He glanced over at Gary Short, one of the news station's field technicians, and rolled his eyes.
“What are you doing?” Jordan demanded of Kent.
Kent dropped what he was holding and spun on his toes, his hands clamped across his chest. His eyes seemed to bulge from his head. When Kent realized it was Jordan, he closed his eyes, letting out a breathy curse. “Man, Jordan. You scared the living daylights out of me.”
Jordan arched his left eyebrow and crossed his arms. Next to him, Gary chuckled.
“Well, then, maybe if you weren’t in my office trying to read my mail, I wouldn’t have had the pleasure of scaring you so much.”
“Sorry,” Kent replied. He scratched his auburn head of hair and leaned down to retrieve the envelope and passed it over. “I saw some guy slip this under your door. I was just curious. Usually, it’s a hot redhead that’s fawning over you with those ridiculous love notes.”
“As much as I'd love to stick around and watch you beat each other up,” Gary began, his voice laced amusement, “I'm going to take off. Promised my girl I'd stop by the store for some bread and whatever else she needs.”
He patted Jordan's shoulder and headed down the hall, leaving the news reporter glaring at his cameraman.
“Ever hear of ‘curiosity killed the cat?’” Jordan snatched the object from Kent and made his way to the small desk.
“Good thing I’m not a cat, then,” Kent replied. He motioned to the mail. “What is it?”
Using his letter opener, Jordan sliced through the top of the envelope and pulled out a card. It was a custom-made greeting card. The sender had taken the time to cut out block letters and glue them to the front.
“Hmm. It’s an early birthday message,” he replied, grabbing a strawberry from his fruit basket a young fan sent him yesterday afternoon. “‘Happy happy birthday to you. Here’s to a great day. Have you heard of The Carnations Killer? Listen to what he has to say.’”
Again, Jordan’s eyebrow rose, this time with curiosity. He grabbed another strawberry and opened the card to read the typed message.
“Dear Jordan,” he began.
Kent moved to peer over Jordan’s shoulder. He cleaned off his glasses with the tail of his shirt and slipped it on the bridge of his nose.
Jordan continued reading. “I’ve watched you for a while and I decided I want you to be the first to know. In a few minutes, you will receive a text with the exciting news.”
“Intriguing,” Kent muttered. “Do you really think The Carnations Killer returned? Do you think he was the one who killed that girl at the lake?”
Jordan wasn’t paying his cameraman any attention. He gnawed on a Granny Smith apple as he slipped deep into his thoughts, his mind reeling over why The Carnations Killer would want to send him a cryptic birthday card.
And why send a text? Why not just tell him in the card?
“Yo,” Kent said, shaking Jordan’s shoulder. “You’ve got a text.”
Jordan snatched his phone from the table, his mind still thinking about the mysterious card. When he looked at the cell, he almost dropped it.
Do you want to make a name for yourself? Help me help you. Tell the world The Carnations Killer is back.
Jordan looked at Kent, whose eyes grew. It was obvious he had read the message as well.
“Man, that’s…scary,” Kent said.
“Who did you say left this card?”
Kent shrugged. “Didn’t see his face. Kind of tall, black hair, something like that. His back was to me.”
Jordan rose so he could look into Kent’s eyes. He was half an inch shorter than the cameraman. “Well, looks like he’s giving us the big break we’ve been looking for.”
“I don’t know,” Kent said with a frown. “Maybe you should go to the cops first. See what they want us to do.”
Jordan shook his head with fervor. “Going to the cops could ruin our chance at a breaking story. He wants us to go on the air. And besides, doesn't the public have the right to know? You know how cops are. They wait until it’s too late. That agent at the scene today told us ‘no comment.’ We know something now. Don’t you think we owe it to the people to comment?”
Kent frowned, and Jordan knew he hit the spot with his cameraman.
“Fine,” Kent replied. “You’re right. They should know.”
Jordan tossed the half-eaten apple into the waste basket. “Well, then, let’s get ready to go on the air.”
After Jordan finished with his makeup artist, he double checked his reflection in the mirror to be sure he was camera-ready. He ran his fingers through the thick mass of black moussed hair and checked his teeth to be sure nothing was in them.
Standing in front of the blue backdrop, he took in a deep breath and released it.
Kent stood behind his camera. “All right. Ready when you are.”
Jordan pulled in one more deep breath and pushed it out. “Great. Let’s do it.”
After Kent counted down with his fingers and pointed at Jordan, he flashed his trademark smile for the camera.
“This is Jordan Blake, reporting live at WJFX News. A few moments ago, I received a very interesting birthday card under my office door. And here’s the kicker: it was sent to me by the infamous Carnations Killer himself. He wants us to know he’s back.”
Jordan went on to tell the camera and the people who watched his news station what had already been previously released to the public about The Carnations Killer. He informed them no
