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WHILE ILLINGSWORTH was out of the room, Gordon read the mayor’s notes on the workings of the police department. Some were typed, others seemed to be copies of handwritten notes. They dated back three months, and Gordon watched the deterioration of what had once been a perfectly healthy mind. Even though the two of them hadn’t always seen eye to eye, the mayor had been rational. His current fixation seemed to have been the body cameras, but assuming the council knew why the mayor was on leave, they’d have to understand his pushing to have them part of the police force was his personal agenda. An agenda based on seeing the cameras on television was Gordon’s guess.
Illingsworth returned, arranged assorted pastries on the table at the back of the room, and joined him. “Anything of value? Any plans he’d discussed with you?”
“Body cameras and new staff were the major topics of discussion. My report for the council today—which may no longer be relevant—was a presentation of things I thought would be alternative uses for the budget.” Gordon tugged his folder out of his messenger bag and handed a printout to Illingsworth. “Actually, unless you plan to discuss next year’s budget at today’s meeting, these could wait for another time, although the new officers are already budgeted for.”
Illingsworth glanced at the report Laurie had designed. “Well presented. But I agree, there’s no need to go into all of this today. Our focus has to be on McKenna’s departure. I’ll bring up the new hires as an ongoing process and let you have the floor if there are questions. Does that sound all right?”
“It does. By now, I’m sure the council is aware that there was a recent murder. I want to make it clear we have a viable suspect in custody, but additional officers would make our everyday operations more efficient, as we have to pull Officer Solomon from normal patrol duties when his detective skills are needed. With two new officers, we could have him dedicated to investigations full time.”
Illingsworth’s brows lifted. “I was unaware we didn’t have a dedicated investigator on the force. Would the budget have to be adjusted?”
“It’s already covered,” Gordon said. “Although Officer Solomon’s unaware of it.” He didn’t mention having two new officers would cut back on Gordon’s “regular” cop duties. Still, two new officers shouldn’t generate enough Chief Stuff to keep him off the streets from time to time.
Illingsworth sat, placed his coffee in front of him but didn’t drink. “After we meet, would you be able to stick around? I’d like to review the relationship between you and Mayor McKenna as far as communication went. Over lunch?”
“Not a problem.”
The meeting room door opened, and Nelson Manning wandered in, set a folder on the table directly across from Illingsworth.
“Morning, Jerry.” With a halfhearted nod in Gordon’s direction, Manning moved to the rear of the room and filled a small plate with cookies and donuts from the spread. “No coffee?”
“Setup will be here shortly,” Illingsworth said.
Within a minute, a woman pushed the usual coffee cart into the room and left it beside the refreshment table. Manning immediately helped himself, then returned to his seat and busied himself with a chocolate-glazed donut.
The other council members arrived and repeated the same basic process, although most of them also gave Gordon a quick greeting.
“Before we start, let’s get the real issues on the table.” Illingsworth handed out copies of Mrs. McKenna’s statement. “If you haven’t already seen this, take a minute to look it over.”
Gordon hadn’t seen it, so he gave it a quick read. It was a more formal version of what Mrs. McKenna had said she was going to present, but it made the request to maintain the status quo clear. When he finished reading, he rose and took his usual seat across the room in one of the audience chairs.
“Any objections to the mayor’s last request?” Illingsworth sent a sharp glance in Manning’s direction, as if daring him to protest.
“How do we know McKenna actually made these requests?” Manning asked.
A brief discussion of whether McKenna had written his statement, dictated it, or someone else wrote the whole thing, and whether or not it mattered—with Nelson attesting it did—followed. Consensus seemed to be that the words should be taken at face value.
“Put a sock in it, Nelson,” another councilman said. “There’s less than three months until the election. Now’s not the time to start making changes.”
Illingsworth nodded—a very small nod—in agreement. “As head of the council, even without McKenna’s statement, Mapleton’s charter says I’m the interim mayor. I agree with Bruce. We need to maintain the status quo to create the least amount of disruption to our city.”
Promptly at ten, Illingsworth called the meeting to order and introduced the first agenda item, which was to read and approve the minutes of the previous meeting. For the benefit of those in the audience—six people, two of whom Gordon recognized as regulars who came as much for the refreshments as the business at hand, along with Charlotte Strickland, the reporter from the Mapleton Weekly—Illingsworth summarized that Mayor McKenna was taking a leave of absence and he was serving in his stead.
“One of the items the council approved—” another gaze at Manning—“was the hiring of new police officers. I’ve asked Chief Hepler to join us to update us on where things stand.”
