by Tom Soule
“Look, I'm going to be frank. You’re a young ambitious man, with a little success under your belt. As mayor, you will be a man who can turn Huntington around. See the dream, son, see the dream!”
Sam got up, ending his walk down memory lane. Instead, he walked over to his liquor bar and raised a glass.
“To Guttman.”
Chapter Nine
It was Wednesday morning, and Sam arrived early in anticipation of the scheduled council meeting. Lisa also came in a bit early; she stopped at “Cream Fusion” to pick up chocolate cream-filled cupcakes to serve with black roasted coffee. Sam will be pleased, Lisa thought as she set up the cupcakes in the conference room.
Sam was indeed happy; he walked into the office and the scent of the roasted coffee greeted him. He wasted no time spotting the cupcakes.
“This is what a happy morning looks like,” he joked with Lisa.
After happily devouring the treats, Sam and Lisa drafted a brief for the scheduled midday meeting.
Finally, meeting time arrived. Sam was the last person to enter the room.
He was finally getting into his own skin, getting a handle on his interim position.
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,” Sam said. When everyone was seated, it was clear that Guttman’s giant presence was missed.
“While I know that we can all agree that one seat is empty and I will say that he will be greatly missed, I am going to lead the agenda for this meeting,” Harold said, asserting himself as the council’s spokesperson.
“Let's take a quick moment to remember Guttman,” Sam added.
During the quick reflection, some members closed their eyes tightly as if in prayer mode; some bowed their heads respectfully. Sam looked up and waited until the silence passed.
“First thing on the agenda is the empty council seat,” said Harold. The remaining council members seemed to allow Harold to run the meeting.
“I have already talked it over with the council and they think that my wife would make an excellent choice for a new council member.”
Sam looked outraged.
“I was never consulted on the matter. Can I at least hear more thoughts on the matter?” he requested.
The council members looked at each other in silence as if they had lost their resolve. “So that's that. We are all ready and set to go!” Harold said confidently.
Sam was the only person not throwing caution to the wind.
“Well, that decision doesn’t sit easy with me,” he said.
“What are her qualifications?”
Harold's face contorted. “Let’s just say she has thirty years of Huntington pride, she has served on election committees in the past, organized many parades, and ran the town bakeoff last year.”
“Mrs. Harold has been quite busy,” Sam responded, feeling a bit more willing to give the proposal some consideration.
“Yes, my Mary is quite impressive,” Harold gloated.
The council members were exceptionally quiet and it started to bother Sam. It was an abnormal tone, not accounted for by Guttman's absence.
After Harold managed to score a point for his wife, he was ready to announce his next topic for discussion.
“Sam, this pertains to your current role as mayor. I am afraid the council will no longer back your candidacy in the upcoming election. The council has decided to look elsewhere for future leadership.” Sam's heart dropped. He was now pissed.
“That's not what we discussed in the last meeting; who are you backing for mayor?” he demanded.
“I am afraid that information is a 'need to know' right now,” Harold snapped.
Sam stood up in rage and managed somehow to bottle his fury.
Harold realized he had offended Sam, so he took a softer approach.
“I understand your concern, but that’s the decision,” Harold said.
Sam couldn’t take it anymore; he looked at the other council members, purposely ignoring Harold.
“Bob, how do you feel about me not being mayor? You were one of the main advocates cheering me on!”
The short middle-aged man explained, “Sam! It's not like that; we just want a little different approach to things.”
“This is crazy. When were these decisions made?” Sam wanted to know.
Harold quickly tried to chime in. “They were recent and necessary.”
Sam had his own theory about what was going on, and he was in no mood to dance around the coup. He just blurted it out.
“Guttman's body is barely cold and this town is turned into 'Haroldville.' The same council members that told me how great I was a few weeks ago, now decide that they need a new direction. Well, I am sorry, but I'm running in the upcoming election and I intend to remain in this office!” After Sam finished speaking, none of the council members dare to make eye contact.
He felt like he now had a more passionate cause. It was clear to Sam that the power structure in the council has radically shifted and he felt its fury. Sam held his tongue for the remaining nine minutes of the heated council meeting.
At the end of the grueling session, Sam walked disappointedly to his office, planning to go home and regroup after such combat. When he entered his office, however, he realized he had a guest waiting.
Plastering on a welcoming attitude, he said, “Hello, can I help you?”
“I am Amy, Guttman’s fiancée. I was waiting outside, but your assistant said I could come in.”
“I am so sorry for your loss; I was unaware that Guttman had a fiancée,” Sam said, noticing that the petite cropped-hair brunette was no older than he.
