We last read Chapter 29, in which Raven Tristan breaks into Beth Harper’s messy apartment as she attempts to unravel the woman’s mysteries. She installs a keylogger on Beth’s computer, taps Beth’s telephone landline, and hides audio surveillance devices throughout the apartment. She’s intrigued and stymied by a hidden lock on Beth’s bedroom closet, which only hardens her resolve to discover Beth’s secrets.
At the same time, Bud Tanner agonizes over completing a project that Xavier Wheldon is forcing him to tackle while in captivity. He is faced with an impossible choice, as both success and failure could have dire consequences. Wheldon has some sort of leverage over Tanner, but Tanner decides that he must try something. Anything.
This is the second story, so if you want to start from the very beginning, you can jump over to book 1, and begin with the Prologue of Sapphire Angel, Superheroine. Or to start at the beginning of book 2 (this story), click over to the Prologue of Power Play.
Thanks for reading!
Two hours later, with time still left in the day, Beth walked down a hallway toward the OCO conference room. A call ahead from Conner had gotten her through security. The building was quiet and almost empty on the Saturday afternoon. Connor had suggested meeting at his home, but Beth had thought better of that idea.
Her mind was still awhirl, thinking through her meeting with Wheldon. She wondered if she had been too direct with him, but hadn't known any other way to force answers to her many questions. She felt no closer to uncovering his plans than before the meeting. Perhaps sitting down and sketching out the bare outline of a story would help her clear her mind.
She turned into the conference room and stepped back, startled for a moment, when she saw Conner sitting at the table.
"Woah there," Conner quipped with a grin. "Am I that scary?"
"As a matter of fact..."
Conner grabbed his chest, mimicking as if she had shot him.
"Actually, I thought you'd still be in your office," Beth said.
"I figured you'd be missing me by now, so I figured I'd ease your pain and be waiting for you on your return." Conner's eyes flashed their characteristic twinkle as he spoke, and leaned back with his hands folded behind his head.
"Exactly," Beth said with a shake of her head.
Conner paused, before rocking forward and popping up from the seat, just as Beth moved forward toward another chair. They collided. She stumbled back, but he caught her, and she found herself standing close to him, with his arm wrapped around her back.
"Sorry," he said in a quiet voice, looking down into her face.
"It's... okay," she murmured, looking into his eyes. They gazed at one another a moment, her heart pounding, before Conner released his hold and stepped back. Beth looked down as she played with the end of her hair hanging over her right shoulder.
Conner moved around her toward another chair. He started to speak as he lowered himself into it. His voice caught, and he cleared his throat. "So, uh, how'd it go with Wheldon?"
As Beth sank into her chair, she noticed her shaking knees.
"Well," she began, "he played it close to the vest. He gave me a speech about his about-face on nuclear power being grounded in reality and practicality, and also said he wants to address any concerns I might have about this Echo Energy deal. He offered to meet with me again on the Friday afternoon before Labor Day."
"Pretty much with no time for you to follow up on anything before Richard's deadline," Conner observed.
"Exactly," Beth said with a frown. "I got a glimpse of the tower, but only from a distance."
"It's a shame we can't get inside it," Conner mused.
"I know," Beth said, not mentioning she planned to get inside the tower, as Sapphire Angel. "What did you do all day?"
"Nothing as exciting as you. I just built up the background for the file, which is the stuff I normally do first. You know, history of the company, complete bio of Wheldon. Stuff like that. I have it in a folder there on the table."
Beth glanced at the folder sitting in the middle of the table.
"Oh, one more thing. Something I've been meaning to ask you. Do you..." Conner began, but stopped as someone entered the office. Beth looked up to see Nick Hunt standing inside the doorway. She groaned inwardly at the odds Nick would also be here on a weekend. Nick and Conner glanced at one another. Conner had a casual air to him, while Nick seemed to study Conner intently. Nick turned his attention to Beth.
"Hey," he said, "I got some tickets to the concert in Hershey tomorrow night. I'll call you to discuss it." Before she could tell him she had no intention of going with him, he turned and left the room.
She glanced back at Conner, who was still staring where Nick had been standing. He turned back to her.
"I should get going," he said, rising from the chair.
"Wait," she interjected. "What was the one more thing?"
Conner wrinkled his nose as if in thought. "You know, I don't remember." He continued toward the door.
"Conner," she said, stopping him.
"Yes?" he asked as he reached the door, turning back to her.
She paused. "Nothing. Just keep me in the loop if you learn anything new."
"You too," he said, and left. Beth watched him go, shaking her head and wondering why men were so hard to understand.
Raven Tristan did not speak as she sat across from Wheldon. This time she was in control, as his impatience was clear. His need for her skills pleased her. Too much, she realized. They stared at each other, with Tristan's like a mask of stone.
"Well?" he asked, unable to wait any longer.
