Page 4 of Ink and Ashes
I huff a laugh, fidgeting with my fingers in my lap. Usually, talking about my career is easy for me. But with it in ruins, I’m inserting myself into a problem that has no impact on me personally, desperate to redeem my image, and I’m guessing the people here might take issue with that.
“It has its moments,” I say simply.
“What kinds of things do you investigate?” Mary asks, interest piqued.
“Politics. Finances. Any type of corruption relating to those fields is my area of expertise.”
Mary and Emmett share a glance, confusion on their faces. “What could you want with Ember Grove then?” Emmett asks, knowing I’m not here to investigate either of those things.
At least, not that I know of.
“I’m looking into the wildfires,” I tell them honestly, glancing down at my watch. “Actually, I really should be going. Do you need help tidying up?”
The couple shares a suspicious glance before Mary clears her throat, standing from her chair. “Guests don’t do the cleaning but thank you.” She stacks her plate on top of mine. “Will we see you for dinner?”
I pull my lip between my teeth, knowing that they’ll only ask more questions, but nod anyway. I’d be stupid to turn down a free meal.
Mary forces a smile. “Great.”
I gather my things, and with a quick, “See you tonight,” I leave the room.
Feeling two sets of eyes on my back as I go.
I showup to the local paper at half-past nine. It’s a small brick building with vines running up the side of it, the words GROVE GAZETTE in bold, white lettering above the door. I walk inside to find a small, dimly lit room, with only two desks sitting across from each other. There are a few large printers to the left, and at the back there’s a small kitchen, a bathroom, and another door that I’m hoping leads to all the old files.
The only person in here is an older man, sitting at one of the two desks with an ancient desktop computer in front of him. His face lights up as he spots me, and I immediately feel a rush of relief.
“Well, hello,” the man says, standing from his chair. “How can I help you today?”
“Hi,” I say. “My name is Holland Rhodes. I’m an investigative journalist, and I’m here to look into the fires that have been happening. I was wondering if you would allow me to use a space here to do some research, and I’m hoping maybe there are some old files on past fires I could check out.”
“Nice to meet you, Holland. Name’s George.” He holds his hand out to me, and I shake it. “That’s no problem. That desk over there is Fran’s, but her family evacuated as soon as the alert went out. Space is yours ’til she comes back.” He gestures to the desk across from his.
I smile. “Thank you. I appreciate that.” I turn toward the desk, setting my stuff down. “And about those old files?”
He points to the door at the back of the small building. “Through there. It’s chaos, and I’ll be no help, but I’ll leave the door unlocked if you wanna take a look. The library archives might be worth checking out too.”
“Thank you.”
“Sure.” George smiles softly. “You’re brave coming here during this, you know?”
I chuckle. “So I’ve been told.”
“What exactly is it you’re looking for?”
“I’m not too sure yet. I just have this feeling that the fires aren’t all being caused by lightning, so I want to investigate more and see if I’m right.”
George nods along. “Well, I’ll let ya get to it then.”
He knocks his fist against my desk, but before he turns away, I add, “Actually, I do have one more question for you.”
He turns back, eyeing me, and waits for me to proceed.
I clear my throat, braving myself to ask what I really came here for. “Sorry if this is overstepping, and I completely understand if you say no, but I was wondering…is there any chance I could publish my theories in the town paper?”
George shrugs. “I don’t see why not. I normally don’t publish opinion pieces, but we’re all searching for some answers about these fires.”
My shoulders drop in relief. That was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be.
