Campaigning Can Be Deadly by Charlotte Stuart

Author:Charlotte Stuart
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Amphorae Publishing Group, LLC
Published: 2020-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 11

THE STING

WHEN WE GOT BACK to the car, I called Detective Connolly. “I think we just did what you told us not to do,” I said. “I think we poked a hornet’s nest. But by accident, not deliberately.”

He could have immediately started blaming us for stepping in it even before he heard the details. Instead he asked, “Are you okay? Do you need assistance?” He sounded concerned. I appreciated that. Especially since he had specifically warned us not to meddle.

“We were asking a couple of Norcross’s university buddies about his protest activities.” I paused. Connolly didn’t say anything, waiting for me to continue.

“Go ahead,” Yuri whispered. “Tell him.”

“They told us that Norcross was compiling a list of people and companies for protesters to target to let them know they aren’t welcome in our state and to possibly expose any secret or underhanded deals they are part of. Maybe even reveal illegal or criminal activities.”

“And?”

“They pointed out a young woman Norcross had been dating, and we tried to talk to her.”

“Tried?”

“Yes, her father is a local politician who gets a lot of money from the oil industry.”

“So do a lot of politicians.”

“But this one’s daughter did not respond well when approached. At first, she just said she didn’t want to talk to us and walked off, but I followed her and mentioned that I knew she and Brian had been dating. Then she told me that her mother had warned her not to talk to anyone about Brian. She threatened to contact the police if I persisted. I decided to contact you before she could call anyone.”

“So, she either anticipated someone would approach her about Norcross or someone else already has.” He sounded like he was speculating out loud, not asking me a question. “Do you think Norcross was playing her and she found out?”

“It certainly seems like a possibility. But why mention that her mother warned her not to talk to anyone about him?”

“Maybe she told her mother about Norcross and her mother advised her to keep mum about her murdered boyfriend to protect her from an inquisitive and sometimes unkind press,” Connelly said.

“Or maybe daddy was a target and he found out, either from his daughter or through another source. It’s something that needs looking into.”

“But not by you,” Connolly said firmly. “I’ll have someone check it out. Now give me their names, all of them—the two students, the young woman and her parents.” It wasn’t a request. I gave him the names of Alan, Ken, Lisa and her parents, Karl and Jennifer Brennan. Then he said, “It sounds to me like your new client’s interests are surprisingly close to the lines of inquiry in our murder investigation.”

“I’m telling you the truth when I say that we aren’t trying to find Brian’s killer. But it’s possible the same people who are causing our, ah, client difficulty, also had some interaction with Brian.” I suddenly realized I was thinking of the dead student more and more as Brian rather than as Norcross.

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