I was seriously considering calling a cab and heading back into town to get my car when Cass walked back around the structure. He climbed into the vehicle and pulled away.
“So, what happened?” I asked. “Was the mayor shot like we suspect Dale Conover was?”
“He was shot,” Cass confirmed. “The fire department was able to respond sooner than they had to the fire at Dale Conover’s place, so the damage to the structure was minimal, and Mayor White’s remains were in much better shape than Dale’s had been. I’m hoping an autopsy will give us additional information about both deaths. At this point, I’m assuming the deaths are related. Both men died in their home office, and both fires seem to have been started in a similar manner.”
“So this probably clears Lissa,” I pointed out.
He nodded. “I wouldn’t go so far as to say it clears Lissa, but I don’t know of any reason Lissa would have to kill Mayor White.”
“I was thinking that the killer, assuming that both men were killed by the same person, must be someone who would be hurt if whatever Mayor White discussed with Dale during his therapy sessions came out.”
“I had the same thought,” Cass admitted. “I’m going to have to cancel my volunteer shift at the shelter today. I’m sorry to leave you to play with the dogs on your own, but this can’t wait.”
“It’s not a problem. Maybe I can bring some food to your office when I’m done.”
He hesitated.
“You have to eat.”
He nodded. “Actually, that sounds good, but call first. If I’m done doing what I need to do to follow up on today’s incident, I’ll probably prefer to go out and eat. We can meet somewhere.”
“Okay. I’ll call you when I’m done at the shelter, and we can figure it out from there.”
Once we got back to Cass’s office, I picked up my car and headed to the shelter. I had one-on-one doggy training today before the playtime Cass and I did on Fridays. I was going to miss Cass’s presence during playtime, but I did understand that with two high profile murders to solve, he was going to be a busy guy.
When I arrived at the shelter, Naomi was chatting with one of the other trainers. She waved me over, so I joined them.
“I just spoke to Cass,” she said. “You usually seem to know what is going on. Do you know what happened?”
“I don’t have all the details,” I answered Naomi’s question. “I do know that Mayor White was in his home office when a fire was set to his home.”
“I’m really not all that surprised,” the woman who’d been chatting with Naomi when I arrived joined in. “I heard from a friend who works for the town as a freelance bookkeeper, that Mayor White invited several large hotel chains to visit the area with the hope of luring them into developing resorts in our community without even getting approval from the council first.”
“I was at the town council meeting this week,” I said. “My name is Callie, by the way.”
“Ellen,” she introduced herself. “It’s true that White was pretending to go through official channels, but according to my friend, Polly, he was doing his own thing behind the scenes.”
“Polly Thorndike?” I asked. I seemed to remember she worked for the town in a freelance capacity.
“Yes, Polly Thorndike,” Ellen confirmed. “And she told me that not only has he been negotiating with developers behind the backs of everyone who should be involved, but she also said he’s doing all sorts of other things the council hadn’t authorized.”
“Like what?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I’m not exactly sure, but I think he has been doing audits and stuff. I suppose he wants to trim the fat from the budget so he can afford to lure people in with their fancy new resorts. I know when Hank Bradford found out what was going on, he threatened to shoot the man and hang his carcass in the town square if he didn’t back off with his pro-development stance.”
Okay, that sounded needlessly violent, but I knew that Hank owned the Foxtail Lake Inn, and it made sense that if a large hotel chain got a foothold in the area, he’d eventually be out of business. I also knew that Hank was the sort to say things he really didn’t mean, so I doubted he would have killed the guy. Besides, what I knew which these women might not have put together, was that Mayor White’s death was most likely connected to Dale Conover’s death, and I couldn’t see a single reason why Hank would kill Dale.
“How long has White been mayor?” I asked. He hadn’t been mayor when I’d lived here before.
“A couple of years,” Naomi answered. “The man moved to Foxtail Lake several years ago and immediately began positioning himself to run for town council. Once he was elected, he used his political clout as a steppingstone to become mayor. Initially, it seemed like he’d make a good mayor, and I thought someone from out of the area might bring a new perspective to local politics, but since he’s been in office, he’s made some decisions that I’m not at all a fan of.”
“Walter Bowman would make a good suspect in Mayor White’s murder,” Ellen said.
“Walter Bowman, the pharmacist?” I asked. “Why would that sweet old man want to kill Mayor White?”
“I guess you heard that Walter is looking to sell his business so he can move closer to his daughter.”
I nodded. I had heard that.
“Well, Walter had the place all but sold, but then Mayor White stepped in and started picking the sales agreement apart, and the next thing Walter knew, his buyer was backing out.”
“Why would Mayor White do that?” I asked.
“Because Walter wanted to sell to a couple from Aurora who planned to leave things exactly as they are. Meanwhile, Mayor White put in an offer on the same property with the idea of tearing that whole block down as part of his redevelopment project.”
“There are six businesses on that block.” I pointed out.
“There are. The bank is already set for relocation, and I’m pretty sure a sales agreement with White has already been negotiated. The diner on the corner closed a year ago, and I believe that White has an option on that property as well. The owners of the hunting and fishing store, the hairdresser, the pet shop, and the pharmacy have all held out. I think White knew that if he could get one of the three to sell, the others would be forced to comply. Walter didn’t want to be the one to bring the whole block down, so he decided to sell to the couple from Aurora. Of course, White was never going to let that happen, so he got in the middle of Walter’s deal. I know Walter was madder than a cat with his tail caught in the screen door when he found out about White’s involvement with the loss of the sale he thought was a done deal.”
It was beginning to sound as if there were quite a few folks in the community who wouldn’t be all that upset about Mayor White’s demise, but I seriously doubted that any of the folks mentioned killed him.
Several of the other trainers came in while we were chatting, so Naomi called everyone together to begin the training session. I had to admit that I was impressed with Naomi’s commitment to making sure the dogs she placed in forever homes were healthy and mostly free of negative behavior patterns that could very well land them right back in the shelter. Once the training class was done, I headed toward the playroom where Cass and I normally played with a group of dogs for ninety minutes. During the warmer months, we’d use the time to take the dogs out for a long walk around the property, but during the winter, we made do with endless games of fetch. I always enjoyed these sessions, but I had to admit that I wasn’t having nearly as much fun as I did when Cass was doing the shift with me.
Once the shift was over, I called Cass as we’d arranged, and he suggested we meet at the Pinewood Diner for a meal. The diner was a casual dining establishment located on the lake about halfway between Aunt Gracie’s place and Cass’s cabin. I wondered about Milo, who’d been with Cass when I’d last seen him, but Cass informed me that he’d actually gone home to change his clothes and drop Milo off in anticipation of my call.