Dade City, Florida Mindy Holm awoke early. No matter how much she wanted to, she could never seem to sleep-in while staying at a hotel. There was no need to go into the office; she was on her own for this self-imposed assignment, but for some reason, she was wide awake at seven a.m. Funny that on her usual workdays, she had to practically drag herself out of bed.
The previous day's conversation with Bonnie Groom had been a major step toward developing a really good story. In fact, she was left with impression that she could be onto something big; the big story that every reporter dreams of, and she had an exclusive. She needed to work fast before some other reporter discovered Bonnie's tale. To be beaten to the punch would be the kiss of death. The key to a story like this was to be the absolute first. Such as with life, being number one was always better.
She dropped her legs over the edge of the bed and stood, then ambled over to the dresser where a yellow legal pad lay atop her laptop computer. Last night, she searched the Internet and jotted down every bit of information she could find on Matthew Fox; the man who was behind the million-dollar scam-or so it seemed. She had also taken note of the names of the other participants in the "game." It was a short list-only four names-but it was something to go on. Her job now would be to research each person and find out if any of them had cashed the ten-thousand dollar checks. It would be an indication that, unlike Bonnie, they took the scam seriously. In reality though, Matthew Fox would be the focus of her story. He was the villain, and America loved their villains.
Mindy treated herself to a hot shower before getting to work on the list of names. She wrapped one of the white hotel towels around her chest and another around her wet hair, then flipped on the TV and ran up and down the channels in search background noise while she worked. She developed the ritual of studying with the radio on while she was in college. It was a natural progression to continue the practice while working. Background racket kept her mind from wandering. That, in turn, kept her focused on the task at hand.
Surprisingly, when she called Information in Portland, Oregon the night before to begin her research on Matthew Fox, she was informed that there were three different numbers. She would have thought that such a rare name would be fairly easy to pinpoint, but apparently she was wrong. The operator quickly rattled off two out of the three numbers and added that the third was unavailable; it was unlisted. Obviously, the unlisted number was the one she needed, but she took the other two anyway.
