"Angels of Mercy"
Part 5
"Jessica Whitfield made the homeless here in Romanstown a part of her crusade to save the world," Miranda said as she reached for a French fry.
When Declan and Peggy returned from the hospital, they hadn't come empty-handed. Although, it was lunch they brought back with them and not any valuable information. Miranda, on the other had, had been slightly more successful.
"She's been campaigning for a shelter and soup kitchen since before her husband was even elected mayor." Miranda told them about the numerous petitions the young mayor's wife had started to alleviate the burden on the homeless--and how each petition had been shot down by local politicos who felt it wasn't in the town's best interests to acknowledge their homeless problem.
"You mean they'd rather sweep it under the rug and forget about those poor people?" Declan asked.
"Yeah," Miranda said, nodding thoughtfully. "I think we should talk to her."
"The mayor's wife?" Pegged inquired, taking a sip of her diet soda.
"Yeah," Miranda said again. "Couldn't hurt."
"True," Declan replied. "But how do you go about getting an audience with the mayor's wife?"
~*~*~*~
Later on, as the trio approached the Whitfield residence, Declan turned to Miranda and said, "how did you possibly manage to get us in there?" He hadn't thought that the mayor's wife would see them on such short notice, especially regarding the angels.
Miranda shrugged, giving him an enigmatic smile.
Glancing at Peggy and flashing her a slightly uneasy smile, Declan rang the doorbell. A woman answered the door a few seconds later. She was tall and slender, with long blond hair and a warm smile that widened into a grin when she saw them.
"Miranda!" she exclaimed, instantly stepping forward to give the usually reserved grad student a hug.
Declan and Peggy exchanged glances--Peggy's asking Declan if he knew anything about this and Declan's clearly saying he didn't have a clue.
~*~*~*~
"How come you never told me you knew Mrs. Whitfield?" Declan scolded Miranda as they set up their surveillance equipment for the second night in a row.
"You never asked," came the reply.
"How was I supposed to *know* to ask?" Declan countered. Sometimes it really bugged him that the greatest mystery in his life was his own assistant.
Miranda shrugged as she set up the last video camera, pointing it towards the end of the alley opening out into the street. She picked up her knapsack and pulled out a box of Mrs. Fields cookies. "Want one?" she asked, holding the box out to Declan.
They drew straws to see who got the first watch--Declan picking the short straw and earning the number one spot--and the trio settled in for the night.
A half hour later, the two women were asleep and Declan sat huddled in a corner, shivering from the night's chill.
"It sure does get cold out here," he whispered to no one in particular.
"Tell me about it," replied one of the drunks in the corner. His voice was slurred from booze and sleep.
"You really think you're going to catch our angel with those machines?" the other one asked.
"I might..." Declan told them in a whisper. "You never know in this line of work."
(continued in Part 6)