Halfway to the Truth

HALFWAY to the TRUTH

By

Anthony Mays

This book is a work of fiction.  Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Halfway to the Truth
by Anthony Mays. Copyright © 2015 by Anthony Mays 

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.

Cover Design: SelfPubBookCovers.com/Shardel

Our modern industrial economy takes a mountain covered with trees, lakes, running streams and transforms it into a mountain of junk, garbage, slime pits, and debris.  ~Edward Abbey

Reese pulled into the alley behind the Mayor's office, stopped her engine, and exited the vehicle. She looked at the window three feet overhead contemplating what she was about to do.

Nearby, a metal trashcan and an old, plastic, milk crate caught her attention, so she moved them to just below the center of the window. She promptly turned over the crate and placed it next to the can. After unstrapping her heeled shoes, she kicked them off and stepped onto the crate using it to get to the top of the trashcan. As she reached the top, she heard the crunch of the metal lid when she shifted her weight to balance herself. But even with the aid of the can, her five-foot, six-inch frame was not high enough to fully look inside the window. All she could see was that the room was dark, typical for a Sunday when no one worked.

She pushed upwards on the window testing to see if it would open. "Locked tight", she said to an alley cat watching her from a perch not far.  "Probably a good thing too. Not sure I'd find what I'm looking for even if I did get inside." 

The cat's attention remained focused on the woman as she gave up her quest and retreated back down to the ground. Sensing trouble, the cat suddenly stood up and bounded away just as a police car entered the alley and parked behind Reese's vehicle.

A slightly built, late-forties, uniformed man wearing reflective sunglasses stepped out of the police car and put on his hat as he walked toward Reese. His greeting was suspect. "Hello Miss Summers, car trouble?" he asked scoping out the scene.

"Good afternoon Chief," she replied as she located her heels and slipped them back onto her feet. "Not exactly," she continued, "it's these new shoes. The damn strap came undone on one of them while I was driving, so I pulled over to fix it."

"
Uh-huh
," he said, surveying the can and crate under the window. "Funny how that happened right here outside the Mayor's office. You wouldn't be up to anything would you Miss Summers?"

"
Why Chief Daniels
, what could
I
possibly be up to?"

He grabbed the edge of his sunglasses with his right hand adjusting the fit on his face then answered. "I don't know," he drawled "might have something to do with that little scene you caused at the last town board meeting. You remember, when the Mayor called you out of order and wanted me to arrest you. You were fishing for something then and maybe you're fishing for something now?"

Reese moved toward her car to get back inside when the officer stepped next to her door impeding her progress. Her response was to turn and face him challenging, "If you think I've done something wrong, then arrest me. Otherwise, you're getting in the way of my enjoying the rest of the day."

The man tipped his hat and moved aside saying, "Just doing my job ma'am. Keeping the good citizens of New Harmony safe. Glad to know you're okay."

After stepping away far enough to allow her to pass, he looped his thumbs inside his gun belt and stood with his feet apart as if in a showdown. "Personally, I don't care what your beef is with the Mayor, but don't break the law. You cross that line and I will see to it that you're a guest in our local facility."

She gave him a forced grin while entering her vehicle. Then, for his sole benefit, she exaggerated the movement of buckling up for safety before she turned on the ignition, shifted into gear, and slowly exited the alley at the other end.

When she was at least a block away, Reese recalled the events leading up to the board meeting.

She had gone to the meeting as part of her reporter duties for the
New Harmony Press
. It was an opportunity brought on by the absence of a sick colleague, who normally covered the town’s political activities, to change from her routine coverage of social events and local business news. The editor had tasked her to research and report on the Mayor's push to annex a large tobacco farm at the edge of the city's limits and develop it as a new subdivision. From preliminary research, she was beginning to suspect that the Mayor may have personal reasons for wanting the deal to go forward.

A week prior to the meeting, she had visited the county courthouse and reviewed library records regarding the history of the now defunct farm. According to those records, the land was owned by a Jessie Sturgis who, now at age eighty-six, was sitting in a nursing home. There were no known living relatives of Jessie, so his estate would eventually pass into the hands of the state. In effect, his six-hundred acre farm would be forfeited to the taxpayers.