“I get that,” Amy said. “David was in the process of divorcing Catherine. And now I don’t even know if I will be able to attend the funeral.”
“That's so unfortunate,” Sam said sympathetically. “I'm sorry to hear that.”
“I know that you are a good man, and I hope you might help my cause. I want to get some answers about David’s death. The police don’t want to help, and the Guttman family refused to talk to me. Everyone is willing to sweep the entire matter under the rug, but I cannot do that; I just don’t fell right about the whole thing.”
Sam looked puzzled. He explained gently,
“I know this is hard for you to accept, but I spoke to the sheriff and he personally told me the preliminary result from the coroner office… It appears Guttman died of a heart attack. The police suspect no foul play. That’s the latest information on the case.”
“That's the thing, Mayor: Guttman's heart was in perfect health over a month ago when I went with him to the hospital.”
Hospital? Sam thought.
Amy's emotions boiled out as she went on. “I wanted to make sure he had a clean bill of health before our trip to the Bahamas. The doctors assured me he had an amazing heart and he was as healthy as a 25-year old. I refuse to accept him dying of natural causes. His death came right when he was going to leave that vindictive witch Catherine.”
Sam gave the woman a pitiful glance.
“Amy, I know you don’t want to hear this, but I was there that night he passed away. I watched as he fell to the floor; it was of natural causes.”
“Think, Mayor - so many people had to gain from Guttman’s demise; it wouldn’t hurt just to provide more due diligence.”
“No it wouldn’t,” Sam admitted.
Amy smiled to finally get some support.
“I was thinking; would you please consider doing a public inquiry that allows a second, more thorough autopsy?”
Sam raised an eyebrow. “I'm sorry, Amy, what you are asking for is too much. The only way to get a public inquiry for a more intrusive autopsy is to get the family's permission or a court order from a judge. I am not putting the Guttman family through that.”
Amy dropped to the ground and begged, “Please, if there is the slight possibility of foul play, shouldn’t we explore it?”
“I would, but there is no evidence at all by the police or anyone that Guttman's death is
not from natural causes.”
“Please, at least promise me you will think about it.”
To give Amy peace of mind, Sam agreed.
“I will.”
…
After Amy left, Sam took a moment to decide if her statements made any sense.
I saw him fall to the floor. He clearly had a heart attack, but a new fiancée does seem very random, he thought.
What was also puzzling was that Guttman was getting a divorce. Sam started to feel discomfort in the pit of his stomach. He decided to visit Catherine, just to pay respect to the family.
Chapter Ten
It took Sam just twenty minutes to go from City Hall to the lavish mansion just on the outskirts of Huntington.
For almost five generations, the Guttman family had lived in their two-story Georgian style house. The white painted mansion had a small balcony that overlooked the street. Sam walked towards the big brown door and rang the doorbell.
“Hello, Mrs. Guttman!” He called out.
The heiress, a lady in her mid-sixties, proceeded to open the door herself. She looked fashionable in the latest Louis Vuitton pink pants suit.
“My dear boy, now mayor, how fast time flies. I remember when you were at the country club with your mother and brother; it seemed so long ago. You must tell your mother “Hi.” Sam smiled.
“I am so sorry for your loss!”
“Thanks, Sam!” She welcomed a hug from the young mayor.
“You’re always so handsome. I am going to introduce you to one of my nieces; I think you will like her.”
The flattery made Sam smile. “I already have someone.”
As Catherine offered him hot coffee, he stated firmly, “There's something more pressing I wanted to talk to you about.”
What is the matter?” she asked.
“I hate to get into gossip, but I saw a lady called Amy. She claimed to be Mr. Guttman’s fiancée. Is there any truth in that?”
Slightly insulted, Catherine’s welcoming demeanor changed.
“That man! God rest his soul. He didn't always do the right things. He liked to play and manipulate. He did it over the past 20 years.” Catherine frowned, but tried to remain positive for her guest.
Sam felt that this time, Mr. Guttman had gone even further.
“I don’t think it was just a game; she went with him to the doctor and made plans to go to the Bahamas.”
Catherine fell to the couch after absorbing the big news. She gasped for air. “That man never really cared about anybody; all he cared about was his ambition. He manipulated people to his very end.” Catherine broke down, and Sam moved a bit closer and held her hand while she briefly wept. After she composed herself, he continued his probe to find out how much she actually knew about Amy.
“So you thought it was just a fling?” Sam asked.
“When you are married for such a long time, you overlook many things, but I never thought he would try to replace me. After 20 years!”
“Do you think anyone would harm him?”
“After all the crazy things he did, I think whatever happened was karma. I think everyone had a bone to pick with him - even you.”
