Stump Speech Murder Read Online Free PDF

prison, that means Hap Brewster will be a shoo-in to win re-election in November.”
    “I know,” replied Joan.  “This is all simply horrible.”
    “Ladies,” said Pamela gesturing them together into a tighter group, “of course, it’s not good if Mr. Grant loses the election, but far worse is the fact that his wife is dead—and he’s the primary suspect.”
    “Only suspect, don’t you mean?” suggested Arliss.  “I mean, if they found him standing over her body, how could they suspect anyone else?”
    “How demoralizing this all is,” said Jane Marie, shaking her head.  “We’ve lived in Reardon all our lives and Hap Brewster has been mayor as long as I can remember.  He and his cronies run this town.  No one’s ever had the courage to confront him before James Grant.  I was really hoping that Mr. Grant would get elected—and maybe things would be–different.”
    “Different?  Different how? You sound like you know more about this than we do, Jane Marie,” said Pamela, honing in on the young secretary’s words.
    “All I know,” replied Jane Marie, “is that my husband works in the oil fields and he gets an earful about local politics all the time and how the good ol’ boy network affects that industry.  He’s also heard about the way Brewster and his gang have manipulated and controlled other local businesses.  He says that if you want to succeed in Reardon you have to play ball with the Brewster crowd or you can forget it.”
    “So, James Grant’s arrest is quite a coup for Brewster,” noted Pamela, aware that the departmental secretary’s longtime residence in the community gave her perspectives into local politics that Pamela didn’t have—being herself a relative newcomer of only fourteen years. 
    “Of course!” agreed Jane Marie.  “Dr. Barnes, it just makes me sick!  Here I thought we finally had a chance to rid this town of its more unsavory elements—and now this man whom we all thought could be our savior—goes and ruins it all for himself and everyone else!”
    “That’s only if he did it,” argued Joan.  “It all seems too pat to me.  Too much like a set-up.”
    “Set-up? How?” asked Jane Marie. 
    “I mean,” continued Joan, as the other women listened intently, “of all the people in the world whom Hap Brewster would probably want out of the picture, would probably want to see in jail, arrested for a crime—James Grant would be the most likely.  James’s arrest is Hap Brewster’s fondest wish.”
    “It could all just be coincidence,” suggested Arliss, the mother-to-be, meekly squeezing her maternity tunic.
    “If it’s a coincidence,” said Joan, looking pointedly from one woman to the other and pointing at each with her finger, “then I’m a monkey’s uncle.”
    “We have two monkeys in the lab, Joan,” offered Arliss.  “If you’d like to meet your nephews.”
    “I don’t hurt pregnant women,” scowled Joan in response, lifting her elbow mock-menacingly towards Arliss.  “If you think about it, there’s something really fishy about this—and no, Arliss–I don’t want to go look at the fish in your tanks.”
    “Surely,” said Pamela, “Hap Brewster wouldn’t order Stacy Grant killed just to get rid of his political competition.”
    “It’s possible,” whispered Joan, bending her head of silver curls towards the center of the group.  “But I wouldn’t breathe a word of speculation on this topic if I were you.  You never know who could be listening.”
    “About 178 ears,” noted Arliss, nodding at the cages surrounding them.
    “Does that include Eva’s new offspring?” asked Jane Marie, changing the tenor of the conversation.
    “It does!” announced Arliss.  “We keep close tabs on our creatures.” 
    “A lot better than anyone has kept tabs on our mayor and his entourage,” noted Joan, as she drew them close again.  “I wonder just how many local journalists he has in his pocket.”
    “Like Ginger