Criminal Detective

The Letter

"3, 2..." The camera man gestured with a snap of his finger and the host, a chubby man with a very contagious smile began to speak.

"Good morning, America and welcome to another wonderful episode of Behind the scenes. As always, I'm your host, Johnny Ackerman and today, I'm here with members of one of the most popular girl bands in the world, ChickLit" He grinned then turned to the ladies "How are you doing today?"

"We're good, Johnny. Thank you for having us"
Rebecca said to which he nodded with a grin.

"The pleasure is all mine" He adjusted himself on his seat before his face morphed into a much more serious expression "So, you all just like myself know why you are here and know what this is all about. But honestly, it still all sounds foreign to me. Can you please give me a brief run down on what exactly is or was going on? And, not just with Adkins but ChickLit as well."

Maria sat straight with a sigh and spoke,
"Of course, Johnny. You see the thing is..."

"I can't believe Roberto actually got Johnny Ackerman to put this on an episode of his show" Claire said as she watched the interview.

Johnny Ackerman was an undeniably popular show host. His witty remarks, masculinity, and deep rooted humor were one of the many reasons people loved both him and his show. The blonde wonder boy (As his fans would call him) was probably one of the most popular show hosts of their time. With the amount of viewers he had on each show tripling due to how easily he got the best gossip of the town.

His show "Behind the scenes" just as the name implied was all about exposing what truly happened in the shadow of what entrepreneurs and influencers had created to protect their lies from being exposed to the world. And despite the dangers involved, he never really cared. As long as it brought more viewers and more money, it didn't matter whose toes he stepped on. He would do so with no hesitation nor regret.

Samuel shrugged. His eyes on his phone screen as he navigated his car through a bunch of obstacles in the video game he played.

"He's a show owner, anything to keep people watching his show is something he'll always say yes too. Roberto just used Johnny's greed to his advantage and gave him exclusivity to being the first who gets to share this with his viewers"

"Considering his track record, he would have been an obvious candidate to anyone who needed to spill some secrets out to the world and reach a large number of people" Claire said in agreement.

Samuel nodded, his eyes still glued to his screen. Just as Claire began to tune back into the interview and fully immerse herself, her eyes landed on Samantha who had just walked into the room with Roberto. Just like everyone else, Roberto's face was also covered with a mask which went well despite his formal attire. He led Samantha to a chair then walked up to a man who stood next to the camera man.

He explained something to the man who nodded continuously as a response to each statement he made. This continued until Roberto shook his hand, gave a curt nod to Samantha, Claire, and an oblivious Samuel then left the tent along with two guards who waited at the entrance for him. Claire watched the man he spoke to let out a breath which made her chuckle.

Her eyes then fell from him to Samantha and her brain instantly lit up in recollection.

"Hey, I'll be right back" Claire said to Samuel then stood to her feet. She shuffled past a bunch of guards who were seated on the same row as her then pushed forward until she reached Samantha's location. Samantha raised her head as a dark shadow loomed over her and found Claire with a small smile on her face.

"Hey?" Claire greeted and Samantha looked down to her hands, silently.

"Hey" She muttered. Claire stared at her for a couple of seconds before she sighed then sat next to Samantha. Her eyes first studied Samantha, before they darted back to the interview.