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TO:� All Staff members
FROM:� Bill Jenkins, President
RE:� Position Change
Ms. Holly Goodkin has been promoted as executive secretary to the president.� Marla Carey will now be working in the secretary float pool.� Please give Ms. Goodkin your warmest welcome.
��� Marla had cried so much, her nose rivaled that of Rudolph the red nosed reindeer.� She had been dumped pure and simple.� Within six months of being Bill�s executive secretary he turned around and replaced her with a younger, sexier girl who hardly knew how to type.� Marla should have known better.� She herself had done the same thing with Bill�s previous secretary even though she had been warned by others that it was a bad move.� Bill Jenkins was sexually depraved and she had been a willing participant because she was attracted to his money.� Now she couldn�t do a damn thing about it because she signed that paper.� Oh, how she wished he was dead.
��� Bill had protected himself from Marla�s rage by taking secret bedroom photos of her.� He then hinted he would post them on the internet.� Since Marla�s mother was in politics, Bill knew Marla would never do anything to embarrass her mother.� Marla signed papers indicating that she willingly accepted her demotion based on non-performance. Just the thought of Bill Jenkins made Marla cringe, how could she have been so stupid.� Marla fell for the jewelry, fancy restaurants and trips to the islands, but she had to put up with his bad breath, and his inept lovemaking. She was more embarrassed than heartbroken. She thought about warning Holly Goodkin about what was to come, but then decided to let Holly discover things on her own.� She packed up her personal items in a cardboard box and took the long elevator ride from the Executive Office to the 1st floor secretarial pool.� Marla noted the smirks from some of the gals who had been working in the float pool for years.� She knew she was the subject of ridicule and jokes, but she could not quit her job during this time of financial challenges.� Good jobs were hard to find so Marla had to eat crow while she figured things out.
��� Ambrose Menster was a pain in the butt for the entire staff.� Some believed Bill Jenkins kept Ambrose employed just to cause his employees added torment. Ambrose was smelly, combative, and plain lazy.� He had been transferred from one department to another and was now working in the float pool.� Ambrose was supposedly on his last chance, but he didn�t seem to care.� Ambrose blamed all his woes on his co-workers and surprisingly enough on Bill Jenkins calling him an ineffective, stupid leader.
��� Ambrose was amused by all the gossip about Marla.� The old biddies were calling her names ranging from bimbo to whore.� Ambrose knew most of them were jealous of the attention Marla received while she was an executive secretary and they would all make Marla�s life miserable in the secretarial pool. Ambrose actually felt sorry for Marla, but then Ambrose did have a soft spot for anyone who was as well endowed as Marla was.
��� Jane Moss was the human resources manager for the company and she was at her wit�s end.� Bill Jenkins had once again dismissed a secretary only to replace her with his new love interest.� Jane knew that the company was at risk for a lawsuit for sexual harassment, but she didn�t know what to do. Bill refused to listen to her and actually threatened her job if she continued talking about it.� Jane was afraid to call the home office in case Bill would know that she had tattled on him. She was the sole provider for her two children and couldn�t afford to lose her job � especially before Christmas. Jane was disappointed in the women who put themselves at Bill�s beck and call, but she was more disappointed in herself for being a wimp.�
��� Ambrose hated mostly everyone at the company.� It was his hatred that fueled his life and kept him working, since he was alone in the world.� Abandoned early in life, tossed from one foster home to another, Ambrose was dysfunctional and under-medicated.� Bill Jenkins was actually the son of one of the foster home mothers where Ambrose had been staying.� Bill hired Ambrose out of pity for him; he recalled how mean his mother was to the foster child - Ambrose in turn channeled his hatred towards Bill.�
��� Marla was trying her best to keep her temper in check.� Everyone dumped the worst jobs on her. Every afternoon she was given assignments at the last moment causing her to work late. Some people gave her their own work knowing she wouldn�t dare decline or refuse the work � her name was mud in the organization and many people took the opportunity to let the �Lolita� know she was nothing special any longer.� Marla kept focused on one task � to get back at Bill Jenkins no matter what she had to do to make it happen.
