Murder in Lancashire

by Jane T O'Brien

  “Don't you dare change anything, you're perfect the way you are, besides, I never thought you were the professor's lover.”

  “No, you thought I was his murderer.”

  Fletch looked sheepishly at Samantha and changed the subject.

  “I’ll stay with you tonight in case one of the more aggressive reporters stakes out your apartment.”

  “I'd like that, but it’s not necessary, I told them I barely knew the mayor.”

  “Some of those guys hope to uncover a scandal. Mayor Delaney had a reputation with beautiful young women.”

  “That reminds me, I hope Megan Fairbanks is all right, I'm worried about that boyfriend of hers. She gave me her phone number; I'll call her in the morning.”

  “I had him spotted for a bully when he swaggered through the theater doors. She wouldn't be the first nice girl to become involved with his type.”

  For the first time since they had become a couple, Megan Fairbanks was afraid of Jimmy. She couldn't make him understand that the evening with her boss was all business.

  “Jimmy, I swear Mayor Delaney didn't put a move on me, he was a total gentleman. I was doing my job; I didn't want to go to that musical tonight any more than you wanted me to.”

  “Did you like being there.”

  “Oh yes, Jimmy, I've seen nothing like it, it was a fantastic story and the music was beautiful, I had a terrific time.”

  “I knew it,” he said as he raised his fist toward her but stopped himself.

  Megan told Samantha Degan that Jimmy wouldn't hurt her, now she wasn't so sure. Perhaps he followed her, he said he only had one beer; was that because he was in the theater instead of at home? Detective Fletcher said there was a side entrance where the killer could have entered. Jimmy could open a locked door, he'd done it in the past, but his criminal days were over. Was Jimmy capable of committing murder? Was she in love with a killer? Were her feelings love or the need to reform him?

  Chapter Three

  “When will you break down and marry me?” Fletch asked while he and Samantha were eating breakfast the next morning.

  “We've only known each other a few months. Marriage is a lifetime commitment, we have to be sure it's what we want,” answered Samantha.

  “I'm sure I love you and always will, Samantha. I spend more nights here than I do in my apartment; think of all the money we'd save on rent if we were married.”

  Samantha had no doubt she and Fletch were meant to be together, she wanted to enjoy the courtship part of their relationship. Between her studies and part-time jobs, there wasn't time for a social life while she attended the university.

  “Let's talk about this tonight. You have a crime to solve and I need to get to work. I've neglected my writing lately and have thought about hiring an assistant.”

  “Wonderful idea, you will have more time to spend with me,” Fletch said as he nuzzled her neck.

  “I can't think when you do that, Detective.”

  “Good, for what I have in mind, thinking isn't required.”

  “Hold that thought, now, get out of here before I get further behind than I already am.”

  Reluctantly, he kissed her goodbye and was out the door.

  Samantha poured herself another cup of coffee and sat down at her desk in the living room. This place is too small for two people. It would be nice to have a bigger apartment and my own office. Even better would be a little house with a white picket fence. Not too little, we'll need the room when the babies come along. It’s time to plan a wedding, I don't want Fletch to tire of waiting while I decide.

  The stack of correspondence and invitations to speak at various functions was growing taller, the memoirs of her former employer had brought a notoriety she never expected. Professor Stonehill was a well-known figure at the university and the community of Lancashire. In the short time Samantha worked for him, she listened and loved his storytelling. She learned more about the man in the few short months before his death than most people know about another person in a lifetime.

  He was a fascinating and well-loved figure. It was a surprise to Samantha that his stories were easy to recite and received so well by an audience.

  The note with Megan Fairbanks's phone number was on her desk. She looked for a reason to call the girl because of her concern about the boyfriend's obvious anger. Megan was a receptionist at Mayor Delaney's office and might now be out of a job, Samantha had the perfect excuse to call her. She would offer her a job as her assistant and free up time for Samantha to do what she loved, writing her mysteries.

  Megan arrived at the mayor's office on time, although she’d had little sleep the night before. Cindy Matthews, the mayor's executive assistant, greeted Megan with tears streaming down her cheeks.

  “Megan, you were there when it happened, I can't believe the mayor is gone. It must have been horrible for you, you didn't have to come to work today but I'm glad you did. The phones haven't stopped ringing and the reporters are swarming in the lobby, do you think you are up to facing them this morning?”

  “I think so, I'm sure they won't recognize me as the one sitting next to Mayor Delaney when it happened. They didn't know I was there.”

  Megan walked through the inner office door to the reception area.

  “It's her!” shouted one reporter

  They bombarded her with questions:

  “How long were you having an affair with the mayor?”

  “Were you and Samantha Degan rivals for the mayor's attention?”

  “Does Mrs. Delaney know about your relationship with her husband?”

  Megan stood motionless, unable to move, the questions so stunned her. Andy, the security guard, did his best to move the reporters and photographers back but there were too many for the slight young man to control.

  Cindy heard the commotion and stepped to the front lobby pulling Megan back into the office. She closed the door behind them.

  Detective Fletcher and his partner, Robin Wells walked into the building.

  “Fellas, go easy on the girl, she is an innocent bystander in this.”

