Page 14 of Shadowed Witness

“Everything going well?”

“Crime doesn’t end, but we’re doing our best.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less from you. Sorry we cut into your time with Mayor Jennings.” Wesley half turned to nod toward the mayor, who now stood in the doorway.

“No problem. It was a last-minute appointment.”

“Well, you’d better get in there. Keep up the good work.” Wesley clapped him on the shoulder and headed down the hall that led to the various council members’ offices.

“Detective Thornton. Come on in.” Jennings beckoned himinto the office, and Eric strode across the room to join him. He took the chair Jennings offered and readied his notebook and pen.

This was the first time he’d had reason to visit the mayor’s office, and he scanned the tastefully decorated room as the mayor filled two cups of water from a dispenser. Framed newspaper clippings and certificates of achievement hung on the wall behind Jennings’s desk and on the wall to his right—all declaring ways the mayor had fulfilled his mission statement over the years he’d been in office. Even Eric was impressed.

“Sorry you had to wait.” The mayor handed Eric one of the cups, then settled into his chair. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk between them and steepling his fingers. “Now, what can I help you with, Detective? Something about Allye Jessup’s fall, you said? I’m surprised they put a detective on it.”

Eric set the cup on the edge of the desk. “Thank you for taking the time to meet with me, Mayor Jennings. I won’t keep you long. I took the report from Officer Moore on last night’s incident and followed up with Allye Jessup today. There are a few details I’m hoping you can clear up. Can I get your account of the events?”

“Of course. I was working late—campaign season, you know. About seven thirty, I heard a scream. I rushed outside and tried to determine the source. No one was immediately visible, so I glanced between the nearby buildings and spotted Allye at the foot of the steps leading to her studio. She was unconscious, which truly scared me. I realize I shouldn’t have moved her in case she’d been seriously injured, but I didn’t think of that in the moment—I just wanted to make sure she was okay. I turned her over to check for obvious injury and confirm she had a pulse, then I tried to wake her up. She came to quickly, but she was very upset, thinking someone was hurt and someone else had tried to kill her. She must have hit her head pretty hard.I suggested she go to the emergency room, but she refused. I barely convinced her to let me drive her home.”

“You didn’t see anyone else around?”

“No. And I got out there pretty quickly. I think I would have at least heard someone running away if they’d been there.”

“Ms. Jessup is certain she was attacked.”

The mayor sat back and spread his hands. “I don’t see how that could be the case. But like I said, she apparently had a traumatic fall.”

“She also has bruising on her neck.”

“She mentioned her throat was sore,” Jennings admitted. “But I assumed it was either from her scream or perhaps from her purse strap. It was a large bag, and she was wearing it cross-body, so it could have twisted around when she fell.”

Eric shook his head. “I saw the bruises myself this morning. A purse strap alone couldn’t have made those marks. They’re consistent with strangulation.”

“Oh.” The mayor looked nonplussed. “That’s ... wow.” His phone buzzed on the desk, and when he reached for it, he bumped a five-by-seven frame with his elbow. The picture fell backward, revealing a family portrait of the mayor with his son and late wife.

Eric studied the image while the mayor responded to a message. The photo had to be at least five years old, before the family had been blindsided by Mrs. Jennings’s aggressive cancer. She still looked healthy here, and Liam, who was now in medical school, appeared to be around eighteen.

Mayor Jennings pocketed his phone and righted the photo. “Sorry about that, Detective. Urgent message from my campaign manager.”

“Not a problem.” He slipped back into interview mode. “So you didn’t see any marks on Allye’s neck last night?”

“No, I didn’t. But it was getting dark, and I could have overlooked them if they were there.”

Eric zeroed in on the mayor’s last words. “‘If they were there?’ Are you suggesting something might have happened after youtook her home? Because the bruises are certainly there now.” If Allye was protecting someone, it was possible the attack had occurred later at her house.

“Of course—I’m not doubting what you saw. And I really don’t mean to suggest anything.” Jennings frowned and lifted a hand to his forehead. “I just don’t know what to make of this situation. I found her literally within a minute or two of hearing her scream, and there was no hint of anyone else nearby. You know how quiet this part of town is at night.”

Eric couldn’t deny that. With the exception of the newspaper office on deadline night, the businesses currently on the town square tended to follow banking hours. Even the outliers were usually closed by 6:00 p.m. By 6:30, the area was practically deserted on most evenings.

But that didn’t preclude the possibility of a crime occurring. Nor did the mayor’s failure to hear anything else out of the ordinary. The attacker could have retreated quietly or even hidden nearby until the coast was clear. Harder to believe he’d been able to move a body so quickly and silently, but it still wasn’t out of the realm of possibility.

Or Allye might have actually fallen, and there was some other explanation for the bruising on her neck.

But what about the conversation she’d overheard today? He tapped his pen against the notebook. Should he bring that up to Jennings?

Normally, he wouldn’t divulge any more information than necessary during an interview, but Jennings was his boss, indirectly at least. And he knew Allye. Rumor around town was that the mayor was dating her mom and the relationship was getting serious. Might as well get his take on the matter.

“I agree the whole thing sounds a little off. But here’s another piece to the puzzle.” He flipped back a couple of pages. “Allye says she was out taking pictures at the park today and saw her attacker again—overheard a drug deal and a phone conversation.She said he was talking about a mess-up needing to be fixed and the threat of police turning against someone.”

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