It was a fact that I already had a good story, but I was unhappy. I wanted to stay on the leading edge of it. I didn't want to have to rely on the FBI and other investigators to tell me what they felt like telling me. I wanted to investigate. I had written countless stories about murder investigations but each time I was always an outsider looking in.

This time I was inside and wanted to stay there. I was riding the front of the wave. I realized that my excitement must be the same as Sean felt when he was on a case. In the hunt, as he called it.

"You there, Jack?"

"What? Yeah, I was just thinking of something else."

"When can we do the story?"

"Depends. Tomorrow's Friday. Give me till tomorrow. I have this feeling about the foundation guy. But if I don't hear anything by mid-morning tomorrow I'll try the FBI.

I've got a name of a guy. If that doesn't get me anywhere I'll come back and write the story Saturday for Sunday."

Sunday was the biggest circulation day. I knew Glenn would want to go big with it on a Sunday.

"Well," he said, "even if we have to settle for that, what you've got is a bell of a lot. You've got a nationwide investigation of a serial killer of cops who's been operating with impunity for who knows how long., This "It's not that strong. Nothing is confirmed. Right now it's a two-state investigation into the possibility of a cop killer."

"It's still damn good. And once the FBI is in, it's nationwide. We'll have the New York Times, the Pos4 all of them following our ass."

Following my ass, I felt like saying but didn't. Glenn's words revealed the real behind most jo m.there wasn't much that was altruistic about it anymore. It wasn't about public service and the people's right to know. It was about competition, kicking ass and taking names, what paper had the story and which one was left behind. And which one got the Pulitzer at the end of the year. It was a dim view but after as many years as I had been at it, my view pretty much wasn't anything else but cynical Still, I'd be lying if I said I didn't savor the idea of busting out a national story and watching everybody follow. I just didn't like talking about it out loud like Glenn. And there was Sean, too. I was not losing sight of that. I wanted the man who did this to him. I wanted that more than anything.