“Philly’s World Fair. Officially known as the Sesquicentennial-Centennial International Exposition” explained Stillman.
“Catchy name” said Nick.
They were all down in the archive room, looking at the files on people who disappeared during the fair.
“It was meant to revitalize the city and bring in trade and tourism.” continued Stillman “Ended up with much lower crowd numbers than expected. Had huge financial debts and ended up being placed into administration.”
“I think I have a match” said Kat “Harry Finton was an assistant to a member of the executive committee. He disappeared on the 18th of November 1926, shortly before the fair closed. He wore a belt with the distinctive Liberty Bell symbol”
She showed them a formal photo of Harry.
“Cops have any theories back then?” asked Lilly.
“They thought that Harry might have run away to avoid the shame of the failure of the fair.” said Kat, reading from the file.
“Eighty-five year old case, might be hard to fight witnesses” said Lilly, hoping this case wouldn’t prove too difficult for them.
“He had two young daughters. Scotty, see if either of them are still alive” said Stillman, handing him the details.
Stillman looked back at the notes.
“A lot of young children went to the fair. They’d be in their eighties or nineties by now, which means some of them could still be around. Might be worth putting out something, seeing if we get any witnesses.”
“What about newspapers?” asked Lilly “They would have covered the fair quite extensively”
“Good point” said Stillman “Kat, you and Nick go to Penn University. Apparently the University has a large archive relating to the fair. I’ve got the name of the professor who’s in charge of it all. A Phillip Norbury”
He pulled out a piece of paper with the Professor’s details, and handed it to Kat.
The two headed off, Vera grumbling about hoping there wasn’t a lot of reading involved in this case.
“How’s Chris?” asked Stillman quietly, as he put the other missing persons folders back in the box.
“She’s okay” said Lilly “Has her good days and bad days.”
“Addiction can be like that” said Stillman.
“Ellie’s thriving” said Lilly “She’s got everyone wrapped around her little finger, Dad included.”
Stillman nodded and smiled.
Scotty came down the stairs.
“Find anything on the sisters?” asked Stillman.
“Good news” said Scotty “The oldest sister is still alive and living in a nursing home. Spoke to the nurse in charge there and she said she’s pretty sharp, should be able to interview her with no problems”
“That’s great news” said Lilly “We’ll be able to find out more about what Harry was like”
“You and Lil head over to the nursing home. See what the daughter has to say.” said Stillman.
***
Joan Peterson, formerly Finton, lived in one of Philadelphia’s most upper-class nursing homes. It was clean, with lots of beautiful furniture, and smiling staff who were more than happy to help Lilly and Scotty. They sat down in a private visitors lounge.
“Daddy was a very good man” said Joan. “I always knew he didn’t abandon us. He loved Emily, Mama, and me”
Joan was impeccably dressed. Her hair was set in curls and dyed a light blond. Joan was wearing a tan skirt and jacket combination.
“I know this may be hard, but can you think of anyone who might have wanted to hurt your father?” asked Lilly.
Joan smiled “Everyone loved him. He was the fair man. Our house was always busy with guests- men who wanted to invest or exhibit in the fair.”
She frowned.
“There was one man…”
***
Rudy Vallee – You’re Just Another Memory
Mary Finton walked out into the dining room, where numerous people were milling around drinking fruit punch. In the corner was a young man playing the piano. She hoped her black sequined flapper dress would impress people. She had strung two sets of pearls around her neck.
From the upstairs stairwell, Emily and Joan watched, hidden from sight. They had been told to go to their rooms and be quiet. Their nanny was busy washing their clothes.
“Hello Marjorie” she said to an older women dressed in a green dress “How are you and Marcus?”
“Very well, thank you” said Marjorie “Marcus is very impressed by the idea of a World Fair, here in Philly. Think of all the business it will bring! Marcus of course, is planning to have an exhibit of his knitting mill”
“From what Harry says, there will be room for plenty of exhibits.” said Mary “Have you seen the size of the grounds? South-”
She was interrupted by Harry, with a man in tow.
