Cold Case 8-3: World's Fair

[valrush]

4

“So, the wife still a good suspect?” asked Vera.

“Probably not” said Lilly “I’m going through Mary Finton’s diary”

“Fascinating” said Vera, sarcastically. He went back to looking at Professor Norbury’s transcripts.

Scotty’s phone rang. Lilly and Vera looked at it.

Scotty looked at his phone.

“Ah, it’ll probably be my informant with no news.” said Scotty.

“Still, you should probably answer it” said Lilly.

“I’ll let the machine get it” said Scotty.

“Hey, I think I’ve got something” said Lilly “Listen to this. “November first, 1926. I am ever so worried about Harry. Today he told me he caught a most unsavory man hanging around the fairgrounds….”

[valrush]

Josephine Baker
“Then I’ll Be Happy”


The haggard middle aged man was grinning at the well heeled woman “Take some of that, and it will solve all your problems” he said, surreptitiously passing over a small bottle.

“Excuse me sir” said Harry, walking up to him “You weren’t illegally dealing liquor, were you?”

The woman quickly walked away.

“Of course not sir” said the man “I’m a reputable trader”

Harry opened the man’s coat, and revealed multiple bottles.

The man started to run away.

“Stop!” said Harry, chasing after him “Not on my fairground, you don’t”

He chased the man to behind a cattle shed, and tackled him to the ground. A crashing sound could be heard.

“That’s hundreds of dollars of product you broke” said the man.

“Illegal product” said Harry.

“Well, some of us can’t be all high highfalutin business men” said the man “I have a son I need to provide for”

“He’ll be better off with you in jail” said Harry.

The man suddenly jerked his hand upward and punched Harry in the nose. As Harry stumbled back, the man got up and ran away.

[valrush]

“The police later identified the man from Harry’s description as a Willie Jones, a local man with a long criminal history for bootlegging and stolen property. They didn’t manage to catch him on the fairground until November twentieth” read Lilly.

“Two days after Harry’s death” said Kat .

The two looked at each other.

“Things get out of hand, this Jones guy shoots the man he sees as hurting his business. Harry dies, and he’s free to go on flogging his wares”

“I think we have a new suspect” said Lilly.

[valrush]

“Well, it looks like Willie Jones continued to live his life of crime, and ended up dying in prison in 1947” said Scotty.

“Well, there’s a dead end” said Kat.

“Not so fast. I also did some more research. Remember that son he mentioned to Harry? He’s still alive”

“Maybe he knows something” said Kat.

“Let’s go find out” said Scotty, grabbing his coat.

[valrush]

Kat and Scotty knocked on the door of the duplex. A carer ushered them in.

They walked over to the man who sat in the chair wearing an oxygen mask.

“James Jones?” Kat asked the man.

“That’s me” said James.

“Philly PD” said Scotty, showing his badge “Detectives Valens and Miller”

“We’re here about your dad” said Kat.

“Well, you’re a bit late” said James, smiling “He died 63 years ago. ”

“We’re here about your father in connection to a homicide in 1926” said Scotty.

“Homicide?” asked Willie, shaking his head “My father was a low life criminal- stealing, gambling, bootlegging, but he wasn’t a killer”

“We heard your dad had problems with a guy at the World Fair who was trying to stop him from carrying out his work” said Kat.

James searched his memories “Oh, I remember the World Fair. Best time of my childhood. My father made so much money. We lived the high life. Until he was arrested”

“Do you remember this guy?” said Scotty, showing James a photo of Harry Finton.

James searched his memories “I do! That’s the guy who caught my dad the first time.”

“Yeah well, maybe your dad wanted to shut him up to continue his business” said Scotty.

James frowned.

“Look, as I said before, my father wasn’t a killer. That fair was huge. My father had a lot of people out for him. It was part of his lifestyle. He wasn’t likely to be scared of a fair committee member. Actually, I remember more about that guy. He had

lots of enemies” said James.

“You remember some guy your dad met once had enemies?” asked Kat, skeptical “You remember this from 85 years ago?”

“My dad asked me to do a job for him” said James “It was my first job. I still remember it fondly. “

[valrush]

Red Nichols
“My Gal Sal”


James followed the young secretary into the administration building of the world fair. The woman didn’t notice the young boy.

