Chapter 10: Public Relations

Helga couldn't fall asleep. She kept tossing and turning. Everytime she shut her eyes, she saw his face. That stupid annoying football head. She thought she was over Arnold a long time ago, she burned all her notebooks about him when she had turned 15. So why did he make her feel guilty for even thinking about Sid? Better yet, why did Arnold act like she did something wrong?

It wasn't as if either Sid and her or Arnold and her were a couple. Sid and her were just...she didn't even want to think about it. And Arnold and her were roommates. It was completely platonic! They only became roommates 6 months ago by accident when he answered an ad she placed. It was just a greater accident that they happened to get along now that they were both adults. Maybe because she wasn't obsessed with him anymore, so she didn't need to be defensive and he didn't have to be at the receiving end of her bluntness. At times she almost thought there could be something more if Arnold ever showed a sign of wanting more but he hadn't. Not once had Arnold ever tried to hit on her or make a move on her. Perhaps he was just being a gentleman. But it made her feel even more invisible than in high school when he totally ignored her. Because now they lived together, saw each other everyday, and he still couldn't see her as anything more than a friend.

They got along perfectly for six whole months. Until now Arnold started dating Lila and he thought Sid and her were a couple. Then he blew a fuse...almost as if he were jealous of Sid because he'd never seen her with other guys before.

'Oh this is so screwed up! Criminey. My nine year old self would be dancing to think that maybe, just maybe, Arnold would be jealous over me. Back when we were kids, Arnold didn't even blink an eye that one time I tried to make everyone believe Stinky was my boyfriend. Now he's acting like he's actually upset over the suggestion that I was alone at Sid's place. Like Arnold P. Shortman is actually jealous of Helga G. Pataki!'

Helga groaned and pulled at her hair.

'But I don't even want that now do I? I don't care if Arnold's jealous. I'm over him. That ship sailed a long time ago. Anyways, Arnold probably wasn't jealous. He's just being his usual goody-goody samaritan self. He was probably worried about my safety and only overreacted in a protective, older brother sort of way. Though why did he freak out so much about the possibility that Sid and I might've slept together? Oh god I'm never going to sleep if I keep thinking of this!'

Helga stared at the clock 2am. Great just great.

Helga struggled out of bed and flipped open her laptop. She was too anxious about things to even care that she had to get up at 7am. There was no way she could sleep when her mind kept running at a million miles per hour.

She went to the Daily Globe's website and scrolled through the most recent news stories and coverage of the Pembroke's hostage crisis. Sid had been so damn unhelpful in answering her questions, it was as if he seemed to have forgotten she could just google everything anyways. Though she couldn't find any references in the news between Pembroke's and the mafia. Null for when she searched for Rhonda and mafia. So maybe they were keeping somethings secret below the level of the news. Though she had a feeling that somehow everything tied together. It couldn't be just a coincidence that some of Hillwood's most grisly crimes were committed in the same week, there had to be an explanation.

She clicked on the most recently updated story of what happened at Pembroke's. She sniggered sardonically when she saw it included an interview between Harold and a news reporter. So Sid refuses to tell me anything but apparently Sergeant Harold can blab to the paps.

She skimmed through the lines. Again the Pembroke's hostage crisis was discussed without any reference to Rhonda's murder or the mafia. Harold didn't seem to be telling the reporter anything useful until one part. Helga stopped and reread it.

"So Sergeant Bergman, you have given us a lot of descriptions of the masked assailants and how the public can contact the police if they have any information, but you have omitted to tell us why this act of terror occurred? Pembroke's is a law firm, not a bank. Why would anyone go through so much trouble to attack them?"

Bergman: Because this was a robbery of information, Miss Penelope. A perfect crime of information.

I: You mean files were taken from the law firm?

Bergman: I can't answer all your questions, but yes files were taken.

I: Do the missing files give us any clue who the assailants might be?

Bergman: Our job would be a hell of a lot easier if they had. But the people who did this took a large number of files so that we couldn't track them down or understand their motive.

I: But why would Pembroke's specifically be targeted for this type of robbery?

Bergman: Pembroke law firm is one of the largest in Hillwood, they have some of the most prestigious clients. If someone were to steal info on all those people, they would acquire alot of power.

I: Power for what?

Bergman: Bribery, coercion, who knows? They got away so we can't ask them now. We're just going to have to keep an eye out for people making suspicious activities and ask the public to contact the police with any information."

