Tea and Sympathy

by Carol Cox

  Kate gave his shoulder a light swat. “Watch it, mister. If you start sneaking in extra helpings of pie, I’ll have to cut back on the baked goods you get at home.”

  “Not that!” Paul raised his hands in mock surrender, and a mournful expression spread across his face. He shook his head slowly. “It’s a sad day when a man has to make a choice like that.”

  “I’m sure it is,” Kate said, trying to hide her smile. “Now let’s get back to business. Who else attends the chamber meetings?”

  “Those are all the regulars.”

  “Just those three and Lawton, right?”

  Paul nodded. “Others show up from time to time like I do. I’ve seen Steve Smith and Eli Weston there a couple of times, and Evan Sheppard has stopped by once or twice when I was there, but those four are the only ones I can count on being there every time.”

  Kate added Steve Smith, the proprietor of Smith Street Gifts, and Eli Weston, who owned Weston’s Antiques to the list. Then she glanced up at Paul. “I don’t know Evan Sheppard. Who’s he?”

  “A retired engineer, I believe,” Paul said. “I’ve never really gotten a chance to visit with him. He didn’t say much during the meetings and left right after they were over.”

  Kate nodded and wrote Evan Sheppard’s name below Eli Weston’s. “Then the regular members are the focus of the next stage of the investigation.” She gazed at the computer screen, her mind sorting through the possibilities.

  “Is there anything else I can do for you now?”

  Kate snapped out of her reverie and looked back at Paul. “No, hon. You’ve done so much already.” She indicated the modem with a wave of her hand.

  The numbers on her bedside alarm clock caught her attention as she did so. “Goodness, it’s getting late. Don’t let me hold you up any longer. You’d better head on over to your office. I have a feeling you have plenty of catching up to do after spending so much time nursing me the past few days.”

  “Don’t you worry about that. Making sure you were okay has been worth it.” Paul kissed her cheek and walked across the room. He paused in the doorway. “Do you want me to call Renee and ask her to stay with you while I’m gone?”

  “No!” Kate said a bit too loudly, then clapped her hand over her mouth. “I mean, I think I’ll be able to get along by myself until you come back for lunch.”

  Paul’s eyes twinkled. “Message received and noted. Sounds to me like you’re definitely on the mend.”

  Kate heard the click of the front door when he left, followed by the sound of the doorknob rattling. She smiled. After Renee’s unannounced appearance the day before, Paul was apparently double-checking to make sure the door was locked. Good for him!

  KATE ADJUSTED THE ANGLE of her laptop screen and studied the list again. Fred Cowan, John Sharpe, and Clifton Beasley were the only people besides Lawton Briddle who attended the chamber of commerce meetings on a regular basis.

  Why would any of them—all known as fine, upstanding members of the community—stoop to bilking money from unsuspecting donors? Greed was always a powerful motive, but Kate couldn’t picture these men intentionally defrauding anyone in such a blatant way.

  Blatant. Kate felt as if a cartoon lightbulb had just appeared over her head. That was one of the things that troubled her about this situation. Whoever perpetrated the fraud had to have known that the whole scheme would come to light eventually, and probably sooner rather than later.

  If someone had set this strategy in motion as a get-rich-quick scheme, why hadn’t the culprit taken off with the money before now? Why wait until the scam had been discovered and the opportunity was lost to make off with the ill-gotten gains? It didn’t make sense.

  Unless...Kate sucked in her breath sharply. What if the scheme was supposed to be uncovered? What if it wasn’t a ploy to gain wealth after all, but a plot to discredit and destroy someone?

  Kate’s heart raced. The scenario made sense, in a twisted sort of way. And if that was the case, Kate already knew the next question: had Lawton been the intended target all along, or had the swindler’s plans misfired somehow?

  With her pulse pounding, Kate glanced at the clock, then reached for the phone and punched in the number of the Copper Mill Public Library.

  Chapter Six

  How are you feeling today?” Livvy asked in her cheerful voice.