Reese also was inclined to check on the company that won the city’s bid to be the land developer. She discovered that the business owner had a history of making cheap land deals in other states that were followed by accusations of kickback money.

One particular project, which took place at a small town outside Dallas, stood out. The project involved some sort of landfill scheme involving the cattle farm of an owner whose situation was eerily similar to Mr. Sturgis’. One of the local politicians who reportedly received a kickback, was no other than the current Mayor of New Harmony. She learned that about four years ago, the Mayor was on the town’s board as a councilman. No charges were ever filed against anyone for lack of evidence to sufficiently convict. But, shortly after that incident, the Mayor resigned his board position and subsequently moved to New Harmony. In a short period of time, he became a council member and served in that position until his election as Mayor last year.

With her suspicions raised, she had planned to attend the next monthly town hall meeting and ask the Mayor to answer some serious questions.

On the evening of the meeting, she gathered copies of the documents she made at the county courthouse and library and packed them into her briefcase. She made sure she was one of the first arrivals and took a seat near the podium from which all citizens could speak when the forum was opened to public discussion. When the public was finally invited to make comments regarding town business, she was the first to raise her hand. She recalled the uncomfortable feeling she had in the pit of her stomach regarding her new role. But, she was determined as she stood and signed the city docket while she also announced her name.

Scanning the panel of seven board members, her attention came to rest on the Mayor. "Mayor, I have a few questions about your proposal to buy the Sturgis farm and develop it into a subdivision."

"We welcome your input Miss Summers and know that you are representing the local newspaper," he smugly invited. "As you may already know, the growth of the city is a top priority of mine. In front of all of us is an opportunity to expand our population base and thus provide the city with more revenue to improve the overall services to our residents. So, while I am eager to hear your questions, we can only allow three minutes per person, so please be brief."

Reese fought the urge to make any direct accusations based on what she had in her briefcase, instead, she chose to ask three questions for the Mayor to respond to.

"Mayor, can you comment on what the city will pay Mr. Sturgis per acre? Are you aware that the developer has been previously accused of giving kickbacks to local politicians for projects they helped pass? And, oh yes," she said, looking at her notes, "have you had any past business relationship with the land developer?"

The Mayor squirmed in his chair and a sweat broke out on his forehead. He fidgeted with the pen in his hand before replying. "Miss Summers I'm sure you already know the answers to your questions, so that's what you should write."

"I'm not sure I do sir, but even so, you may want to enlighten the other board members who have worked on that particular committee. Are there any concerns the board members and good citizens of New Harmony should know about regarding this project?"

"I'm sorry Miss Summers, but you've exceeded the time limit I gave you and we have other important business to discuss. So, if you'll take your seat, perhaps you and I can meet at another time to go over your issues."

"But Mayor ..."

"That's
enough
young lady!" he interrupted. Please take your seat so we can move on with our agenda."

"No, I
won't
sit down until you respond and make it a matter of public record."

"You're out of order!" he said, slamming down the gavel.

"No,
you're
out of order. I have a right as a reporter and citizen of this community to know the truth."

The Mayor turned to his Chief of Police who was in attendance at the meeting. With a red face and waving his gavel he said, "Do something Chief Daniels!  Arrest her for disorderly conduct!"

The Chief got up swiftly and moved to Reese who was still standing at the podium. With all the effort he could manage, without physically touching her, he made it clear she was to leave.

Reese gathered her notes and placed them back into her briefcase. She could feel the smoldering eyes of the Mayor watching her every move. When ready to leave, she turned and faced the Mayor who was aiming the gavel in his hand toward the door. "You can forget about meeting with me in private,” she said. “Ever heard of the Sunshine Law?"

The Chief was quick to grab her arm and escort her out of the room. But before the door closed, she heard another board member ask the Mayor for his answers to her questions and a smile came across her face.

Reese’s attention returned to the road ahead as she headed for the nursing home where Jessie Sturgis lived.

When she arrived at the nursing facility, one of the nursing assistants directed her to a man sitting in a wheelchair who was facing a corner of the community room. As she approached, she heard him muttering nonsense and shaking his finger at an illusionary person.

"Hello Mr. Sturgis," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "I'm Reese Summers. May I have a minute of your time?"