��� Ambrose started to help Marla out during the nights she had to work.� For the first time in a long, long time, Ambrose actually felt some compassion towards another person. The two wayward employees shared their dislike of Bill Jenkins and many other employees including the new secretary, Holly Goodkin.� Marla started to gently remind Ambrose of how Jenkins did her wrong, how he took advantage of her and how she had no recourse against him.� She took advantage of his emotional state and slowly built his rage to a boiling point. Ambrose began to plot his revenge against Bill Jenkins.� He remembered how Mrs. Jenkins called Ambrose retarded and how she had called child care services and had him removed from their home. Ambrose wanted revenge and Marla stood by and said nothing to stop him.
��� Holly Goodkin knew she had made a poor decision within a few days of working with Bill Jenkins. She wasted no time in going to the Human Resource office to speak with Jane.� Holly was turned off by Jane�s mealy mouth excuses and left without getting any results.� She had to think this through carefully � she didn�t want to end up like Marla.
��� The annual company Christmas Party was held in the employee lounge each year.� Bill Jenkins ordered in cheap food � fried chicken, burgers and chips, all served on paper plates.� Employees were given an extra 30 minutes for lunch for their �special day.�� Meanwhile Bill invited managers to his office for the real party � champagne, caviar and seafood all served on china plates and fancy silverware. Bill was enraged when his secretary feigned sickness and said she was unable to act as hostess of the party like he expected. He called Jane and demanded that she help him with the festivities and she meekly agreed.� Holly watched them as they organized the food, music and beverages.�
��� Ambrose walked straight into Bill�s office ignoring the commands of his secretary.� Bill was surprised when Ambrose presented him with a plate covered in flimsy plastic wrap.� �Merry Christmas,� Ambrose mumbled.� There were an assortment of oddly shaped cookies and sticky looking candy canes on the plate and Bill wondered if Ambrose licked the goodies before giving them to him.� He tried to keep a smile on his face and muttered �thank you� to his odd employee.� Bill made a note to himself that the time had come to get rid of Ambrose.� He was keenly aware that Ambrose had a god-awful odor about him and was definitely in need of some medical care.� Ambrose left while Bill chewed out Holly for letting the man in to his office. �He could have had a gun!� Bill exclaimed as Holly rolled her eyes. Holly�s attractiveness had certainly waned over the past few days and Bill wished he had never let Marla go.�
��� The Christmas Party was in full swing in the executive area. Most people drank too much and Bill watched their actions carefully.� He would use what he saw in their future evaluations. Bill never drank with the staff. Bill always had his personal specialty coffee he kept in a special canister in his office. His entire philosophy for life centered around complete control of others.
��� The party fizzled at around 5:30 p.m.� Bill had left the party and was in his office with the door shut.� People shuffled out without bothering to clean up.� Holly had left earlier claiming she had a headache.� Jane said she would hang around to talk with Bill, but she left around 6:00 p.m. with no sight of him.� No one saw Bill again � at least alive.� He was found dead in his office � a victim of poisoning. Who killed Bill and what was their motive?
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Solution to: �Candy Cane Murder�
��� Ambrose wanted Bill dead and even brought him suspicious looking candy � but Bill would never have eaten anything that Ambrose touched, so he was certainly innocent.
��� Jane wanted someone to find out about Bill�s harassment of the ladies � but killing him was too drastic a move.� Remember, she was afraid of making a call about him to the home office, so she certainly would not be brave enough to kill him.
��� Holly hated her new boss, but she did little that day and the two of them were hardly speaking. Besides, there was a much better suspect.
��� Marla was the killer.� She knew about the special coffee Bill kept in his office.� She set up Ambrose to make him look suspicious, but she was the one who poisoned him. Even at Christmas time � Hell hath no fury as a woman scorned!! To all of our mystery readers -� Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Peace for the New Year.� Trish
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