Authors note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, events and incidents are the products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Tracking Evil, The Podcast -- Part Three
Episode One: '
One must seek the truth within...not without.'
Erica had returned home.
She shared a house with her parents. Well, she had a small apartment about fifty feet from the main house on the parcel of land her parents owned. For all her 'independence' she still ate most of her meals in her parent's kitchen, talking with them as they discussed everything from football to political tensions, local and international.
As she had been taught, she kept two sets of notes. A complete no holds barred set including names and events, and a second set, a clean set as her dad had called it. The second set had names etc. redacted to keep informants confidential. It was the clean set that she'd given her father to peruse while she'd been working on her overdue article submissions. Partly because the investigation was hers and hers alone, partly because she didn't want him worrying about what she'd been up to and filling in the blanks as to how she'd gotten her leads thus far.
He had handed it back to her, a glowing smile of pride on his face as she'd taken the folder from him.
"Couldn't be prouder." he remarked and walked away.
That had been a pleasant shock. Normally her dad would have been over eager to 'guide' her with his wealth of knowledge but he hadn't this time, confident in his daughter's ability. When she'd told him about her podcast idea all he had said was, "If anyone can do it, you can." That was him all over, the poster child for parental support.
That was the only piece of good news she had gotten. Tiny had so far been unable to dig up anymore clues and the people he had persuaded to check into North Carolina and Connecticut victims had yet to get back to him. She hadn't heard anything from Deputy Arlene McGuigan either and Erica was reluctant to push at her, she felt the other woman was a kindred spirit and once she'd discovered something Arlene was sure to reach out to her.
The time back home had refreshed her but all too soon it was time to leave again, back to Washington DC to complete her end of the deal with Victor. Showing up at his party.
True to her word, Erica had arrived on time, in a dress and bearing gifts from Victor's parents who had contacted her just before she left.
The party was everything she'd expected, but nothing like she'd hoped for. Instead of a room filled with like minded people interested in unwinding and having a good time, it consisted of a collection of people who shared only one thing in common, beside knowing victor, and that was an all-consuming amount of self-love.
After dropping off the gifts to Victor and fortifying herself with a couple of hastily drunk shots of vodka, Erica had found herself cornered by Victor's friend Brian. Brian was another recent graduate of the academy, a legacy in fact with his father a high-ranking agent still. He was tall, good-looking, blonde haired and blue eyed... and so fucking boring. Erica could have dealt with boring; she could have put up with a boring guy all night long, she owed Victor that at least. But then he changed gears, moving from putting her to sleep to being a condescending asshole. That, that she couldn't let go.
"So, Victor tells me you want to be a reporter?" As he asked the question there was just the slightest eye roll, Erica bit her tongue as she saw it. 'Be nice' she thought, 'you promised you'd be nice.'
"Well, I AM a reporter. I'm just looking to get picked up by one of the bigger news outlets is all." she answered.
"Why would you want to waste your time on that? It's either lies, propaganda or fluff pieces. Personally, I'd rather kill myself than send out conspiracy laden articles to the ill-educated masses."
Erica took a calming breath.
"I see it as educating the masses, offering points of view, different perspectives. Getting conversations going, encouraging people to take a hard look at what's going on in the world, not just what's happening in their front yard." She downed her vodka, looking for a space to squeeze past him to get a refill.
"What are you working on right now then?"
"It's a crime investigation, I'm planning on doing it in the form of a podcast" Erica said, she started to brush past him to head towards a bottle for a top up. Instead, he dropped his hand in an over familiar manner onto her hip, holding her in place. This meant she was looking up at his face as he began laughing uproariously.
"Oh, heh-heh, oh fuck that's funny. Heh-heh." Brian wiped a tear from his eye with his free hand. "You agree with me then, moving from reporting to podcasts, light entertainment. It's all the same, not a serious profession at all."
"Take. Your. Hand. OFF my hip. Now." She spoke quietly but her words were soaked in venom. His hand flew off her like he had scalded his flesh on a hot stove.
Without another glance in his direction, Erica walked towards where she had left her coat. Victor intercepted her halfway there.
"Are we having fun yet?" His words were guileless but Erica knew him too well, she could see it on his face that he'd witnessed the altercation between her and Brian.
"Not really, listen I'm only going to bring the room down, I'll head off." Erica replied.
"Jesus Erica, one night, that's all I asked for. One night where you climb off your high horse, show me a little support. I mean what the fuck? Brian, he's a good guy. What'd you have to go insulting him for?"
"Good guy? Good guy? He's a pampered privileged asshole. How could you even think we'd hit it off? He is the biggest dick in here which is saying something."
"He's a dick because he thinks you are wasted going into journalism? He has an opinion that doesn't match your view of the world and that's it, he's an asshole? You are twenty-four years old and you are still doing parttime work trying to make ends meet, chasing a dream even after EVERY SINGLE INTERVIEW you went for, you got shot down. Well, you know what, Brian is right, you are wasting your life chasing after this. This podcast is going nowhere, you are going nowhere. Jesus, I'm trying to be a friend here, trying to open your eyes to the truth." Victor kept his voice low as he delivered his speech but even in a near whisper his voice still throbbed with suppressed emotion.
Erica went pale as the words slammed into her. She could feel tears welling up, a tremor entering her limbs as she teetered on the edge of sobbing. She cloaked it though, mastering herself she looked Victor in the eye.
"I was wrong, I'm sorry."