  “To be honest, I’ll be glad when no one feels the need to ask me that question anymore.” Kate winced at the note of complaint in her voice and hastened to add, “But I don’t mean any offense. I do appreciate your concern.”

  “None taken.” Livvy’s soft laugh put Kate’s concerns to rest. “I’m sure you’re tired of being asked whether you’re still sick.”

  “Sick and tired of it,” Kate quipped. “Is this a good time to talk? I thought this would be close to your morning break.”

  “This is as good a time as any,” Livvy said. “I’m in my office and the door is closed, so we can visit without worrying about being overheard. What’s on your mind?”

  “I have a couple of questions for you, but”—Kate blew out a sigh of frustration—“more than anything, I need some contact with the outside world. I’m sitting here fidgeting and wishing I could be out checking into things on my own. Pathetic, isn’t it?”

  “Not at all. I’d be ready to climb the walls if I’d been cooped up for days on end too.”

  “Spoken like a loyal friend,” Kate said appreciatively. “And I really shouldn’t complain.” She went on to describe how Paul had set up a temporary high-speed Internet connection.

  “What a guy,” Livvy said when Kate had finished. “And now that I know you’re traveling in the high-speed lane these days, I have a suggestion.”

  Kate moaned at the lame joke. “Okay, what is it?”

  “I was planning to go through the back issues of the Chronicle and make copies for you to look over. But since you can access the Internet from home, why don’t you look them up online?”

  Kate’s eyes widened. “That’s right. I could do that from here now, couldn’t I?”

  “Absolutely. Not that I don’t want to help, but I’d have to squeeze it in a few minutes at a time. This way you won’t have to wait for me to get around to it; plus it’ll give you something to do. Does that sound like a plan?”

  “It’s a great idea! I’m more than ready to get back in the action. But before I get started, do you have time for me to bounce a couple of ideas around with you?”

  “Fire away.”

  Kate could picture Livvy leaning back in her office chair, eyes alight with curiosity. “The more I think about this whole situation, the less it makes sense. The money was supposedly sent to the chamber, not to Lawton personally.”

  “That’s a good point,” Livvy said. “Are you saying you think someone was out to get the chamber as a whole?”

  “It’s a possibility I have to consider, especially since all the donations were still sitting there in that account untouched. Wouldn’t you expect someone greedy enough to launch a scheme like this to siphon off at least part of his ill-gotten gains from time to time?”

  “Yes,” Livvy said slowly, “I would. That makes a lot of sense. So what else did you want to ask me?”

  “I need to find out everything I can about the active chamber members. I know them all of course, but I need to dig deeper.” Kate let out an exasperated sigh. “It’s so frustrating! I’m sure I must have had something written in my notebook, but now that it’s gone missing, I have no way of checking back to see what I’ve already done.”

  “On top of everything else, that must be driving you crazy,” Livvy sympathized. “What do you need from me?”

  “Anything you can tell me about Fred Cowan, John Sharpe, and Clifton Beasley.”

  Livvy’s low whistle sounded clearly over the phone line. “Wow. Do you think the three of them were all in on it together?”

  “Whoa, I’m not looking at them as suspects. Not yet, anyway. I’m wondering if someo
ne held a grudge against any or all of them, and if so, why.”

  “So you want more than just the surface stuff, right?”

  “That’s it. I know their names and what they do. But I need to go deeper than that.”

  “More like a background check?”

  “Exactly. Can you come up with something along that line for me? I know I have the Internet at my fingertips here at home now, but you’re the research queen. And you’ve lived here all your life. You might think of some connection from the past that would totally escape me.”

  “Sure, I’ll be glad to do a little digging. And I’ll let you know right away if I turn up anything that looks like it might be important. Is there anything else?”

  Kate picked at the edge of the blanket with her free hand. “Just one more thing. Is there anything I ought to know about Lawton Briddle? Something from the past that I wouldn’t have heard about?”

