The Morning After - Open Novella Contest 2019

Chapter 5

    Emmett and Marina sat in stunned silence for a few moments, allowing this new realization to sink in. If this was all a lie, Emmett sure was a good liar. It had to be true, right? No one could lie with such detail and conviction.

    "A murderer could." Marina reminded herself.

    After more than enough tense minutes passed had between them, Marina finally pulled herself out of her mesmerized stupor. She decided to be the first person to break the ice.

    "Emmett, you've got to be kidding. The governor killed your wife?" In her shock, Marina had unintentionally raised her volume level.

    "Shh!" Emmett shushed her harshly. "I'm sorry," He softened for a moment, apologizing. "Just please don't speak so loud."

    "This is crazy talk. Why do you think it was him?" Marina returned to her previous whispering tone.

    "Isabelle talked about him some. She said he was a politician. She said he was older than her, too. He would give her expensive gifts and take her on elaborate vacations." Emmett motioned to the photo of Jeff Cox once again. "And she said he was married."

    The photo on the front page was of Governor Jeff Cox waving to a crowd outside town hall. His wedding band was clearly visible in spite of the grainy photo.

    "Those could all be coincidences. What you described sounds like all politicians." Marina let her doubt to become evident despite her better judgment.

    "Sure, but guess whose phone number she called me from?" Emmett allowed the question to hang in the air for a moment before answering it himself. "She called me from Jeff Cox's personal number."

    Marina searched through her questions for a moment and attempted to answer some herself. It was relatively likely that a politician would want to cover up an affair if Isabelle was pressuring him to go public. She could have even seen something she was not intended to. Marina wondered what Isabelle could've known that would've made her the Governor's victim.

    "If he did it, why are the police looking for you?" Marina asked with genuine concern in her voice. For the first time in their conversation, Marina was actually beginning to believe Emmett didn't do this, but she needed more evidence.

    "Marina, you're a journalist." Emmett gestured to invisible lines of text and made air quotes with his fingers. "'Governor cheats on spouse with the wife of wounded veteran' Doesn't that sound like a great front page article?"

    "So, you're being framed?" Marina leaned in close to Emmett before speaking to ensure no one would hear them.

    "Yes, that's what I think is happening. He knew everyone would be quick to blame the 'PTSD'd war veteran'." Emmett used air quotes again, allowing his obvious disgust to paint his face.

    Marina's head started to spin. Thoughts blew past her at impossible speeds. If Jeff Cox was truly trying to frame Emmett, this would be the story of a lifetime.

    "No, not a lifetime." She thought. "The century."

    If the police really were involved, like Emmett said, the corruption must go even deeper. When writing her last article about a political figure, Marina practically had to threaten people to make them talk. She was sure no one would give her any sympathy this time around either. It had been long and arduous, but the pay-off had been worth those months of work. She wondered if she would receive an award for it or maybe even a promotion. Marina was accepting her imaginary award from the Governor, the new Governor of course, when Emmett snapped her back to reality and spoke again.