Ellen watched as Lisa melted into the crowd. The last spark from her daughter’s vulgar dress winked out as the party closed in around her.
The girl is infuriating, thought Ellen. She twisted the heavy gold band that she still wore on her ring finger even years after her husband’s death. If only Ben were here to see what had become of Lisa. Maybe he’d know what to do. Everything Ellen had tried failed spectacularly. So much animosity persisted between them that a reasonable conversation seemed impossible.
As usual, Ellen was of two minds about Lisa. The dominant, where her ambition and drive reigned, wanted to free herself from all responsibility for Lisa’s fate. The girl was an adult now, after all. If she wanted to throw her life away, fine. It would be a relief to just let her go.
Even as Ellen willed it to be so, a small voice buried deep inside urged her to rush after Lisa and beg forgiveness for having thrown her father’s memory in her face. Instead, Ellen took a deep breath and pushed away all thoughts of her daughter. Tonight’s event was important. The election was only a few months away and she needed to be at her best. Lisa always brought out her worst.
She straightened her shoulders, forced a smile, and stepped forward to return to the party, almost colliding with Victor Smith.
“Ellen. Such a pleasant surprise,” Victor exclaimed, his voice full of warmth and affection.
Her smile disappeared. Victor didn’t seem to notice nor care. “Victor, always a pleasure,” she said coldly.
“You know my friends Commissioner Frank Lindsey and Police Chief Anna Garcia?”
“Of course, I do,” Ellen said, unable to hide her irritation at his condescending tone. Victor had been nothing but a thorn in her side since she’d taken office. He took great pleasure in making her job as difficult as possible, from planting false stories in the weeklies, bankrolling campaigns to sabotage her every initiative, and now apparently ingratiating himself with the rest of the city government. “Victor, you’re well aware that I work directly with Anna and Frank in my role as mayor and police commissioner.” Ellen smiled at her colleagues. In turn, she shook hands with Anna, who looked incongruous in her officer’s dress uniform, and then with Frank, who returned Ellen’s handshake but not her smile, choosing instead to maintain the persistent scowl he wore during City Council meetings. Frank was her primary competitor in the mayoral race with a campaign focused solely on the platform that he wasn’t Mayor Ellen Salder.
“I thought the police commissioner title was just ceremonial,” said Victor. “It has real responsibilities, you say?” He laughed heartily. “You’d never know that considering the number of false drug arrests that have been made since you took office.”
Victor was referring to an article on Oregon’s historic drug initiative in the latest issue of The Portland Journal. Striking a blow against the failed war on drugs, the voters of Oregon had decriminalized possession of small amounts of all illegal substances, including cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamines. Publicly, Ellen had supported the measure. Inwardly, she was apprehensive, her belief in right and wrong was very black-and-white, and the measure verged into serious gray territory. In her dual role as mayor and police commissioner, she directed that the measure’s guidelines be enforced to the letter of the law. The press and her critics hadn’t been kind. The article had profiled an addict who’d been caught with forty-one pills of oxycodone, a single pill over the legal limit.
“The article you’re referring to grossly exaggerated the numbers and was riddled with falsehoods. The man they featured is a known dealer, and he was carrying four-hundred and one pills, not forty-one.”
“Is it my fault The Portland Journal had to lay off their fact checking team due to budgetary issues?” asked Victor.
“Yes, Victor. You own a majority stake in the paper.”
“Touché,” he said with a shrug.
“It may be the case for that individual, Ellen,” said Frank, crossing his arms, “but not for the dozens of others mentioned in the story who are currently sitting in jail instead of getting the addiction treatment they so desperately need. Your relentless pursuit of drug violations is out of control. I’m disgusted by your lack of faith in the voter’s mandate.”
“Now, Frank,” said Victor, in a soothing yet obviously disingenuous tone. “We all know Mayor Law and Order is all about the letter, not the spirit of the law.”
Ellen’s eyebrows shot up and she took a moment to collect herself. She turned to face her colleagues and did her best to ignore Victor, who was obviously enjoying seeing her put on the spot. “I agreed with the measure to decriminalize drug possession. However, that doesn’t mean we stop our efforts at identifying and destroying the supply chain. Sure, a few people who should be in treatment slipped through the cracks, but of the dozens you’re referring to, Frank, most are dealers. The voter’s mandate didn’t include the rampant sale of illegal substances. If I just had your support to set up a special task force, we could root out the criminals flooding our city with drugs. The DEA is ready to work with us. We only have to ask.”
Frank shook his head in disgust. “Please. You want to ask the feds for help? It’s a task force today, then SWAT teams patrolling our neighborhoods tomorrow.”
Ellen turned to the chief of police. “Anna, you can’t possibly agree with him?”
“We’ve followed your direction, and as a result we’ve gotten a lot of bad press. I’m sorry to say it, Ellen, but I think we need a big change in November. I’m going to have to throw my support behind Frank. I feel you’re making this issue too personal. As mayor, you should leave the policing to me and my team and stick to policy.”
Ellen had always liked and trusted the police chief. She’d even been tempted to confide in her about Lisa’s problems with drinking and drugs. After hearing the police chief’s reply, though, Ellen was relieved she’d had the sense to keep her mouth shut. No one needed to know just how personal the issue was.
“Watching our city government at work makes me thirsty,” said Victor. “I’m ready for a drink. Will you join us, Ellen?”
“I prefer dehydration.”
“Your loss,” Victor said, and headed toward the bar, his cronies following at his heels.
Worthless bureaucrats, thought Ellen. She knew Frank despised her methods, but she had thought Anna supported her. Neither had what it took to lead. Ellen was only comforted by the fact she’d already started taking matters into her own hands.