City Hall by Lisa Bush

Author:Lisa Bush
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lisa Bush
Published: 2021-09-07T03:35:58+00:00

TWENTY ONE

In the late afternoon, Ada left the University and headed home. She had worked for five hours on her manuscript after the first draft arrived in her inbox this morning, torn apart by her editor. The feedback read: Too scientific. Will turn off readers. Needs to be lighter. Humour would enhance the more technical parts. She had worked non-stop, eating her lunch over the keyboard.

She needed to move. She needed to shift gears. Once home, she parked her car on the quiet cul-de-sac and left her work bag in the trunk of her car. She entered the walking path that ran alongside her house and connected to the north side of the Glenmore Reservoir trail. Ada knew that if she went into her house, even to put away her work bag, she would be sucked into small talk with Pilar and countless distractions, none of which were urgent. And then there was the matter of Mateo. Once she saw him, her resolve to leave would be crippled. So instead, she would walk. She needed to clear her head.

As the path dipped south and turned west, Ada noticed the sound of wind blowing through bare aspen trees and the thick pallets of snow balancing on the spruce branches. Enjoying the rhythm of her boots crunching the snow as she walked, her mind began to wander to the business card she found on the floor near Alex’s body. Was Alex giving the card to the killer right before he was murdered? Were they discussing her? As far as Ada could tell, this made no sense. She and Alex hardly ran in the same social circles. Regarding work, she was an advocate for environmental sustainability and ethical urban design; he would hardly recommend her to a friend, fellow politician, or business owner.

She moved onto the idea that Alex was receiving her card from the killer. Who had access to her business cards? Members of the media would have access to her cards from her work on cbc Radio One. As the in-house environmental consultant, she was in the habit of leaving a handful of cards behind her when she went in to be interviewed. Also, she was interviewed by the Calgary Times, so those employees would have access to her cards, which she left behind. A woman did not get a steady stream of book deals, interviews, and consulting jobs by keeping her name a secret.

Was a journalist blackmailing Alex? Had someone caught wind of his questionable relationships with his former construction company and the Southern Expressway development?

Ada also realized that those involved in City Hall or provincial politics would have access to her card; she occasionally did work assessing potential oil well sites and public land development. Possibly Alex had upset a member of City Hall due to his questionable business practices. Was there another ward councillor that Alex worked with who had a strong environmental platform? Maybe he or she was blackmailing him?

Let’s see, who else? She searched her brain as she walked, the movement invigorating her.

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