A Murder at Sandbury

By Bob Whited

About the Book
In the up-and-coming town of Sandbury, the young, beautiful, and successful Nora Brightmeyer works at Electro Motors, a cutting-edge manufacturer of electric vehicles. Recently divorced, Nora has once again found love in Dr. Allen Sweeney, a dentist in town. Nora has finally opened herself up to the new relationship, and after falling madly in love, Allen plans to propose, but tragedy intervenes.
What follows is a murder that shakes the town of Sandbury and its residents. Tasked with a confounding case with seemingly no leads, the Sandbury Police Department has no choice but to accept help from the renowned private investigator Jake Munro. The eyes of Sandbury are on the detectives, desperately hoping that they will find the murderer and bring him to justice—and make their beloved town safe again.
About the Author
Bob Whited was born in the small town of Bridgeburg in Western Pennsylvania located in Armstrong County. He is a veteran of the US Navy (1960-64) and also a retiree of General Motors. In the past, he served as District Governor of Lions Club International and has been a Charter member of the Austintown Lions Club since 1977. He has worked as a reporter and a columnist for several local newspapers and has authored two other books: "Navy Grass" and "A History of Bridgeburg and Its People." Whited has been married to his wife, Joyce, for 56 years. They have 4 children, 7 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dorrance Publishing Company
• Release date: Feb 27, 2024
• ISBN: 9798891271708

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead; events; or locales is entirely coincidental.

All Rights Reserved

Copyright © 2024 by Bob Whited

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted, downloaded, distributed, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, including photocopying and recording, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented without permission in writing from the publisher.

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ISBN: 979-8-89127-672-7

eISBN: 979-8-89127-170-8

INTRODUCTION

This story is of fiction of a murder that occurred at an imaginative city of Sandbury, which is located in the northeastern part of the U.S. The year is modern day. The characters in this story and their portrayal thereof are representative of what could have been a true story.

The city of Sandbury is a very peaceful city and was laid out and chartered in 1876 by Marcus Sandbury. Marcus Sandbury was a civil war veteran. He married Thelma Gustus Sandbury and this marriage produced eight children, four boys and four girls.  In this modern era, some of this family still maintains citizenship in this city. It is a fictitious city in the northeastern United States and is a very tranquil locale. Marcus never thought that his town would ever achieve a population of 30,000, but it did by present day. Streets run east and west using numerals one through fifteen, and north and south using street names Alba, Benet, Canton, Dexter, Edgar, Frederick, Gadly, Hand, Idle, Jackson, Kaye, Lily, Monteith, Nottingham and Otto. The new Rt. 73 is the new thoroughfare, an extension of 14th Street, where new restaurants, housing and apartments and hotels have branched up and is a very popular area. Gadly Street is the main drag. Like any other city, it has its favorite restaurants, pizzerias, grocery stores, bars, and ice cream parlors, hotels and much more. Below is a listing of some of the most affluent people of Sandbury, and their titles. At present Jason Himley is the mayor. Nason Doyle, who is African American, is the sheriff of Jackson County. Police chief is Leonard Manning. SPD detective is Rob Jeffreys. Patrolmen include Luke Farrell, who is another African American, John Buzzard, Emil Shansky and Keith Poindexter. The coroner is Russel Brinkley. Lance Woodley is the principal of Sandbury High School. The local newspaper is The Bulletin. Editor is Jeff Goddard. Lead reporter is Kara Compton. Other reporters include Lorraine Stoddard, Brian Elksly and James Oliver. The district attorney is Herbert Branson. The religious atmosphere is well represented as the Protestants have a Baptist Church, a Lutheran Church, a Presbyterian Church, and a Methodist Church. The Roman Catholics have St. Annes, St. Thomas, and St. Joseph.  The Jewish representative is Faith Temple Synagogue and one Greek Orthodox Church, Arch Diocese of Sandbury. Industry is well represented by Electro Motors Auto EV Plant and CRAACO Refractories, A Hop Brewery, Genevieve Winery, and some other smaller businesses including fast foods, that are many. As this story continues, many more characters will enter and exit as the series of events moves on. This story is not only a fable of a murder, but also a full description of notable people who reside in Sandbury, and their lives. The Electro Motor Company is very much a big part of this story as it continually makes history in the EV part of the auto industry regardless of the murder of one of its employees.

All is well in Sandbury on this very pleasant June Day until this.

Chapter 1

The Murder

Nora Brightmeyer is a 28-year-old, very tall, blonde, and very sexy intelligent divorcee living at Ivory Towers located at 142 Dexter Street. Her former husband is Gordon Gordy Lindor. There were no children in this five-year marriage. Nora worked her way up to be a quality control analyst for the Electro automobile corporation located five miles out of the city on the northside of town, on an extension of Nottingham Street referred to as State Route 46.

The Electro plant is a sprawling auto plant where all electric cars and SUVs or EVs are produced and has gained in reputation for its quality.

It is a beautiful Friday June day as Nora arrives at work and being greeted by coworkers and friends. She is finally getting over her recent divorce from Gordon (Gordy) Lindor and has even started dating again with Dr. Allen Sweeney, a dentist, DDS, unmarried and resides at his home outside the city limits, in the Bella Woods area. Nora feels much better now after the rigors of divorce hearings have ended. Electro, whose products are all EVs, is an electric automobile plant that was opened five years ago. It provides employment for several thousand employees, and has recently taken on SUVs, and perhaps an electric pickup truck in the future. EVs are finally catching on, and being Electro is in the Sandbury area, their economy is bursting on high.

