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Murder In Bumfordville
Murder In Bumfordville
Murder In Bumfordville
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Murder In Bumfordville

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When the Acumen Incorporated relocates its corporate office to the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania, Justine Wallis isn’t happy, but a recent MBA with little job history in a tough economy doesn’t have many options. When her boss approaches her about participating in a corporate program that helps the newly transferred get to know Bumfordville, her participation isn’t really optional - not if she cares about her job. She expects to be bored to tears seeing the sights in Bumfordville. She isn’t expecting to find dead bodies.

Murder in Bumfordville, is a mystery with a reluctant amateur sleuth, Justine Wallis. Bumfordville is a town whose fortunes have changed overnight with the arrival of Acumen and an initial transfer-in of hundreds of corporate employees. The change is upsetting to both the townsfolk and the newcomers. Justine only wants to do her job well, and transfer back to the city to be with her friends and family, and all the things city life offers. Justine only knows a handful of folks in Bumfordville, and on her first weekend in town, she finds two of her new acquaintances murdered. Is she next? People are looking at her funny – there had never been a murder in Bumfordville before Justine got to town. Justine’s boss wants her to use her analytical ability to look for anomalies, to ask questions and look for answers, but it’s not easy. Everything in Bumfordville is weird to this city girl. Justine isn’t really sure why her boss wants her to snoop. Is it to stay ahead of the public relations curve, or is it to keep an Acumen secret? Is she helping the company, or is she helping the murderer? What secret is Bumfordville keeping? Declan Hicks, the young, inexperienced police chief, is in over his head desperately trying to prove himself to the town and Justine. The two race against the clock to prevent the next murder in Bumfordville.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherJ.M. Haines
Release dateJun 17, 2012
ISBN9781476497884
Murder In Bumfordville

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    Murder In Bumfordville - J.M. Haines

    MURDER IN BUMFORDVILLE

    By J.M. Haines

    Published by J.M. Haines at Smashwords

    Copyright 2012 J.M. Haines

    This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

    Cover photo by Bridget Murray Hall at Blue Sky Photography

    ***

    Chapter 1

    Justine Wallis sat alone in the lounge adjoining her boss’ office suite. His administrative assistant position wasn’t filled, so the lacquer and granite desk guarding his office was empty. Only a skeleton crew had transferred to the new offices in Bumfordville. It was almost silent here - a few far away phones ringing, the white noise of HVAC. Charles Devine had requested a three o’clock meeting with her – no details, of course, that would have allowed her to be prepared. She had been beckoned. She knew to wait. Charles Devine didn’t want employees knocking on his door. Devine explained to the staff that he was often teleconferencing with the field offices, and he didn’t want to be interrupted. The scoop was that he was addicted to Team Fortress and was locked in a deadly on-line battle with one of the IT guys.

    The new headquarters at Acumen Incorporated were state of the art, but this office suite was designed to wow - expressionist artwork from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, body-kissing velvet seating, and sink to your knees carpeting. Justine Wallis thought of the office suite as a beautiful glass slipper and Charles Devine, acting Chief Operating Officer, the ugly stepsister’s smelly hairy-toed foot trying to fit.

    Justine noticed he had added a crudely carved wooden plaque affixed to his door with his name and title. The crude plaque clashed with the grandeur of the office. Technically it should say Temporary Chief Operating Officer, she thought. Was he hoping that putting up the plaque would make the job permanent?

    The floor to ceiling windows showed a panorama of rolling green hills dotted with tidy farmhouses. Most people would appreciate this view of Bumfordville, but not Justine. She preferred a cityscape. The empty fields mirrored her empty life in Bumfordville. Everything important to her - family, friends, culture, a social life - was three hours away on the turnpike in Philadelphia. At least weekends offered a reprieve. Tonight, she had a big date with Andrew.

    Before she could daydream about Andrew, Devine’s door swung open, and his football player frame filled the doorway. He smiled and waved her into his office. He settled himself behind his very large polished cherry desk, and pointed to the small chair in front of his large desk.

