by Leona Fox
Maggie promptly returned looking fresh-faced. She locked the door and the two of them made their way to the cafe.
“How have you found living here?” Maggie asked.
“It's fine. The people are lovely and they'll soon become your friends if you treat them right. This place fosters a real community. I can tell by your accent that you're not a local.”
Maggie laughed at this, a deep, throaty laugh. “It's that obvious, huh?” she said in a singsong voice.
“Yeah, well, life never quite turns out the way you think it will. Mine certainly didn't. Never thought I'd end up in some place like this but here we are,” she said.
They reached the cafe and Ellen showed her around. Maggie looked at everything with interest as Ellen described some of the more involved things to do with the business.
“What challenges did you have?” Maggie asked.
“Well, at first the biggest challenge was just getting people in. Luckily, I already knew most people because I had been around for a while, and they were curious to try something new.”
“I hope you don't mind me picking your brain about this stuff, by the way. I am the competition, after all.”
Ellen laughed it off. “There's plenty of room in town for the both of us. What brought you to East Pender anyway?”
“That is...well, there's a long version and a short version. The short version is I was married, he ran off with a woman half his age, I got a generous settlement in the divorce and figured I'd get away from it all. Looked on a map, pointed somewhere random and here I am!”
“I think someday you'll have to tell me the long version of that story. Sounds like a big change. I had a similar thing myself when I came here. I'd been living in the city for a long time before I decided to come back.”
“What made you return?”
“Oh, my parents were very ill. They died. That's how I was able to afford to get this place up and running, actually, with the money they left me.”
“I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sure they'd be proud of what you've done with the place, though.”
“Thank you. I hope they would be.”
Ellen and Maggie continued talking for a while. They got along famously and soon were laughing heartily together. Maggie had a sharp wit, wasn't afraid of giving voice to what was on her mind, and had much to say on a range of topics. Her presence was like a breath of fresh air and while they were talking Ellen was able to forget about her problems. The hour flew by until Maggie checked her watch and gasped in horror.
“Ellen Thatch you are a wicked one, keeping me from doing all the things I need to do!”
“Oh no, you figured out my master plan!” Ellen said, holding up her hands in mock surrender.
Ellen showed Maggie the door and waved goodbye to her new friend. Ellen was glad for the company, especially in light of Andy and Kelly's absence, but she started thinking that perhaps East Pender wasn't going to be as lonely as she feared. At least Maggie, unlike the other residents, had no preconceptions of Ellen, and Ellen looked forward to their next meeting.
Chapter 3
In the dead of night, a lithe figure dressed in black hopped through the shadows of the buildings. With steady hands they picked the lock and disabled surveillance camera, then moved their way through the empty store. They emptied the till and thrust all the cash into a bag, then moved along the shelves causing disarray, until they found what they had been looking for. They gathered those up and then left the scene of the crime as silently as they had appeared, and as soon as that was over they began planning their next caper...
Ellen was sitting in the cafe with her head in her hands after the call from Jimmy. There had been another burglary, and again East Pender was looking at the presence of a serial criminal. Jimmy had sent over a list of what had been stolen from the first store, and now she waited for a list from the second store to see if there was a pattern. But soon enough her peace was interrupted by a group of business owners who all flooded into the cafe. They were the merchants guild, and all looked out for one another. A long time ago Ellen had agreed to become the spokesperson, for many of the town residents could be hotheaded, especially when they felt threatened.
“What are you going to do about this, Ellen?” they demanded.
“I'm not sure I know exactly what you expect me to do?” she replied.
“That's not good enough! Two of our own have been broken into. Who is going to be next? We can't stay up all night keeping watch over our shops. These are our lives you're talking about. None of us are rich and we can't afford to lose all this money.”
“The police are working on the case and it'll take time. You know what these things are like.”
“The police,” one of them scoffed, “you mean that little boy that's in charge? Where's Andy when you need him?”
A few of them murmured in agreement. Ellen bristled at the mention of Andy, not least because it reminded her that he was gone and she was missing him dearly.
“Sergeant Lister is the ranking officer and he is performing his duties to the best of his abilities.”
“The boy is a buffoon!” someone called out, and to Ellen's dismay many in the crowd agreed with the sentiment.
With a heavy sigh, she said, “What would you have me do? It's all well and good to come here and demand that I do something, but what?”
“Take the matter to city hall. We're the backbone of the economy here. If we all fail, then the town will crumble. Get them to do something, call in the National Guard to keep watch over our stores, start a manhunt. You have to do something to protect us.”
Ellen's head started to throb and, as much as she didn't want to deal with this, she found herself agreeing just to put an end to the matter.
“Fine. I will arrange a meeting with the mayor but you must promise me to go back to your stores and not create a fuss. I know we're all worried right now because any of us could be next. So let's try remaining vigilant, but we have to have faith in the police as well.”
