Suicide

Bribery

WOODS
I went to Mary Ann Ellis' workplace.

LINLEY
How is her workplace decorated?

WOODS
I'd say an ordinary secretary's workplace.

LINLEY
What does that mean?

WOODS
Mary Ann worked part-time in the municipal office as a secretary. She had to share her receptionist's desk with another coworker, Joan Collins. Mary Ann didn't have anything personal in her workplace.

LINLEY
Not even photos of her husband?

WOODS
No.

LINLEY
How did Joan and Mary Ann get along?

WOODS
I asked Joan and she told me:
- We had our issues. We didn't talk much.

LINLEY
Why?

WOODS
Joan continued:
- I'm not sure but a couple of years ago during our annual Christmas party and Mary Ann was a little drunk and she picked up a fight with me. She called me names and accused me of being arrogant. I didn't know what this was all about. I was willing to forgive her. She was drunk after all. People don't mean what they say when they are drunk. But after the Chrismas Party, Mary Ann didn't to me. She was still mad about something and avoided me. I thought she was embarrassed and I wanted to mend the fences, but Mary Ann was unresponsive.

LINLEY
This could explain why Mary Ann didn't have any personal stuff in her workplace. She wanted to keep Joan out of her private life.
Did Mary Ann have any reason to quarrel with Joan?

WOODS
No, at least not according to the internal reports of the municipal office. The municipal had established a box for complaints in which employees can throw in complaints about work-related matters.

LINLEY
And this complaint box is anonymous?

WOODS
Yes, but the municipal office takes records of complaints about employees. John Wilkins. He was a former employee, who sexually harassed women in the workplace. Multiple women complained about it, Wilkins' misconduct was noted and he was later dismissed.
Every employee has a record and no one made a complaint about Joan Collins so far.

LINLEY
How did Joan strike you?

WOODS
She is a nice person. She has two kids. She is the family type. She likes her family and talks a great deal about them. I noticed that Joan wants to be liked by everyone. I believe her when she says that she wanted to mend fences with Mary Ann.

LINLEY
Did anyone make a complaint about Mary Ann?

WOODS
No. But in the municipal office are more than 50 percent of the workforce women. And I read in a social study that women complain openly about gross misconduct, but in all other cases, they rather act passive-aggressively. Women are known for subtle insults to express their discomfort according to this social study.

LINLEY
What might have bugged Mary Ann about Joan?

WOODS
I don't know. But I asked around and people told me that they actually liked Mary Ann. No one would have thought that she would commit suicide. Frank, a municipal accountant told me:
- She was the nicest person I've ever met. She would ask about everyone and would like to chat with you. She wasn't judgemental, not like the others. How could this happen?

LINLEY
I would have expected a different report about her character!

WOODS
Mary Ann was a gorgeous-looking woman and with her looks, one gets a certain attitude. Beauty is like money, it spoils the character. But when one listens to Mary Ann's coworkers one gets the impression that she was down-to-earth and easy-going.

LINLEY
Did you ask mostly men?

WOODS
Yes.

LINLEY
Well, there you have your answer. Mary Ann's male coworkers probably adored her because of her looks. And even if Mary Ann had given them only a little attention it might have meant a lot to them.

WOODS
They are sexually biased?

LINLEY
Probably! They may have hoped to gain the favor of an attractive woman.

WOODS
Yeah, but Mary Ann's female coworkers didn't chide her or something. One coworker, Dawn, reported:
- I didn't know her much, but we got along well.
Sylvia from the Mayor's office told me:
- Mary Ann was a woman one could talk to.

LINLEY
If someone has committed suicide, people mostly try to divert attention from them. No one wants to be held responsible and accountable for the violent death of someone.

WOODS
Do you think they could have been at each other's throats?

LINLEY
It is possible.

WOODS
Well, of course, the atmosphere in the municipal office was tense.

LINLEY
Why?

WOODS
Mayor Robert Perk is accused of bribery. The police have found incriminating evidence. Last week the municipal office was raided. The headline of the community newspaper went:
- MAYOR DOUBLED HIS PAYCHECK!
Mayor Robert Perk from the Socialist Party is accused of receiving bribes from religious communities in exchange for exclusive rights to establish a religious church.

LINLEY
What?

WOODS
The community newspaper is pretty much biased in religious terms. The entire article is about the threat to the Catholic Church and that it could be supplanted by different faith.

LINLEY
Is there any truth in the accusation that Mayor Perk took bribes?

WOODS
Yes! I called the police and they have confirmed that an investigation was opened into Mayor Perk and his staff.

LINLEY
And did Mayor Perk for a fact take bribes from a religious group?

WOODS
I didn't receive much information from the police. But five years ago a new religious temple was built in this town. The religious temple belongs to a spiritual non-monotheistic sect. Apparently, the construction of the temple led to a lot of turmoil in town. Some inhabitants started a petition to ban the construction. But the Mayor moved ahead and granted the religious sect permission. This infuriated some inhabitants and they kept pestering the municipal personnel. Upset and infuriated people kept calling the municipal office and insulting the personnel crudely.

LINLEY
This means that the investigation into Mayor's office could be a political move.

WOODS
Well, it looks like it, but I know some people in the local Conservative Party, the main challenger of the Socialist Party. And the Conservatives assured me that the investigation has nothing to do with them. Larry Ward, the leader of the Conservative Party opposed the petition to ban the religious sect from building a temple in the community. He emphasized the importance of religious freedom.
The accusation that Mayor Perk took bribes could be true, whereas that he took bribes for the construction of the religious temple could be politically or religiously motivated. Since the Catholic Church in this region is ardently advocating religious intolerance.

LINLEY
Could this mean that Mary Ann was somehow involved in this bribe scandal?

WOODS
It is possible, but wouldn't it contradict our assumption that she committed suicide in the school to be seen and to draw attention?

LINLEY
But we didn't know what despair drove her to commit suicide.

WOODS
We'll have to dig deeper!

LINLEY
We will!