A crime of information? What about the hostages? Did they use them for information or access codes or were they actually trying to kill people too? Neither Harold or any of the other news stories seemed to answer these most important issues. If she tried asking Sid, he'd probably give her the same bullshit answer of not being able to share confidential police information...and then try to hit on her again. She almost laughed to herself. Ugh. What was it with Sid? Some of the time he acted like he wanted to help her, some of the time he just teased her. She shook her head.

Helga kept googling until she fell asleep face first on her laptop. She woke up at 6am to find a puddle of drool over her keyboard. 'Geezus,' she muttered as she wiped the drool off the laptop with her sleeve. She just hoped she hadn't wrecked that. She looked longingly at her bed then back at the time. There was no way she could slip in another hour of sleep and still make it in time for work. 'Criminey I might as well just go to work early...at least then I won't have to see Arnold if I slip out early.'

She tiptoed out of the apartment with her laptop bag and a bagel in her mouth. The pigeons and pink sky of the rising sun over Hillwood would be almost beautiful if Helga's life didn't feel like it was going down the gutter.

~/~

Meanwhile at Horowitz Inc., 7am sharp, the early risers of the corporate world were ready for a board meeting

Eugene popped some anti-acid pills, he felt like he was getting an ulcer from stress. For the past week he had been drilled by the police, the FBI, reporters and everyone else who wanted to get under his skin. Even with the best lawyers and PR representatives, Eugene felt himself getting nailed to a cross. His millions and millions of dollars could only buffer his public image so far and he was panicked Rhonda's murder might negatively affect his pharmaceutical company's sales.

Thank god for Lila. In the eye of the PR storm they were in, Lila seemed to be the only one keeping calm. She seemed convinced that Eugene would come out of this situation unscathed and repeatedly assured him that there was 'no way Hillwood would throw one of its most richest citizens under the bus.'

"I don't know Lila, I feel like everybody secretly thinks that I did it!" he fidgeted with his pen as he stared at the large pile of legal papers he was supposed to read through and sign.

"There's no need to panic, , there is zero evidence against you, and our corporation is legally untouchable," Lila trilled. She adjusted the lapel of the red power-suit she wore.

"I don't know how you be so sure of these things Lila! You seem to think our corporation is infallible but that's simply not the case! The bigger we are, the harder we fall!" Eugene could name a long list of enemies he had made on his way to the top. For every gain, there had always been those jealous of his success. People who wanted nothing more than to take him down a few notches.

"We can't fall," Lila assured him, "Horowitz Corp. may have many enemies but we have the truth! Their lies won't bring us down."

Eugene wasn't sure whether Lila was being incredibly naive or incredibly cynical, "The truth is easily buried in lies, Lila. Right now the police have respected my right to confidentiality but if the media decide to play the blame game on me..." his heartbeat pumped as he contemplated what a living nightmare his life would become if the media publicly insinuated he was Rhonda's killer.

Lila flipped her hair back, "Which is why we have hired the best possible PR firm, Mr. Horowitz. And that's only the beginning, our PR team have booked you an interview with a major network to further tell your side of the story."

"You booked me an interview?!" Eugene asked in mild panic. The thought was nerve wracking. He'd have to answer a bunch of questions about Rhonda's death in front of a team of cameras live on air.

"Sir, the public needs to hear your side of the story. They will be ever so sympathetic with you after they hear everything Ms. Wellington put you through!"

Eugene started sweating, "Have you ever heard of not airing dirty laundry? There are a lot of things that could be said about Rhonda's life and half of them aren't nice!"

"It's for the best, Mr. Horowitz, I assure you. But don't worry, the interview will be carefully scripted and blunder-proof."

She stood up and passed him a large manila envelop.

"What's this?" Eugene asked, waving a hand at the envelope she had just placed on his desk.

Lila tucked her brown tresses behind her ears and smirked, "The truth. And lots of it."

Eugene eyed the heavy envelope, it was labelled on the outside with one simple word, 'Rhonda'. He started to open it, pulling out some photographs. He stopped and stared in disbelief at Ms. Lila Sawyer.

"How did you get these?"

She batted her eyelashes innocently, "A little research."

For the first time since Rhonda's death, Eugene cracked into a genuine smile, "You really are a lifesaver Lila. Consider this a raise!"

Lila beamed, "I really am only doing my job, Mr. Horowitz, but I humbly thank you for your appreciation."

Lila felt her phone ring, "Excuse me a minute, Mr. Horowitz."

She trotted through Eugene's glass penthouse office to a secluded hallway. She smiled widely when she answered and heard a familiar voice on the other line.

"Ready to pop the biggest news story of the year?"

"Baby I'm all ears."