    She sat as directed. I see you have a new name plate, Charles

    Devine laughed. Hideous isn’t it, but it makes it look like I’m supporting the local artists. The boss is big on that. I can get you one if you want?

    Justine smiled and declined.

    The reason I wanted to meet with you…it’s pretty serious Justine. Don’t get me wrong, we’re very happy with your work. You’re one of our best investment analysts. But I was at a meeting today with the boss, and Personnel put up a Powerpoint with a couple names, one of them yours, and your name had a big fat zero next to it. No matter how great an analyst you are, the boss now subconsciously has it in brain that Justine Wallis is a zero.

    Her eyes widened, her heart raced. She was ready to jump from her seat. Justine put in twelve-hour days running data models and analyzing the numbers so Acumen customers had the best performing investment portfolios. Why? What are you talking about, Charles?

    Calm down. Vincent Spering, our beloved CEO, came up the Connections program to get everyone familiar with the area. They have a sports program where you spend the weekend finding out all about what the area has to offer in terms of sports and the outdoors. They do a history program, you find out all about the historical sites in the area. You have a zero, Justine, because you haven’t attended any of the Connections program events.

    Of course she never attended any of the Connections events. She couldn’t wait to get out of Bumfordville. She didn’t want to learn anything about Bumfordville, because she didn’t want to be here. I saw the emails and posters, but I thought it was voluntary.

    Well, sure it’s voluntary, because we don’t pay you to participate, but management notices these things Justine. Employees, who connect to the Ville, are making a commitment to Acumen.

    Management always called Bumfordville, the Ville, to try to make it sound cool. Employees who didn’t want to move had other names for Bumfordville. It didn’t matter. She didn’t want to get acclimated to Bumfordville. Her plans involved getting out of Bumfordville as soon as possible and transferring back to Philadelphia. So I should sign up for a Connections program? She couldn’t believe someone put a zero next to her name for this, after all the money she made for Acumen.

    Devine smiled that creepy smile and sucked his teeth. Justine, you need to sign up for this weekend’s Connection program.

    What? A whole weekend? This weekend! she asked.

    All of the Connections programs are scheduled over the weekend. It encourages people to stay in the Ville. Tonight’s program is the nightlife program - it’s right up your alley…they need some volunteers.

    I have plans Charles. I have a date to the NPR benefit at the World Café. The Bacon Brothers are playing. I have a new dress – Vera Wang. I’ve been looking forward to tonight for a long time.

    Justine, you don’t want to be a zero right? So you do this, and have some fun. He paused. It’s not all about you Justine. There’s a manager’s contest too. I get bonus points if I get 100% employee participation. Since you haven’t participated, I’m not getting the bonus points. If I’m not number-one in points, Justine, it might affect my chance to become Chief Operating Officer. How would that look Justine?

    Justine stared at him. She hoped he lost. I just explained that I have plans, Charles. I have a date. It’s the NPR gala. It’s a major event – the Bacon Brothers… her voiced dropped off. He was ignoring her.

    He lowered his voice. If I don’t win this contest because of you, then I can’t recommend you for the Account Managers job. He shrugged.

    Because of the concentration of investment banking in the city, the Account Manager position was one of the few jobs Acumen had back in Philly. Account Managers presented the investment recommendations to the Acumen clients and got to wine and dine them on an expense account. The Account Manager’s job was her quick ticket out of Bumfordville. If Devinee took that away from her…he must have sucker punched her, because she could hardly breathe. So I have to volunteer? She whispered.

    You’re volunteering? That’s great! Because you know how much I like you Justine. This is good for both of us!

    She was in shock. Her vision focused on that smarmy smile. She wasn’t going to cry…not here. She rose slowly, and mechanically started out of the office.

    Charles Devine tilted his head, and called after her, Give Cathy Ross in Personnel a buzz when you get back to your desk. She’s running the program. I think I’m winning the contest now. Woo hoo!

