EDITING: Politics and Poison

Chapter Ten: Defamation of Mr. Drew

Nancy Drew: I sat uncomfortably in the hospital waiting room. The morning paper sat on one of the tables, amongst a litter of gossip rags and home-making catalogs. I picked it up, and felt my emotions stirred,  by the loud headline Senator Richard Greer: an Obituary by Brenda Carton. I shook my head, and commenced reading, with deep misgivings.

Senator Richard "Rick" Greer was an eccentric man, whose life was as threatening as that of an innocent tea-cup puppy. His journey from a childhood in the slums of New York, saw him reborn into the elite-a pattern he continued to reflect in his passion for giving the unfortunate a second chance: poofs and blacks joined the recycled junk that littered his life, reborn through impassioned speeches. He came to a somewhat unexpected end, apparently poisoned at the River Heights Inn last night. The legacy he leaves is unsurprising: a campaign for hippies and underachievers, as unwanted as he was.

It is perhaps, just as surprising, that he originated from the Bronx, his playground a car yard. It was his claim that the waste and debris encouraged him to start thinking about the unclean nature of rubbish and how recycling is "critical for a direction forward in society." How he became top of his class, and went to college with favorites in the political scene, such as the President and Colonel Wood, is beyond me. As was his rumored love affair with the internationally acclaimed barrister Carson Drew. His life, like his death, is a mystery. I'm sure, reader that you wonder, as I do, what his lover will do with his horde of designer garbage and a mousy former wife. Perhaps a move to New York is on the Drew's cards? I wonder.

I slammed the paper face down, heart pounding. Brenda Carlton just got more ridiculous each day, in her campaign to sabotage my family. I wondered how she could be so disrespectful of the dead, and how Ned's father Edward, editor of the local paper, had allowed her to write such nonsense.

I'd assumed he was above such mean behavior. But then again, I'd broken his son's heart. It was upsetting to know that lashing out at me was upon his agenda. Tears pricked my eyes, and I rose, started to pace the room. I was positive that my father was not gay. And, furthermore, the rumor made no sense. Greer was an advocate of gay rights, and married to a woman. Hiding his sexuality would do nothing to promote his cause.

But, now, there was another link. Perhaps, the poisonings were not happening, because Dad and Greer stood for racial equality. Maybe they were the work of a homophobic who had heard whisperings of a relationship. Many members of the local political scene were forthright in their objection to same sex couples. Mayor Lawson and Dad had had a row, some years before hand.

I conjured memories of the night when Greer was poisoned. Lawson had been sitting by the window at Matre'd, with his wife. It had said in the newspaper that it was his twentieth wedding anniversary. He was also at the convention, listening to Dad's speech. I closed my eyes, and blocked my ears, tried to remember the day. He'd been sitting in front of Fenton. He'd said words, something like, "Margaret, love, can I go and get you a coffee?" That had been just before Deirdre brought back the poisoned beverage.

"Nancy?" a very different voice drew me back to the waiting room. "I got you a soda. How are you going?" Fenton Hardy was standing above me, offering a can. Beside him, was a friend of Dad's from the law firm Hurridge and Forbes. His name was David Hurridge and he'd lived next door, as long as I could remember.

"Lawson. He hated Dad, and no doubt Greer. He was there both times!" I burst out.

Fenton handed me the drink, brow crinkled. "Nancy, what are you talking about?" he asked patiently, hooking his thumbs from his belt loops and watching me carefully.

I shoved the newspaper toward him, and rose. "Read it. They're saying Dad and Greer were in love. And Lawson was as homophobic as they get. He ran against Dad for mayor last fall. And he was at Matre'd. He went off for coffee just when Dad got poisoned!"