  “Fletch, did you see this picture in The Globe this morning? It looks like she was hardly innocent where Mayor Delaney was concerned.”

  Fletch looked at the newspaper and saw a picture of the mayor with his arm around Megan Fairbanks. Megan was smiling, and the mayor looked at her in adoration.

  “Fellas, you know the mayor liked to have young women around him. This girl is an employee who was doing her job last night. There is nothing in this photo suggesting a relationship between them.”

  “Why are you here, Fletch? Who do you and Robin suspect of murder?”

  “Robin and I are conducting routine interviews with anyone who knew Mayor Delaney. We will report our findings to Chief Williams. He has scheduled a news conference for two o'clock this afternoon, you will be informed of any developments we can divulge in the case.”

  “We're waiting to interview Mayor Delaney's replacement, Forrest Wakefield. Is he a suspect?”

  “Let us get through and I'll see what I can find out, I know you fellas are doing your job, but so am I, and that means keeping order here.”

  The reporters let Fletch and Robin pass, Andy unlocked the door for them and they walked into the office.

  Megan was crying, it was obvious the events of last night and this morning had caught up with her. Cindy had her arm around the girl trying to calm her.

  “Jimmy will be furious when he sees that,” she said looking at the picture published on the front page of The Globe.

  “Hello, Megan.”

  “Hello Detective Fletcher, are you here to question me again?”

  “Not only you, Megan, we're here to question everyone.”

  He introduced himself and Detective Wells to Cindy. “What can I do to help?” Cindy asked.

  “The biggest help now is for the acting mayor to talk to the reporters out there, is Mr. Wakefield here?”

  “He's here, he's having his h
air styled now to make himself look younger for the cameras,” Cindy couldn't hold back a slight chuckle.

  “He won't mind talking to us while he's being styled,” said Robin, “we won't be taking any pictures.”

  Cindy walked with them down the hallway to the office of the acting mayor.

  “He's made himself comfortable,” Fletch whispered to Robin.

  “Acting Mayor Wakefield, I'm sorry to interrupt, may I introduce you to Detective Fletcher and Detective Wells? They are here to ask you questions and promise not to take any photographs.”

  Forrest Wakefield was a short, pudgy sixty-three-year-old. His thick gray hair was his best feature. He glanced at the detectives and smiled.

  “I hope you don't think I'm vain, I want to look good in the newspapers. Richard was photogenic without trying, I'm afraid I must put a little more effort into looking presentable.

  “I'm sure you will ask me where I was last evening when Mayor Delaney was so viciously gunned down. It was my wife's birthday; we were out to dinner with friends. We were at Chung Lee's Chinese restaurant from seven-thirty until after ten o'clock.”

  “I'm surprised you weren't at the theater last night for Mrs. Delaney's performance,” said Robin.

  “Oh, my dear, you don't understand. My dear wife, Margaret, and Sophia Delaney do not get along. I have stayed married for thirty-five years because I don't ask my bride to do anything she doesn't want to do. Celebrating her birthday watching that woman on stage, would not be something she would want to do.”

  “What were your feelings toward Mayor Delaney?” Fletch asked.

  “Let me say, he had the looks to be mayor, however, I have the brains. I'm sorry the lad is dead although I am happy to represent our fair city as it should be represented. Now, please excuse me, I have a press conference to give. My first as acting mayor,” he put on his somber face to meet the reporters.

  Wanda Anderson, Forrest's assistant, watched smiling when her boss walked out of his office and through the doors to the conference room where the reporters were waiting for him to speak.

  “Ms. Anderson,” said Robin, “Detective Fletcher and I would like to ask you some questions about Mayor Delaney.”

  “I'll be happy to answer questions. I must admit, I believe Richard Delaney was overrated. Forrest Wakefield was the true mayor of Lancashire and now he will get the credit he deserves.”

  “How long have you worked for Mr. Wakefield?”

  “I began working for Forrest twenty-two years ago. He had an accounting firm in town. He had a staff of ten people and I was the office manager. I met Eloise Kittredge at a political rally, Richard hired her as his campaign manager five years ago. She is the one who put the idea into my head that Forrest would be a good fit as deputy mayor. Forrest was reluctant to leave the accounting firm in the hands of his brother-in-law but the more he thought about it, the more interested he became. Eloise and I set up a meeting with Forrest and Richard. Richard could see immediately Forrest was the man who would make him look good. They came to an agreement that day.

  “It was a good relationship until about six months ago when Richard's real ambition became clear. He planned to run for governor and eventually, President of the United States. Forrest was certain he would be the next lieutenant governor, but Richard had other ideas. He told Forrest he wanted a young administration and Forrest wouldn't fit in with his plan.

  “I knew Forrest was crushed, although he hid his disappointment well. He loved government work and now he was being cast aside because of his age.”

  “Mr. Wakefield must have been angry with the mayor,” said Fletch.

  “He was more hurt than angry. The sad thing is, Richard would have easily won the election and without Forrest guiding him, his governorship would have been a disaster for our state.”

  “You don't have a high opinion of Richard Delaney.”