"Time?" he yelled over his shoulder. "Time to wake up! Time to eat! Time to take a nap! Time to take a shower! Time to go to bed! Time, time! I'm sick of time!"

Reese was startled and the ruckus had been noticed by a nearby maintenance worker who offered comfort to the visitor.

"He's harmless. Just gets agitated once in a while. Do you have any gum? He likes gum," then turned his attention back to cleaning the floor.

She rummaged through her purse and, amid the Kleenex, makeup, and car keys, came up with an old piece of Trident gum.

"Here Mr. Sturgis, she said, holding it out in front of his face, "have a piece of gum."

The old man reached up, grabbed it from her hand, and unpeeled the paper. He shoved it into his mouth saying, "
m-m-m-m
, good gum."

Reese slowly spun his chair around so she could look at him directly and so he could see her. He was chewing that gum like a beaver gnawing on a piece of wood.

She pulled up a nearby chair and sat so she could talk to him.

"Mr. Sturgis, I'm a news reporter. Are you able to talk to me about your farm?" She started to think it was a mistake being there; that she wouldn't get anything useful out of him when he suddenly surprised her.

He shook his head back and forth and stopped chewing long enough to mouth the words, "Not mine! Not mine!"

Reese shifted in her chair leaning in toward him. "Are you saying you aren't the owner?"

He suddenly spit out the gum sending it flying into her lap. "Aegis, Aegis," he emphatically said, then started shaking his finger at an illusionary person off to his right.

Reese thanked him for his time and, as an afterthought, hoped he wouldn't start back into his ‘time’ tirade again.

She replaced the chair to its original location and turned to leave.

"Aegis, Aegis," she heard from behind her and walked away.

Before leaving the facility, she introduced herself to the floor nurse and asked her how long she's worked at the home.

The nurse replied, "Three years. I was hired a few weeks before Mr. Sturgis," indicating toward the old man, "was admitted. He's only been like he is now for the past year. It happens to all of them eventually."

"Do you have any idea why he says Aegis?"

"Well, we're not supposed to talk about our patients," she said, looking around to see who was listening. "And you didn't hear this from me, but that's a company that apparently supplements his Medicare payments to the home. That's as much as I know."

"Okay, thank you." Reese departed the building but Aegis was solidly on her mind.

The next day, Reese arrived late to the newsroom and sat at her desk. She was turning on her computer when the news editor approached her from the side startling her.

"The Mayor called me at my house this weekend. Seems he wasn't pleased with your piece about the board meeting that was in Friday's edition. Your story was great, but you went about it the wrong way. You've got a sharp mind, but apparently, your tongue is sharp as well. A good reporter outwardly always remains objective on a story, even if it's eating you up on the inside."

"Thanks boss, I'll try and remember that." As the editor left her desk she offered an apology to him, "Sorry your weekend was interrupted."

With his back to her he waved her off suggesting, it's no big deal, now get back to work.

She typed in the word ‘Aegis’ on her search engine. She soon learned that it was a company that offered reverse mortgages or bought land paying the client a monthly stipend in return for a deed on their property. There was nothing surprising about their services, that was, until she checked the corporate directors. There, at the bottom of the list, were two familiar names — the developer of the Mayor's project and the Mayor himself.

"What are they up to?" she said under her breath.

About that same time, the mailman was making his weekday delivery to the newsroom and set the mail in its usual place.  All, but one medium-sized, manila envelope, which he carried to Reese's desk. "Here you go gorgeous," he said, laying it in front of her.

"Charlie, does your wife know you flirt with other women?" she asked picking up the envelope.

"Not that I know of. If you don't tell, I won't either," he said with a wink. "Can you do that thing you do with your hair?" his eyes imploring for some excitement.

She dropped the envelope onto the desktop and flipped her raven-black hair with both hands from the back. Then, she pulled a tuft of it from one side and ran it between her red lips. This time she added a little moan for effect.

"
Thank you
Miss Summers! If I was only forty years younger," he sighed before turning to leave.

Reese chuckled to herself saying, "If that's all it takes, maybe I need to give his wife some lessons." She continued with opening the envelope, noticing there was no return address.

