Free Death in a Turkey Town: A Chloe Boston Mystery by Melanie Jackson Page B

he had in mind. I was just happy that he wanted stay longer than the usual extended weekend.
    My last unpleasant surprise was waiting by the locker room door. Promotions had been posted. I had gotten a tiny raise, but lardhead had not gotten his, and the public relations job he had applied for had gone to Eddie Rounds. I wondered how long it would be before Althea found out. Mitzi, too, and if she would start vilifying her neighbor for stealing her son’s job. She would, I was certain. As near as I could tell, Mitzi hadn’t heard the one about speaking no evil, and Eddie Rounds lived within egg-throwing distance from her. For a moment I considered seeking out Dale and commiserating, but there wasn’t much I could say. Eddie was the better choice for the public relations job and the Chief had made the right call. Feeling a bit cowardly, I left through the back door so I wouldn’t have to pass Dale at the front desk.
    “Ready to go, Blue?” I asked as I pulled out my bike. The day had been nice so I rode my bike with sidecar to work. Blue prefers it.
    Like mushrooms after a rain, Dad’s signs were springing up all over town and warring with the first of the Christmas lights. There were even some that were handmade. It seemed every other yard had one and there was a giant banner hanging out at Jeffrey’s trailer park. I wondered how busy Alex had been and if anyone had noticed my boyfriend helping Dad. I didn’t need for the Chief to tell me that he was both amused and appalled at this development and that I should keep my head down and my mouth shut about election matters while on duty. The current mayor was going to be very, very unhappy and would be only too pleased to cause trouble for me if I said or did anything partisan during work hours.
    I told myself to be civic-minded and consider what was best for the town, but sometimes parental relations are difficult. Particularly if you don’t really know what’s best anyway.
     
     

Chapter 9
     
     
    Alex had not been completely consumed by Dad’s campaign, though he was beginning to look and sound more like an aid-de-camp than a cyber-crimes investigator. He had not neglected his investigations entirely though and it was sounding more and more like the blonde super-model was both Silly’s girlfriend and also a publicity nightmare for the small company. The woman had a temper and a tendency to let fly with both slaps and bad language. She sounded like a good candidate for murderer, but where had she found a gun? Alex could find no record of a gun permit in her name. The lady also seemed to have gone off radar. I consoled myself that this was being handled by official channels and finding her wasn’t my problem. My job was to find someone not involved in Althea’s wedding to take the fall for Silly’s murder.
    A light snow came that night leaving a downy comforter that lasted until mid-morning. The weather man predicted brief clearing, but another storm was coming and this one would have thunder and lightning. Have you ever noticed that ozone has a taste? My teeth were beginning to ache and I could taste copper on my tongue as I walked into the station. I heard the mayor in the Chief’s office and scurried by as quickly as possible. Blue also did her best to make herself as small as she could. I spent my half-day doing my best to avoid the mayor, who was out belatedly hanging up campaign posters. The rush printing job must have cost him a fortune and he scowled in a way that would have surprised many of his supporters.
    I tried to enjoy my last day of relative freedom. Monday I would have some smart aleck student in tow and I was dreading it. As I often do when needing an oasis of calm, I headed for the book store.
    Becky’s Books is that rarest of creatures, an independent book store. Almost extinct in some larger cities and towns, they can still be found in some isolated locations too small for malls or Wal-mart. It didn’t attract as many people as the