The man at the copier pointed at the gentleman on the phone. He was older, maybe in his mid-forties, and making notes on some paper as he answered questions for the media.
Were they happy he was talking to them?
Absolutely not.
Only, it wasn’t like they could stop him.
After all, freedom of the press gave the media vultures the right to dig into cases when they wanted a story.
Ethan was patient, so they would wait. Honestly, it wasn’t that long of a wait either.
When the gentleman hung up, Ethan headed his way.
“Robert Fergus?” he asked.
He nodded.
“Yes, can I help you?”
Again, out came the badges.
“We are investigating the murder of Ivey Slee and were wondering if we could speak to you. We were directed to contact you by the two homicide detectives who had been handling the case.”
He shook both of their hands in greeting.
It wasn’t lost on either Fed that he wasn’t shocked hearing that the woman was deceased. Yeah, the media had beaten them to the punch.
Apparently.
“Yes, please. Do you want to do this in my office or is here okay?” he asked.
Ethan saw his office, and there were more people in there, blowing up even more balloons. Either way, people were overhearing, so it didn’t matter to him.
“Here is fine.”
Ethan was curious.
“We noticed you were talking to the media. Can we ask what they were inquiring about?”
The man shrugged.
“They wanted clarification on Ivey’s job here. I was telling them she was our drama teacher, and of course, the sciences. They asked how long she worked here, and if we were aware that she was found dead.”
Yep.
That’s what Ethan suspected.
That was pretty damn callous. In fact, that was a rough way to find out that someone you knew had died.
Then again, no shock.
The media didn’t tend to do things conscientiously. They wanted dirt, and a story. Well, they were definitely on the prowl, now weren’t they?
“I recalled from talking to the two detectives yesterday that they said the media would be harassing us at some point, and to give them very little. I figured only the things they could find out on their own. Did I do that right?” he asked.
Ethan nodded.
“Yes, if that’s all you shared. The media likes to sensationalize the slightest thing.”