He walked over to the cloakroom, where his dad had said there would be treasures. He put his hand in the pocket of a coat and retrieved a man’s wallet. He smiled.

“I want to speak to Mr Finton!” said a man’s voice, loud. James hid behind some coats. Through the crack in the cloakroom door, he could just make out an older man standing with a newspaper in his hand.

“Clarence, it’s very good to see you again” said Harry, walking up to the man. “I was so pleased that I was able to find you employment in construction. I understand from the steam shovels I can see outside my window that there may still be some construction going on”

Clarence Travers glowered at tHarry. He thrust the newspaper in Harry’s face.

“Well, there won’t be any construction soon, because there won’t be any fair soon” said Clarence.

“I’m dreadfully sorry, Clarence” said Harry “However, I do now have some contacts at the Mayor’s office, and I could-”

“That’s not why I’m here” spat out Clarence “You told me to invest in a subscription to the fair”

“That’s right, I thought it would be a splendid financial opportunity” said Harry.

“I’ve been hearing that the fair’s in such a bad financial state, that we won’t get a return” said Clarence.

“I’m afraid I did warn you that your investment might not come to fruition” said Harry “It’s always a risk with these fairs”

“So tell me why the more wealthy creditors are getting paid back with my taxes” said Clarence.

“They had a different type of arrangement to people with private subscriptions” said Harry “I did explain this to you, but of course, it’s natural to be upset”

“So why do me and the rest of the Philly common people have to pay? Says in the New York Times this week that the city is going to pay all the creditors. That’s our money, us decent hard working folks. The city shouldn’t be using it to clean up your messes”

“Rest assured, Clarence, my manager and I are looking into other financial options, that will ensure the city will not have to pay” said Harry.

“I’m meant to trust you, am I?” said Clarence “After what a mess you’ve made of the fair? They say the city’s nearly bankrupt. You know, the public never wanted this fair. Now I hear your bosses are blaming us Philadelphians for the fair not being a success. Say we haven’t supported it enough. I’ve had enough of this fair. ”

“Clarence-” said Harry.

“You always thought you were better than me, growing up” said Clarence “Always said you were going to have your own business, wasn’t going to be a common worker like the rest of us”

“Clarence, I had dreams.” said Harry “I wanted a better life for all of us”

“You abandoned us all” said Clarence “Got caught up in your new surroundings. Turned into a business man. How many people’s lives have you ruined?” asked Clarence “I’ve spoken to people in the neighborhood. Old friends of yours. George. Charles. Arthur. Albert. All of them have subscribed, and lost all their money. You told us all to invest”

“I thought it would benefit you all, I truly did” said Harry.

“You and your managers should be sued. “ said Clarence “Believe me, we won’t forget”

He stormed out.

[valrush]

“Nothing says motive like money” said Scotty.

“I think we better head back to the records, see what else we can find out about Clarence” said Kat.

[valrush]

Jefferies walked into the break room, where the rest of the team were busy reading various documents.

“Anyone for coffee?” asked Jefferies.

“Make it strong” said Vera “I’ve been reading all day. Can our next case be full of live people?”

“Here you go” said Jefferies, handing Vera a cup of coffee.

“How are your little old ladies?” asked Kat, smiling.

“Oh, I’ve had some older men too. Most of them complaining that they don’t have fairs like they used to”

“Any good leads?”

“Let’s see.” said Jefferies, ticking them off on his hand “It was all the fault of the Jewish land speculators, it rained too much, it was either Jack Dempsey or Gene Tunney from the Boxing match, it was someone from the Anti-Sesqui-Centennial

Association, and my personal favourite, it was Mayor W. Freeland Kendrick, in one last desperate attempt to drum up publicity for the fair”

“Wouldn’t put it past a politician” said Vera.

Lilly riffled through the list of box contents “Hmm, here’s something”

She walked over to one of the boxes, opened it, and looked around. She fished out a bunch of letters.

“Letters from Clarence Travers” she said.

“Ooh goody, another thing to read” said Vera.

Kat picked up a letter.

