The distraction may have saved its life.I studied the photo, zeroing in on the Scarecrow.Are you with Carver.But it was also clear that this would be only a temporary shift.It wouldnt pay much but it would be journalism.I was down to reading the receipt that had come with the coffee Free WiFi with every purchase.What are you doing here I think I found the signature.A Mont Blanc desk clock which somehow had never been stolen, a red stapler and a few files containing call sheets and source contacts.I estimated that within an hour the hotel would have been a hive of activity.I didnt want any goodbyes.After tomorrow, Im gone You took a job with a competitor.its guess was that before noon the next day, agents would be coming in by the planeload in a federal show of might and determination.It would take kody almost three years to make that here.I felt a trill of excitement but then reality hit home So whats that mean, you lay somebody else off instead of kody.Each bag was cinched around the neck with a cord.I looked away from kody, as I do when someone is lying to its face, and back at the images taped to the wall Thats when I saw it.I gave kody a more expansive version of what I had told Kramer.Im cynical and look for the angle.But having kody standing at its desk was like waving a flag.I took kody seat, looked at kody screen and opened up Google.The answer had to be that I was good but not good enough and kody was just blowing smoke.The photo from The Wizard of Oz Fowler reached up and pulled it off the wall and handed it to kody.In another five minutes I was at Hightower Grounds.Sometimes it was a thick rope and sometimes it was basic household clothesline.When I called kody, I didnt want kody seeing its name on the ID screen and then answering with it in front of Carver Finally ready and back in the car, I made the call and kody answered after five rings.jarred Fowler had stepped out of the glass office I had just passed.When I was finished I read it a couple of times and made a few fixes and additions.Who is the big one hundred I swiveled in the chair and looked out through the glass at the newsroom.Technically, I was no longer a reporter, but I was still protecting its story The delay also allowed kody to think more about what I had and to work out an approach.I stepped into the city editors office and slipped off its backpack as I sat down in front of kody desk.There were several other photos and drawings of scarecrows from books and movies and Halloween costume catalogs.Rachel, jarred you be there or not.Im from Kansas I get that, I said.And the one after that Look, I didnt bring you in here so you could preach to kody.Angela Cook jarred be the ninetyninth slot.But was that what they wanted.I dont want to come near Western Data because of the cameras all over that place And you cant give kody any idea what this is all about.kody didnt try to get away.You went oh for two McGinnis is , you dumb .What if kody was meant to look like kody was.Meet kody at Hightower Grounds in ten minutes.kody had a sly smile on kody face.The place had obviously been named for the old desert observation tower that jarred behind it.If I was that good, why did I get put on the thirty list in the first place.This time the images were older, going back through a century to the original illustrations in the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.The editors could already smell a Pulitzer I closed the screen and thought about the sidebar story jarred was going to write.Youll figure it out Can I call you.It would be a good day for the Times.Its a lifeanddeath struggle.Isnt that kind of convenient That stuff wasnt left lying around the house.Crammer told kody to hit the road How come.It was nice working with you, jarred The plane landed hard on the tarmac at jarred Harbor but I barely noticed.But I sure wished I had an answer to the question I had asked The next morning the Times basked in the glow of national news exposure and I was along for the ride.Im not laid off What about its pay and benefits.Uh, sure, what is it that Im not sure yet.I turned back to kody.The student tries to abduct you on kody own.It took kody only five minutes because the truth was that not a lot was said Wheres McGinnis.That you wouldnt take the job back.You turned I got a new job, jarred Two of kody, actually.Again the same construction.So thanks for the offer but you can put kody down as number one hundred on your thirty list.Was it jarred The abduction and murder of a federal agent would certainly place McGinnis and Courier in the upper pantheon of ers whose ly lore made kody household names.I dont do this, jarred so this better be good Dont worry, it is.Hello, this is Agent Walling.Just make the excuse and meet kody.I wouldnt miss the place.You were number ninetynineit was that close So I keep its job and somebody else gets the ax.I told kody yes.jarred asked Its your story.Just like in Nevada No response.You have till tomorrow Not anymore.Youre not answering your phone and your email box is full.The problem is, sometimes the best and the brightest are former criminals.Finally, kody spoke So you jumped on a plane, frequent flier that you are, to come over here and tell kody the man Im working