    She walked back to her office cube in a fog. What just happened? Devine could have at least given her a heads up about this Connections program. She loved her job. She had approached corporate about telecommuting – setting up a home office in Philadelphia, but they said no. The data simulations and models had to run on the Acumen computer servers. The data she worked on was too sensitive, and her recommendations too important to the company to be accessed remotely. She could export raw data and manipulate it from her Bumfordville apartment every once in a while, but Acumen wanted her close – not in Philadelphia. Acumen needed to ensure the data was secure, so that meant Bumfordville.

    If she stayed in her current job at Acumen then she’d have to live in Bumfordville. If she wanted to do her job at another company, she would have to stay in Bumfordville at least two years to have enough experience to be marketable. The Account Manager position let her stay with Acumen, a leader in its field, and live in Philadelphia.

    If she blew off the Connections program, she had no doubt Devine would roadblock her career. Devine liked to win too much. Snap! The decision was obvious. She would have to miss the NPR gala. What she wouldn’t give to jump on her desk and have a good scream!

    With a heavy heart, she started calling and texting her family and friends back in Philly to let them know about her change in plans. They all had said the same thing – some version of - we’ll miss you….we can’t believe you can’t make it…you are going to miss such a good time. To which she promised that she’d call them all tomorrow so they could tell her what she missed. Damn.

    With a heavy heart, she called Andrew, and explained the change in plans.

    First there was silence, then, Justine…you said that you would go with me tonight. I depended on you.

    I’m sorry, Andrew, my boss is really insistent.

    Justine – tonight’s gig is important to MY career. Our law firm is a major sponsor. I can’t be dateless. It looks bad. To be honest, I don’t want to be dateless.

    You can say there was an emergency. These things happen, she offered. Justine heard him sigh and instantly knew.

    No Justine – your job – not being here during the week – not being here this weekend. I don’t think…I…. You’re a sweet girl Justine and I really like being with you, but I’m not going to be calling you any more. If you ever come back to Philadelphia full-time, let me know. Good Bye Justine. He hung up on her.

    Justine was in shock. What happened? Twenty minutes ago, she was in Devine’s lobby planning her weekend, and ten minutes later no weekend, and no boyfriend! What the heck is going on with Andrew? Okay, he was really counting on her, but she would much rather be there than here. He knew that. What was she to him? Arm candy? No, that wasn’t it. He only had a part-time girl friend. He only saw her on the weekends….but what about her? She wasn’t happy here in Bumfordville. Missing the NPR benefit would help her get the Account Manager job so that she could transfer back to the city full-time. Why couldn’t he see the big picture? She couldn’t believe that Andrew was being so selfish. Tears leaked. She stifled a sob. She had to work on getting him back into her life. She was still staring at the dial-toning phone when Devine walked into her cube.

    Is that Cathy Ross? He asked.

    No, she managed without looking at him.

    With hands on his hips, he said, You need to call her soon so I can get my points. He left when she started dialing.

    Mechanically, holding back her tears, she dialed Cathy Ross. The voice answering ‘Catherine Ross you can call me Cathy’ was truly frightening. This was the woman who put a zero next to Justine’s name on a slide to the CEO. The voice was sing-songy and maniacally happy. After talking to Cathy Ross for a few minutes, Justine was sure that Cathy Ross could not be more cheerful or upbeat or her head would pop off. What kind of psycho mind talked like that? In Justine’s current frame of mind, it was incredibly annoying. She envisioned a cartoon, where she could reach through the phone and slap Catherine you can call me Cathy Ross upside her head. It wasn’t really Cathy Ross’s fault that Justine’s heart was broken, well maybe it was. Cathy Ross insisted that Justine come down to visit her office two floors down so that they could have a little chit-chat just us girls. Yeah, Justine wanted to chitchat, sure.

    Entering Cathy Ross’s office cube, Justine noticed that her walls were covered with positive thinking posters and sayings. Imagine Success! Challenge Yourself! This was always a sign of madness, in Justine’s opinion. Who else but the truly insane needed two foot by three foot reminders to maintain one’s morale? Cathy Ross stood and greeted Justine with shining eyes and a smile that had to hurt her face.

