"What the hell?" Broadrick said in the other room the next morning as I dressed for another day of crime fighting.

I yanked on the skinny jeans and did the button before taking a breath. They'd been my favorite pair since high school but lately were getting harder to get into each time.

"Vonnie Valentina Vines! What the hell is this?" Broadrick charged into the bedroom as I stuck my head out of the closet.

That didn't sound good.

It also didn't look good.

His face was a weird red color. I'd never seen it get that red... and puffy. In his hand he had a thin newspaper, and he shook it in front of him like he expected me to read it while he waved it around. But I didn't need to read it to know what had him riled.

"Oh, you saw it." I bit my lips closed.

His eyes widened, looking like they were seconds away from popping out of their sockets. "Oh, I saw it. The entire town saw it."

"Did Susan give me a good placement?"

He waved the paper harder. The crinkling sound became more of a rustle and then an outright flap. "You knew about this?"

Of course, I had prior knowledge. One didn't make it in the Pelican Bay paper and not know in advance. You had to be prepared so you could make sure to buy additional copies. I didn't realize she'd get me in the next edition-that warning would have been nice-but I wouldn't complain.

"Yeah, I asked her to do it for me."

Broadrick opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. He dropped his head back and squeezed his eyes shut. The paper sounds were the only indication his hands shook. Muscles in his arms flexed, and then he lowered his head again. "You asked her!"

I jumped at his volume. The yelling didn't match the calming thing he'd just done with his body, which caught me off guard.

"Is this some kind of punishment because you're still mad at me? Do you have a death wish?"

He sounded worse than my mother the time she caught me sneaking out to meet up with a group of friends after a football game. Geesh.

"Wow, dramatic much?" I asked, walking out of the closet. If he planned to continue yelling at me, we at least needed to be on equal playing fields. I didn't want to be stuck in the closet while he had enough space to move his hands around all angrily.

His eyes went all buggy again. "You want to explain it?"

Not really, but it seemed like if I didn't, he might die from a heart attack. Brain aneurysm. Something.

"I didn't know you even read the paper here." It was this tiny publication they put out with local information and mostly shoddy reporting techniques. Lots of editorials. It didn't seem like Broadrick's type of preferred reading.

He shook the paper again. "I didn't. The guys hand-delivered it to me this morning after they read it."

Hmmm. Ridge had someone reading the Pelican Bay paper? He was thorough. Never tell him I complimented him, though. I didn't like him spying on me and then tattling.

"It's no big deal. I ran into Susan - the town's chief reporter - made a declaration of intent, and put it out into the world. It's called manifesting my destiny, B." Obviously, he wasn't reading the new self-help section.

I asked Susan for an ad, and she said they had room in the next drop. I figured she stuck me in the classified section under the lost dogs or something. Since she hadn't asked for any cash-and I didn't have any-I decided not to worry about it. One declaration to the universe was as good as any other.

"Did she stick me in a bad section? Worse than lost dogs? Let me see it." I reached for the paper.

He shook his head and snorted, his nostrils getting all round and agitated. "Oh, she outdid herself."

Broadrick tossed the paper on the bed. It flopped open to the front page with a massive headline in thick, black lettering. I moved closer to read it.

Vonnie Vines Vows to Save the Day and Bring Killer to Justice.

I made the front page.

Wow!

My name was in the major headline.

Double wow.

They bolded it. That was rare.

Triple wow.

Underneath the main headline was a short half-page write-up about my career and how I'd vowed to bring the coach's killer to justice before anyone else. She didn't include a picture of me but detailed a pleasant history of my accomplishments.

I skimmed it quickly and promised to pick up a few more copies to give it a complete read-through later. When I didn't have Broadrick's prying eyes on me, sucking up the enjoyment of my first big headline.

Since it already happened and I couldn't take it back, there was no point in stressing about it. I'd rather enjoy the moment. I probably wouldn't get another headline until I caught the killer.

"Vonnie, this is like asking for them to come after you," Broadrick said, pointing at the paper as I forced myself not to skim it again.

If he caught me enjoying the notoriety, he might really lose it. In my defense, Susan didn't tell me she had room on the front page. Next time I'd ask for clarification.

"I didn't mean it like this, Broadrick. I just told the universe my plans."

"Susan told the entire city!"

"I'm sorry," I said and meant it. I didn't expect Susan to make my declaration so... declarative.

Broadrick dropped to the bed and put his hands on his knees. "How can I keep you safe when I will not be here soon?"

He sounded so put out by the idea it cut through my chest.

"Don't remind me." In a few days, he'd be gone, and I'd be left to worry whether I'd ever see him again. The thought made the front page less exciting.

He stood again with a jerk of his body. "What am I going to do about this?"

"There's really not much you can do. It's done now." No point in getting all worked up about something we couldn't change.

Dang. Look at me being all grown up about a situation. I deserved an iced coffee.

Broadrick shook his head and stared at my carpet. "Here I'm worried about NB being trouble for you, but it's you who needs a babysitter."

"Hey! That's rude." Now he was being mean for no reason.

He threw his hands out. "The truth hurts, Von."

Broadrick turned on a heel like he was in a military parade and stormed out of my bedroom. A few seconds later, the front door opened and then slammed shut.

Great. Now I had to add "calm down Broadrick" to my list of things to do. Like it wasn't already long enough.

At least one good thing came of it. My first big headline. I snatched the paper off the bed and folded it over nicely. I'd grab another one or two, but this one belonged in my scrapbook.

Hopefully, my mother didn't read hers this week because if she got a load of the front page, it'd mean a phone call. And not a pleasant one.