Living on the Edge in Freedomtown

By Jacqueline T. Small

Freedomtown is a quiet little town located west of Philadelphia. It was founded by a fugitive slave named Samuel Freeman, who also wrote the town charter, back in 1862. Sheriff Michael Freeman, who is a descendant of the Freeman clan, is charged with keeping Freedomtown safe. He is the youngest sheriff that has ever been appointed, and he has a lot to prove. The Freedomtown Charter prohibits potential residents with a criminal background from residing in the town, but sometimes people slip through the cracks and cause the townspeople to be...living on the edge in Freedomtown.

Stone Money Jones is living a double life in Freedomtown. He is the product of a dysfunctional family, which steers him in the wrong directions. It is up to Sheriff Freeman to solve the mystery and restore safety and security to this quiet little town.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jul 7, 2015
• ISBN: 9781504916066

Jacqueline T. Small

Jacqueline T. Small is the author of two other novels, Freedomtown: A Novelette and Living on the Edge in Freedomtown. She was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and remains a resident of Pennsylvania. She has earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Temple University, a Master’s degree in Education from Cheyney University of Pennsylvania and a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science from San Jose State University.

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© 2015 Jacqueline T. Small. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

This novel is a work of fiction. Every character depicted within the novel is a work of fiction, unless otherwise noted. In this case it would be self-explanatory. The author has neither a background in criminal activity (which includes drug use, distribution or sales) nor a background in law enforcement.

Published by AuthorHouse 07/07/2015

ISBN: 978-1-5049-1607-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5049-1606-6 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

Chapter 1   Freedomtown

Chapter 2   Law And Order 101

Chapter 3   Philadelphia

Chapter 4   High Tech Groceries

Chapter 5   A Freedomtown President/CEO

Chapter 6   Chasing Votes

Chapter 7   A Philadelphia Gangster

Chapter 8   Funny Money

Chapter 9   Income Statements

Chapter 10   Tax Evaders?

Chapter 11   Something’s Cooking

Chapter 12   Sidetracked

Chapter 13   Secret Millionaires

Chapter 14   Bad News

Chapter 15   Silent Partners

Chapter 16   Setting The Bait

Chapter 17   Calling All Super Heroes

Chapter 18   A New Eye

Chapter 19   Stake Out

Chapter 20   Shake Your Booty

Chapter 21  Wild Goose Chase

Chapter 22   An Incumbent Democrat

Chapter 23   Debating The Issues

Chapter 24   He Talked!

Chapter 25   Connecting The Dots

Chapter 26   A Murderer At Large ?

Chapter 27   The Main Street Diner

Chapter 28   Old Ways

Chapter 29   The Case Of A Panther Turned Alley Cat

Chapter 30   Hope, Won!

Discussion/Essay Questions

A Quiz

Acknowledgments

CHAPTER ONE

Freedomtown

Sheriff Michael Freeman was driving down Freedom Place thinking to himself about some hot buttered biscuits, browned just right, his maid, May, is famous for baking. It was just beginning to rain and his green 2007 Hummer 2 SUV was handling the puddles with ease. Freeman families have dominated Freedom Place located in the Northern section of town, since the founding of Freedomtown over one hundred forty-three years ago.

*     *     *

The founder, Samuel Freeman, escaped from the Freeman Plantation in Prince George County, Maryland during the early 1860s, before the Emancipation Proclamation became law. He was an eighteen year old fugitive slave who lost his mother and his sisters to a slave auction held in Atlanta, Georgia in 1860. He escaped with three accomplices, one was named Mary, whom later became his wife.

He learned how to read and write while enslaved as a child on the Freeman plantation. His mother told him and his sisters that Master Freeman was their father, which explained their fair skin. Samuel knew there were various ways to escape bondage, but manumission was not an option for him. He would rather die than pay for his own freedom. He heard plenty of stories about fellow slaves being loaned out to various other plantations and farms working from sunup to sundown to pay their way to freedom. The slave master may decide to change his mind, up the ante, or die and bequeath the slave, like property, to a son or daughter or even to the next of kin. No! He couldn’t trust a slave master with his life nor his freedom. And waiting for emancipation from President Lincoln was unacceptable! Steal away, escape, was the only answer to his dilemma!

Freedomtown is a few miles west of Philadelphia. It’s a quiet little town with a population of just over thirteen thousand residents and some were former urban dwellers who moved there from the inner city to escape poverty, inferior schools, urban blight and crime. Philadelphia is close enough for the town’s residents to visit famous landmarks, museums, theaters, other cultural events and the city zoo.

The median annual income is $61,000.00 per household, the population is about even in terms of gender and the median age is about thirty-eight years old. The school district includes only a few schools, one high school, two middle schools and four elementary schools which employ only certified teachers. There’s only one hospital, fire station, central library, post office, sheriff’s office, and multi-denominational religious center, but plenty of small businesses who employ the majority of the townspeople. About one third of the adult residents are on the payroll of a local, state or federal governmental agency.

There are no row homes, just single homes or two story homes with or without attics. Every home either has a decorative elm tree in front or in the back of the house to provide shade and to satisfy environmental concerns such as oxygen emissions. And there is more lawn than concrete throughout the land.

When Samuel Freeman envisioned the town he founded and later named Freedomtown, he pictured a place where black people could live in peace without the threat of white terrorism. A place where black people could marry, raise their children and provide for their families. Mine you, this was the early 1860s, just before the Emancipation Proclamation was passed. He was a fugitive slave who escaped along with others including his soon to be wife, Mary, from the Freeman Plantation. They succeeded in making their way by train to Philadelphia. He was a fair skinned teenager, whose father was a white plantation owner/slave master. He escaped by passing through the underground railroad with the help of anti-slavery abolitionists and passing as a white slave owner on the train from Baltimore, Maryland with his bogus slaves in tow, making connections in Wilmington, Delaware until he reached his destination, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the train station he and his accomplices were met by the Smiths, who were fugitive slaves who later became successful caterers. Within a week he married Mary, and he also wrote a rough draft of the town charter of the black community he envisioned. Samuel took on the name of his father and became Samuel Freeman.

The Freedomtown Charter

Every potential resident of Freedomtown must be a descendant of a former slave(African-American), live above the poverty-level, marry within his or her race and have no criminal past. A violation of any ordinance listed above will cause the violator to be evicted. And, depending on the transgression, the violator will be reimbursed for his troubles.

Written by the Founder of Freedomtown, Samuel Freeman, on July 2, 1862.

And the rest is history!

*     *     *

Michael Freeman wears several hats; he is a sheriff, a professor, a husband, a brother, an uncle, a father, and a son. Michael earned his PHD in criminology from the University of Cincinnati at the age of twenty-five, joined the City of Philadelphia’s police force and was promoted up the ranks to become a first grade detective. He gained valuable experience to apply as Freedomtown’s youngest sheriff.

His day is basically paperwork, since Freedomtown’s crime rate is virtually non-existent. Sure, there are the occasional parking tickets, animals trapped or lost, street signs turned backwards and other teenage pranks, but that’s about the gist of it.

The only major violation of the law is a Town Charter law prohibiting interracially married couples from residing in the town. Violators are evicted from the town with a refund of