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The only place large enough to hold an emergency town meeting on less than twenty-four hours’ notice was the high school gymnasium. The place was swarming with people. Mimi smoothed down the fabric of her dark skirt. She had on the same outfit she’d worn for her first city council meeting. Maybe it would bring her luck. Or maybe not, considering that meeting hadn’t exactly gone stellar. But it was her most professional outfit and it gave her a boost of confidence. Although, despite the fact she’d unintentionally lost a few pounds in the last month, the waistband bit into her flesh.
She sat in a fold-out chair, facing the packed bleachers and tried not to squirm as Bruce and Larry and the rest of the city council took their places alongside her. At Bruce’s insistence, she’d called the meeting first thing this morning. Signs had been placed all over town, but once the Bunco Babes and the Gray Flamingos had gotten wind of what was going on, they’d activated their respective phone chains and everyone who was anyone in town had shown up. They’d even had to place speakers outside the gym so all the people who hadn’t been able to get inside could hear what was going on.
Gus Pappas made some adjustments to the mic, then nodded at Mimi. He held onto her gaze for a few seconds longer than she expected in a look that could only be described as sympathy. Did Gus know something she didn’t?
She must have been paranoid, because everyone in the gym clapped wildly when she stood. She grabbed a piece of paper from her tote and made her way to the podium on shaky legs, determined not to let Bruce get in the first word. Last night, he’d basically accused her of incompetence and told her if she didn’t call a meeting, as a member of the city council, he would. Hopefully, taking matters into her own hands would nip whatever nastiness Bruce had planned in the bud.
“Good morning. In case you don’t know me by now, I’m Mimi Grant, your mayor. I want to thank everyone for coming out here today. I know some of you have already been to church and some of you have services you want to get to, so I’ll make this brief.”
She read from the notes on her paper. “Yesterday, Whispering Bay had one of the most successful Spring Into Summer festivals in the history of this town. Most of the local businesses saw a huge profit, especially the food trucks and the booths sponsored by local restaurants. The concert last night was attended by more people than we could count, but we do know that we sold over a thousand tickets, twice the number we expected. Unfortunately, we weren’t prepared for such a large crowd and, sometime shortly before ten p.m. in a rare moment when the ticket booth was not properly supervised, someone snuck into the booth and stole twenty-thousand dollars.”
The crowd gasped. Everyone began to talk at once.
Mimi waited a moment for her mouth to start to work again. She tapped on the mic, regaining the crowd’s attention. “The money made by the festival has always gone into a special bank account to help fund the following year’s festival. In the past, when there’s been a surplus, the money has been used for the good of the community. Like purchasing the playground equipment at Seashell Park. Recently, however, the festival has actually lost money. Despite the theft of this twenty-thousand dollars, I’m happy to report that the festival has once again gone into the black. We don’t have exact numbers, but it appears that we made a profit in the neighborhood of almost fifteen thousand dollars. That’s due to the generous support of the citizens of this wonderful city I’m so proud to represent.”
There was a light scattering of polite applause.
“I promise you that, as mayor, I will do everything I can to help in the apprehension of the person or persons responsible for this theft. But I ask for your patience in this matter, as well. We must allow the police to do their job, which means we all need to cooperate and be patient as we await the outcome of their investigation. As always, I’ll be available to answer any of your questions, about this or any other concerns you might have. Thank you.”
Mimi sat down and let out a huge breath. There. That wasn’t so bad. She watched as Bruce scampered his way up to the podium.
“Good morning, everyone,” Bruce said with a smarmy smile on his face. “First, let’s take a moment to all bow our heads in prayer.” The crowd looked confused, but they went along with him. Oh, brother. Mimi had seen Bruce do this a couple of times before when they had campaigned against one another. He probably felt like it gave him some kind of edge over her.
“Heavenly Father!” Bruce bellowed into the mic. “Grant us the wisdom and serenity and the…intelligence to make the right choices here today….” He droned on and on, not making much of any sense really.
Mimi was exhausted. She and Zeke, as well as half the Whispering Bay police force had stayed up all night, combing the festival grounds in hopes of discovering what had happened to the missing money. Just when Mimi thought she might doze off, she heard Bruce say her name, causing her to sit straight up in her chair.
“I hate to be the first one to throw stones”—did everything have a Biblical connotation in Bruce’s mind?—“but there simply was not enough police security last night! And whose fault was that? Well, there’s only one person in charge of the festival. The town mayor. I ought to know, since I was blessed enough to have served as your mayor for the past decade. Not that I’m tooting my own horn or anything, but nothing like this ever happened during my tenure.” He paused. Larry jumped from his seat to bring him a sheet of paper.
Good grief. Did Bruce have a speech he planned to read?
“I have in front of me a list of grievances that several fine citizens have brought to the city council’s attention. As the senior member of the council, I come to you with a heavy heart and a burden so great I can barely lift it. But, alas, I must! As you all know, our mayor Mrs. Grant is married to the chief of police. Under normal circumstances, this sort of incestual relationship within the structure of our city government can be tolerated, but I’m afraid the parties involved have gone far beyond anything that we can stomach.”
What the?
Mimi searched Zeke out. He stood, in uniform, next to Rusty and Mike and several other officers who were helping with crowd control for the meeting. He shook his head at her. Mimi instantly recognized it as a sign to stay calm. She took a deep breath and listened.
“Number one grievance,” Bruce shouted like a preacher from the pulp
it. “Misuse of city services! On or about the night of March twenty-eighth, an urgent 911 call was made requesting police assistance to the home of our mayor. I believe she said she was in the middle of a home invasion. At the time, as most of you know, the mayor and her husband were estranged. I believe her husband was living out at Rusty Newton’s cousin’s fishing cabin. Many of you might have been involved in the committee to bring our chief meals. I know my wife, bless her heart, stayed up several nights cooking so that our chief wouldn’t feel the effects of his wife’s abandonment.
“Now, you may ask, what’s so wrong about calling 911? It’s the right of every citizen, after all. If you fear for your life or property, then by all means, dial away. But…and please, if you haven’t read Fifty Shades of Grey, cover your ears because what I’m about to say will shock you. The mayor and her husband used the call in some sort of twisted…sexual game. I have proof the mayor was never in any danger whatsoever!”
At first the gym seemed stunned. Then everyone began talking at once.
Mimi didn’t know whether to be mad or to laugh. Bruce was insane!
“Photographic evidence will prove that the only home invasion was on the part of two rather amorous armadillos.” The crowd began to laugh. Bruce’s face went red, but he continued. “At least four patrol cars as well as an ambulance and a fire truck were all dispatched in the middle of the night, drawing these essential first responders away from any potential real emergencies. I’m not sure where the kink is in all this, but there’s proof that the mayor and her husband spent the night together, as he was caught trying to sneak out of the house early the next morning.”
Gus stood and went to the podium. “That’s enough, Bruce,” he said sternly. “Hand over the mic.”
The crowd began to clap at Gus’s motion.
“But I’m not done!” Bruce said.
Mimi got up from her seat. “May I?” She pointed to the mic. “I’ll give it right back to you. I promise.” She said it loud enough that it caught on the microphone, giving Bruce no choice but to reluctantly hand it over.
She eyed the crowd, most of which looked back at her with sympathy and support. “I’m sorry for the…bizarre tone this meeting has taken on, and as much as I’d like to ask Mr. Bailey to step down, I’m going to let him finish, because there isn’t anything he can accuse me of that will prove my unsuitability to lead as your mayor. But, I believe that’s exactly where he’s trying to go. Isn’t that right, Bruce?”
