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looking up occasionally to hear what Lucille had to say. If you only knew, I
thought.
One of the other councilmen, who was apparently quite knowledgeable about
animal control problems, promised Lucille Belfountain that he would make sure
the town s animal control officers did extra patrols in her neighborhood and
urged her to call him back in a couple of weeks if things did not improve.
That business done, the mayor asked whether any members of the council had any
other business to bring up before she adjourned the meeting.
Carpington leaned into his microphone. Yes, Mayor, I had a matter I wanted
to bring to the council s attention.
Go ahead, she said.
I just wanted to serve notice that at the next regular meeting of the
council, I will be putting a motion on the table that we approve the final
phase of development for Valley Forest Estates. I believe all the
environmental concerns have been addressed and that it would be beneficial not
only for the developers of this site but for the town as a whole to approve
the development at this time. It broadens our tax base, means more jobs, and
more families coming into the community of Oakwood and making contributions on
so many levels.
I was thinking, You have a hairy butt. You have a hairy butt.
From the other end of the table, Councilman Ben Underwood spoke. I can t
believe what I m hearing. Samuel Spender, who spoke to us so eloquently only a
few weeks ago about the need to protect Willow Creek, died violently but a few
days ago, and I think Councilman Carpington s motion is an insult to that
man s memory and should be set aside at least until the police investigation
into Mr. Spender s death has become fruitful.
Now hold on, Carpington said. I m on record as saying that I had nothing
but respect for Samuel Spender and the work he did throughout his life to
protect the environment, and we should all be grateful to him for the concerns
he raised about Willow Creek, and had he not done that, then Valley Forest
Estates would not have had the benefit of his suggestions when it came to
revising the plans for its final phase.
Oh gee, Roger, Underwood sneered, what did your friends do, cut back from
300 homes to 299?
That s a ridiculous comment to make, Carpington said. You d rather wipe
out an entire neighborhood if it meant saving a salamander. Furthermore, I see
no connection between police investigating the circumstances of Mr. Spender s
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death and the development plans for this property.
Talk about ridiculous comments. You wouldn t
I think we can hold this debate, the mayor interrupted, when Councilman
Carpington makes his motion. If there s no other new business, then I would
like to make a motion to declare this meeting adjourned. Do we have a
seconder?
Carpington jammed his papers into a briefcase, shaking his head angrily. At
the other end, Underwood grabbed his things and stormed out of the council
chamber. This guy was clearly not a friend of Don Greenway s. Don t take any
walks down by the creek, I thought.
Carpington was hotfooting it to the exit when I tried to head him off. Mr.
Carpington? I said. Excuse me?
He glanced over at me, still bristling from his exchange with Underwood.
Yes? he said, looking at me over the top of his glasses.
Do you have a moment?
It s really late, he said. Why don t you call my secretary tomorrow, or my
home, and make an appointment?
I m afraid it can t wait. It s rather urgent. I raised the brown envelope
in front of me. There were other council members, within earshot, filing past
us.
I m terribly sorry, but I have to insist. Another time.
I leaned in close to him, whispered. It s about Stefanie Knight, Mr.
Carpington.
It was like you d turned on a tap and drained the blood out of him in a
couple of seconds. He swallowed, glanced over at his colleagues, then
whispered back to me, My office.
He led me down a tiled hallway and into a small room that served as his
municipal office. It contained a small desk stacked with papers, a computer
tucked in the corner, and several town surveys tacked to the walls. He quickly
closed the door behind us and directed me into a chair. A cheap World s
Greatest Dad statuette sat on his desk next to a family photo. He grinned at
the camera, surrounded by his plain wife and generic-looking children a girl
and two boys, all under the age of ten.
What s this about? he said, slipping behind his desk. I m afraid I don t
know anyone named, what was it? Stefanie White?
Knight, I said. Nice try. I guess that was why you dragged me in here and
closed the door, because you ve never heard of her.
I m afraid I don t even know who you are.
Zack Walker. I m one of your constituents. I live in the Valley Forest
Estates subdivision, on Greenway Lane.
I see. Oh yes, Stefanie Knight. I believe she works in the Valley Forest
Estates office. I think I ve run into her there.
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Fuck it, I thought. I opened the envelope, withdrew one of the prints, and
flung it across the desk at him. It landed image down. He grabbed it by one
corner, flipped it over.
I didn t believe he could lose any more color. He was the whitest,
pastiest-looking weasel I d ever had the pleasure of sitting across a desk
from, and this included all the newspaper editors I d ever worked for.
The hand holding the print began to shake. Carpington ran his hand over his
scalp, wiping away the droplets of sweat that were beginning to form.
How much? he asked. How much do you want?
20
right off the bat, roger carpingtondid not strike me as a guy skilled in the
art of negotiating. Caving is not one of the standard tactics. One look at the
picture of himself with Stefanie Knight and he was ready to cut me a check.
You think I m here to blackmail you? I asked.
Carpington, still sweating, said, What other purpose could you have in mind
when you come to me with a picture like this? You re out to ruin me, that s
obvious. But I m guessing that you can be dissuaded from that if we can agree
upon a price.
I leaned back in my chair. I do think that the motive behind this picture,
and the other ones I have in this envelope Carpington fixed his eyes upon
it is definitely blackmail, Mr. Carpington, but I m not your blackmailer.
It s somebody else. Maybe it s Stefanie Knight. Has she been blackmailing you?
Did she tell you she d tell your wife about your affair if you didn t pay her
off?
Carpington was wide-eyed. That s ridiculous. I m not having an affair with
Stefanie.
I furrowed my brow, slid another one of the prints from the envelope out
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