“Dear Sirs,

I am writing to ask that the Chamber of Commerce conducts an investigation into the running of the Philadelphia Sesquicentennial World Fair. I believe-”

She scanned through the rest of the letter “Nothing exciting. Usual complaints. Doesn’t mention Harry Finton specifically”

They each picked up a pile of letters and began reading.

“God, this guy sure knew how to complain” said Vera.

“It makes a nice change from listening to childhood stories” said Jefferies.

“Hey, don’t complain about interviewing live people” said Vera.

“Wait, here’s something” said Jefferies.

“What?” asked Lilly.

“A letter talking about specific members of the executive committee” said Jefferies.

[valrush]

Louis Armstrong
“Basin St. Blues”


Harry and Edwards sat at a café off one of the main avenues of the fair. It was nearly two pm, but neither man had had a chance to have lunch before then.

A moody Clarence Travers walked by. He was determined to make the directors of the fair pay. He saw Harry and scowled. He couldn’t believe who Harry had become. He thought back to all those times they’d played in the street together growing up. He remembered going to the river as teenagers: swimming in its murky waters, then flirting with the girls who sunbathed on the banks. He remembered Harry helping him learn how to read and write.

“Sir” said Harry “I’ve been thinking about the subscribers to the fair. I’m wondering if there’s any chance of them getting their money back”

Edward looked at him. After a while he laughed.

“Any chance?” said Edward “My wife has more chance of flying to the moon! I hope you haven’t been spreading wild rumors and getting peoples hopes up”

“No, not a chance” said Harry “I have a lot of friends who subscribed to the fair, and they’re not too well off-”

“For goodness sake Finton, we’re not running a charity here” said Edward “None of us are well off after this fair.”

He leant over and spoke in a low voice.

“I should let you know that Mayor Kirkland is about to announce that the fair is a financial failure”

“Is that wise, sir?” asked Harry “The public has no idea how dire the situation really is. Perhaps if we were more positive-”

“The fair” said Edward “has deficits of more than a quarter of a million dollars. Our contractors are due over three million dollars. We’ll be lucky if we reach ten million visitors. I don’t think we can put a positive light on that, can we?”

“Sir, I’ve been reading” said Harry.

“A problem” said Edward “Perhaps if you’ve spent less time thinking for yourself, and more time listening to me, my job would have been easier”

Harry ignored that remark.

“According to my research, all fairs have suffered from financial difficulties. We all try to avoid them, but they happen. The success of a fair isn’t solely in it’s finances”

“Please do go on” said Edward “I can’t wait to hear more of your foolish claptrap”

“Philadelphia” began Harry “has a peculiar responsibility to hold this fair. The one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the declaration of independence! And we’ve done it. There are lots of visitors- perhaps not as many as we’d hoped, but considering the dreadful weather and the negativity held by so many in our community, we’ve managed to nearly reach ten million people.”

He took a breath and continued.

“People have been enthralled by the fair, especially the Forum of Founders, with its colonial style homes. So many visitors have commented how much they like the modern homes too, with a chance to see all the latest technology. And the Dempsey Tunney fight- we got a lot of spectators here, but the decision to broadcast it on radio was a stroke of genius!. So many people listened to it from the comfort of their homes. The fair reached those who didn’t even come to the fairgrounds”

Harry leaned back.

“That little sermon was meant to cheer me up?” said Edward “Make me feel happy with the failure, because of radio broadcasts and the latest fridges? Finton, you’re a colossal disappointment. Questions are being asked from the Mayor’s office. I shall be sure to let them know how you’ve impeded my progress. You’re too woolly hearted. You need to be strong. Warm feelings don’t pay the budget. They don’t stop the bean counters at city hall”

“On the contrary.” said Harry, standing up “At least I know I gave my all to this fair. I worked with dignity , hard work, and perseverance, which is more than I can say for many of the members of the Executive Committee”

He flung down his napkin and walked off.

[valrush]

Jefferies continued “It goes on to say that ‘It was then I realised that Harry Finton was a shining gem in the murky pool of fair organisers. He was one of the few who cared about the people of Philadelphia. I advise you to commend Harry Finton for his work on this fair”.

“Well, so much for the theory Travers killed him” said Scotty.

“Yes, but it strengthens the case for Summers as the killer. Summers sounded furious with him” said Lilly.