  The silence stretched out. Livvy’s voice sounded carefully neutral when she finally spoke. “Have you changed your mind about him being innocent?”

  “No,” Kate said slowly, “but I have to be thorough. I think he’s innocent, but I don’t know. And until we can see the whole truth, I have to look at every possibility...even if I don’t like it.”

  “That makes sense. So what do you want to know?”

  Kate took a moment to get her thoughts in order. “I’ve had enough dealings with Lawton to know that he enjoys being in charge.”

  Livvy chuckled. “That’s Lawton in a nutshell. And he definitely doesn’t enjoy being crossed or having his authority questioned. You know how he blusters when he doesn’t get his own way.”

  “I’ve seen that,” Kate admitted. “More than once.” Lawton, when thwarted, tended to get red in the face and carry on in a way that reminded Kate of a spoiled child.

  “What about public opinion regarding Lawton? Paul and I are still relative newcomers, but you grew up here. You know the way the town thinks.”

  “That’s an interesting question,” Livvy said. “He’s been in office for so long that he’s become something of a fixture in people’s minds. They’re so used to him being the mayor that he’s just part of the way things are.”

  “No political enemies?”

  “I can’t think of anyone I’d classify in that category. Sometimes he’s been unopposed in an election, but several times someone has run against him, usually on a platform of wanting to bring Copper Mill into the twenty-first century and do more to promote the town.”

  “From what I’ve seen, that hasn’t exactly been Lawton’s number one priority.”

  Livvy snickered. “You’ve got that right. But even so, the vote always comes out the same in the end, and Lawton continues on as the mayor.”

  “So who has run against him and lost? Do you remember their names off the top of your head?”

  “I can think of a couple right off, but they won’t do you any good. Bill Jenkins lost the mayoral race a number of years ago, but he passed away shortly before you and Paul moved to Copper Mill. And then there was Randy Cliburn. He was pretty upset when he didn’t win the election, but he and his wife moved to Colorado about five years ago to be nearer to their daughter. Neither of them would qualify as prime suspects.”

  “No, they wouldn’t.” Kate narrowed her eyes and thought some more. “Has there ever been any suggestion of collusion or dirty politics?”

  “No.” Livvy didn’t hesitate. “I’ve never heard of anything along that line.”

  Kate nodded, then realized Livvy couldn’t see her. “That doesn’t surprise me. Lawton might be inclined to throw his weight around, but I honestly can’t see him as the center of a corrupt political machine.”

  “The Boss Tweed of Copper Mill?” Livvy giggled. “No, I can’t either. But how well can any person ever know another? There may be depths to Lawton—or any of the chamber members—that none of us ever suspected.”

  That was true enough. Kate pictured each of the four men in her mind. None of them seemed like the type to come up with an underhanded scheme like this. But Livvy was right; much of what people knew about each other came from observation. What dark secrets might lie hidden beneath the surface?

  “Are you still there?” Livvy’s soft voice asked.

  “I’m here. Just deep in thought.” Kate glanced at the clock. “I’d better let you get back to work. Thanks so much, Liv. For everything.”

  She set the handset back on the charger. Talking to Livvy had sparked a whole new train of thought. Livvy had jumped to the conclusion that Kate was looking at the chamber members as suspects rather than victims. Had that been a leap in logic or Livvy’s intuition coming into play?

  Kate had wondered why someone might have it in for one of the men on her list. But what if Livvy’s assumption had been right on target? Could one of them—or all three of them together—have set the mayor up to take the fall?

  But why? People didn’t set out to harm others without a reason, and in this case, it would have to be a pretty substantial one.

  Maybe the question she needed to ask was which one of them would want to hurt Lawton Briddle in such a public and humiliating way? And which one of them would be capable of coming up with such a devious plan in the first place?

  Chapter Seven

  Kate considered the men one at a time. She knew John Sharpe as a friendly man with the people skills he needed to succeed as an insurance agent. As a pharmacist, Fred Cowan must have an orderly, analytical mind. And both men would need a good head for business. Did that fit the profile of a person who could commit a crime on this scale?

