Page 172 of Head Room
Nola Choi got a comment from Sherman police officer Randy Hollister about his relative, Kyle Vaughn Quetcher Moser.
“I never knew— He said he was using different parts of his name because a drug cartel had a price on his head—”
That was the end of the clip, because Richard Alvaro’s back and shoulder came into the shot and suddenly Randy wasn’t there anymore.
Two things about that.
Shelton almost certainly dispatched Alvaro to intervene.
And it was a nice move by Nola to leave those frames in.
Diana tied up any remaining questions about Hollister’s role.
“Randy talked about a distant cousin maybe moving here.As one of his neighbors said, he seemed confused about this guy contacting him out of the blue.The neighbor added that Randy often seemed confused, so...”
She shrugged.
That satisfied everyone.
Nola did the story on Kyle Vaughn Quetcher Moser’s attempt to circumvent the National Decertification Index.
For her version for the network, she interviewed Russ Conrad to cover the sheriff’s department’s role, which Shelton provided in the local story.
Smart.Cottonwood County could make sense of Shelton.The nation wasn’t ready for him.
Plus, it gave her points with Conrad for giving him that exposure.
Heck, it might give her points with Shelton fornotgiving him the exposure.
Nola had a phone call from Kyle’s mother about how Nola had ruined his life.
Right.Wasn’t anythingKyledid.It was the person who reported what Kyle did.
Another journalism lesson for Nola.
Dell, being Dell, worked a version of the story for his network, letting him stay an extra day and two nights in Sherman.Most of it spent, from what I later gathered from Penny’s fractured account, in Clara’s bed.
Good for them.
Just as that period of time was good for Tom and me.
I read the final pages of Irene’s manuscript one night cuddled against his side.
****
(Notes: He’s at his old home, on the porch.Turning Maggie’s ring over and over in his fingers.Puts it away when he hears his sister.)
“You’ve spent a good deal of time out here, Nathaniel.”
“I suppose I’m not accustomed yet to being fit for society.”
“I’m not scolding.This is your home.You do as you please.However, on the matter of society, I do venture to ask how you found Bellemonte yesterday?”
Flora had warned him the family lived in the south wing of Bellemonte since the fire.
“Much changed.”
“And Laidey?”