Gordon took a deep, slow breath and stood. “Thank you.” He shifted so he was facing both the council table and the audience. “Some of you might have encountered our newest hire, Officer Rafael Perez. I’m in the process of expanding our force by two more officers, and have placed ads. Mapleton’s small, but the city limits stretch out to beyond Aspen Lake, which gives our officers a lot of ground to cover on their shifts. Our current numbers also mean they’re usually riding solo, which can present a safety issue. Also, hiring more officers will cut response times so our citizens don’t have to wait for help.”
Charlotte Strickland raised her hand. “Chief Hepler. I heard there was a murder in town. Can you elaborate? Is someone going around killing people? Are our citizens safe?”
Although discussing cases wasn’t part of a council meeting, Illingsworth had approved a quick summary. “That’s correct, and we already have a suspect in custody. You can let the citizens of Mapleton know they’re in no danger. For more details, you’ll have to contact the County lockup.”
The reporter seemed satisfied, and Gordon took his seat. The rest of the meeting, Nelson apparently resigned to being outnumbered, went smoothly. Gordon waited, relieved he wasn’t going to have to do a formal presentation of his reports, and more relieved his job wasn’t going to be on the line, at least not until after the results of the election in November.
The meeting broke up just after eleven, and Gordon hung around at the back of the room waiting for Illingsworth, who spent several minutes talking with Nelson Manning. From the snatches of conversation Gordon overheard—Manning was making no effort to keep his voice down—the man wasn’t thrilled with the rest of the council opposing his opinion that nothing Mayor McKenna had said in the last six months was valid, given his condition.
“I think we need an emergency council meeting before next month,” Manning said. Another man agreed with him.
“I’ll look into it,” Illingsworth said. “I just got the news about the mayor yesterday, and rushing into changes would be a mistake. You’re welcome to submit any problems you see with the way Mapleton is being run, and any changes you think are necessary prior to the next term.”
Nelson left, scowling at Gordon as he walked by.
“Daily Bread all right for lunch?” Illingsworth asked. “It’s usually quieter than Finnegan’s.”
“Of course.”
Together, they spent the ten-minute walk discussing the suddenness of Mayor McKenna’s decline, and what it might mean for Mapleton. “Frankly,” Illingsworth said, “I’m counting on Magda to keep things steady. According to Mrs. McKenna, she’s been doing a lot behind the scenes for several months.”
At Daily Bread, Donna, one of the servers, greeted them, and Illingsworth requested a table toward the rear. Once they’d placed their orders, Illingsworth asked Gordon to explain his reporting system. “I’m not looking beyond the next three months, which I tried to explain to Nelson. However, I know Mayor McKenna was a stickler for knowing what was going on in every aspect of the running of Mapleton, and I’m not sure all those details are necessary.”
Gordon explained his weekly reports. “The mayor liked to see crime statistics and budget reports, and also the traffic violations now that the civilian patrol has taken that task over.”
“Every week?” Illingsworth asked.
“Yes, Sir. And in person once a month, although recently, he called spur-of-the-moment meetings, which I now attribute to his condition.”
“Understood. First, call me Jerry. I’m an interim mayor, and I’m feeling the interim more than the mayor. Would it be more or less work to turn in these reports once or twice a month instead of weekly? Do we have that much crime in Mapleton?”
“Not at all. You can look over my reports for the last couple of months and get a feel for things.”
“I’ll do that. When was your next meeting with the mayor scheduled?”
“The regular ones were a week before the council meetings.”
“In your opinion, were they productive? Be honest, please.”
Gordon stifled a laugh. “When McKenna first came on board, he was a rational, hands-off mayor. As time wore on, he started micromanaging, but now I wonder if his shift in approach was due to the beginnings of his tumor, before his changes were significant enough to be noticed. They didn’t seem to affect his competence until very recently, but as you said, Magda kept things running.”
“Thanks. If I’m trying to keep the status quo, it helps to know what it’s been. I’ll be talking to the Merchants’ Association as well as all the other departments, but for me, it’s more important I know how crime is being handled than how often trash is picked up.”
Gordon opted to leave Pine Hills out of the discussion, since he hadn’t heard from Mayor Butler.
They finished eating, and Jerry covered the bill. He stood. “I need to head to the office, start getting a feel for how things work. My advice to you right now is to look out for Nelson. I saw him talking to his reporter buddy, and my fear is he wants to stir up trouble with the transition any way he can.”