Page 16 of Breaking Rules

“Of course,” Sam said. “We’ll be in touch if we have any other questions.”

He and Jo turned to leave, Harry shuffling out behind them.

“Well, that was a bust,” Jo muttered as they stepped outside. “No one seems to know anything useful about what Alex was up to yesterday.”

“Or no one wants to say,” Sam said grimly. “We’ll keep digging.”

He glanced back through the glass door at Amelia, who had already returned her attention to her computer screen, fingers clicking rapidly across the keyboard.

Sam, Jo, and Harry continued down Main Street, away from Marnie’s campaign headquarters.

“Hey!” a voice called from the narrow alley between the hardware store and the bakery. “Chief Mason!”

Sam turned to see a young woman peering out from the alley. She was one of the campaign staff, though he couldn’t recall her name at the moment.

“I’m glad I caught you,” she said, glancing around furtively. “Can we talk for a minute?”

Sam exchanged a look with Jo, and they changed course, heading for the alley. Harry made to follow, but Sam held up a hand.

“Let’s speak to her alone first,” he said.

Harry harrumphed but stayed put on the sidewalk.

In the semidarkness of the alley, the young woman wrung her hands nervously. “I’m Monica, by the way. I didn’t want to say anything back there, but I saw Alex yesterday evening.”

“Where?” Jo asked intently.

“Here, at the office,” Monica said. “I had to come back to finish up some work. I was just leaving when I heard voices coming from Marnie’s office.”

“Alex and Marnie?” Sam clarified.

Monica nodded. “They were arguing about something. I couldn’t make out details, but it was definitely heated.”

“What time was this?” asked Jo.

“Around seven thirty,” Monica said. “I didn’t want to interrupt, so I just slipped out quietly. I felt weird about it after, you know, hearing them fight like that.”

Sam studied her face. She seemed genuinely uneasy recalling the incident. “Did you hear any of what they said specifically?”

Monica shook her head. “Just raised voices. Sorry I don’t have more details.”

“Did Alex argue with anyone else recently that you know of?” Sam asked.

Monica shook her head. “Not that I ever witnessed.”

“What about Amelia?” Sam said. “They didn’t have any conflicts?”

“No, not really,” Monica replied. “I mean, they disagreed on campaign strategy sometimes, but nothing major.”

Sam nodded. “I noticed Amelia’s already taken over Alex’s desk as campaign manager.”

“Yeah, she got promoted quick,” Monica said uneasily. “I know it sounds awful, but someone has to manage the campaign, and Amelia was eager to step in.”

Monica glanced behind her nervously. Sam realized he probably couldn’t keep her much longer without drawing suspicion.

“Did Amelia know she was next in line for Alex’s job?” he asked.

“Oh yeah, everyone knew that,” Monica said hurriedly. “Anyway, I should get back. Let me know if you need anything else.”

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