Murder By Duplicity

by B. T. Lord

  “Bill, wake up. Bill!”

  He continued snoring. Having no choice, she grabbed the water pitcher he kept on his desk, went into the bathroom where she filled it with ice cold water, came back and dumped it over his head.

  “Jesus H. Christ!” he roared as he sputtered awake.

  “Just wanted to make sure you were still alive,” she said as she took a step back.

  “Leave me alone,” he muttered.

  “Bill, I know it’s been difficult, but you’ve got to snap out of this. The town needs you.”

  “Fuck the town. They had me condemned without any proof.”

  Cammie pulled up a chair and sat down in front of him. “I know. I went through it myself, remember? But I survived it and so will you.”

  “What’s the point? They hate me.”

  “No they don’t. Everyone wants to see you back.”

  “Why? So they can heckle me? Not only did they think I murdered George, but I was so gullible and stupid that I allowed his wife to completely screw me over. That idiot should have just killed me and put me out of my misery. I need a drink.” He tried to stand up, only to fall back against the couch.

  “No you don’t. You need to pull yourself together and get back out there. You’ve been exonerated. No one believes you’re guilty anymore. And you’re not the first person who’s been betrayed by love.”

  “Yeah, but who else was betrayed to the tune of over $1 million?”

  Somehow, he managed to roll himself up into an upright position.

  “Bill, you can’t let this defeat you. You can’t let Margo defeat you. You’re stronger than that.”

  He pushed his hand through his unwashed hair. “I want to believe you. I just don’t know anymore. I don’t know which way is up or down. Who to trust. I used to think I was the master of my destiny, but it’s all a crock of shit in the end.” He raised his head and gave her a bloodshot, bleary-eyed look. “I’m a fake, Cammie. It took me almost dying to realize I’m just a fat, lousy, insecure little man who thought that being mayor of this piss ant town would make people respect me. It would make me respect me.” He guffawed. “I acted like I was the mayor of New York City or Los Angeles. What a damned fool I was. I’ve been acting like the dictator of a postage stamp country that no one’s ever heard of or gives two shits about. Who the hell did I really think I was?”

  Cammie reached out and put her hand on his shoulder. “You’re the multi-elected mayor of a town of good people who do respect you, Bill. We may not be New York or Los Angeles, but we’re a community that cares and looks out for each other. You’ve kept us safe and you’ve kept us strong. We couldn’t have done it without you.”

  “That’s because they see what I want them to see. If they knew who I really was, they’d run me out of office. Shit, they’d run me out of town.”

  “Bill, you’re being too hard on yourself.”

  “Am I? Am I?” he screamed at her, his fists balled against his knees. “I’m a murderer, do you know that? Oh, I didn’t pull the trigger or provide the pills, but I might as well have.”

  Cammie went still. “What do you mean, Bill?”

  “You were right when you suspected that little pervert of blackmailing me. He extorted money out of me for nine long years. I tried to help him out by giving him a job painting my home and he stabbed me in the back, the ungrateful bastard.”

  “What did he do?” she whispered, her heart hammering in her ears.

  “He went through my desk and found out the truth about my late wife, Trudy. He threatened to tell the town. I had no choice but to pay him $5,000 a month.”

  Cammie cast her mind back to Trudy Barnes – a small, proud woman who had always been pleasant and friendly and highly supportive of Bill’s political career. As far as she and Twin Ponds knew, Trudy had died of a massive stroke. She’d always suspected his deep loneliness at her loss is what drove him into Margo’s arms.

  $5,000 was a lot of money. His confession explained how Steepman was able to afford all those gadgets. She’d had a feeling they hadn’t all come from Jim. Yet what could be worth that much that Bill would allow himself to be blackmailed?

  Cammie knew she couldn’t leave until she found out.

  “I remember Trudy,” she replied slowly. “She was a remarkable woman.”

  “She was. She didn’t deserve what I did to her. I’ve spent years telling myself it wasn’t my fault. But it was. And I can’t run away from it anymore.” He looked at Cammie with tears in his eyes. “My ego killed her, Cammie. My need to be the biggest shot in Clarke County. I convinced myself that when women wanted me, it was me they wanted, not the fact that I was mayor. Their attention fed my ego. For the first time in my life, I felt like I was somebody. Of course they all meant nothing. It was a quick fix. Then it was on to another woman. But Trudy saw it differently. When she found out – my God, I’ll never forget the look on her face. It was as though I’d shattered her completely. And I had. I tried to explain, but she said nothing. It was her silence that was the most heartbreaking. She locked herself in the bathroom.” He barked out a harsh laugh. “I actually had the nerve to get mad at her because she refused to comprehend why I’d done what I had. Can you imagine that? I left that night because I didn’t want to deal with it. With what I considered her lack of understanding. When I returned the next morning, the door was still locked. I became worried and broke it down. I found her laid out on the bathroom floor. She’d taken an overdose of sleeping pills. I still couldn’t admit what I’d driven her to so I hushed it up and put about the story that she’d died of a stroke.” Tears rolled down his face as he suddenly grabbed Cammie’s hands. “You see what I am now? A man not worthy to be mayor, not worthy of even being alive after what I did to her.” He let go of her hands and wiped the tears from his face. “Margo was my karma. She shattered me the way I shattered Trudy. But unlike my wife, I don’t have the guts to overdose on pills. And I don’t have the balls to finish what Jim Newton started. It’s easier to drink myself to death and be done with it.”

  Cammie didn’t know what to say. She would never have guessed the reason behind Steepman’s steep extortion. She was completely stunned. And filled with pity for the man weeping before her. She reached over and took one of his hands in hers.