“Darling, I’d like to introduce you to Mr Sydney Branson” said Harry “He’s going to help us bring the Curtis Organ to the fair. It’s one of the world’s largest pipe organs”
“Giant pipe organs, Liberty Bells- everyone will be talking about this fair for years” said Mary.
“Well, we hope so” said Sydney “There’s been some disappointment with some aspects of the fair- the planning-”
A man’s raised voice led them all to turn around.
“Harry!” said the man “Harry! You won’t even let me in your house?”
Harry walked up to the man. The hired butler was trying to keep the man at bay.
“Clarence” said Harry “What are you doing here?”
Clarence looked around “You’ve sure gone up in the world. Too good for people like me, aren’t you? Won’t even help an old friend out”
“Clarence” said Harry in a low voice “I told you. We simply aren’t able to hire you”
“Because I ain’t a rich man” said Clarence “We used to be best friends, you and I. You think those people really like you? As soon as they’re done with you, they’ll cast you aside. You’ll never really be one of them”
The crowd had all turned toward Harry and Clarence. They murmured amongst themselves. What a scene!
“Clarence, I made a case for you with the head of engineering. Unfortunately, they simply already have enough men”
Clarence shook his head “I’ve heard all about the sweetheart contracts and the kickbacks. Your precious fair is a mass of corruption! Why, you people would rather hire Negroes than a hard-working man like me”!
“You’re making a scene. I won’t talk to you any more about this. Please escort this man out” Harry said to the butler.
“I’m not done” said Clarence “You’ll regret treating me like this!” he yelled as he was lead outside.
***
“Man sounded like he meant business” said Scotty.
“That was Clarence” said Joan ” He and Daddy grew up together.”
“So your father didn’t grow up in that world” said Lilly “Sounds like Clarence resented him for that”
“Our father’s parents were poor but hard-working” said Emily “Daddy worked very hard to get a job in our grandfather’s firm. He met Mama and fell in love. Our grandparents didn’t approve, but then they both died in a shipping accident on their way to London. Our parents were married the next year”
“So this Clarence thought your dad owed him a job” said Scotty.
Joan nodded.
“Did you know Clarence’s last name?” asked Scotty.
“Terrence, no- Travers” said Joan.
“Thank you” said Lilly “If we need to talk to you again, we will”
“I always knew he was dead. I’m glad we finally have a body to bury” said Joan.
“We’ll release it as soon as we can” promised Lilly.
****************
“Well, this is most exciting” said Professor Phillip Norbury “The Sesquicentennial International Exhibition is my specialty. I wrote my thesis on the social impact of the fair on the city. Usually, the only people who come visiting are grad students in history and Sesquiphiles. You say you’ve found the body of someone who was killed during the fair”
Professor Norbury was a middle aged man with a neat thatch of grey hair. His office was covered in memorabilia from the fair- the Sesquicentennial Newsogram, daily programs, posters, newspaper articles, and coins. On his desk was a large shell with engraved with the dates of the fair and a small liberty bell.
“We believe that the body was that of Harry Finton” said Kat “An assistant to a member of the executive committee of the fair”
“Harry Finton- the name rings a bell” said Professor Norbury.
He walked over to the bookshelf and picked up a large red volume. He flicked thorough it until he got to the Fs.
“Ah yes. Harry Finton. Promising young lad. A real self-made man. Worked very hard to get where he was. Tragic disappearance. So it turns out he was murdered. Well, I always thought Edward Summers had something to do with his disappearance.”
“Who’s this Edward Summers?” asked Vera.
“Harry’s manager” said the Professor. “Believed in Harry until it became apparent the fair was not the success they’d hoped. Took out a lot of his disappointment on Harry”
“That’s an awful lot of blame to put on one man” said Kat.
Professor Norbury walked over to a set of boxes by the window.
“The Philadelphia Department of Commerce undertook a project in the 1960s to get everyone’s memories on the fair. I thought they would be especially useful to your investigation, so I checked them out of the archive.”
