Later that day, I returned to the newspaper’s office; we agreed to meet in person to discuss my story. The other employees had the rest of the week off, and despite how suspicious it seemed, they jumped at the chance to relax.

I sat at the conference room desk and waited for Miss Billings. All the while I attempted to control my anger against Louis; my hands were clenched into fists at the very thought of him.

At last, Miss Billings arrived with her laptop. She could see my anger and put her hand on my shoulder.

“Jessica, it’s okay. I’m here for you.”

“You’re the only one who is,” I said, defeated.

“Try not to be so hard on yourself, Jessica. This can happen to anyone. Please believe me, I’m upset about this too, and that’s why we’ve got to stick together to take Louis down. Don’t you agree?”

“Right.” I sighed.

Miss Billings sat in the chair opposite me and opened her laptop.

“So, Jessica, whenever you’re ready, tell me everything you know about the Glendale flamingo lady.”

I closed my eyes for a minute and took several deep breaths. While doing so, I saw visions of Miss Martha and Frutti happily playing with flamingos in a tropical paradise, only to be torn away by darkness. Guilt sneaked into my mind when I contemplated my betrayal. But that was instantly overshadowed once I remembered Louis outside the nail salon and last night’s dream. Anger rose in me again, and my resolve grew stronger.

“Okay, I’m ready.”

In three hours, Miss Billings heard everything. I told her about the flamingos and their backstory, Frutti and her gunshot wound, Miss Martha, her and Louis’ house address, and the L.A. Zoo and Natural History Museum conspiracy. Afterwards, we worked tirelessly to create a full front-page story together.

“What about the pictures?” I asked.

“Don’t worry, I took care of that Sunday.” Miss Billings took out several clear photos of the flamingos living in the backyard.

We finished the article by ten that night and rewarded ourselves with a glass of champagne.

“I understand this is difficult for you, Jessica,” Miss Billings said. “But it will all be worth it once this is published on Friday.”

I nodded before taking a fourth glass of bubbly to drown my problems.

Editor: Lucy Cafiero