Many of them grumbled on the way out but they seemed satisfied. However, Ellen was not looking forward to her visit to city hall.
City hall was an impressive building in the heart of East Pender. It was one of the first buildings in town ever to have been built and much of the town’s pride was centered around its longevity. Inside was the local library, as well as the council, who presided over local matters. Deep in the building was the mayor's office. Ellen had to make her way through long corridors to get to her destination. Once there she was greeted by a fresh-faced secretary, who instructed her to wait.
Ellen sank into a plush leather seat and stared at the dark wooden-paneled walls. There was a long coffee table with recent issues of the local newspaper laid out, including ones that had her interview. This only served to remind her of her failure and she pinched the bridge of her nose, almost glad for this ordeal with the merchants so she could distract herself. There were a number of books around as well and these she flicked through as she waited. The secretary took a few calls while Ellen waited, and she was lost in thought when the secretary called over to her and told her she could go in.
Pushing against the heavy wooden door, Ellen walked into the office. The mayor was sitting at his huge desk, leafing through a number of files. The gray-haired man looked dapper as always, and welcomed Ellen into his office.
The two of them hadn't always gotten along famously but the mayor was a decent sort, he just seemed to like the sound of his own voice a little too much for Ellen's liking and he seemed best in small doses. His attitudes toward women also seemed to be stuck in the Dark Ages, and Ellen tried to ignore his wavering eyes as they sank down to her bosom.
“What can I do for you today?” the mayor asked.
“I'm not sure, to be honest. I'm here on behalf of the merchants guild. They'd just like some reassurances about the recent burglaries. I think we're all worried that this thief is not going to stop his little crime spree anytime soon.”
&n
bsp; “As far as I'm concerned the police have it in hand. I'm not sure I know what you expect me to do about it.”
“Me neither, to be honest, but the guild wanted me to talk to you anyway.”
“I'm sure the matter would have been handled much more competently had Andy not been called away. It's such a shame that he had to go. Still, we have you on the case and that's saying something! In all honesty though, what do you make of this replacement chief, Sergeant Lester?”
“Lister.”
“Hmmm?”
“His name is Sergeant Lister, Jimmy Lister.”
“Ah yes, well, same thing.”
“He seems fine to me. I've only met him a couple of times. If Andy had faith to leave him in charge, then I have faith in him, too.”
“I had a feeling you were going to say that. I'm not so sure myself but we'll see. I'm keeping an eye on him. What do you make of these burglaries? Do you think we're dealing with someone who is going to keep going?”
“I believe so, but so far no clues point to the identity of the thief. So we're still coming up with theories. I've told everyone to be vigilant but, as they point out, they can't run their shops and run security on them 24/7.”
“No, you're quite right. Well, I'm sure the solution will present itself soon. Now then, since Andy is absent I'm sure you could use some company. Would you like to join me for dinner one evening? It would be nice to escape from all these bothersome plans.”
There was a lecherous look in his eyes that made Ellen feel sick, so she quickly declined and excused herself.
However, just before she left her eyes were drawn to the desk and everything that was sprawled over it. She noticed a document that concerned a mall with the word, 'Longthorne' prominently displayed. She left the mayor’s office with much on her mind. If the members of the merchants guild were worried about a thief, they would be distraught at the thought of a mall. Such a thing had been raised for years yet no plans ever had come to pass. If a mall was built all the local shops would be ruined and East Pender would lose much of what gave the town its heart.
She returned home and booted up her laptop. Upon opening her internet browser she typed 'Longthorne' into the search engine. A number of webpages were displayed, so she clicked on the first one. It took her to a company that seemed to deal in developing land and building shopping centers. The site dripped with corporate philosophy and seemed completely at odds with the spirit of East Pender.
If this were true and she inadvertently had stumbled upon plans to build a mall, then she had to do something about it, but with Andy and Kelly gone she lacked the usual support structure. Scampy jumped onto her legs but she looked at him forlornly.
“I appreciate the enthusiasm but I think we're going to need someone else.”
She knew she couldn't take this to the merchants guild because they were skittish already and would not take this news well. So there was only one other person, her new friend Maggie.
Ellen found Maggie working at the cafe again and knocked on the door. Maggie welcomed her in and offered her some lemonade.
“It's a new recipe I'm trying out, I figure it'll be good, especially in summer.” Ellen took a sip and followed it with a long gulp. It was sweet and had a hint of raspberry in it as well.
“You've found something good here,” Ellen said, impressed.
“Thanks, it's an old family recipe actually. Well, it's not, but that's what I'm going to tell people,” Maggie said with a wink. “Is this just a social call or did you have some more advice for me?”