He looked at the boxes, found the one he needed, and then went through the transcripts. He found what he was looking for and took it out.
“Unfortunately Edward Summers died before the project was able to interview him. Luckily, his secretary Annie Mayfield was able to be interviewed. I have her transcript right here” he said.
The Professor flicked through the book until he came across the page he wanted “Here- I think this part will be particularly useful for you”
Vera took the page and began reading “The strain of the Fair’s failures began to take their toll. I remember one incident….”
***
Bye Bye Blackbird – Josephine Baker
Edward Summers was in his office, writing. Annie Mayfield was busy typing.
Harry came into the room.
“Good morning sir.” said Harry “The weather’s good today”
“A rarity, I’m afraid” said Edward “Sit down, please Finton”
Harry sat in the chair.
Edward took off his glasses.
“Have you seen this?” he said, holding up a newsletter.
Harry shook his head.
“I will educate you on it then. This is the newsletter from the California branch of the Great Fraternal Order.”
“Yes, sir” said Harry, nodding.
“I hope you recall that last month, you were responsible for chauffeuring them around the fair”.
“Yes sir” Harry repeated.
Edward stared him in the eyes.
“What did you say to these people?” said Edward “You were meant to show them the fair was enthralling, a place for relaxation, education, and amusement. Instead, they’ve written that there’s ‘work still being done’, that it’s noisy, chaotic, full of confusion, and that building is still going on. They believe that the fair isn’t yet ready, and that people should postpone their plans to visit”.
“With all due respect sir” said Harry “They visited in the first week, there were areas that were not quite complete-”
Edward cut him off.
“It was your job to ensure that they didn’t see any of this! You should have concentrated on the completed exhibition palaces, the model houses showing the latest in technology, the colonial homes.”
“I understand sir” said Harry.
“There are over a quarter of a million members of that organization throughout this land. They’ve all gone back to their hometowns and spread the word that Philadelphia isn’t ready to hold this fair. This will cost the fair dearly”
“Once again, I apologise” said Harry.
“When I hired you, I thought you were a smart young man” said Edward, his voice rising. “I was willing to overlook your upbringing. Now I see I made a mistake. I should have hired someone who came from a better background. I should be all rights fire you”.
“I disagree” said Harry, firmly “While I perhaps was not as circumspect as I could have been with the Great Fraternal Order, I learned from that mistake. I have been showing representatives and potential investors around the fair, and ensuring they only see the best of the fair. I think you’ll find I’ve been very successful. The Chicago Tribune wrote a glowing review of the fair, after I spent the day with a senior reporter. The New York Post had a feature on the fair- again, after I had spent a great deal of time with their reporter. My contacts in Fishtown have bought in hundreds of dollars in subscriptions- from an area the committee believed we wouldn’t get a single penny of money.”
Edward sighed “Very well. I will give you a second chance. However, I am putting you on notice. Remember, I am a member of the executive committee” said Edward “If I want you gone, you shall be gone.”
“So old Edward wasn’t too fond of Harry” said Vera “Might have even threatened him”
“Maybe he carried through with it” said Kat “Do you have any more transcripts we can use?”
“Of course” said the Professor “I also have some other records that I think will be useful to you. How many boxes can you take?”
Vera and Kat looked at each other.
**************
“Oh, I’m sure we can take the whole lot” said Vera, mimicking Kat’s higher voice, as he carried in three boxes.
“Hey, there might be a clue to this guy’s murder somewhere in all here” said Kat, carrying her own two boxes “Beside, if we didn’t take them now, we’d only have to come back”.
“You two look like you’ll be busy” said Jefferies, who was sitting at his desk.
“We’ll all be busy. You’re helping us sort through all this junk” said Vera.
“Not me” said Jefferies “I’m talking to little old ladies who went to the fair and had went on the Treasure Island Gladway”.
“Any leads?” asked Kat.
“The Treasure Island Gladway was fun” said Jefferies, rolling his eyes.
“Where’s the boss?” asked Vera.
“Talking to the new boss” said Jefferies, nodding his head towards Stillman’s office.
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