Page 60 of Heating Up (Nugget)
“You sure? Maybe you ought to sleep on it?”
“I’ve slept on it long enough,” Gia said. “When do I sign?”
Dana’s heartbeat kicked up. “I’ll email the papers to you right now. Print and sign what I’ve highlighted and I’ll send you our FedEx number to overnight them back to me. Congratulations, Gia.”
As soon as she finished up with Gia, she called Harlee at theTrib.
“Hi, Harlee, it’s Dana. I’ve got information.”
“About the fire at the sporting goods store?” Apparently, Ray Rosser was yesterday’s news.
“Nope. It’s about Ray Rosser.”
“Seriously? Should I come over in person?”
“That would be good,” Dana said.
Harlee had given her all those clothes and now Dana wanted to do something nice for her. She worked so hard running the paper and Dana respected everything she had built for herself. Darla too. Businesswomen had to stick together.
“What are you up to?” Carol smiled.
“Ray’s going to plead guilty to second-degree murder. Del gave me permission to tell Harlee, who heard about it through the Nugget rumor mill but couldn’t get it confirmed.”
“That’s nice of you to help her.”
Dana stood up and pointed to her new outfit. “From Harlee.”
“I thought it looked new. But since the fire, everything is new. It’s a different style for you . . . a good style that shows off your lovely figure.”
“Thanks, Carol,” she said and wondered if Aidan would like it.
A little while later, Harlee’s Pathfinder rolled into the parking lot and, armed with a reporter’s notebook, she rushed into the office, out of breath. “I’ve been immersed in the fire and have been looking all over town for Aidan. You wouldn’t happen to know where he is? He’s not answering his phone.”
“I don’t,” Dana said.
“That’s okay. It sounds like you have a bigger scoop for me. So it’s true about Ray Rosser?”
“Yep. He’s pleading guilty to second-degree murder tomorrow.” She told Harlee everything she’d learned from Del Webber.
“Oh my God, this is awesome, Dana.” She stopped scribbling in her notebook long enough to give Dana the once-over. “The skirt and top are fantastic on you. I’ve got to run and get this Rosser story up as soon as possible. If you see Aidan, could you tell him to call me? I just need a quick quote from him for the fire story.”
“He’s right here,” Dana said as Aidan came strolling into the office, looking tired but unbelievably hot in a pair of well-worn Levi’s and a Cal Fire T-shirt that accentuated his muscles.
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Harlee said.
“You’ve got me now. What’s up?”
“The fire . . . was it arson?” Harlee flipped through her notebook until she found a clean page.
Aidan leaned his hip against Dana’s desk. “We don’t think it was an accident and are asking for help from the public. Anyone who has information should call us.” He rattled off a hotline number.
“Why do you think the fire was intentional?” Harlee asked.
“I didn’t say that.” Aidan smiled. “I said it wasn’t an accident.”
“Now you’re just playing with semantics,” Harlee said.
He grinned, evidently enjoying the wordplay. “I can’t get into details, but let’s just say there are some telltale signs.”