“Actually,” Ellen said, helping Maggie clean up a few things, “I kind of need your help with something. I was in the mayor's office today and I saw something that I probably wasn't supposed to see.”
“This sounds juicy, what is it?”
“Plans to build a mall, at least that's what I think they were. I saw a document and there was the name of a company on it. So I searched for them and it turns out they build shopping malls. This isn't a new thing. Businesses have been trying to get their hands on East Pender's land for a long time, but I've never even heard of the mayor considering it before.”
“Malls pop up all over the place. Is it really that big of a deal?”
“Maggie, you might not know this because you haven't lived in a small town before, but part of its charm is there aren't any of the big chains. When people come here for vacations they get to escape the world they know. Do you really think East Pender is going to be that special if people come and go shopping at Walmart, go to eat at McDonald's and then grab a coffee at Starbucks? How do you think our cafes are going to compete if they open up near us?”
“Hmmm, I see what you're saying. How confident are you that this actually is happening?”
“That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Look, I'm sure you've heard of the local burglaries right now. The rest of the merchants guild is worried about that and I don't want to take this to them just yet. For all I know I'm just overreacting and I've completely jumped to the wrong conclusion but if the mayor is up to something then I want to know what it is. I just need to discuss it with someone. My best friend is away on a honeymoon and my boyfriend is out of town as well. I know you're new around here and this might not be something you're interested in but I really could use the help.”
“Say no more! Maggie is on the case. What have you got for me so far?”
Ellen pulled out her laptop and showed her the Longthorne website. The company was run by Tom Longthorne, who had built it up over the years. Now he worked in conjunction with his son, Steven. They had a history of expanding into small towns. So it seemed that plans to build a mall in East Pender would fit their MO. The more they read, the more they worried about the future of the town. Looking through the other search results they found a number of websites with comments from people who had been put out of business because of Longthornes’ activities. The more they read, the more Ellen and Maggie became worried.
“I think you have to find out if this really is happening. If it is a lot of people could get hurt.”
Ellen made her way back home and printed off all the negative comments she could find and returned to the mayor's office. This time she didn't have an appointment but she didn't care. When it came to protecting the spirit of East Pender nothing would stand in her way as there was no cause dearer to her heart.
“Is this true?” she demanded.
The mayor looked at her with skepticism. His secretary stood at the door and shrugged helplessly, then closed it when they mayor gave her the signal.
“What is this about, Ellen?” he said wearily.
“These are comments I found about people whose lives have been wrecked by the Longthorne Corporation. There are many more out there as well. If you're seriously considering building a mall in East Pender, I strongly would urge you to decline whatever offer they've made.”
The mayor held out his hands in a calming gesture. He picked up the documents that Ellen had brought with her and flicked through them.
“There are a lot here,” he mused, then threw them back down on the table.
“I'm going to be honest with you now because I know you're not going to leave here unless you get answers, but this isn't any of your concern. I'm aware you help the police and you've become something of an icon in this town but that does not mean you deserve to be privy to business like this. But yes, an offer has been tendered for some buildings and if we were to accept that offer the company would build a mall. However, and I will stress this, at this time we have no plans to accept the offer. I know that people have a few opinions of me but I am not someone who is going to sell the soul of the town. Now, you have to understand this isn't as cut and dried as you might think. The offer they are making is extremely generous, and from their predicted numbers there would be a huge influx of people and money into East Pender, but so far they only have made an offer and it has not gone any further than that.”
Chapter 4
Ellen was si
tting in The Chrome Cafe with a cup of coffee in front of her and a waffle. Having been reminded of her love of it by Andy, her favorite book lay open in front of her. Yet her mind was wandering and she was unable to immerse herself in the fantasy world. Instead, she idly gazed out of the window to the street outside. The cafe was quiet and usually she liked times like these as it gave her the opportunity to reflect on things, but the last thing she wanted at the moment was time on her own.
Initially she had been heartened by the mayor's refusal to accept Longthornes’ offer but it troubled her that the documents were still on the table. For all of the mayor's posturing she wondered if he just was playing hardball with the huge company. Could the Longthornes eventually make an offer that the mayor could not refuse?
It would be a shame if a mall was built in the town. Part of the town’s charm was its unique identity and to have all the usual stores would make it so...generic. She sighed though. That seemed to be the way of the world. Big companies swallowed up everything smaller than them until there was nothing left but a shred of the original soul. It wasn't like in books, where things were timeless. She glanced down at the book and her lips curled into a wistful smile. Everything always ended the same way for them, happily.
The bell hanging over the top of the door chimed and Richard Robins entered. Richard was a kind man in his mid-30s with a friendly demeanor and never a bad word to say about anyone. Ellen often saw him running when she went out to exercise, although he ran far more frequently than she did. He always was doing some sort of fundraiser for charity and was exactly the sort of person who epitomized the heart of East Pender.