  “No, I don't. Look around you Detective, excluding me and the few men in these offices, all you see are pretty, young women. Richard was always seen with one of the staff dangling from his arm. It was shameful, his wife never accompanied him to social functions and didn't seem to mind he was flaunting his bevy of blondes, as Forrest called them. The man was a womanizer if you ask me.”

  “Thank you, Ms. Anderson, if you think of anything that will be helpful in solving this case, please call me.” Fletch handed her his card.

  They walked out of the office and Robin whispered.

  “I would say Ms. Wanda Anderson is in love with her boss.”

  “I'd have to agree; it wouldn't surprise me if Wanda eliminated the ambitious Mayor Delaney herself. It seems to have worked out well for Acting Mayor Wakefield.”

  “We should have asked where Ms. Anderson was last night, although she was probably home with her cats.”

  “How do you know she has cats?”

  “Because I know you are allergic to cat hair and your eyes are red and puffy. Didn't you see the cat hair all over her sweater?”

  “You make a good detective, partner,” he said as he rubbed his eyes.

  “Here, take one of these.”

  Robin pulled an antihistamine tablet out of her purse.

  “Who will take care of me when you go on maternity leave?”

  “That might be sooner than I planned; this pregnancy hasn't been as easy as the first two.”

  “This one must be a girl, girls are more difficult than boys.”

  “Detective Fletcher, you are such a chauvinist, I don't know why Samantha and I put up with you.”

  “Because I'm loveable, shall we pay a visit to the widow Delaney?”

  Chapter Four

  On her way home from a breakfast meeting with a woman's group at the Lutheran church, Samantha spotted a copy of The Globe outside the drugstore. She recognized Megan Fairbanks with Richard Delaney on the cover and looking like a couple. The photograph was suggestive with Richard's arm around Megan's waist. The first thought in Samantha's mind was Jimmy would see it and jump to the wrong conclusion.

  She had intended to call Megan and hurried home to look for the phone number she'd left on her desk.

  “Megan, this is Samantha Degan. We met last night at the theater.”

  “Hello Samantha,” she said tearfully.

  “Are you all right, Megan?”

  “I'm all right; Samantha, there was an awful picture of Mayor Delaney and me in the paper this morning. It wasn't like that, I don't remember him putting his arm around me. If Jimmy sees it, he will be so mad.”

  “Are you at work now?”

  “Yes, reporters were here earlier and wanted to know if I was the mayor's latest lover. Cindy told me I could go home but I don't know how I would explain my leaving work early to Jimmy.”

  “Would you like to come to my apartment? We can talk about the newspaper article and figure out how to explain it to Jimmy.”

  “Are you sure you don't mind? I would like to get out of here. Everyone is staring at me, I wish I'd never taken this job.”

  Samantha gave her directions to the apartment building and answered correspondence while waiting for Megan to arrive.

  “Megan, it's not the end of the world. Remember, I was sitting on the other side of Mayor Delaney and I know you did wrong. If it makes you feel better, the reporters at the hospital last night accused me of being the mayor's lover too.”

  “Well, that's dumb, why would you be interested in Mayor Delaney when you have that hunk, Detective Fletcher?”

  “He is a hunk, isn't he?” Samantha agreed, “Let's talk about you, is your family in Lancashire?”

  “No, I'm from Williamson. Jimmy wanted to move here a couple months ago; he was tired of the police following him around. He's had problems with the law a few times, but he was trying to stay out of trouble. My parents don't like Jimmy. I love him and wanted to come with him.”

  “You must have worked for the mayor's office shortly after you arrived.”

  “Yes, there aren't too many jobs out there.
Cindy, that's the mayor's executive assistant, told me I would advance quickly, so I accepted the receptionist job. I took business classes in high school and I was going to the community college until I moved here.”

  “I could use someone with clerical skills, although it would only be part-time.”

  “Oh, my goodness, I would love to work for you. I had a part-time job at the library in Williamson and read your book when it was first published, I read it twice, that's how much I liked it.”

  “If you think thirty hours will be enough, you're hired.”

  “I'm sure it will be enough. Jimmy likes me to be home early to fix his supper, so he will be happy about the hours.”

  “Where does Jimmy work?”

  “He works construction when they need him.”

  Samantha wondered how the young couple paid rent on an apartment and could eat with Jimmy only working when he was needed. Construction workers made a decent wage but if he didn't work, he made no money. The term drug dealer went through her mind. She'd have to see about getting a background check on Megan. She'd hired no one before and didn't think it through before offering the job. She liked Megan, and had good instincts about her, Jimmy was another story.

  Samantha's organizational skills made it easy for Megan to catch on to what was expected of her. She loved reading and especially mysteries and was happy to be working with a mystery writer.

  Jimmy called on her cell phone, “Where are you? I stopped by the mayor's office and they said you weren't there. Do you have a new boss? Is he dating you too, like the old one?”

  “Jimmy, I wasn't on a date with Mayor Delaney. I wish you would believe me. You met my new boss last night, Samantha Degan, the writer. Jimmy, I'm so excited; this will be a terrific job.”

  “I don't like it, you don't have to work at all, why are you doing this to me?”

  “Doing what, Jimmy? I like working, what would I do all day if I stayed home?”