“Enough to kill?” asked Vera.

“Maybe” said Lilly.

“What date was this?” asked Vera.

Lilly double checked “October 15”.

“Barely a month before Harry went missing. This Summers guy sounded like he was getting angrier and angrier, and poor old Harry was the perfect target of his rage” said Vera.

[valrush]

5

“I told you before, my grandfather wasn’t a killer” said Than Summers, sitting in his armchair at his house

“We heard he was very angry with Harry in the weeks leading up to his death” said Vera

Than shrugged “He didn’t mean it. He really liked Harry.”

“Had a funny way of showing it” said Vera

“That was my grandfather’s way of management. The way he treated his employees may seem harsh by today’s standards, but back then it was very acceptable. He worked his employees very hard, and often had stern words with them” explained Than “He only wanted to make them the best they could be. It worked in so many cases”

He went to his sideboard and picked up a letter

“I found this after you left. I wanted to read more about the fair, so I went through my grandfather’s desk”

Kat took the letter from him and began to read

“It was written two days before Harry Finton disappeared” said Than

[valrush]

Cold Case Soundtrack: Gwen and Rush

“Dear Sirs,

It is with great pleasure that I recommend Harry Finton as junior manager of the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. Harry’s work in the Sesquicentennial International Exhibition has gone above and beyond expectations. He is intelligent, hard working, an excellent communicator, and is able to build a great rapport with people. Although the fair has not met our expectations, I believe that the outcome would have been far worse without Harry’s steady hand as my assistant.

Yours sincerely,

Edward Summers”

[valrush]

Vera and Kat looked at each other

“So, Edward actually thought highly of Harry,” said Vera.

“So, who killed him?” asked Kat.

[valrush]

“So, what do we have?” asked Stillman, sitting on the edge of the desk and facing his team.

“Not much. Some suspects who turned out to either have alibis or to be too fond of Harry to have killed him” said Lilly

“Maybe another subscriber?” asked Vera “Or a creditor- I checked, they didn’t get paid until twenty-nine”

“Who?” asked Scotty “There were tens of thousands of subscribers and creditors. We could be here for years investigating all of them, and considering they’re all dead, we’re not going to get very far”

“Maybe one of the daughters did it” suggested Vera. Everyone looked at him. “Hey, I know they were six and four. Maybe an accident with daddy’s gun, oops. They’ve never seemed too happy with this investigation, and you think if they loved their father that much, they’d want to find out who killed him” said Vera.

“It was too good a shot for an accident” said Kat “Didn’t you read Frannie’s report?”

“I’ve been reading a lot lately” said Vera “Can’t remember everything”

“I think it was the guy who ran the Treasure Island Gladway ride” said Jefferies

“Really?” asked Lilly

Jefferies shook his head “Not really”

“Maybe this is the case we ain’t going to solve” said Scotty “Maybe some cases are just too old”

Everyone turned to face Scotty. Stillman nodded. Scotty was right.

[valrush]

Everyone was packing documents into boxes. Stillman had told them that Lombardi had given an order than they were to stop working on the case. It would no longer be an active case, although it would remain open and he would allow them to investigate it during quiet periods.

Lilly sat at her desk, looking at a picture of Harry Finton. He looked so happy in the photo. What had happened to him?

“I’m sorry I let you down” said Lilly to the photo. She sighed. They’d always solved their cold cases. Occasionally the perp had gotten away, but they’d always known who did it. The last time she felt she failed a victim was Vanessa Prosser’s murder.

She was jolted out of her revere by Scotty.

“It’s James Jones” Scotty says “Says he’s got something”

[valrush]

“I have something I didn’t tell you earlier” said James, sitting in Stillman’s office, his portable oxygen tank next to him. .

“Well, spit it out” said Scotty .

“My dad saw Harry Finton the day before he died” said James .

“He say anything?” asked Lilly.

“He wanted to do business with my father” said James .

[valrush]

Cold Case Soundtrack: The Park

Willie Jones peeked out around the corner of the building. At this time of night, the fair was shut, and it was quiet in this part of the fairground.

Harry walked up to him .

“You got it?” he asked, showing the cash in his hand .

Willie nodded “A colt, one of the best.”