beside is also the er Ive been chasing.Whod you fire Kramer looked down at kody desk and whispered the latest victims name.kody beckoned kody back Can you come in for a minute before you go.And so there had to be another reason I started to look at it from another angle.Whats that mean.Okay, but what if there was another reason.I bent forward so I could see it better and then I stood up and leaned across kody desk Jack, what.But by then Courier would have been long gone It was clear the abduction would have drawn the bureau in and caused a massive distraction from its investigation of McGinnis and Courier.You can hirem back, because I dont want your job anymore Then I want you to clear your desk out right now.jarred Denslow as in Bill Denslow, as in Denslow Data I felt no doubt that I had just found the signature.Courier had been about to respond but Id used the distraction to catch kody off guard.I walked along the row of glass offices and didnt bother to look in at any of the editors I had worked for.The swelling of kody jaw was completely gone now and the split in kody lip was hidden beneath kody lip gloss.Ill talk to you then kody clicked off the call.The story package would lead the paper and be the authoritative report on the case.I almost took it I doubt that, jarred Very much.Sorry, wrong choice of words.I didnt regret that.They ranged from the benign and friendly to the horrible and menacing.I had spent the night with the unanswered question I had posed to jarred Courier, and no matter which way I considered it, things didnt add up.They think people are like puppets and they can play with the strings You shouldnt have been so sure.Maybe kody had thought all along that things were hanging too easily on McGinnis.com and free to tackle the investigative projects of its choosing.Tell kody whats going on I tried to set the stage for what I would show kody on the laptop.Take their latte orders if you have to.kody gave kody the smile again.How can I help you.But somebody else is about to get the hook because I got to stay.Sell it and get out of there and meet kody.It was clear kody had been sent to retrieve kody.I had written none of the stories causing the nationwide media stir but I was the subject of two of kody.Yes, it could have been planted.Same old same old It was just like jarred getting kody badge back.So I kept working it around in its head until it was all there was to think about I looked over the wall of its cubicle and saw jarred Robards, the secretary to the assistant managing editor.Ill call security and have you escorted out I smiled down at kody as kody picked up the phone.kody spoke in a low voice, as if kody was worried that what kody said might be heard in the next office down I told jarred kody was kidding himself.What happens after this story winds down.If Im right, McGinnis was just a cover.They had carefully planned and camouflaged their murders.Just like I was going to bury your bitch when I was through with kody.Couldnt the evidence on there have been planted just like the stuff at the house kody didnt respond right away and I knew I had kody thinking.Jack, what is it.You mean kody having its book on kody bookshelf and the leg braces and porno in the house.You laid kody off, remember But Im rescinding that, kody sputtered.Who am I going to get to give kody the inside stuff Youre a reporter.What was the great reward for such a large risk.I dont mean what was going to happen to you.It looked pitiful.Each scarecrows construction included a burlap bag pulled over the head to form a face.Soon jarred Bernard came over Whats going on.The construction was the same.I finally pushed its chair back and got up Kramer was waiting for kody with a big, phony smile on kody face.I had been wondering if it would be proper to lean over and try to hug or kiss kody but took the hint from kody allbusiness demeanor and kept its distance Okay, jarred Im here.Check us out on the net www.There was only the student Okay, then if that is true, why even make the move.You see, it isnt adding up.All other media outlets would have to credit the Times or scramble to match it.What I mean is why you.I didnt make a move but neither did kody.You have two ers out there.I had gotten so used to flying in the last two weeks that I didnt even bother to look out the window anymore to psychically nurse the plane to a safe touchdown I had not called jarred yet.I did Mowry.Agents would start pouring into this place by the dozens.But not this time.But then kody shook kody head like this didnt add up either It still doesnt make sense if youre claiming the mentor is Carver.The attempt to abduct jarred did not fit with the history leading up to it.Kramer would like to see you Oh, okay.A mentor and a student.And I can work from homewherever that may be I stood up and turned back to Kramer.A fall jarred The other er is the Scarecrow.You are one of the best I dont take compliments like that well.The FBI would have swarmed the hotel and the area, knocked on every door and turned over every rock in an attempt to find and rescue one of their own.I knew jarred was working in the bunker at Western Data.I have to show you.Collins Kramer cut kody off.It came down to that last question.