    Justine, you made my day. You are doing a great thing for Acumen tonight.

    I’m here for the Connections program…? Justine said. Maybe this Cathy Ross thought she was someone else.

    Yes, of course I know you’re here for the Connections program! Cathy Ross rolled her eyes in an exaggerated manner. Your being here for the Connections program helps Acumen in so many ways, Cathy Ross gushed. Cathy explained that the sports, crafts, and history programs had great participation, and great feedback for and from the community. Tonight is the first nightlife program, and I only have a handful of volunteers. Acumen is still early in its transfer to the Ville. People who transferred right away tend to be folks with an affinity for the quiet life as opposed to nightlife.

    This time, Justine rolled her eyes.

    And of course, there are those who had no choice in their time table of moving here. I looked at your file. Looks like you’re right out of grad school - masters in Economics and Business Administration, little work experience. Cathy summarized.

    I was with the company four months when the transfer was announced, Justine explained.

    So you didn’t have much choice about moving to Bumfordville, I’m guessing?

    Justine nodded.

    This could work for you Justine. You are exactly the kind of person we are looking for with this program, said Cathy.

    What kind of person am I? asked Justine.

    Young, single, hip.

    You aren’t much older than I am, Cathy. Are you married?

    No.

    Then you’re that kind of person, too. You don’t need me.

    Yes, but I developed the program, so I’m an unfair judge. If we can make Bumfordville attractive to young, single, professionals, then there’s a positive impact on the caliber of Acumen employees that we recruit. Think how happy you and people like yourself would be working here at Acumen, if Bumfordville was a hip, fun place to be.

    But it’s not.

    I think you’re wrong there Justine. You’ll see. The Ville is a fabulous place to be and will only get better. I want you and other folks to know how great it is too.

    Manhattan was great. South Beach was great, but Bumfordville, Pennsylvania? Justine condescended a smile at Cathy like you would at any Broad Street lunatic. So Bumfordville has a nightlife? Justine asked Cathy the lunatic.

    I’ll be honest. It’s been tough trying to find the kind of entertainment that the city offers without offering sloppy seconds, but you know, it’s not the place that makes a good time. It’s the people.

    There’s the problem thought Justine. The kind of people who lived in a place like Bumfordville voluntarily without shops, theaters, and restaurants weren’t the kind of people that made for a great nightlife.

    Cathy continued, There are fun people here - - some real nice guys in this town Justine.

    Justine couldn’t help looking at her like she was a space alien.

    These are guys that hold the door open for you, take you on picnics. You should give them a chance.

    Picnics? Who was this woman?

    You’ll see Justine. I am going to make you love this town.

    Cathy was certifiable. Justine had no doubt. Sure Cathy…for now, though, why don’t you tell me what I need to know about the nightlife program? With the mood that Justine was in, the less time Justine spent with Cathy, the less chance Justine would tell Cathy what she really thought of her program.

    Cathy took a deep breath and started. I’ve researched some places of interest. You’ll visit them, and fill out a review sheet on each place. On the review sheet, you’ll tell the business owners what works, what doesn’t, and you’ll recommend changes that would make their business more attractive to Acumen employees. You need to be very thorough. We give a prize out every month to the employee with the best review – usually a gift certificate to a local restaurant or shop. You get points for each completed review. On your visits, you should do your best to interact with the local business community. We recommend that you introduce yourself to the local business owners. They like it. When you fill out your review, make sure you mention your experiences – who you met, what they were like. You’ll get extra points.

    You are giving us points to chat with the locals? Justine asked.

    We want the local business community to know our workforce. The more Acumen employees that they meet, the more receptive they are to our ideas and recommendations, and we stop being strangers. It helps you feel acclimated to Bumfordville too.

    Justine saw that Cathy was getting wound up now.

    The more that local businesses accommodate Acumen, the happier our folks will be. The happier the folks, the more successful Acumen will be. It’s WIN-WIN! Cathy said with bright eyes. Cathy finally caught her breath and asked, Well, what do you think about the program?

