Look Again Read Online Free PDF

terrible for her, but there's no story there."
    "It's more than that." Ellen couldn't explain the pull of the story, but then again, she never could with any of her stories. She sensed that the idea was connected to the Braverman baby, but she wasn't about to tell that to Marcelo. "Why don't I go see Susan, then write it up and see what you think? It might pay off."
    "I don't understand you." Marcelo shifted forward on his chair, an incredulous smile playing around his lips. "I just asked you to make our readers feel the tragedy of murder. Isn't that enough to keep you busy, Ellen?"
    She laughed. Humor was as strong an aphrodisiac as power, and the man had both. Also that accent, with the soft esses like a whisper in her ear.
    Marcelo leaned further forward. "I know you're feeling unhappy about me today."
    "What do you mean, unhappy?"
    "Sarah told me you were no longer a fan of mine, because I let Courtney go. I made the best decision I could." Marcelo's expression darkened. "Please, try to understand that."
    "I do understand." Ellen didn't get it. Why would Sarah tell him such a thing? Time to change the subject. "So what do you say, about the Sulamans? Gimme a chance?"
    "No. Sorry."
    "Okay." Ellen rose, hiding her disappointment. It wouldn't do to give him a hard time. She had to get out of the office before she got herself fired.
    "Good luck with the homicide piece."
    "Thanks," Ellen said, leaving to talk to Sarah.
    She felt a catfight coming on.

Chapter Nine
    Sarah's desk was empty, and her coat wasn't on the hook, so Ellen went to the desk nearest hers, where Meredith Snader was on her computer, her short gray hair barely visible above the monitor.
    "Meredith, excuse me, have you seen Sarah?"
    Meredith looked up over her tortoiseshell glasses, though her eyes remained vague, her thoughts with whatever she'd been writing. "She left."
    "Where to, did she say?"
    "No, sorry." Meredith focused on Ellen belatedly, her gaze sharpening like a camera lens. "So how are you, now that Courtney is no longer?"
    "Sad. How about you?"
    "Terrible." Meredith tsk-tsked like everybody's favorite aunt. "You know, they say war is hell, but I've been in a war and I've been in a newsroom. To me, you pick your poison."
    Ellen smiled, grimly. Meredith had been a nurse in Vietnam, but she rarely mentioned it. "You have nothing to worry about. You're an institution around here."
    "I hate it when people call me that. Institutions close at three o'clock." Meredith mock-shuddered.
    "They'll never cut you, ever."
    "Brings me no joy. I feel like you do, that cutting one of us cuts us all.
    Courtney was a real sweetheart and a helluva reporter." Meredith shook her head. "I heard how upset you are."
    "What do you mean?"
    "Sarah said you took it hard."
    Ellen could barely hide her pique, and Meredith leaned over her keyboard, lowering her voice.
    "She also mentioned that you blame Arthur. By the way, so do I. It's corporate greed of the highest order."
    Ellen stiffened. Arthur Jaggisoon and his family owned the newspaper, and it was career suicide to bad-mouth him. In truth, she didn't blame him for the layoffs at all. "She said that?"
    "Yes." Meredith's phone rang, and she turned away. "Pardon me, I've been waiting for this call."
    "Sure." Ellen went back to her desk, glancing around the newsroom. Sharon and Joey, on the phone, looked pointedly away, and she wondered if Sarah had been talking to them, too.
    Ellen's face burned as she sat down in her chair. Marcelo's back was to her, so there were no more eye games, and she wasn't in the mood anyway. On top of her computer keyboard sat a messy stack of printed notes with Sarah's name at the top.
    Ellen picked up the pages and thumbed through them, and they included a draft, research, and stats. She wanted to confront Sarah, but didn't know her cell phone number. She reached for her coffee and took a cold sip. Her distracted gaze met Will's on her screensaver, but his face morphed into Timothy