Chapter 25

Martin and Sam were just out of the Sentinel building and heading toward the Mazda when Martin had a thought. “Just a minute, Sam,” he said, stopping dead in his tracks. “Karen Howe told me that if ever I was going to do a story on the store, I should give her some notice. Maybe I should give her a call before we take off.”
“Marty, you think way too much,” Sam said. “Come on, I’m hungry.”
“Sam, I’ll buy you your lunch,” Martin said as he turned to go back into the building. “Just give me a second to give her a call.” Sam gave a loud dramatic sigh, and kept moving toward the Mazda.
Martin pulled the door back open and came back into the Sentinel reception area. Shirley Campbell was sitting at her desk, talking into the mouthpiece of her headset. It was obvious that the caller was none too pleased about something, and Shirley could barely get a word in edgewise.
“Yes, Mrs. Cooksy, I do know…yes, I do know how frustrating…you are absolutely right…awful having to go out to the middle of the yard…yes, I heard you…in your bathrobe…and the paper was soaked.” Shirley looked at Martin as he walked through the door, and rolled her eyes. “Mrs. Cooksy, please calm down. I’ll put you through to Lars Larson.”
After passing off Mrs. Cooksy to an unsuspecting Lars, Shirley ripped the headset off and threw it onto her desk. “My God, Martin, you’d think it killed her to walk outside in her robe!”
Martin chuckled and walked toward her desk. “How would you like to do me a quick favor to take your mind off of Mrs. Cooksy?” he asked her. “Can you find the phone number for Delights from the North Woods? I need to call Karen Howe.”
Shirley pulled her Rolodex towards her and flipped through the cards. “Did I put that under Howe or Delights…?” she said, finally stopping at the Ds. “Well, it isn’t under the Ds so it must be under the Hs…” She moved each card slowly and finally stopped. “Okay, Martin, here’s the number – 702-680-4762.” As Martin scribbled the number down on the new legal pad, she pushed the cards back to the rear of the holder, and pushed the holder back to the corner of her desk and whispered up to him, “What’s up, Martin? Back to straight journalism? Did you give up on the investigative stuff?” She looked up at him with a stern look on her face, challenging him, but hoping he’d say “no”.
“No, no,” he whispered back, trying to reassure her. “Just making sure I don’t get into water that is so hot, Clark pulls me off the project. We’re doing a whole series on end of the school year stuff, graduation, prom, college plans and of course, the tribute to a retiring teacher. I hope to make nice with Karen with an interview on graduation gift giving so that an interview with Jeff Howe might be a little more relaxed and hopefully revealing.” Martin looked into the inner office to see if anyone could hear them, and turned back to Shirley.
Shirley nodded. “Okay, good. Do you want me to call Karen for you and set up the interview?”
“That would be great, Shirley,” Martin replied. “Tell her I’ll be there around 1:30. Make it sound official.”
Shirley snorted. “Okay, Martin. Official it is. Excuse me while I make an appointment for the important journalist, Mr. Martin Lundeen.” She grinned at him, put on her head set and started dialing. “Hello, Karen? Shirley Campbell at the Sentinel…”

+ + +

Martin and Sam parked the Mazda in the parking lot at Adventures Mall and walked in the building through the entry on the east side. Adventures Mall was one long corridor with 10 shops, five on each side. Martin and Sam had to pass Delights from the North Woods to get to the Chattering Squirrel, and Martin thought it would be smart to stick his head in just in case Karen wasn’t up to talking with him that day.
As they came up to Karen’s store, Martin saw her busily rearranging merchandise in the front window. Karen saw him and got a panicked look on her face. “Shirley said you were coming at 1:30!” she yelled from behind the window. “You’re over an hour early!”
Martin shook his head. “We’re going to lunch at the Squirrel. We’ll see you at 1:30.”
Karen’s face softened, and she waved them on. “Enjoy your lunch. See you later,” she said through the window and went back to her rearranging.
Martin and Sam reached the Chattering Squirrel and found business brisk. Only one table was available, right by the kitchen door. Sam moved quickly past Martin to get to the table and sat down. “You’ve got to grab these tables when you can, Marty,” he said urgently. “I’ve waited for over 25 minutes to get a table here at the Squirrel sometimes. Man, do they do a good business.”
Martin glanced around the restaurant and though it was busy, they weren’t in danger of having to wait for anything. He looked at Sam and wondered how the poor guy would handle the hustle and bustle of a real city. Instead of making a snide comment at Sam’s expense, he decided to be kind. “You’re right, Sam. And you know why they do such a good business? Because they make a great sandwich. Let’s order.”

+ + +

Sam was finishing his sandwich and licking his fingers. “Man, that was good pulled pork,” he said with a satisfied smile on his face. Martin could see the pork in his teeth, and the BBQ sauce on his chin. He looked away for a moment. “How was your sandwich, Marty?” Sam asked.
Martin looked back at him. “Delicious,” he responded enthusiastically.
Sam rubbed his hands together. “Okay, so what are we doing with Karen Howe and the store?” he asked.
“Well, she’s got the nicest gift shop in town, so I want to include her in the series. Show us ideas for gifts for graduates, you know. Trends in gift giving, that sort of stuff.” Martin felt like he was making it up as he went along.
“That’s good, that’s good,” said Sam. “You’re pretty smart, Marty. I never would have thought of that.”
Martin sat up in his chair. “Thanks, Sam. When we get to Delights, just follow my lead.”
Sam nodded. “But how will you fit this part in with the rest?” he asked. "This seems like a funny place to start the series."
Martin was impressed that Sam could see that interviewing Karen Howe first was probably not that smart. “I’ve got to figure that out, Sam,” Martin answered honestly. “Once we have a few more parts under our belts, it will start to make sense. Can I count on you to work this with me?” Martin asked him.
“You bet, Marty. I’m your guy. Just tell me what you want me to do and when. I’ll be there.”
Martin motioned to Connie for the check. “I appreciate it, Sam. Let me pay for our lunch, and we’ll get to our interview with Ms. Karen Howe.”