He opened up his jacket and showed Harry the gun .

Harry passed the cash over, looking around to make sure no one saw. Willie handed him the gun.

“So, what do you need this for, anyway?” asked Willie.

“Personal reasons” said Harry, looking at the gun.

[valrush]

James finished his story.

“Mighty suspicious he buys a gun and gets shot the next day” he said .

Lilly sat back, processing the new information.

“I think I know what happened” she said.

[valrush]

“We have a theory about what happened to your father” said Lilly

Joan stared at her hands. They were in the gardens of the nursing home. Joan was sitting in her favorite spot, next to the water fountain. She had a rug over her to keep the chill away.

“You know, don’t you?” said Lilly, softly, at Joan.

Joan remained silent.

“It always seemed odd” said Lilly “That your mother didn’t want them to investigate Harry’s disappearance. It was so out of character for him- there was no way she could have believed he had run away. We thought that maybe this meant your

mother had done it, but the glowing way she speaks of him in her diary says otherwise”

“Daddy wouldn’t have wanted people to know” said Joan, finally.

Lilly knelt beside her “He was a very good man. Everyone spoke highly of him”

“He was the best” said Joan, with tears in her eyes.

Lilly knelt there, waiting.

“My top draw in my bedroom” said Joan “There’s a silver box”

Scotty went inside to retrieve the box.

“Edward Summers made a recommendation to the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce” said Lilly “He was so impressed with your father, he thought he should be junior manager over there.”

Joan looked at her.

“He worked so hard” said Joan.

Scotty came back with the box. He handed it to Joan.

Joan opened it, and passed the note inside to Lilly.

“I never stopped mourning him” Joan began.

[valrush]

Cold Case Soundtrack: Sadie’s Blues

“I think you two little minxes need to go to bed” said Mary, laughing as she walked Joan and Emily into the house. The nanny was standing there.

“It”s bedtime for them both” she said to the nanny, who took the girls. Mary smiled, watching the girls run to their nanny.

Mary took off her coat, then walked up the stairs to her and Harry’s bedroom. There was a note on the dresser with the name “Mary” on it.

Puzzled, Mary picked it up and began to read.

She gasped in horror, then ran downstairs. She quickly put on her coat .

“Nanny, I have to go. Something urgent. I’ll be back soon” she called out to the older woman.

She left and walked along the now familiar route to the fairgrounds.

“Harry?” she called as she walked under the giant Liberty Bell “Harry?”

She walked to where the executive offices stood. It might not be too late, Harry might still be working.

In the moonlight she saw him.

She gasped.

Harry was lying on the ground, his hand around the gun. Blood was pouring from his head.

“Harry!” she wailed, running over to him and cradling his still form.

“Harry” she sobbed “How could you?”

“My dear Mary,

I am so sorry for what I am about to do. Please forgive me. Please know that I loved you, Joan and Emily deeply. The pain of failure is too much for me to bear. I put my life into this fair, and it has become a nightmare. I tried, my sweetheart, but it was too much. You may call me a coward, but the pain has overwhelmed me, and I need to escape.

Tell our daughters to always work hard, and to aim for their dreams. Tell them to never let anyone tell them they can’t do anything.

Do not dwell on my death, but focus on our life together. Remember the good times.

Love always,

Harry”

Mary looked up and saw a shovel leaning against a nearby building. Crying, she walked over and grabbed the shovel, then began to dig in the empty lot behind it.

Gene Austin
“My Blue Heaven”


Lilly and Scotty thanked Joan, who had tears running down her face.

Vera put the suicide note in the red file. He wrote SUICIDE on the cover of the file, then put the file in a box labelled “FINTON, H”. He took the file down to the archive room and found a space for it. He gave it a soft punch as he walked away.

Christina and Finn sat on the couch, watching television together, while Chris fed Ellie.

James Jones was reading the newspaper. He looked up. Standing in front of him was his father, smiling. James smiled back. His father faded from view.

Than Summers looked at a portrait of his grandparents. Next to him, his grandfather appeared, and then faded.

Joan sat in her chair, thinking. Her father appeared in front of her, young and happy like she always tried to remember him. Joan’s face lifted. Her father’s ghost faded, and Joan sat in the garden, reminiscing.