It’s the evening after Dorothea’s and Ralph Watkin’s trip to the Mayor’s Office. The group, including Dr. Morel, is gathered at Redd’s House.
REDD: Dorothea, I called everyone here like you asked. So, what did you and Ralph Watkins find?
DOROTHEA: It was an exciting day! I just want you all to know that it was I that found something, while Ralph Watkins was acting a fool.
RALPH WATKINS: Acting a fool! I saved your behind. It took you way too long to plant those bugs. Margot was starting to get suspicious.
DOROTHEA: Margot? She changed her name to Margaret, remember?
RALPH WATKINS: I know, but no one should have to change their name and she was such a sweet girl, letting me have two cookies and all. He looks pointedly at Ms. Lund who glares at him.
DOROTHEA: Ralph Watkins, you old sentimental fool . . .
REDD: Would you two please stop?
FREEYA: Yeah, we want to hear about what you found.
RASHAD: I agree with Mr. Ralph Watkins though. No one should have to change their name. I haven’t changed mine and now I can’t ride the bus.
REDD: While that is concerning, let’s hear what they found first, then we can discuss what to do about the name change law. Dorothea?
DOROTHEA: As I was saying, I found a bank statement in the Mayor’s office and guess who has been depositing money into the Mayor’s account?
MS. LUND: Who? She elbows Dr. Morel who has been nodding off. Wake up! Here comes the good part.
Dr. Morel snorts and slowly opens his eyes.
RALPH WATKINS: Clayburn Corp.!
DOROTHEA: Damn you, Ralph Watkins. This was my story to tell.
RALPH WATKINS: Sorry, Dorothea. I got excited. Please continue.
DOROTHEA: Clayburn Corp. deposited two large sums into the Mayor’s account this month. Look! Passes around the bank statement.
REDD: Well this is intriguing, why would Clayburn Corp. give money to the Mayor?
RALPH WATKINS: I don’t know but what I do know is that something isn’t right about this. It’s a conflict of interest. As an elected Clayburn official, the Mayor can’t take private funds from local corporations.
DR. MOREL: That’s true. I had to sign a waiver because of the work I do with the city.
RASHAD: You mean helping them create green skin dye?
DR. MOREL: Hey, I apologized for that already! That’s old news.
RASHAD: It happened two weeks ago.
DR. MOREL: Like I said, old news.
REDD: Anyway, what should we do about this?
MS. LUND pulling out a large, pink-covered book decorated with flowers: Blackmail the Mayor, like we planned, of course!
FREEYA: Ms. Lund, what’s that? Pointing to the book in Ms. Lund’s lap.
MS. LUND: It’s Mrs. Beauregard’s Book of Blackmail: A Woman’s Guide to the art of Blackmail.
DOROTHEA: I love that Mrs. Beauregard. She writes some good stuff, teaching women real life skills.
MS. LUND: Mrs. Beauregard says here, “The art of blackmail is a simple yet seductive affair. This book will have you blackmailing your friends, family, and coworkers in no time! Now to start” . . .
REDD: That’s great but I think we need to know more about the Mayor’s connection to Clayburn Corp. first. You know, do a little more digging?
MS. LUND: I was getting to that part. Ms. Beauregard writes – “to start you will need to gather as much information as you can about your target. Once you find a juicy detail, don’t stop there, keep digging! You’ll want a mountain of evidence, something so big that it’s impossible for your target to simply come clean. First” . . .
REDD: I think that’s good for now Ms. Lund.
Ms. Lund glares at Redd for interrupting her again.
REDD: So, we need to keep digging. I think we should keep the bugs going, see what turns up there. In the meantime, we should find out as much as we can about Clayburn Corp., their business dealings, and if possible, their connection with the Mayor.
DR. MOREL: I can volunteer for that, I use to work at Clayburn Corp.
FREEYA: I can help too. I worked there last summer as an intern. I still have access to their internal social media site. I could ask my connections for more info.
RASHAD nodding his head in approval: My baby stay having connections.
REDD: Great! Freeya and Dr. Morel will work their connections to find out more about Clayburn Corp. Rashad, Ralph Watkin’s, and I will take turns monitoring the bugs in the Mayor’s office. Which leaves Ms. Lund and Dorothea to . . .hmm.
MS. LUND: Oh, I know! We’ll keep combing Mrs. Beauregard’s Book of Blackmail for tips and tricks.
DOROTHEA: Yes! We’ll pass anything useful that we find on to the team.
MS. LUND: I’m thinking we can make charts!
DOROTHEA: And handouts!
The group continues to discuss their next steps with Ms. Lund and Dorothea excitedly discussing uses for Mrs. Beauregard’s Book of Blackmail.
Author’s note: I love a good story of blackmail, I mean, who doesn’t? People are blackmailed for all sorts of things from moral indiscretions to fraud. Maybe even murder. Our group here in Clayburn are innovators in the field, using blackmail for social change. However, in real life, blackmail probably isn’t the best method to use to seek justice.
The World We Live In Now 