Carol stared intently at Officer Tatum. “How did you do it? How did you figure out who broke in to Shana Lee’s house?”

Officer Tatum smiled to himself. He outsmarted the ace reporter. “Well, Miss Whiting, that’s simple. It was pure detective work.” Billy was proud of beating Carol to the punch this time.

Carol, not losing her inquisitiveness, continued to question Officer Tatum. “Did knowing Joelle was Johanna Smith lead to any breaks in the case?”

“Why, yes, it did Carol. I had put together a list of contacts the night of the break in when I realized the connection,” he smirked; he wasn’t going to let her take any credit for that find.

She frowned a bit, but pushed on, “So, how did you know it was John?

Billy leaned back in his chair. “I didn’t. I staked out Johanna’s gravesite, figuring whoever did it didn’t know about Jo’s passing.”

Carol looked up. “So, my article helped solve the case?”

Billy recognized she was looking for validation. He decided to give it to her. “Miss Whiting, it sure did. But next time, would you mind checking with me before blowing up my case?”

Carol stood up and extended her hand. “Thank you Officer Tatum! I hope we’ll get to work together more in the future.”

“It’s Bill,” he replied as he gave her hand a shake.

Carol, satisfied with her interview, headed out of the Precinct. Her phone rang.

A voice quaked on the other side, “Is this Miss Whiting?”

Carol responded “Yes. Is everything okay?”

“It’s Shana Lee. Could you come by my house, the Smith house? I found something I need to share with you. The sooner, the better.

Carol turned around and made a beeline for Shana’s place.