Pulling out a four-fold piece of paper, she opened it. It was a copy of a diagram depicting the Mayor's development project for the six-hundred acre farm. There was to be one-hundred acres set aside for a park, another one-hundred acres was dedicated to commercial development, and the rest was for single and multiple-family homes. A handwritten note was stuck, by tape, to the top which read:
$50,000,000 plan — not a bad return on $100,000
.

She immediately connected the dots and knew the $100,000 was a reference for the amount Mr. Sturgis would probably receive for his land. "One-hundred thousand dollars!" she stammered. "Is that all he’ll get out of this? Even at a rock bottom price per acre he should receive a million and a half for it." She turned off her computer and stormed out of the office without saying a word to anyone.

Getting into her vehicle, she felt the need for speed and stomped on the gas pedal. By the time she reached the edge of town, she looked into her review mirror and caught the distant image of flashing red lights chasing after her. She let off the pedal and pulled to the side of the road to receive the inevitable.

The police car followed suit, coming to rest behind her; lights still flashing.

She looked into her review mirror again to see the recently familiar figure of Chief Daniels getting out of the squad car.

He approached the driver's side and knocked on her window.

She automatically rolled down the window and started to fish in her purse for her driver's license. Before he even spoke, she was preparing for the worse.

Chief Daniels removed his sunglasses. "I'm guessing that you're practicing for the Daytona 500 because you got my envelope."

"
You're
envelope?
You
sent me that diagram?"

"Yep. I knew it would get your attention. The Mayor wants me on his side so, he gave this diatribe about the new subdivision and shared that paper with me. I'd like to have it back though, in case he asks for it. I sent it to you because you probably know what's really going on with his plans more than I do. And, I don't
want
to know."

"Well Chief Daniels, you surprise me — I thought you had it in for me. And I'll bet you know more than you care to admit about those plans. But that's okay, I'm halfway to the truth and expect I'll be able to expose the Mayor soon."

"Look, my interests are purely selfish,” he said. “I like New Harmony just the way it is. We don't need to invite more people here because they'll just bring trouble, and I don't like trouble. I'm no fan of the Mayor, he's dirty, but I work for the man. I’m only asking that whatever you have to do, to do it legal."

Reese continued fishing through her purse.

"You won't need that," he said, donning his sunglasses, "I'm just giving you a warning — this time. See that I get that diagram back." He tipped his hat and went back to the squad car.

During the next few weeks, Reese stayed busy researching public records and interviewing as many people as she could find to talk about Aegis, the Mayor, and anything else that would shed light on the city project. Eventually, she was satisfied she had all the answers needed and now only had to put them on paper.

When the day came to present her story to the editor for his approval, she met some resistance. The editor was skeptical of some of the sources Reese had used for her piece and therefore was reluctant to publish it. He also thought it was an over-the-top investigative piece rather than just locally newsworthy.

Reese persisted, providing him irrefutable proof that the Mayor was nothing more than an out-and-out crook.

"Maybe it's time for me to retire," he said. "I liked it better when you wrote simple pieces about what the ladies auxiliary was up to. I guess I've lost that spark that keeps a good newsman in the hunt. There's no telling how this is going to be received by the citizens of New Harmony, but they have a right to know, so I'll print it. But this is big city stuff and not what a small newspaper should be about."

Reese's story came out in that Friday’s edition of
New Harmony Press
. By noon, Reese, half the citizens of New Harmony, and all the city's councilmen tried to cram into the spaces at city hall to engage the Mayor on the article. He was nowhere to be seen.

Working his way through the crowd, Chief Daniels entered the boardroom. "May as well start the impeachment process," he boomed due to the noise of the crowd. "I saw the Mayor's van leaving town and it was packed as tight as a sardine can. I don't think he's coming back."

The Chief worked his way further next to Reese. "That was quite an explosive article you wrote Miss Summers. I guess I won't be needing that diagram back after all. With all the suggestions of impropriety by the Mayor indicated in your article, I didn't see anything he could have been arrested on. So I let him leave."

Wrestling to get her notepad back into her briefcase she said, "Guys like him cover their tracks pretty well. He'll just move on to somewhere else until he's successful in pulling off those million dollar deals, or, makes a mistake and gets caught." Gathering the rest of her things, she added, "Guess I'm done here. See you around town Chief."