Page 15 of Breaking Rules

“Harry, I’m not sure you should investigate with us.” Sam looked at Harry as they left the police station and headed down Main Street. Marnie’s campaign headquarters was just a few blocks away, so it made sense to walk.

“I know. I’m just going to visit my girl Marnie.” Harry smiled at Sam, and then his face scrunched up, and he doubled over in a fit of sneezing. “Ugh, that smoke,” Harry sputtered, doubling over in a fit of coughing as the door to the cigar bar swung open.

Sam patted Harry firmly on the back. “You okay there?”

Jo looked on, concern in her eyes. “Deep breaths, Mr. Woolsten.”

Lucy whined softly, nudging Harry’s leg with her nose.

Sam glanced through the haze of smoke wafting from the open doorway. He caught sight of Victor Sorrentino, the Convale public liaison, sitting at a table near the window, smoke wafting out of an ashtray in front of him. Victor gave Sam a curt nod, which Sam returned before the door swung closed again. Sam didn’t much like Victor. He didn’t trust the guy, and he was wary of Convale, the big energy company that loomed at the edge of town, but it was still smart to maintain a cordial relationship.

Harry waved a hand, still coughing slightly. “I’m fine, I’m fine. I’m allergic to cigar smoke. Triggers my asthma.” He took a few more breaths. “Whew. Anyway, as I was saying, Marnie’s got some great ideas for supporting our seniors here in White Rock. You know she wants to start a community garden at the rec center? And fund more activities and classes at the senior center downtown. She’d make a fine mayor.”

Sam nodded absentmindedly as they continued down Main Street.

“Have you decided who you’ll endorse yet?” Harry pressed. “Marnie could really use the support of the chief of police.”

“I’m still weighing my options,” Sam replied. “The election’s not for a few more months anyway.”

“True, true,” Harry conceded. “But if you wait too long, Marnie might not need you anymore!” He let out a chuckle that turned into more coughing.

Jo gave Sam a knowing look. They both knew Sam had no intention of endorsing Marnie, but neither wanted to burst Harry’s bubble.

“We’ll see, Harry,” Sam said diplomatically as Marnie’s campaign office came into view. “We’ll see.”

“Afternoon, folks,” Amelia said as Sam, Jo, and Harry entered Marnie’s campaign office. She was sitting at the main desk, the one that had belonged to Alex until yesterday. Apparently, she hadn’t wasted any time claiming Alex’s former position as her own. Her smile seemed a little less inviting today, and her eyes held a glint of wariness.

“Hello, Amelia,” Sam replied. “We were hoping to speak with Ms. Wilson about Alex’s death and the ongoing investigation.”

Amelia frowned slightly. “I’m afraid Marnie isn’t in the office currently. Was there something I could help with instead?”

“Well, we had a few questions for the staff,” Sam explained. “Trying to build a timeline of Alex’s last known movements and interactions.”

Harry piped up eagerly, “Say, where is Marnie anyway? She’s usually here this time of day.”

“She had a last-minute speaking engagement added to her schedule,” Amelia said briskly. “I’m sure she’ll want to be fully briefed when she returns.”

“Of course,” Sam said. “To start, we’d like to know if Alex was in the office as usual yesterday. And if anyone saw him or spoke to him later in the day or evening.”

The staffers glanced around at each other uneasily, but no one spoke up.

“Anyone?” Jo prompted. “Anything you can recall would be helpful.”

Finally, a nervous young man with glasses said, “Alex was here yesterday, at least in the morning. We have a staff meeting at ten a.m. every day, and he ran that as usual.”

An older woman with short gray hair chimed in, “That’s right, he was here. Poor boy. He seemed down after losing his grandfather recently, but I never thought... well, it’s just awful.” She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue.

“So no one saw or spoke to him after he left work?” Sam clarified.

Headshakes all around.

“Did he say where he was going after work yesterday?” Jo asked. “Any appointments, errands, plans?”

Again, no one seemed to have any useful information.

Sam surveyed the group. “If any of you do recall something that could help us determine Alex’s movements yesterday, please give me or Sergeant Harris a call.” He handed Amelia his card to pass around the office.

“We’ll do that,” Amelia said briskly, placing the card on the desk in front of her. “Now, if there’s nothing else, we should really get back to work. The election is coming up quickly, and we need to honor Alex by continuing the hard work he started.” Her no-nonsense tone left no room for argument.

---