Execution Tales Chapter 41 Revision 2
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41: Business Continues but Danger Appears
Over the next few weeks the pattern became a well-practised routine until every single one of the original students bodies were rotting away at the bottom of Lake Michigan.
They were constantly replaced by new girls so that the student body always remained at twelve in total.
When students asked how the “Graduates” were faring the stock answer was very well. However the agreement with the former students was that they would make no attempt to contact friends amongst the current study body until they too had graduated. At that point contact details for any Graduates the girls leaving the College would be given to them. The reason given was to avoid distracting the girls from their studies
One morning a reporter from the Chicago Tribune showed up & was shown into Cheryl’s office. Her name was Penny Smithson & she was an attractive 27 years old blonde. She was one of the first female journalists taken on by the paper with the intention of increasing its appeal to women readers
Penny sat down she said, “Thank you for seeing me Miss Barnes”. Cheryl smiled & replied “Please call me Cheryl”. Penny replied, “Okay Cheryl. The reason I’m here is that we would like to do a story telling our readers of the wonderful work you are doing here. Where you locate the girls, how you train them & where they end up after they leave”
April & Beth who were also at the meeting listened impassively but April could sense potential danger. She said “Miss Smithson have you heard of the New York Refuge which was run by Jane & Josiah Edwards. My name is April by the way & this is Beth. Do you mind if we call you Jenny?”
Jenny replied, “Not at all. Of course I’ve heard of the Refuge & the Edwards. Their crimes scandalised the entire country”
April continued, “Well Beth & I are two of the few surviving Refuge girls that Jane & Josiah Edwards didn’t manage to murder. When Cheryl asked us to help set up & run this College we were honoured & delighted as we saw it as an opportunity to honour our friends”.
Jenny sat back in her chair & said “Wow! That is amazing. This will make the front page!”.
Cheryl leaned forward, “The thing is Jenny we would much rather it didn’t. We have no problem showing you how we select girls & train them. However after they leave, that is a different matter. Some of our students come from very difficult & troubled backgrounds that they want to leave behind. If you do a big spread on how former students are doing it might let for example a drunken & abusive father know where their daughter was & enable them to start pestering them”.
Jenny said thoughtfully, “ I hadn’t thought of that & it is a fair point. Suppose we make the interviews with your former students anonymous?”.
Cheryl shook her head, “Sorry Jenny the answer is no. For the sake of our girls we can’t take the risk”.
Feeling that it would be easier to control the situation if they co-operated the killers agreed on the condition that no former students be featured in the newspaper.
Over the next two weeks Penny interviewed Cheryl, April, Beth & some of the current students. She asked April & Beth about their experiences in New York & how they had managed to put those horrors behind them.
Her editor Ross McEwan was very pleased with her article but he said, “Look Penny this is great positive stuff but to me it feels incomplete. We really need to talk to former College students about how they are getting on”.
Penny sighed & said, “I totally agree boss. But I fully respect the College’s reasons for not enabling us to do that”.
The editor thought for a moment & said. “What I think you should do Penny is the next time a girl leaves the College you follow her & offer to interview her
anonymously”
Penny nodded & said “Will do”.
Over the next few weeks the pattern became a well-practised routine until every single one of the original students bodies were rotting away at the bottom of Lake Michigan.
They were constantly replaced by new girls so that the student body always remained at twelve in total.
When students asked how the “Graduates” were faring the stock answer was very well. However the agreement with the former students was that they would make no attempt to contact friends amongst the current study body until they too had graduated. At that point contact details for any Graduates the girls leaving the College would be given to them. The reason given was to avoid distracting the girls from their studies
One morning a reporter from the Chicago Tribune showed up & was shown into Cheryl’s office. Her name was Penny Smithson & she was an attractive 27 years old blonde. She was one of the first female journalists taken on by the paper with the intention of increasing its appeal to women readers
Penny sat down she said, “Thank you for seeing me Miss Barnes”. Cheryl smiled & replied “Please call me Cheryl”. Penny replied, “Okay Cheryl. The reason I’m here is that we would like to do a story telling our readers of the wonderful work you are doing here. Where you locate the girls, how you train them & where they end up after they leave”
April & Beth who were also at the meeting listened impassively but April could sense potential danger. She said “Miss Smithson have you heard of the New York Refuge which was run by Jane & Josiah Edwards. My name is April by the way & this is Beth. Do you mind if we call you Jenny?”
Jenny replied, “Not at all. Of course I’ve heard of the Refuge & the Edwards. Their crimes scandalised the entire country”
April continued, “Well Beth & I are two of the few surviving Refuge girls that Jane & Josiah Edwards didn’t manage to murder. When Cheryl asked us to help set up & run this College we were honoured & delighted as we saw it as an opportunity to honour our friends”.
Jenny sat back in her chair & said “Wow! That is amazing. This will make the front page!”.
Cheryl leaned forward, “The thing is Jenny we would much rather it didn’t. We have no problem showing you how we select girls & train them. However after they leave, that is a different matter. Some of our students come from very difficult & troubled backgrounds that they want to leave behind. If you do a big spread on how former students are doing it might let for example a drunken & abusive father know where their daughter was & enable them to start pestering them”.
Jenny said thoughtfully, “ I hadn’t thought of that & it is a fair point. Suppose we make the interviews with your former students anonymous?”.
Cheryl shook her head, “Sorry Jenny the answer is no. For the sake of our girls we can’t take the risk”.
Feeling that it would be easier to control the situation if they co-operated the killers agreed on the condition that no former students be featured in the newspaper.
Over the next two weeks Penny interviewed Cheryl, April, Beth & some of the current students. She asked April & Beth about their experiences in New York & how they had managed to put those horrors behind them.
Her editor Ross McEwan was very pleased with her article but he said, “Look Penny this is great positive stuff but to me it feels incomplete. We really need to talk to former College students about how they are getting on”.
Penny sighed & said, “I totally agree boss. But I fully respect the College’s reasons for not enabling us to do that”.
The editor thought for a moment & said. “What I think you should do Penny is the next time a girl leaves the College you follow her & offer to interview her
anonymously”
Penny nodded & said “Will do”.
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Forum > Public / Stories > Execution Tales Chapter 41 Revision 2