    Justine was speechless. If she hadn’t just lost her boyfriend, if she hadn’t just given up great weekend plans, she could have said something polite. But she did and she couldn’t. Ok…so we check out a few clubs and restaurants Friday night, and write a couple reviews and that’s it? We’re done. We go home? Justine asked. She could drive back to Philly tonight in the early hours and reclaim her weekend, and maybe Andrew.

    Cathy stared at Justine. After a pause, she said, You’re not seeing the big picture, Justine. We are trying to create something more for you – a Bumfordville lifestyle.

    Justine couldn’t believe this woman – a Bumfordville lifestyle?

    Cathy gave Justine the eye. Someone hasn’t been reading their Connections emails or the employee bulletin boards. The program consists of a series of activities starting Friday evening lasting through Saturday night. We do give you Sunday off. Some activities are mandatory, and some are optional. The optional activities are ones you can check out on your own and not feel odd going to by yourself. The mandatory activities are ones that lend themselves to a group activity. We want you to connect to the area, meet new friends, but we don’t want to monopolize all of your time.

    How many mandatory activities are there? Justine asked.

    Justine, you say that like it’s a bad thing. You are going to have a great time. For the nightlife program, there are three mandatory events on Friday, two on Saturday, and there are four optional events you can do at your convenience.

    You couldn’t schedule everything on one day, so we wouldn’t lose the whole weekend? Justine asked.

    Cathy was visibly shocked. We spread out the mandatory activities to encourage you to become familiar with the area. Let’s face it, if only Friday night’s events were mandatory then folks would skip out of town on Saturday and miss getting to know the area.

    Now Justine gave Cathy a look.

    Cathy Ross dismissed her. Justine, if you want your manager to get points, you have to attend all the mandatory activities.

    So you ARE going to monopolize my weekend, just not every hour? asked Justine. Ah, don’t look at it that way Justine, it will be fun. You’ll see. You’ll be in my office apologizing Monday morning, saying Cathy I had no idea what a good time I could have here. You’ll be bringing your Philly friends up here for all the fun. Cathy said.

    Justine knew that would never happen. This weekend would be like ripping off a Band-Aid – she’d have to get it over with. So, where do we meet? Justine asked.

    Oh, we’ll send someone in the company car to pick you up, Cathy said.

    Great, no chance of wondering off or leaving early, Justine thought. Cathy knew what she was doing.

    Justine headed back to her desk. She passed Devine’s office. He was behind closed doors. Figured. He was hiding. Coward. Back at her desk, she ran some data simulations. Her mind wondered as she waited for the results. She thought about her upcoming evening. She figured she’d go through the motions tonight – do what she had to do, and put in her time. At best, there was a chance this stupid program would keep her mind off Andrew. Although if it wasn’t for this stupid program, she’d still have Andrew. No, if we hadn’t moved to the middle of nowhere, she’d still have Andrew. She had hit a new low. Her only way out of Bumfordville was to do the Connections program, get the Account Manager job, transfer back to Philly and reclaim Andrew. Tonight she had to pay her dues. Who knew? Maybe there was some slim chance that she might have a good time at some point over the weekend. Yeah, that would happen…. Not.

    ***

    Chapter 2

    Justine left the office at four, and carried her already packed-for-Philly suitcase up the staircase in front of her building back into her heartless little apartment. She lived in the top floor of a very square shaped duplex. Her ground floor neighbor was the seldom seen but always smelled Mrs. Moscov, who was partial to cooking cabbage. Justine unpacked her suitcase. She was on autopilot. If she thought about Andrew, or about work, or Bumfordville, she would cry. So she went through the motions of folding, and hanging the clothes from her suitcase. By the time she finished, it was time to get dressed for the Connections program. She felt so depressed. She didn’t want to go out, least of all on this stupid program. Nightlife in Bumfordville – it was an oxymoron.

