asked. “That she burned someone with cigarettes?”

“There’s more, but it shows a history of violence.”

“It shows that she grew up under very difficult circumstances. I bet there’s a reason she did that.”

“Kieran, my wife grew up in the system, and she never burned anyone with cigarettes. I know stories like this – of kids growing up without families and in the system turning to crime – are a dime a dozen, but there are just as many, if not more, of people not turning to crime and being fully functional adults.”

“I’m not trying to excuse it. It’s awful. I’m just saying that there was probably a reason. Is there anything in what you found that explains why she did it?”

“Not that I saw, no. But it’s an expunged record that’s light on the details.”

“I’ll talk to her,” Kieran said.

“So, she hasn’t told you about this?”

“Off-the-record, Kenna.”

“Yes, this whole conversation is off-the-record.”

“No, she didn’t. But we haven’t gone back all that far on our life stories yet. Just basic stuff.”

“Well, if you’re going to stick by her through this, you should get her whole story, if you ask me. And that’s not reporter Kenna wanting a scoop; that’s new friend Kenna making a suggestion based on her years of experience doing this.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not sure I need any new friends.”

“Whether you do or not, it’s still my advice.”

???

They hadn’t eaten lunch after all. After learning that Marin had burned someone with cigarettes as a teen, Kieran hadn’t been very hungry. Kenna had seemed sympathetic, though, and had understood when Kieran left her there. The first thing she did was drive straight to Diego’s office because calling him these days wasn’t yielding any results. He continued to send her to voicemail, and her texts took hours to get replies, which was very unlike him.

Kieran parked in the garage, took a ticket to get it validated, and arrived in the lobby, where she checked in with the receptionist.

“Hey, Kieran,” the woman said with a smile. “I don’t have you on his list today.”

“I know. Just dropping by for something. Can he make some time?”

“I don’t know. Let me call him.” She picked up her phone and dialed. “Mr.Hart, your wife is here to see you.”

“Ex-wife,” Kieran muttered under her breath.

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