Tristan made him wait a moment more, before beginning her report with a disclaimer.
"First, this is a cursory summary, "she said. "Basic background information. I haven't had a chance to fact check sources, and I haven't probed too deeply. But you were the one who wanted an unfinished update"
As Wheldon tensed, annoyance built in Tristan. What did he expect on such short notice?
"Beth Harper, 5'5", 110 to 115 pounds, give or take, depending on the source," she continued. "Blonde hair, blue eyes. Thin, almost delicate build, but with some strength. She was a figure skater growing up and then into college."
Thin and delicate. Tristan hated Beth Harper for the slender body Tristan wanted but would never have. Tristan wasn't fat, but possessed ample curves and a noticeable stomach. No matter how hard she tried, Tristan would never have Harper's legs, arms, and shoulders, and would never move with her casual and almost unintentional elegance. Harper had won the genetic lottery, while Tristan held a hand of losing tickets.
"Borderline upper class upbringing. Her dad has worked in several high-level executive positions for different companies over the years. In fact, he once worked for a supplier to many companies in the energy field, including StarPrime. Her undergrad studies were at a small school down south, where she finished in the top third. Aside from summer work, her only job since leaving home for college has been her current one."
Wheldon didn't interrupt, sitting back with his eyes closed, processing the information. If she didn't know him better, she would have thought he was sleeping.
"Her school records and employment files from her summer jobs show someone who is meticulous and determined. That was uniform everywhere I looked. And it appears to have carried over to this writing gig. Her two biggest stories so far were the StarPrime rate hike story, and the gun lobby expose."
Wheldon scowled at the mention of the rate hike story, but didn't interrupt.
"Another common theme is that everyone likes her," Tristan continued. "That includes people she's pressed for stories. Her big gun lobby story covered all sides, including manufacturers, lobbyists, protestors, and legislators. Everyone involved seemed to like her and thought her coverage was fair."
Tristan wasn't sure how Harper pulled off writing both a hard-hitting story and getting all parties to believe she gave them a fair shake. But she had done so.
"She makes $37,000 a year," Tristan continued. "She has about $8000 in saving, mostly, I suspect, because of a privileged upbringing." Tristan had difficulty hiding the resentment in her voice. "She rents a basic apartment in Lemoyne and has lived there since coming to Harrisburg. It's a one story place, in half a house. She drives a Volvo as her personal vehicle, which I'm sure her parents helped her purchase. Clean bill of health."
Wheldon's tapped his fingers on the desk. "Anything else unusual?"
"Her boyfriend died during her senior year of college. It made the news in Harrisburg. There aren't many details of his death. The death certificate says it was from infection. It likely had something to do with his work at Fizzure Technologies, because his parents got a nice civil settlement from the company, but there are no details anywhere. I suspect there's a confidentiality agreement. But I found out at least that."
"Of course you did," Wheldon said. "I imagine the death of a loved one had to be tough to take for a young college girl?"
"It seems so. She hasn't dated much since then and was a bit of a recluse for a while. That might be starting to change. Personality wise, the underlying theme I've picked up on is that she is very empathetic to other people's problems. Incredibly so, really. That showed up in a couple performance reviews at her summer jobs, and in a couple references written by college professors. A few comments on social media — both hers and from others — show her to be extremely affectionate to close friends, but reserved in revealing much about herself. She is a bit distant to strangers and new acquaintances. Behind all that, though, is an extremely passionate and expressive person. And that's about it."
Wheldon frowned. "I was hoping for more, to be honest. You told me once that everyone has secrets. I'm not seeing that with her."
Tristan face flushed red. She was not accustomed to being criticized by Wheldon. His words hurt, more than they should. She hated her need for affirmation from men in power. From men like Wheldon. Her next words came out in almost a hiss.
"Everyone has secrets. Including — or especially — Beth Harper," Tristan said. "If I could offer an opinion, I think Beth Harper has a bigger secret than most."
"What makes you say that?"
"Nothing I can put my finger on. Just a feeling I get sometimes when things don't seem quite right. This is one of those times. Something is off here."
She felt Wheldon studying her. He nodded.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Find out what Ms. Harper's secret is, then."
Tristan nodded, but she didn't need the prompt from Wheldon. Learning Beth Harper's secret was becoming an obsession.
Thanks for reading! I publish a new chapter every Monday and Thursday. If you’re reading this on the website and enjoyed it, please hit the like button or leave a comment — or, better yet, sign up to get future chapters delivered to you via email. Every bit of feedback helps me figure out what people like, and motivates me to keep going. If you’re reading via email, feel free to reply and drop me a line. Thanks!
I could really see the real-life body insecurity implications between Tristan and Harper hitting home for a lot of people. I don’t know if that was your intent, but good job to you for bringing attention to it. 👍🏽