“Why would you say that?” A baffled Sam queried.
“When Guttman first pitched you for mayor, he said he needed someone to take under his wing and control. That was it.”
Sam was appalled that the man he had worked with for months had not cared about him.
“It hurts, doesn’t it, finding out the truth about a person.” Catherine stated, trying to bond with Sam about the emotional web of deceit Guttman had created.
“Yes it does,” Sam confessed.
“I didn’t plan on doing this. I am going to ask for your consent to do a second autopsy.”
Catherine, taken aback, tilted her head.
“Why? I don’t see the point in doing one. David is already dead. And it won’t make a difference.”
“I want to be thorough and sure,” Sam responded to a wide-eyed Catherine.
“That request is ill-considered, don’t you think?” she asked.
Sam sat in silence and then lifted his coffee.
I disagree, and it is thanks to you. We just established the true person that Guttman was. Let 's give him the respect he never had for us.”
“You are something, Sam Hamilton. Despite the fact that I told you Guttman’s true intention, you still want to do well by him.”
She cracked a smile.
“I see the man you are: a much better man than David was.” Then she added with a giggle,
Are you sure you don't want to meet my niece?”
“Tell you what. If I get your permission for the inquiry, I might reconsider seeing your niece.”
“Well then, how bold! You have definitely grown up,” Catherine said with piercing eyes.
“I won’t hold you to that wager, but at least just say you will owe me a favor, Mr. Mayor.”
“Please let me know whatever you need,” Sam said indulgingly.
Immediately after leaving the Guttman estate, Sam called Sheriff Mulling about enforcing a public inquiry into the Guttman investigation.
Chapter Eleven
It was a Tuesday afternoon; Sam was enjoying a glazed cinnamon bun from Kim’s shop when a call interrupted his delicious snack! Sam was not pleased about breaking from his sweet cinnamon bun, but he glanced at the number and realized it was from the Sheriff’s office.
“Hey, Sam, I have some news on the Guttman case.”
“What is it?” Sam's voice was muffled as he chewed and spoke.
“The coroner medical examiner reports showed some abnormalities with the heart attack. They explained that most heart attacks occur when the oxygen flow in the blood is blocked, but in this case, an unknown substance caused the blood flow to stop. And the unknown substance came from his stomach.”
Sam's eyes bulged out. “I see. I never actually expected anything to surface.”
“We still have more things to look into, like identifying the substance, and whether it was more than an accident.”
Sam was intrigued. “Keep me posted on this investigation.”
“Will do,” Mulling replied.
…
Sam decided to focus all his attention on finding a manager for his campaign. He rifled through a stack of resumes given to him by a headhunter.
Malinda looks good; she ran the Bayset mayoral campaign, Sam thought to himself. He circled her name and set aside her resume. Then he examined the files of other candidates.
…
It was about 2:30 pm when Sam heard a knock on the door.
“Come in!” Sam yelled, straightening his necktie.
Harold looked slightly unnerved as he shook Sam's hand.
“Well, well, well, the young mayor finally came out to play.”
Sam glared at him with a puzzled expression, wondering what Harold could possibly want. He hadn’t seen Harold since the showdown at the council meeting.
“Hello, Harold; can I help you with anything?”
“Stop playing dumb.” Harold looked sharply at Sam. “I know about your public inquiry into Guttman’s death. What's your angle here? Are you trying to scare people into voting for you? Drop the public inquiry!”
“Are you out of your mind? This is not some political move; this is about doing the right thing and being thorough with an investigation.”
“Okay, Saint Benedict, I will play ball. Let's say you drop the public inquiry and lay Guttman to rest. A seat at the council will be waiting for you.”
Sam face's turned slightly orange, enflamed with anger. He looked Harold dead in the eye and said sternly,
“Like I said before, I am just being thorough; I have no desire to sit on the council, because I will still be the mayor.”
“You hypocrite,” Harold protested. “All you care about is power. You go around playing the role of a saint. But I see you for who you really are. I'm going stop your little public inquiry if it'
s the last thing I do.” Harold pointed his finger in Sam's face before he stormed out of the office.
Quickly, Sam called Mulling and told him about Harold's visit and what he had said.
“I will take a look into Harold a bit more carefully,” Mulling responded.
“Thanks, Mulling.” Sam hung up the phone.
Chapter Twelve
It was a little past two o’clock when Sam’s office phone rang again. Sam picked it up and Mulling shared even more shocking news.
“I am afraid the case has taken a more sinister turn. The case is now ruled a homicide.”
Sam hardened his grip on the phone and looked around the room in frustration. “How is that possible?”
