Page 22 of Little Empty Promises

“I understand.”

“Do you?A woman is dead.We have a lot of eyes on us right now.People are concerned, afraid it might happen again if we aren’t quick to catch this guy.I’m sure a lot of people who live in the area are thinking if a woman was murdered at the local library, a woman could be murdered anywhere around here.I won’t allow Cordelia’s death to be turned into a political media circus.”

“I agree.All I want is for the murderer to be found and brought to justice so everyone can breathe again, go back to their normal lives where they’re not afraid to leave their houses.”

“You say all you want is for the killer to be brought to justice, but when all is said and done, I’m guessing you’ll want to take some credit, say you had a hand in it somehow, right?”

Benjamin sighed.“I believe you have me all wrong.”

“Oh, yeah?How so?”

“How much do you know about my background?”

“Not much.”

Foley may not have, but I’d been following Branson’s candidacy ever since he announced he was running.

“Your priorities if elected are to make housing more affordable and reduce carbon emissions, and the crime rate in the county,” I said.

“Well said,” Benjamin said.“Someone’s been doing their homework.”

“I like what you’ve had to say about crime in particular.The county has one of the highest crime rates in America.Residents here have a one in twenty-one chance of being targeted for violence or property crime.It needs to change.”

“I agree.”He shot me a wink.“Maybe I’ll get the chance to win your vote after all.”

“We’ll see.”

“I don’t mean to interrupt your conversation, but I have other appointments I need to get to today,” Foley said.

“Of course,” Benjamin said.“Like I said before, I don’t want to take up too much of your time.The reason I asked if you knew anything about my background is because I know what it’s like to have a loved one murdered.My mother was killed when I was eleven.They never caught the guy who did it.”

Foley leaned back, lacing his hands behind his head.“Oh, I didn’t know.”

I didn’t either.

“Did you grow up around here?”I asked.

He shook his head.“I’m from New Orleans.”

“What brought you to California?”

Foley shot me an irritated look like he wanted me to move things along.And while I wanted to respect his other appointments, I was enjoying the conversation with Benjamin a little more than I cared to admit.

“I went to college here, Stanford University.Guess I fell in love with the place.Been a resident of the state ever since.”

Ever the skeptic, Foley said, “Why do you want to be updated on the investigation, anyway?What is this need for involvement?”

“Let me start off by saying I understand your concern.It would be easy for you to assume I have an agenda to bolster my campaign if my name is associated with it.”

“Makes sense, doesn’t it?It sure seems to be Octavia’s agenda.Because she’s a woman and the victim is also a woman, I assume she thinks her involvement would be appealing to female voters.”

“Did she say as much when she came to see you?”I asked.

“Not in so many words.”

“So, she didn’t say it.You assumed it.”

Foley huffed an irritated, “My assumptions tend to be right.”

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