  Clifton Beasley...Kate pictured the man in her mind and shook her head. She simply couldn’t conceive of Clifton, who spent his days lounging in one of the rockers in front of Sam Gorman’s Mercantile, concocting a crafty ploy like that. But what if Clifton harbored some secret grudge against the mayor and had talked John and Fred into helping him take revenge?

  The thought sickened Kate. These were her neighbors, people she and Paul saw around town and interacted with on a regular basis. How could she suspect any of them of doing such a heartless thing?

  But someone had solicited those donations in the name of the Copper Mill Chamber of Commerce. And that person’s identity needed to be discovered and brought to light.

  Feeling the need to move around a bit, Kate eased herself out of bed and changed into a fresh nightgown. She considered putting on some makeup to perk up her appearance but settled for fluffing her hair into something closer to its usual style.

  Returning to the bed, she took time to straighten the sheets and plump up the pillows before she climbed back in. Tomorrow she would be up to sitting at the dining room table to do her research. In between sessions on her laptop, she could rest on the couch.

  Kate had to laugh at herself. Who would have thought she would be so excited about a simple thing like moving to the living room? But it was true. The prospect dangled before her like a carrot before a hungry horse. She could hardly wait!

  But for now, back to the mystery. Kate balanced the laptop on her knees and waited until the Internet connection had been established. Then she typed in the address of the Web site for the Copper Mill Chronicle. After perusing the choices available on the site’s menu, she clicked on a button that brought up the search page for the newspaper’s archives. Kate thought for a few moments, then entered “Chamber of Commerce fraud” and waited to see what happened.

  Seconds later, a list of a dozen articles appeared on the screen. Kate scrolled down to the earliest entries and started reading.

  The Chronicle has learned that someone allegedly sent out a letter to prospective donors purporting to be from the Copper Mill Chamber of Commerce, asking for contributions to build a clinic in the Mexican village of Chacotepec.

  The letter stated that checks should be sent directly to an account in a Pine Ridge bank, which had been opened by Mayor Lawton Briddle. But the chamber declares it never sent out any such solicitation
.

  Kate sighed and moved on to the next article. Written the following week, it rehashed most of the previous statements, adding only a bit of new information at the end:

  Recipients of the letter tell the Chronicle that the solicitation was written in appealing terms, and that the spurious fund-raising effort went viral. Contributions flowed in from all over the South before one of the donors decided to check with the chamber directly for an update on the status of the project, and the resulting furor erupted.

  Mayor Lawton Briddle added his voice to the outcry with a demand for law-enforcement officials to move swiftly to identify the perpetrators of this crime.

  The article included a photo of Lawton looking directly at the camera. Kate had no trouble imagining his voice ringing through the room.

  She closed the cover of her laptop and rubbed her eyes. No wonder the community had been up in arms. In this age of instant information, news of the scandal would spread far and wide, tarnishing Copper Mill’s reputation in the public eye.

  The one hope the townspeople had of recovering their good name was to find the culprit quickly and see him or her brought to justice, sending a clear message to the world that Copper Mill did not tolerate corruption. That explained the community uproar and the push to identify the culprit. But in the earliest articles, the one spearheading the charge to root out the villain was none other than Lawton Briddle. Would a guilty man be so quick to sic the hounds of the law upon himself?

  Maybe. A cunning man might use such a ruse as a red herring to draw attention away from himself and cast suspicion in a completely different direction. But was Lawton wily enough to come up with a strategy like that?

  It was hard to shake her previous picture of the mayor as a blustering politician and replace it with the image of a conniving schemer. According to Livvy, the community was united in seeing Lawton as a man who insisted on having things his way, but there had been no undercurrents of gossip about him having a criminal bent.

  And yet everyone had been willing to believe the accusations that he had been involved in unlawful activity up to his neck. Was that the result of some underlying resentment against Lawton’s heavy-handed way of doing things, or did it point to something much more serious?