  “None of us are perfect, Bill. We all have things we wish we could have done over. What you did to Trudy was terrible, but you didn’t force those pills down her throat. It was her choice to swallow them. Instead of taking her life, she could have done what millions of spouses who have been cheated on have done. She could have left you and sued you for everything you own.”

  “But if I hadn’t screwed around on her--”

  “I have no right to judge you. Nor to forgive you. Only you can forgive yourself.”

  “I don’t think I can,” he whispered.

  “Maybe you can’t. Not right now. Maybe not ever. But what you can do is pick yourself up and get back out there. You weren’t killed that day on the dais. For whatever reason, the powers that be spared your life. Take that life now and live it the very best way you can. That’s what Trudy would have expected of you.” He looked up at her as she stood up. “I remember a woman who was intensely proud of you being mayor. She knew this wasn’t New York or Los Angeles or any other metropolitan city. But that didn’t matter to her. Trudy knew you were the best man for the job because you care about this town and every person in it. You always have and you always will.”

  “What difference does it make? People are going to find out how I withheld information to protect Margo. When you arrest me--”

  “There isn’t going to be an arrest.” Bill swung his massive head and blinked at her. “I spoke to Judge Drury and it was decided that you saved the town when you pushed Jim into the chairs. Your quick thinking kept him from shooting anyone else, including Dave and myself. You’ll have to pay a fine, but as far as we’re concerned, no one needs to know about the other.” She walked to the door and opened it. “Now
you can sit there and continue feeling sorry for yourself, or you can clean yourself up and go into work tomorrow and do Trudy proud.”

  Turning on her heel, she left.

  It wasn’t until she was outside that she let out the breath she’d been holding. She wasn’t sure he’d heard her words, but hopefully somewhere inside, he’d realize that even if he was a fake in his own eyes, to Twin Ponds, he was a mayor who cared. And that’s what was important.

  Cammie had just dropped Jace off at the garage the next morning and was headed towards HQ when her cell rang. Looking at the display, she saw it was Bill.

  “Come down to my office when you get a chance,” he said.

  “I’ll be right there.”

  Well, at least he’d gone to work. That was a good start.

  She found Cheryle waiting for her.

  “He’s expecting you,” she smiled.

  Cammie entered his office and was pleased to find a very different man than the one she’d seen the day before. He was dressed in a beautifully tailored dark blue suit with a crisp white shirt, and a blue and silver tie. His hair was neatly combed, he was clean-shaven and the air was filled with his aromatic cologne.

  “Thank you for coming in so quickly,” he said as he came around the table and stood in front of her. To her surprise, he took her hand and shook it. “I’m grateful for your visit yesterday. I called you here because I want to repay you somehow.”

  “I can’t really think of anything I need. A lifetime supply of dog food will certainly help Emmy and Mrs. Madachuck with Augie. And I’ve told Jace about your woodworking shop. You should be expecting a visit from him in the near future. As for me--” Cammie started to refuse when she paused. “Actually, there is something I’d like you to do for me. Are you still going through with the construction of the hotel?”

  He gave her a panicked look. “Don’t tell me you’re going to ask me to stop work on it?”

  “No, nothing like that. What I am going to ask, however, is that you change the plans somehow so you leave a particular tree alone.”

  “You mean the Grandfather Tree?” She looked at him in surprise. He chuckled. “There isn’t anything in Twin Ponds that I don’t know about, including that revered tree. Don’t worry, changes to the plans have been made. That part of the forest will remain untouched. You see, I can be sensitive sometimes.”

  Cammie smiled broadly. “Thank you, Bill.”

  “No,” he replied, his tone serious. “Thank you. As much as I may regret admitting this to you, I owe you my life.” He turned towards his desk when he abruptly turned back. “Of course it goes without saying that what I told you yesterday…well…”

  Cammie walked towards the door. “I have no clue what you’re talking about,” she said over her shoulder as she let herself out.

  Bill stood in the middle of his office. A smile slowly tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Maybe persuading her to run for sheriff wasn’t such a bad idea after all.”

  He carefully fastened on the mask of the powerful, omnipotent politician he needed the world to see. Then, rubbing his hands together gleefully, he turned back to his desk and to the job he knew he couldn’t live without - being the best mayor ever elected to look after Twin Ponds.

  T H E E N D

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  Thank you for taking another journey to Twin Ponds. I hope you enjoyed the trip.

  I’m happy to announce that I FINALLY have a website. You can now subscribe to my email list on the home page. By doing so, you’ll find out when a new Twin Ponds book is about to be released. I’ll also be announcing giveaways and the occasional free book downloads.

  Which brings me to why I haven’t included a preview of the new Twin Ponds book. I’m going to do something a little different this time around.

  I’m planning on offering a prequel – that is, a novella that will bring you into Cammie’s life before she left Boston to head up to Twin Ponds to settle her father’s estate. You’ll be there on the memorable night she saved Doc from the mugger. You’ll also get to know Sean Carney a little bit more. He really does have his finger on the pulse on everything that happens in Boston, both legally and illegally.

  This novella will be offered as a free download. It’s my way of thanking you all for your support of my little mystery series. If you subscribe to my email list, you’ll be among the first to take advantage of this freebie.

  I promise you I won’t spam you, or send you endless emails about what I’m up to. You can find that information on my Facebook page https://m.facebook.com/BTLordWriter/

  I too subscribe to some of my favorite authors, and to be honest, life is too hectic to sit down and read all their emails about what they did on their summer vacation.

  I won’t do that to you.

  The website is: https://www.btlordwriter.com

  The photographs are by my very talented sister-in-law. They capture the essence of Twin Ponds, don’t you think?