Sunday, April 26, 2009
"Liz, are you even listening to me?", Jessica asked as I snapped back to the conversation we'd been having for nearly 45 minutes. I had to admit that I wasn't really listening to Jess; she had a way of over talking any subject to death. Still, we'd been best friends for almost 20 years and I felt a little guilty for not giving her my full attention.
"I'm sorry, I guess I'm just too focused on work right now", I lied. Of course, she wanted all the details of my latest assignment and she was all ears when I mentioned Dominique Freedman. She and Dominique had a history that went back 12 years to when she was still a young investigative reporter for KTUL TV in Tulsa.
She'd investigated Freedman Enterprises, a company largely believed to be a front for a large human smuggling ring that operated throughout the Midwest. Jessica bravely broke the story and went head to head with both Dominique and his business partner Josh Davenport even when several larger news organizations refused to touch it. Even the Tulsa World had backed off the story after one of their writers received death threats against his family if he didn't drop the story.
Freedman had a particularly brutal way they dealt with negative press. Instead of trying to defend himself against what could be seen as an overly zealous reporter, he went after Jessica personally. Rumors of extramarital affairs, malfeasance, and even child abuse, began circulating around Tulsa and it took a heavy toll on her family. Jack, her husband of 5 years, left and Child Protective Services stepped in to investigate the child abuse allegations. KTUL warned her to back off of the story, but she refused. In her mind, that would be letting Freedman win and she wasn't about to do that, especially if her strong suspicions about him were true.
Everything came to a head late one night as she was leaving the studio to return home. As she walked to her car, three men approached her and warned her to leave Freedman alone or face the consequences. When she refused, one man shoved her against the car and told her to 'prepare for the worst'. As the men walked away, one of them tossed a small book at her that sent chills through her body. It was her personal journal, usually kept locked in her desk at home.
That night, Jessica Sybel decided to go to war.
In the subsequent seven months, she became obsessed with finding the truth. She'd interviewed hundreds of people who knew Dominique Freedman, spoke to officials in several countries, and even tried to recruit Freedman's personal assistant to help her in her quest to nail the bastard. In the end, KTUL killed the story and never let it run. Without their backing, Jessica had no choice but to let it go herself and Dominique Freedman once again had dodged a bullet. But she never forgot how close she'd come and she often relished the idea of finishing what she started, with or without the stations backing.
As I told Jess about the story I was doing on Freedman, she reached into her purse and pulled out her address book. "These are some sources you can speak with who know Freedman very well. They'll be skittish, but they'll probably talk to you", she said as she handed me a paper with several names and phone numbers written on it. These were probably the very same people she'd spoken with during her investigation. Why she still had their names, I couldn't understand, but hopefully, they were still reachable and willing to talk.
The rest of our lunch was filled with casual banter and trading horror stories about our respective employers. Jess confessed that she'd been shopping her resume around and had even considered becoming a journalist with The Oklahoman. Seventeen years of investigating some of the most controversial and harrowing topics in Oklahoma had taken its toll on her and she was ready to move to greener pastures. I wasn't entirely convinced that newspaper reporting was any better than what she was doing now but I encouraged her to send her resume to us. It wouldn't be bad having another kick butt reporter on our staff. God knows, there's certainly enough news.
We were hugging our goodbyes when my phone started to ring from my purse. I quickly pulled it out and froze when I saw the caller ID: Dominique Freedman. Clicking the answer button, I brought the phone shakily to my ear and answered
"Hello?"
(to be continued)
"I'm sorry, I guess I'm just too focused on work right now", I lied. Of course, she wanted all the details of my latest assignment and she was all ears when I mentioned Dominique Freedman. She and Dominique had a history that went back 12 years to when she was still a young investigative reporter for KTUL TV in Tulsa.
She'd investigated Freedman Enterprises, a company largely believed to be a front for a large human smuggling ring that operated throughout the Midwest. Jessica bravely broke the story and went head to head with both Dominique and his business partner Josh Davenport even when several larger news organizations refused to touch it. Even the Tulsa World had backed off the story after one of their writers received death threats against his family if he didn't drop the story.
Freedman had a particularly brutal way they dealt with negative press. Instead of trying to defend himself against what could be seen as an overly zealous reporter, he went after Jessica personally. Rumors of extramarital affairs, malfeasance, and even child abuse, began circulating around Tulsa and it took a heavy toll on her family. Jack, her husband of 5 years, left and Child Protective Services stepped in to investigate the child abuse allegations. KTUL warned her to back off of the story, but she refused. In her mind, that would be letting Freedman win and she wasn't about to do that, especially if her strong suspicions about him were true.
Everything came to a head late one night as she was leaving the studio to return home. As she walked to her car, three men approached her and warned her to leave Freedman alone or face the consequences. When she refused, one man shoved her against the car and told her to 'prepare for the worst'. As the men walked away, one of them tossed a small book at her that sent chills through her body. It was her personal journal, usually kept locked in her desk at home.
That night, Jessica Sybel decided to go to war.
In the subsequent seven months, she became obsessed with finding the truth. She'd interviewed hundreds of people who knew Dominique Freedman, spoke to officials in several countries, and even tried to recruit Freedman's personal assistant to help her in her quest to nail the bastard. In the end, KTUL killed the story and never let it run. Without their backing, Jessica had no choice but to let it go herself and Dominique Freedman once again had dodged a bullet. But she never forgot how close she'd come and she often relished the idea of finishing what she started, with or without the stations backing.
As I told Jess about the story I was doing on Freedman, she reached into her purse and pulled out her address book. "These are some sources you can speak with who know Freedman very well. They'll be skittish, but they'll probably talk to you", she said as she handed me a paper with several names and phone numbers written on it. These were probably the very same people she'd spoken with during her investigation. Why she still had their names, I couldn't understand, but hopefully, they were still reachable and willing to talk.
The rest of our lunch was filled with casual banter and trading horror stories about our respective employers. Jess confessed that she'd been shopping her resume around and had even considered becoming a journalist with The Oklahoman. Seventeen years of investigating some of the most controversial and harrowing topics in Oklahoma had taken its toll on her and she was ready to move to greener pastures. I wasn't entirely convinced that newspaper reporting was any better than what she was doing now but I encouraged her to send her resume to us. It wouldn't be bad having another kick butt reporter on our staff. God knows, there's certainly enough news.
We were hugging our goodbyes when my phone started to ring from my purse. I quickly pulled it out and froze when I saw the caller ID: Dominique Freedman. Clicking the answer button, I brought the phone shakily to my ear and answered
"Hello?"
(to be continued)
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