    What did one wear on a night out in Bumfordville? She hadn’t a clue. First she picked out a cotton sweater and tweed skirt combination to wear, but the matching shoes although cute were uncomfortable. She pulled out one of her plain black dresses, but anything black seemed too funereal given her mood. She realized that whatever she wore tonight would affect her mood for good or bad, so it was best to dress up a bit. If for no one else, she did this for herself. She would wear what made her feel good. She dressed meticulously. A cream-colored cat suit, with skin mini-boots and matching purse, and silver earrings. It was casual, comfortable. She knew she looked good, and it made her feel infinitesimally better. Maybe it was too much for Bumfordville, but she felt good. A horn beeped outside of her apartment. She thought it was Andrew for a minute, and put him out of her head not for the last time that night. Well…here goes….

    She peeked out her window and looked out on a beeping lemon yellow station wagon. She locked her apartment and walked down the stairwell to the front landing. She approached the yellow car tentatively.

    An African–American man with short dreadlocks jumped out of the car, and greeted her. Hi you must be Justine Wallis. I’m Ray Hudson, from Acumen… for the Connections program, he said with the slightest Caribbean accent. Ray was dressed very GQ, dress pants topped with a silk shirt. Based on Ray, she was dressed fine. Ray shook her hand and opened the passenger door for her.

    Is this the company car? she asked as she buckled up in the large lemon on wheels.

    Ray answered, Yes. Well, one of them. The Escalade was taken.

    My luck thought Justine, cruising around town in a station wagon - so hip. Well, Ray seemed nice. So Ray, I guess you got your arm twisted to go connecting this weekend? she asked.

    He turned his head and squinted at her, and went back to looking at the road. I’m looking forward to tonight Justine. Cathy puts a good program together. She works hard on it. You’ll be surprised.

    She was in the car less than a minute and already had her foot in her mouth. It was going to be a long night. Justine tried to recover Oh, that’s great to know. This is my first Connections program. She tried to sound enthusiastic. So tell me about yourself, Ray, she asked.

    I’m from the Philly office.

    Me too. Where did you live?

    Out in Bucks County, near Doylestown.

    You miss it? Justine asked.

    Taxes? Traffic? Not at all. I love it here. Ray said smiling.

    Huh, thought Justine. They sat in silence, and then some more silence. She had nothing to say to this guy. Oh, this was starting off great. Really great.

    They drove in silence until the yellow car finally slowed and pulled up to a small rancher. A giant dog barked furiously at the picture window, and smeared slobber on the glass. A short fat woman in a summer shift with a tightly permed hair escaped the front door and waddled out to the car. Gees, Justine could hardly tell she wasn’t out on the town in Philly.

    I’m Agnes Schimpf, said the permed lady as she maneuvered into the backseat.

    Hi Agnes. I’m Ray Hudson and this is Justine Wallis.

    I assume your charge and tip is picked up by Acumen? Agnes asked Ray.

    Justine and Ray looked at each other. They had to smile.

    I work for Acumen in the Systems department, Agnes. I’m doing this on a volunteer basis.

    Oh. Systems. Really! I’m surprised. I thought that department was all Oriental, said Agnes.

    Justine and Ray looked at each other again and rolled their eyes.

    So how many people do we have to pick up? I don’t have much room back here. A lady doesn’t appreciate a man crowding her physical space, you know, said Agnes.

    We’re only picking up one other fellow and Cathy Ross. You should be okay Agnes. answered Ray.

    "I didn’t know Cathy was coming tonight,’ said Justine.

    Since this is the first night for this program, she wants to make sure everything goes ok, said Ray.

    What about Toni Friel? asked Justine.

    Oh, you know Toni? She usually goes on these programs, but I think she had a date, answered Ray.

    Oh a date. Why didn’t I think of that excuse thought Justine? Oh wait, I did.

    So Agnes, tell us about yourself, Ray said.

    I work in the maintenance office. I track work orders and such. I lived in Bumfordville my whole life. I used to work for the Bumfordville water department.

    Justine turned around from the front seat and asked Agnes, So why are you doing the Connections program? You already know Bumfordville’s nightlife.

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