Room for Murder - Tim Myers [2]
Tracy and Alex had been friends since elementary school and had stayed close. Tracy and her ex-husband Conner, on the other hand, had grown to dislike each other more and more over the years following their divorce. Conner was running Oxford’s mayoral campaign, and the general consensus at Buck’s Grill was that the only reason he worked with such enthusiasm was to rob Tracy of her chance for victory.
Longtime Mayor Grady Hatch took the stage as Oxford walked off, and for the first time that day, the applause was across the board, genuine and heartfelt. Grady had been running Elkton Falls since Alex had been a kid. The mayor’s face was flushed, and there was a rasp in his voice as he talked to the crowd. “Well now, I’m sure you’all are tired of the sound of my voice after all these years, so I’ll make this brief.” There was a burst of laughter from the audience, since Grady was notorious for his clipped comments in public.
“Even more so than usual,” Grady added with a smile. He was clearly enjoying his last days in office, with most of the petty squabbles of his political life left behind. Grady had stunned Elkton Falls when he’d announced that he wouldn’t be seeking reelection. Folks were just starting to realize they’d been taking him for granted all along, but no one could talk him into changing his mind. For weeks, Grady had told anyone who would listen that the second he left office, he was going to buy a motor home and see the world. The only thing Grady had promised to participate in after leaving office was the “Save the Bridge” fund, a committee Alex had grudgingly agreed to serve on himself, since he believed so strongly in its cause. Elkton Falls sported one of the last covered bridges still standing in North Carolina, and Grady had made it his personal cause in life to see the bridge restored with private money when Raleigh had turned down his request for preservation funding.
Grady told the crowd, “Save your applause for someone who really deserves it. We’re here to celebrate the dedication of this fine structure,” he said, gesturing to the new building, “and the man who made it happen. Alex, come on up here and say a few words.”
Alex shook his head numbly. He absolutely hated speaking in public.
Elise gave him a nudge. “Go on, Alex.”
“I can’t,” he said. Why had Grady done this to him? Alex would rather take a beating than talk in front of all those people.
She nudged him and said, “You can do it, Alex. Don’t look at the crowd.
“Focus on me,” she added as the applause started to fade.
Alex took in a deep gulp of air and walked toward the stage like a man on his way to his doom.
As he approached the microphone, he walked past the mayor and whispered, “Grady, I’ll get you for this.”
The mayor chuckled. “You’ll have to stand in line, my boy. There are a lot of folks with bigger grudges than yours waiting to take a shot at me.”
Alex walked up to the microphone as panic swept through him. Everyone was staring at him! He fought the urge to bolt from the platform as his frantic gaze found Elise. Taking a deliberately deep breath, Alex kept his gaze on her as he said, “Thanks for coming, everybody. Now let’s all go inside and enjoy the refreshments and music.”
It was by far the shortest speech of the day, and the crowd showed their appreciation with enthusiastic applause. As they filed past the stage to tour the newly completed building, Grady grabbed Alex’s shoulder.
“Your speech was even shorter than mine,” the mayor said. “I’ll make a public speaker out of you yet.”
Alex said, “That’s going to be tough to do, Grady. You just witnessed my debut and farewell performance, all wrapped up into one.”
Grady shook his head. “We’ll just see about that. Folks around here have a real