A MURDER IN BALTIMORE

I awoke the next morning somewhat tired. It seemed I got no sleep whatsoever although I probably got a good five hours worth. I shaved and showered and got ready for another day at the bank. I had toast and hot tea for breakfast and put together a quick lunch. With no contract immediately in sight I could see that I was going to have to brown bag it for now. Otherwise the checking account would soon be depleted.

I got to work and things were the same as usual. I finished doing some changes to my program and was ready to resume testing when the phone rang.

Systems...John Kuzinski.

Is your desk still there?

Yeah it is, but just barely. I didn't expect to hear from you so soon, Tom. What's the occasion?

Have you read the morning paper?

I didnt have a chance. Why? Is there something of importance?

A certain Kathy Pendleton was found murdered in her Baltimore townhouse early this morning. Wasnt this the day when she was supposed to make a statement to the media regarding presidential hopeful Jim Collins? Do you realize what this might do to his campaign?

Wow! That just might put Brown in the oval office. And Collins seemed to be a shoe-in, at least according to the polls. His political career may be over.

Why not stop over tonight for the beer you missed yesterday? If you want I have an extra steak to throw on the grill for you.

I can't pass that up. See you then.

I hung up the phone and went back to testing my program. The day seemed to really drag on. I had plenty of work and no reason to be anything but busy. Somehow time stood still or appeared to do so.

Finally it came time to quit and until then I really believed the day would never come to an end. I drove home and checked my phone messages. The machine's blinking indicated someone had left a message but on playback I heard only an old one. Apparently someone was trying to sell me something. I changed into jeans and a sweatshirt and left for Tom's.

It was unusually warm for a Buffalo evening in October. The sun looked like a pomegranate and I had not seen a sky like this one in some time.

I drove into his driveway and Tom handed me the newspaper heading about the murder. I could smell something out of this world on the grill.

Hmmm. At this rate I may eat both steaks!

You better check your nose. The steaks are on the counter. I forgot to clean the grill from my last cookout. I thought I'd torture you. Would you care for a beer or some juice?

Ill have a beer later with the food. So how are things at the office?

Same as usual. I should be getting that promotion that was promised me.

I sat down on a deck chair and asked, Is there anything new about Kathy Pendleton?

I haven't heard much since I talked to you earlier. But the polls indicate that Brown picked up two points today alone. At this rate Brown will overcome Collins in less than a week. What do you know about Pendleton's alleged affair with Collins?

If Im not mistaken Pendleton dated Collins for about a year, but that was long before he and his wife Fran were married. That came out a while ago but there were no ties after the wedding and certainly no affair that was made public. Up until two days ago that was the extent of their relationship and then Pendleton unexpectedly comes out with the acknowledgement about an affair and something even more damaging. That news was so fresh that Collins hadn't even had a chance to refute the claims.

Even if it were true that there was an affair, I don't believe that it would have affected the presidential race, unless it was still going on. Heck, even if the affair happened after Collins' marriage a while ago or even just recently, he could still win the election.

I have to agree with you.

Let me clean the grill and get those steaks going. Can you fix the salad?

Sure enough. And I'll put on a CD. Any preferences?

You make the selection. Anything you select should be fine.

The steaks were coming along nicely and Tom had put two potatoes in the oven about an hour ago so they would be ready too. To our delight Candy Dulfer was filling the night air with her magic sax, accompanied by the Tower of Powers horns on the song, Funky.

The strip steaks were sizzling so we sat down to indulge. The taste was even better than the aroma while they were on the grill. We didn't let the last two days' events interrupt our enjoyment of these culinary delights.

Once dinner was over we piled the dishes into the dishwasher and switched on CNN. The news revealed that Kathy Pendleton was shot twice with no trace of a struggle and no murder weapon found. Two empty glasses were found at the scene and they were being checked for fingerprints. There were no signs of a break-in to the townhouse, so it appeared that the murderer knew Ms. Pendleton. The police had no suspects yet but were asking for any leads in the case.

Senator Collins was interviewed and said he was shocked to hear of the murder. He sent out his condolences to her family and friends. He seemed quite shaken by the death of Kathy Pendleton. He declined any further comment. After this interview it was time for the latest sports.

I had a glass of cranberry juice and Tom and I talked for a short while and then it was time to leave. The evening air was sixty degrees and I didn't mind it in the least. I drove home, undressed and hopped into bed and made up for the previous night.