It is Friday, June 10th and the workday has finally ended, with several glitches that included many faulty repairs quality wise that affected Nora’s own job as a quality control analyst for Electro. The repairs though were finally eliminated by a small problem in the trim line. She finally rejoices as quitting time arrives and drives to meet Allen in her brand-new Electro Phantom 2-seater sports car in brilliant blue which ushers in a new weekend. She is excited to be with Allen as he is called and a whole weekend spent out dining and dancing and staying at his luxurious home. They are in a real relationship.

Dr. Allen and Nora love pizza, and both agree to meet at Lori Lavorata’s Pizza Dome restaurant and bar on Kaye Street for dinner right after work.  The Pizza Dome is a favorite spot for many professionals and all other people in the area who hunger for the many varieties of brick oven pizzas that are offered. The restaurant originally housed The Majestic Dome Restaurant, but due to lack of business was sold at a reasonable price to Lori and her family. It does in fact have a glass dome that totally covers the restaurant and gives patrons a great view of the city and skyline while enjoying their favorite pizzas and drinks on their extensive menu that includes much more than pizza.

Ms. Lavorata is not only married to Roberto Lavorata, but also to the pizza and restaurant business itself, as quality is the rule and does practice it extremely well. They both are from Italian American families and have learned their trade from their parents. Lori’s maiden name was Rinaldi, a famous name in Italian chefs, as her father Ernaldo came to America from Naples, Italy, and taught America the art of pizza making. She has four children to Roberto and all the family participate in this remarkably successful business. Their children are age-wise from 18-year-old Anthony to 20-year-old Tanya to 21-year-old Perry and the eldest 23-year-old Gina.  All are involved in the business.

After the pizza and drinks and much laughter with Allen, Nora is on her way to her apartment to freshen up a bit before meeting Allen again. They were to meet again at Ricky’s Night Club for drinks, entertainment and dancing. They both leave at approximately 6:30.

Allen is a highly successful dentist and is quite renowned for his expertise as he advertises less pain for his services. He also arrives home to freshen up before meeting Nora again. It has been an exasperating day for him as he has done three root canals and several fillings and is ready to have a relaxing weekend with Nora.  His home is in the Bella Woods area five miles west of the city.

After a shower and fresh clothes and receiving and placing some phone calls, he again is out and about heading for Ricky’s to meet Nora. He exchanges pleasantries with Simpson the doorman at Ricky’s and orders his favorite drink, Cutty Sark Scotch, and water from Rudy the bartender. He waits and waits for Nora, but she never shows. He called her but no answer. This seems strange for Nora is always on time. He leaves Ricky’s and heads immediately to Nora’s apartment at Ivory Towers. After arrival he enters the lobby and hits the elevator button for the second floor to apartment 212.  He sees that her door is wide open and views the most terrible, gruesome, wretched sight before him. Nora’s seminude body is lying on the floor with blood encircling her mouth and nostrils.  He tries to revive her but no results. He calls for an ambulance which soon arrives, and Nora is immediately pronounced dead. Allen is in shock as the police arrive led by patrolmen Emil Shansky and Luke Farrell. Sandbury police department Detective Rob Jeffreys arrives shortly, who begins questioning Sweeney right away. He begins to cry.

Detective Rob Jeffreys is a very tall and thin bearded police officer who has been at SPD for twelve years. He is very popular within the ranks and pursues his job with desirable and positive qualities.

The police crime scene and processing, examination and evaluation team arrive to question and search the crime scene for prints, swabs, DNA, and trace evidence, which is the form of hairs and fibers while scanning in electron microscopes, which is referred to as (SEM), and other clues including many photos and blood stain patterns.

  The coroner Russel Brinkley arrives and immediately proclaims death by strangulation.  Photos are taken again and again of the layout, Ms. Brightmeyer’s body for evidence and even sketches of the scene are drawn. Allen is told to report to police headquarters with policemen Luke Farrell and Emil Shansky. Reporter Kara Compton, from The Bulletin, also arrives via a tip she received from Sheriff Nason Doyle through the sheriff’s radio about the incident. Doyle also appears at the murder scene. Compton also takes photos and asks Allen how he feels. Allen is in complete shock not knowing what happened what to do as he is ushered into the police car and enroute to the police station.

He tells the police that Gordy and the Lindor family and Nora’s family should know about this right away, which they do. Kara in no time flat begins to write her story with what she knows.

After arrival at the police station, which is practically a new facility on 12th Street, Allen is greeted again by police detective Rob Jeffreys. Allen right away asks Jeffreys, Am I a suspect?

Jeffreys replied Doctor, at present, yes!

Allen retells the story repeatedly. DNA and prints are requested which Dr. Sweeney adheres to and finally is released without bail but ordered to stay in the city area. His car, his beautiful Cadillac, is brought back from Nora’s apartment. He returns home in deep shock. There to meet him is Clementine, or Clemmie or just plain Clem, his three-year-old English Springer Spaniel who senses that something is wrong.

Gordy is visually upset, as the police arrive at his home and give him the terrible news about Nora’s death. After all he had been married to her for five years, and still loves her. He starts to cry uncontrollably. He was taken in for questioning.

The Brightmeyers, Bill and Anna, Nora’s parents were also contacted