Dead Shot (A Cal Murphy Thriller Book 1)

Chapter 68

*** THIS IS THE FINAL CHAPTER in Dead Shot. Please read more at the end to see how you can learn more about this exciting series and learn more about my works. ***

Chapter 68

At 7 a.m. on Friday morning, Cal got up and checked his email before driving to the Boise airport to pick up Josh. Cal still loathed getting up with the sun, but Josh had selected a morning flight, leaving him no choice but to join the ranks of the early risers.

Cal's in-box overflowed with requests for interviews from media outlets across the country. They all wanted to know how he learned of Carmen Deangelo's identity, and what kind of reaction the people of Statenville had regarding their mayor's sordid past and subsequent death. One boring request for his time after another - except for one.

The producer from the "Mitch in the Morning" show on 950-AM KJR in Seattle wanted to see if Cal would be interested in joining Mitch for 10 minutes at some point that morning to discuss the death of quarterback Cody Murray. It was the one angle Cal had wanted to tell but didn't have the right opportunity. Finally, a venue to properly eulogize an outstanding quarterback, one who had a surprising future for a player on an eight-man team. He replied right away, even though the show was nearly an hour old.

Cal's iPhone rang 30 seconds later with the show producer giving him specific instructions on what to do. The producer wanted him on in 15 minutes since one of the other guests - a well-known Major League star - had cancelled on Mitch due to an unforgiving night on the town the previous evening. Cal was happy to fill the spot.

Cody had received offers from Eastern Washington and Boise State, but there were rumors that Oregon State and Washington were also interested in the dual-threat quarterback. It was Mitch's way of stealing the city's hottest story that morning and giving it a sports angle to attract more listeners. Besides, he was the only one with the reporter who had a front-row seat to all the mayhem.

Cal was insightful and flawless during his interview with Mitch. The 10-minute scheduled interview turned into 20 minutes of compelling radio with a break in between. Cal was so interesting that Mitch even delayed an interview with Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll for five minutes - and Mitch even allowed Cal to encourage listeners to follow him on Twitter. Mitch's producer had to come up with a plausible excuse for Carroll to wait, instead of telling him that the guy on the air right now is really good. When Cal's interview was over, his iPhone buzzed again.

"Hey, Cal. Just wanted to let you know that Mitch loved you - and he wanted to know if you'd be interested in talking about recruits from Idaho throughout the fall, on occasion."

"Sure, I'd love to. You know how to find me."

Cal hung up and smiled. He didn't know how he could get a foot in the competitive Seattle sports market, but in one phone call, he was in with both feet - without really trying. He checked his email account again before heading out. His seven loyal Twitter followers were now part of a legion of 80 that had suddenly appeared since his interview. Cal couldn't wait to tell Josh.

Before getting up from his desk, Cal noticed one more email that piqued his interest. He began reading:

Cal,

I just wanted to thank you for finding out the truth about Cody, Devin and Riley's deaths. They deserved as much, even though it was their own senseless actions that cost them their lives in a way. The few people who love Statenville for what it was, not for what it has become, will grieve their deaths - and celebrate the return of the real Statenville, the one that was built on the backs of hard-working men and women as opposed to some drug scam.

I'm sure you'll have job offers galore after doing such a thorough job of covering this story that supposedly wasn't. But I just thought you should know from a Statenville old timer that you did us proud.