Women Who Stay, 19
Chapter 1 ... Chapter 18
______________
I'm not ashamed to admit my first reaction to the headline was relief. Our contract had indeed included certain fail-safes -- Janie could have retracted her permission at any time, leaving me gagged forever. Even if Sheila was right, and I was just the last lucky reporter she'd been toying with, I found myself in an enviable position. Upon her death, I had every permission to proceed with her story in whatever way I saw fit. I was 100% certain that nothing she'd told me could be tripped up by a publishing house's rigorous fact-checking. At most, I'd have to quote her directly.